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

Monday, February 27, 2006
This will be the last curling post for a while.  Maybe.
So while everyone's been obsessed with Olympic curling -- and rightly so -- the day after that ended (congrats to the men's team for winning the first U.S. Olympic curling medal ever with their bronze) we attended the U.S. National Championships on Saturday in Superior, WI.  If you don't know where Superior is, and you probably don't, it's pretty much right where you'd think it is, on the tip of Lake Superior just across the river from Duluth, MN -- just about the northernmost point in the state of Wisconsin.  We drove most of the way up there Friday night, as it was about a 6-hour drive and the semi-final games started at 9am on Saturday.  Neither of us had ever been quite that far north before, and the country was awfully beautiful:  kind of like being in the mountains, but without the mountains.  Very snowy, also.  We only actually drove through a little bit of it Friday night, but as we drove farther north the next morning, it was evident that quite a bit had fallen the night before, with even the four-lane limited-access highway we were driving on being partially snow-covered.  It certainly made for a lovely landscape, though.

We had no idea what to expect out of this, as we'd never attended any curling in person before, but we knew it was likely to be pretty small and informal since the city's not very big to begin with and admission was free.  And small it was.  There were four sheets of ice all right next to each other (with no bumpers or walkways between like the Olympic venue), and the ice itself was in a completely different room than the viewing area, which looked on through giant windows.  The seating was limited, with two sets of three-row bleachers set up behind the windows and a single television monitor above each sheet of ice that showed the overhead view of the far house for when they were throwing in that direction.  Because of the setup, there were really no great seats (if you sat in the front row, you could see the near house better, but had to lean back and seriously crane your neck to see the monitor, and if you sat further back you could see the monitor fine but couldn't see as much actually on the ice in front of you), but you don't look a free curling bonspiel in the mouth.  Behind the bleachers they also had a sort of dining/lounge area with tables and chairs, which are normally there for regular socializing and such at the club, and they sold omelets, fruit and muffins for breakfast and brats and soup for lunch.  We took advantage of both.

As for the actual curling, the semis consisted of two women's and two men's games all going on simultaneously, one of which was actually conceded after only FIVE ends when the Wisconsin women went up 13-3 on Maine.  Like, wow.  During the two-hour break between the semis and the finals, we drove to Duluth (just because), saw the Home Depot that John Schuster of the U.S. men's Olympic team works at, and went to Target and Goodwill.  I'm blowing your mind, I know.  Both the men's and women's finals were Wisconsin vs. Minnesota, and both were very good, close games, going into the 10th and final end tied and literally coming down to the last stone to determine the winner.  Both the morning and afternoon sessions were more heavily attended than I expected, though "heavily attended" in such a small space still doesn't mean that many people (I would estimate, but I'm no good at that stuff... Josh might have a better idea).  The finals felt more crowded, but that might be due to the fact that the four teams that lost in the semis were now among the crowd watching, as were several obviously junior curlers (as evidenced by their curling jackets with their state and last name embroidered on the back) who I hadn't noticed in the morning.

So Minnesota won in men's and Wisconsin (from the Madison area, specifically) won in women's, so yay.  It was a very interesting experience.  I'd like to do it sometime in a more arena-style venue, but I'm not sure whether those exist in this country.  Bemidji if anywhere.  Which is where the U.S. Team Trials for the World Championships are being held next week.  Hey, it's only about a 10-hour drive...

Also, fondue is awesome.
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Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Confession time.
"Hello.  My name is Beth-Annie, and I'm an Olympics junkie."

