lewis and clark had a journal. you, beth-annie, have a diary.

Monday, September 30, 2002
Okay folks--so many things.

1.  Most of you know the problems I've been having with blogger lately, and they are still ongoing.  But I have given up on them and am now doing this all myself (ha!).  It's a little more of a pain, but it's certainly better than nothing.

2.  I have decided that the so-called "Google searches" listed on Matt's blog are fake.  Completely and utterly fabricated.  They have to be.  There is no other explanation.

3.  We WILL 100% update our film page this evening, comments and all.  If we don't, Matthew may dock me one point.  Unless I come up with a good excuse.  And I will be the one to determine if the excuse is good enough.

4.  I have come to the realization lately that there are many songs out there in which the verses are much better than the chorus.  I will compile a list of a few of these and present them to you at a later date.

5.  Yeah, so Danielle lost "Big Brother" by a vote of 9-1.  I will not go into how horrendously wrong this was, because frankly I'm just tired of it.  I will simply say that at least half of the "jury" are hypocrites with tiny little brains, huge egos, and monstrous chips on their shoulders.  And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

6.  The Counting Crows concert rocked.  It was one of the best concerts I've ever been to (the others being DCTalk's Supernatural tour in Ames, Sixpence at a church in Waterloo after their self-titled was released (nice, intimate setting), and Burlap to Cashmere in the Gallery tent at Cornerstone).  If anyone (Kaly) would like the setlist, let me know and I will post it (19 songs--not bad).  The opening act of Dishwalla ("Counting Blue Cars" aka "Tell me all your thoughts on God...") was also very impressive (Josh liked them better, actually).  I was very happy to learn that a new song I've heard on the radio recently ("Somewhere in the Middle") that I liked but could never find out who sang it, well, guess who sings it (yeah, okay, not the greatest sentence in the world).  They also did an awesome cover of "Tainted Love," right down to the segway into the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go."  And, it's nice to hear a live band whose lead singer can actually sing.  On pitch, even.  VERDICT (and this is being quite critical)--Dishwalla: B.  CC: A-.

7.  It is hot.  85 degrees, to be exact.  Excuse me, I have to go check the date and confirm that tomorrow is, in fact, October.

8.  We have recently talked of visiting the Virginia Prinses for Thanksgiving.  We have talked of driving there.  Beth-Annie would like to drive there.  Driving there is fun, no matter where "there" happens to be.  Beth-Annie is a sick individual.

9.  The block of television last night consisting of "Alias" and "The Practice" was hands down the best two hours of dramatic television I have seen in a long time.  If you missed it I sincerely hope it wasn't because you were watching Mission: Impossible 2.  You'd better have been reading to your kids or instigating peace in the Middle East.

10.  Iowa State effectively clobbered Nebraska in football on Saturday.  As in, 36-14.  As in, the LEAST we ever led by was 3.  As in, the only time we've beat them worse was in 1899.  As in, we knocked them out of the Top 25 for the first time since 1981.  As in, oh, I could go on and on.  And on.  And on.  [Big grinning face]

11.  I do not use too many parentheses.  Do not refer to point #6 to illustrate this.

12.  Bruschetta is my favorite appetizer.  It is way yummy.  Best I've ever had is at Steps of Rome in San Francisco.  Go there.  Now.  Scoot.
5:35 PM    ||    I want to be a comment. Post me!

Monday, September 23, 2002
Ack! She's Blogging Again!
Yes, it's true. I must apologize. Between Big Brother and church activities starting up again, and Big Brother, and Josh's parents visiting, and Big Brother (okay, so it should be "among"), I haven't had a whole lot of time (or desire, for that matter) for cetain other extra-curriculars, i.e. blogging. Thus I am still terribly behind on my blog, everyone else's blogs, messageboards, etc. Come Thursday all will be relatively normal again. But for now I have to get a few thoughts out.
--My new favorite song is the closing credits score from Moulin Rouge (Bolero, it is apparently called). If you have not heard this you must. It is one of the most fabulous instrumental pieces I have ever heard. Anyone who would like to hear it, let me know and I can arrange something. :)

--This week is going to be crazy with a million and a half season premieres. In case anyone is interested, here are those I am most psyched about (whether they are this week or not): Gilmore Girls, Ed, Smallville, Alias, Friends, The Amazing Race, Survivor. Ones I am less psyched about but still watch: Judging Amy, 7th Heaven, Frasier, 24. And, finally, new series I am giving a shot: Life With Bonnie, Everwood, Push Nevada, Monk. I love TV.

--In exactly 48 hours [edited to now say about negative 5 days] I will be at my first-ever Counting Crows concert. Wow. To give you an idea of the magnitude of this, for me it's pretty much equated with seeing Steve Taylor in concert. (This from someone who has never had the good fortune to see Mr. Taylor perform.) Big deal. Very big deal.

