Nonsense, Drivel, and Balderdash

Over the years I have realized that one almost needs to separate Christmas-Advent from x-mas, the winter holiday. I like almost everything about the religious festival, but have issues about the public holiday. But once you are able to separate the two and not feel like Santa has hijacked Christ, then it is easier to enjoy the whole thing. It is still a time that brings people together and encourages people to be nicer to each other. I still has lights twinkling and cold biting and hot beverages... But then there is Christmas music. I'm sorry, but I hate most christmas music. Why? For the same reasons that I dislike most Pop music. It is made up of cheap, repetitive tunes that are meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Even the songs that were once decent have been played to death on the radio by top 40 artists. Not only do musicians use this season to do their usual amount of artistic rape, but they even do it to beloved carols that are meant to promote religious themes...

I walked into one of the local quick-e marts on Paseo de la Florida the other day. In Spain, they are referred to as "Chinos." Which literally means "chinese." These chinos are relatively new additions to the urban landscape here, only appearing after I left for college and immigration skyrocketed. But now they are a part of life; the little corner store that sells basic goods, exchanging price for convenience. But anyway, I was on my way to Jessica's house to make supper when I realized I had forgotten an ingredient. I popped into the store and quickly grabbed what I needed. As I was about to leave, a middle aged, latin american, transvestite approached me. He, dressed and make-up'ed as a she, was quite polite as he asked me if I would be so kind as to help him read something. He held out a small notebook containing a different number and name scrawled on each page. "What does this name say?" he asked me, pointing to a page. I squinted at the han...

I know. I've been gone. But so have most of you. The blogging world seems to have come to a halt, or at least until this week, when a few people decided to update their long forgotten pieces of web real estate. I swear something a bit more interesting is coming up, but for now I will comment on my Last.fm page. For those of you who don't use it, it is a great little web application that keeps track of what you listen to, allows you to compare and show others, as well as look for music that is similar to your own tastes. Anyway, according to the application. Here are a few interesting facts about my music habits: The top listened artists: 1 The Beatles 2 The Smashing Pumpkins 3 Over the Rhine 4 Ryan Adams 5 Ray LaMontagne 6 Simon & Garfunkel 7 Regina Spektor 8 Bob Dylan 9 Oasis 10 Radiohead 11 Ben Harper 12 Tegan and Sara 13 Jeff Buckley 14 Ryan Adams & The Cardinals 15 Pedro the Lion Of course this list doesnt take several factors into account, such as ...