It's true.  It happens every two years, without fail.  It doesn't matter if it's summer or winter, or what specific sport it is, track, equestrian, snowboarding, speedskating -- I'll watch it all.  I can somehow get sucked into anything, even if it's something I would normally never watch (see snowboarding).  It's all just... mesmerizing somehow.  So, needless to say, I've been watching a ridiculous amount of coverage since Saturday, and watching (while dubbing to VHS for Matthew, FHI) an even more ridiculous amount of curling coverage.  Because you can never watch enough curling.  To prove that point, after all the Olympic curling, next weekend we're driving all the way up to Superior, WI to go to the U.S. Curling National Championships, which will be the first time we've ever gotten to see the sport in person.  Although by going to that, guess what we'll be missing -- AGAIN, like we always seem to:  yup, the Madison Curling Club's open house, which they only seem to have a couple of times a year.  Typical.
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Friday, February 10, 2006
What a fun, sexy time for us.
Ladies and gentlemen, we gather together today to bid a more-than-fond farewell to the greatest show on television:  "Arrested Development."  A moment of silence, please...

Okay, so I know that there's a 13-episode offer out from ABC, and one for two 12-episode seasons from Showtime, but all of that means nothing (well, except for perhaps giving me a smidge more faith in the American television system) if creator Mitch Hurwitz doesn't want to continue the show -- which, last rumored, was much more likely than not [insert sobbing here].  I can at least partially understand such a feeling, especially with how shabbily the show's been treated by FOX, but it's such a rare opportunity for a show to get a second chance like this that it would be a real shame to just turn your back on that chance, breaking the hearts of millions of people in the process.  It may sound silly, but it's true.

So I've resigned myself to the fact that this is probably the end (please, no), and so tonight Josh and I will break out the cornballer and hunker down to watch the final (please, please, no) two hours of brilliance.  And I will cry, both from the hilarity and the sad.  Oh, the sad...

So it seems an appropriate day to post my favorite AD cast photo, and a mock-up I got a kick out of.

Bye-bye.

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Monday, February 06, 2006
2005 is so  last year.  (part two)
Heretofore known as the music part.  Same caveats apply -- but at least this time, there's really  no TV.  In addition, I was a little lax with a few of the dates... especially when you're dealing with individual songs, it seems unfair to judge by the entire album's release date, as singles often are not released or have their main impact in the same year (not that I deal in "singles" much, but it's sort of the same idea), there can be different release dates for different countries, etc.  Anyway, whenever something wasn't technically from 2005, I'll specify, though it doesn't matter much.  Also, there is once again a self-imposed limit of one song per album.  Because I know me and it's necessary.

Five Bestest Albums:
1.  SUPERGRASS, ROAD TO ROUEN - Having never heard Supergrass before (though they've been around for years), this album completely blew me away.  Managing a cohesive sound yet an eclecticism within that style, this album is full of accessible-yet-interesting tunes -- ones that feel like they actually belong on an album together instead of just being randomly thrown together -- and is the best album no one heard this year.  My only gripe?  At nine tracks it's just too short.
2.  DOVES, SOME CITIES - Right up there with their last album, The Last Broadcast, which is high praise indeed.  A bit cheerier perhaps than their previous efforts, but it absolutely agrees with them.  "Someday Soon" may be my favorite song of the entire year (or it would be if Supergrass' "St. Petersburg" hadn't come along -- see below).
3.  THE ARCADE FIRE, FUNERAL (technically from fall 2004, but do I care?) - Rarely have strings, piano, and strong beats (as well as a few more oddball instruments and vocal arrangements) combined to make such a catchy-yet-still... indie-sounding (for lack of a better term) record.  Despite being French-Canadian, they sound unequivocally British, which for my taste is a very good thing (see #1 and #2 albums :-P).
4.  EMERY, THE QUESTION - Emery's last album, The Weak's End, was an impressive debut offering, one that I came to like a great deal despite the "screamo" style of much of it.  Their sophomore release manages to improve on an already-great formula and shows a real maturing in songwriting and arranging (that was already far more mature than their peers).  If each successive album continues this trend, there's some frighteningly good music coming our way.  I can't wait.
5.  EISLEY, ROOM NOISES - To be perfectly honest, Eisley's lyrics reflect the members' young ages a bit too much for me, often containing sugary-sweet and naively fantastical images.  So it's a testament to the beautiful vocal harmonies and catchy melodies that this album ends up on this list regardless.