--Okay, you all knew it was coming. The finale of "Big Brother" is Wednesday night. During the concert, unfortunately. Which means I will find out the winner later than even the stupid west-coasters! Argh. This all will mean nothing to most of you who read this, but that's just too bad for you. :) I have been very opinionated about BB this year, and I must speak my mind:

When it got down to the final three, Lisa, Jason, and Danielle, I got this horrible sinking feeling that my J and D would not both make the final two. I then watched as event after event unfolded that seemed to come closer and closer to sealing that deal. It all culminated Saturday night in Jason, easily the most impressive, moral, truly-a-good-person reality show contestant I have ever seen, being evicted by Lisa. I cried. Lisa cried. Danielle cried. Dare I say, America cried. And as well they should have. (I am actually not kidding here--I cried over a reality show.) I have never felt so strongly about the outcome of a show like this. Jason deserved to be there at the end with his alliance partner from the very beginning, Danielle. Watching the two of them secretly work together throughout the entire course of the show (and if you know anything about reality shows, you know alliances NEVER last the entire game) was truly a beautiful thing. They actually looked out for each other sometimes to their own potential detriment. Folks, that just don't happen. Their unwavering devotion to each other was nothing less than amazing, not to mention unprecedented.

But, alas, it wasn't meant to be. Jason blew the final competition and got his butt kicked to the curb by Lisa. Now the "jury" of ten evicted houseguests will vote on which of the two remaining will win half a million dollars. So now comes the second thing I am absolutely adamant about: Danielle should win. Danielle deserves to win. If you haven't watched the show you have no idea how much in the minority I am in that statement. She has done things in the game that were not pretty. Lots of them, actually. And she doesn't deny it. Her only downfall in my opinion was when she took things outside the game and made some hurtful statements about some of her fellow players behind their backs. Why she did this I'm not sure. I have seen her exhibit so many good qualities that I know she is a warm, loving, compassionate person; I would never root for her if I thought she wasn't. The best I can figure is a combination of the following: (1) cabin fever (in an extreme environment and situation, no less), (2) a sort of villification of others to ease the voting out of people she would otherwise like, and (3) just a magnification of that basic trait most of us for some reason have to gossip or say not-always-nice things about others when they aren't around. In other words, just being human and having human faults. Not that I am excusing it. But she also was far from the only one in the house doing it. She just stuck around longer than most of the others so we all heard it more.

Now, as far as the GAME goes. She played it fiercely and sometimes dirty. But the fact remains that it is essentially just a very long, drawn out game show. That's all. It is not real life. She should win simply because she was a master at playing the game. She manipulated and lied (once again, in the context of the GAME--much like in a card game like poker) and she did so BRILLIANTLY. She got others to do her bidding while somehow managing to conceal the fact that she and Jason were the real power behind many of the important moves. She stayed true to her one real alliance and chose not to stab Jason in the back even though it greatly diminished her chances of winning the game as a whole. Her brilliance in strategy and loyalty to her one true ally are what should win her the game. Will they? Probably not. I am a very emotional person, but even I see that the winner of this game should be based on who played it the best, not who hurt your feelings the least. I like Lisa fine, but it will be wrong if she, who coasted through seemingly half-asleep until a couple of weeks ago, wins over someone who has been working her strategy and playing hard since day one--simply because people see Lisa as "nice." Give me a break. I don't agree with everything Danielle did, but there's no way Lisa deserves the game over Dani. NO WAY.

I can only hope the jury use their heads and are big enough to admit who really outplayed them.
8:45 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me!

Wednesday, September 11, 2002
I guess I also feel some need to address this particular date, so I will just say this:
Exactly one year ago I spent all day glued to the tv and watched EVERYTHING live as it happened. That first night lying in bed I was so upset I felt like throwing up and I cried off and on over the next few days. Since then I have tried to avoid thinking about it as much as possible. One year later it all doesn't upset me nearly as much as it did at first (time heals, as usual), but I don't particularly care to remember, either. I'm sure I would feel differently had I been closer to the events or had some sort of personal connection to anyone, etc. But all this "We Remember" stuff is not for me. I typically have the television on most of the day when I'm home alone just for company. But today it has remained off and will remain off because I don't want to be bombarded by the special programs, presidential addresses, and even commercials that are simply EVERYWHERE. When a radio station starts talking about it, I change to a different one. I understand in a way, but it's not something I care to dwell on. I just can't wait for it to be September 12. Or, better yet, next week.
4:02 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me!

Josh's Sleeptalking, Installment One.
"You can use any one you want on this one, unlike the other one where you couldn't do that. Like plus four."
3:36 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me!

Thursday, September 05, 2002
And Happy Birthday, Mom, even though you don't read this. :)
5:18 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me!

Oh, and has anyone happened to listen to the new Sixpence song? Thoughts?
3:09 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me!

I am so behind.
I have not read Matthew's blog since Friday, and it is always a daily thing.  I have not read the bannerbored since Friday, and it is always a daily thing.  I have not posted to my own blog until now, and it is usually a daily-type thing.  I have not updated our movie page with the ten or so films we've seen since the middle of July, and it is, well, a thing.  There are several reasons for all of this, but suffice it to say we were gone all three days of the holiday weekend and since then I have been busy with other things.  I know, I am a horrible person.  But it is all coming, I assure you.  Stay tuned.  Ish.
3:08 PM    ||    I want to be a comment. Post me!