I went to Thief River Falls over the weekend to witness my awesome sister play a fifty page work by Tchaikovsky from memory on the piano. however, I came away from my trip with more than just a renewed appreciation for baroque-era classical pieces:

1) TRF is very similar in civic structure to the fictional Tree Hill, NC. there is an extreme high-end upscale contigent, represented in part by the recital I went to in which one of the pianists has already cut a CD and been commissioned to write a play, and a Lucas Scott-inspired 'wrong side of the tracks' that is littered with dirty dirty industry and crappy pressboard houses. of course, as with any rural Midwest town, the epitome of trashiness can be found at the Pamida. I can say, without question, that the Thief River Pamida is the dirtiest, most run-down, and least organized store I have ever seen. I'm pretty sure I caught herpes while in the health section, which lacks an operating pharmacy but curiously has not been retooled to reflect that.

2) 90 minutes of listening to piano is not quite as fun as it sounds. the Knuttila Studio, which staged the recital, is run by a woman who is unfailingly nice but also clearly nuts. she has a quirk when speaking to a gathering of people in which she refers to everyone as 'audience' repeatedly. as in, 'Audience, this is the first blah blah...' forcing me to supress the urge to loudly respond 'That's great, performer.' I fucking hate when people do things like that. if you can't address someone by name, you shouldn't address them directly at all, because it just sounds like you're trying to assert a higher standing over another person. it's like at work; one of my responsibilities is to perform stock checks. almost without exception, the sales staff will get on the horn and be like 'hey warehouse, blah blah blah...' and I reply by calling them 'sales'. doesn't seem to faze them though. once a while, I'll get this exchange:

caller: warehouse?
me: sales?
caller: I'm not sales, I'm MANAGEMENT.

whoops! my mistake, Princess.

3) Twins stadium deal is close to going through. FINALLY. after all that hoopla with the tax committee, the ballpark bill passed through the last House committee last night on its way to the main House and Senate floor and, hopefully, to construction later this year. I really do hope this all happens.

4) about 12-14 years ago, my grandparents went to DC and Virginia on vacation, and on their return gave me a souvenir copy of the Declaration of Independence and a map detailing the Battle of Gettysburg. they were muy cool because they had that fake antique parchment feel to them. also, for the past three months or so, I've been doing an energy drink about two hours before my shift at work ends so I don't crash. this is pretty much essential when constantly running on two hours' sleep. anyhoo, I usually get Mountain Dew Amp, but since they discontinued it in favor of MDX, I switched the more readily available Red Bull. so here's how these two events tie together: to achieve the antique parchment look, my souvenirs had to be soaked in a smelly acid concoction that still permeates those papers to this day. well, my Red Bull today tasted JUST LIKE HOW THEY SMELLED. quite disgusting, and I almost vomited. ahh, teh goodtimes.

that's all for now. later, CHUMPS!

now playing on iPod: Jimmy Eat World 'Sweetness'

Labels: bestof, personal, twins

as I usually do nightly before turning in, I checked out the Star Tribune tonight to see what's going on. and from all indications, the Twins stadium plan is go. over the past couple weeks, the ballpark saga has quickly developed, starting with a re-confirmation of the 2005 Hennepin County commissioners' vote and leading up to this week's two public hearings organized by the House Taxes Committee. Phil Krinkie, the unfortunately-named crank from Lino Lakes and opponent to any civic improvement spending in any form (ie: LRT and other mass transit), has opposed the Twins park from the beginning and just so happens to be the captain of the HTC ship, and thusly tried to stack the deck against the current bill by booking the pro-bill hearing in a small Capitol room during business hours and the anti-bill hearing in a huge middle-school gym deep in the suburbs on a weeknight. well, it didn't work out so well for him; the Capitol session was overwhelmingly positive and the Oak Grove hearing, split down the middle, ended in an affirmative vote to let the bill ride sans referendum. good news for the Twins, good news for the fans, and good news for non-fans who actually came around to supporting the idea. now, all that needs to be done is get the House floor and the state senators on board, which shouldn't be an issue according to majority leader Dean Johnson.

oh, and in other news, the new Mandy Moore movie is supposed to be fantastic. I think someone is due to see this with me. *coughelenacough*

now playing on iTunes: Marvin Gaye 'What's Goin' On'

Labels: internet, twins

so, the other day I sold my old iPod photo 40GB to finance the purchase of a spankin' new 60GB iPod with video (aptly named mandyPod with video). and yes, I know I crapped all over the idea of the videopod as recently as a few months ago. so I sold out... what of it? anyhoo, due to this upgrade in gadgetry, I started looking into videos to add to my music collection. and after downloading Podner and HandBrake I have a few movies, music videos, and Simpsons and South Park eipisodes on the pod. however, there is one thing missing: the video version of the Pat McGee Band's 'Must Have Been Love.'

if somehow someone could please convert this video into .mp4 format, or direct me to where I can find one, I'd be forever indebted to them.

now playing on iPod: Super Troopers

Labels: internet, ipod, mac, personal

jamcor247 (11:17:04 am): dude, look at this uncut card sheet. you have one, two.... eight Kyle Lohses.
underdawg_32 (11:17:12 am): awesome! one for every run he'll allow today
* not an actual AIM conversation, but formatted to look like one

sorry I jinxed you, pal.

now playing on iTunes: Kevin Bowe 'Sweeter World'

Labels: aim, internet, personal, twins

this is no April Fool's joke. from Monica's profile:



we get it, you have a huge ass. now, time to prove you have other redeeming qualities.

now playing on iTunes: Stephen Kellogg 'My Sweet Charade'

Labels: web2.0