Eleven Bestest Songs:
1.  "St. Petersburg," Supergrass
2.  "Someday Soon," Doves
3.  "Softness, Goodness," Starflyer 59
4.  "Rebellion (Lies)," The Arcade Fire
5.  "Winners and Losers," Social Distortion (2004)
6.  "Step Into My Office Baby," Belle & Sebastian
7.  "Miss Behavin'," Emery
8.  "How It Ends," DeVotchka (2004)
9.  "My Lovely," Eisley
10.  "Ashes," Embrace
11.  "Swagger," Calla

And One Extra-Special Treat:
Near the end of last year I also discovered a studio track called "Say That to My Face" that didn't make the cut on Guster's 2003 album, and I was shocked.  Not only is it inconceivable to me that it was left off the album (it had to be for reasons of album cohesion, not quality), I actually think it's one of the best Guster songs ever.  So now I share my joy in the track with all of you:  you can sample it if you like, or download the entire song (3.2MB) completely legally [explanation:  the band semi-released the song on one of their free-to-Guster-reps EPs they put out every couple years containing unreleased tracks, demos, live performances, etc., with the intent that those receiving the EPs share the music with other Guster fans for free -- it is never to be bought or sold, it's a gift from the band to the fans].  I would've put the song on this list, but I didn't figure I could make a 2003 never-officially-released song fit even my lax criteria.  But that doesn't make it any less awesome.  :-)
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Thursday, February 02, 2006
2005 is so  last year.  (part one)
So here are my end-of-the-year (okay, maybe we'll call it second-month-of-the-new-year) listy thingies.  (And I've got a bit of a bug, including a slight fever, so I'm going to go easier on myself by splitting this post into two.)  For starters, there will be no very little TV here as I think I've covered that fairly well (ha) throughout the year.  I can only put the words Lost, Veronica, Mars, Arrested, and Development on here so many times before y'all start to riot.  Also, I'm not exactly a professional critic, so there are manymanymany things I haven't had the chance to experience yet, especially in the movie arena (for instance, I haven't seen Serenity  yet, but I'm thinking it would probably go on my list if I had).  And, finally, though I use the word "best" (or, knowing me, some nonexistent derivative of the word), these are really more my favorites.  Though in some cases it's pretty much the same thing.

Bestest Movies:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Batman Begins
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (no, I've never read the book)
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Broken Flowers
War of the Worlds (ignoring the too-sudden end)
Bride and Prejudice

Biggest Movie Disappointment:
Wedding Crashers, which was reviewed over and over as one of the best comedies of the year and felt flat and predictable when I finally saw it.

Biggest Television Surprise:
Finding out that "South Park" can actually be highly hilarious.  To me.  Who knew?  (Granted we've been watching mostly the syndicated run, so who knows how cleaned up the episodes are.)

Favorite Performances (and I used incredible restraint in choosing only one per, you know, those three shows I always talk about):
Jason Dohring as Logan Echolls on "Veronica Mars"
Hugh Laurie as Dr. House on "House"
Rachel McAdams in Red Eye
Chandra Wilson as Dr. Bailey on "Grey's Anatomy"
John Krasinski as Jim on "The Office"
The kid from Millions  in Millions
Ethan Suplee as Randy on "My Name Is Earl"
Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe on "24"
Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Michael Cera as George Michael on "Arrested Development"
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Mr. Eko on "Lost"
Gromit in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Best Random Exhibition of an Obscure Sport:
Disc golf on "Numbers" -- yes, really
Curling on "The Amazing Race"

Best Reason to Watch The Weather Channel Right Before Bed:
The loopiness that is Dave Schwartz.  Did he really just say, "Run for your lives!  It's cowboys on skis!"?  Yes.  Yes he did.

Worst Song.  Ever:
"My Humps" by the Black-Eyed Peas.  If you don't know what I'm talking about consider yourself lucky.
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