What I'm Working On These Days:

-I'm working on an expose about the British fascination with cat news. Everyday I read the BBC web page, and about 90% of the time there is an article about something cat-related, from the King's Cross Tube Station's "Chief Mouser" to "Pussywillow, the UK's oldest cat (at 26!)."
Of course, my research hit a snag today when I couldn't find any suitable articles before getting bored reading about limey affairs.

-Recovering from my returning-espresso-machine-and-almost-not-getting-a-replacement endeavor. The old one started to shoot water out the bottom after exactly 15 uses. Strangely enough, the new one makes far more (and hotter) espresso, and the coffee carafe doesn't spill all over me when I pour from it. Unexpected benefits, for sure.

-Reminiscing about listening to DEVO's Girl U Want with Grant, since it's on the radio at the moment: "She sends an aroma all over my nuts/ Drips on down like a mist to my balls..."
Until just now (when I looked them up) I thought those were the actual words. Apparently, according to dubious web sources, they aren't. Allegedly, it actually goes: "she sends out an aroma of undefined love/it drips on down in a mist from above..." I refuse to believe this, since it robs most of my subversive enjoyment from the song. I'm sure Grant will be disappointed as well.
Also, I've been kinda obsessed with King Crimson's The Great Deceiver, which relates to the above because it's one of the first songs on Consolidated's landmark skate video "Number One," which I spent countless hours watching with Grant- that video was my first exposure to King Crimson, and more importantly, Black Sabbath. I know for sure that my favorite line from the song is "Cigarettes and Ice-Cream..."

-More music nostalgia: The Song Remains The Same and Nirvana Unplugged just came out on DVD. TSRTS was the first music movie I ever remember watching- my first video rental from Video Palace in Paso. I remember being captivated by glances of Jimmy Page's Orange Amplifier, and deciding after watching the live performances that Jimmy Page was too good for me to even bother learning his guitar parts. I don't think I ever bothered trying to play a Led Zeppelin song (besides Stairway To Heaven, very unsuccessfully, in like 8th grade) until about 2004.
Unplugged, on the other hand, had kind of the opposite effect (well, more truthfully, the CD did-. I was too punk to watch MTV, so I don't think I actually saw the TV show until 5 or so years ago). I probably wouldn't have learned to play Bowie or Lead Belly songs without that record. Oooooh, such a critical landmark! Such barrier-breaking! I, for the record, did own Nirvana's "first album," so I did know About A Girl, thank you very much, Kurt.