OT: Lazy, Dog-Dangling Monday Open Thread

1.) Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit, World War Z

2.) Talking to the wrong guy… 5 years ago I was totally into the music scene and could have answered this much better. Now at 30 I’ve decided that all new music sucks and I don’t even care to find new albums; I could get by on a steady diet of old Beatles and Pixies albums if I needed to. I think the only album I’ve bought that was released this year was the She & Him Christmas album, and that was mostly because of my pseudo-obsession with Zooey Deschanel. /rant

3. I wait for something to inspire me into one night’s online spending spree. Otherwise I just go whenever my wife tells me to. She started that a month or so ago.

4. “Am I drunk? Affirmative…” This was left as part of a voicemail after my friend and I dressed up in black clothes and went firewood raiding on one particularly cold Iowa night. At some point I must have decided that it would have felt more official and mission-oriented if I was detailing what we were doing to someone walkie-talkie style, so I settled for a drunk dial with my cell phone. Anyway, that drunk dial was pretty quotable on the Colorado University campus for awhile from what I understand. I still hear about it.

5. I’d go back to being about 6, and live it all over again. I’d like to experience life again where sleepovers were a huge deal, and bad grades were life’s biggest stressor.

What holiday song do you hate the most this year?

I’ve always hated Feliz Navidad… Christmas Shoes makes me irrationally angry. And then there’s this one atrocity local to Iowa called Christmas in Iowa that I couldn’t be happier I no longer have to hear… But this year, any rendition of Santa Baby makes me want to burn down whatever store I’m in when I hear it.

1) What movie(s) are you looking forward to seeing in 2012?

Dark Knight.

2) What was your favorite album of 2011? Is the type of music you listen to now the same or different than it was ten years ago? fifteen? twenty?

I’m not much up with anything “new”. I suppose I spent a lot of time listening to an older album – Lost Souls by Doves (thank you RR for introducing me).

Ten years ago, I was a ninth grader who listened to a lot of angsty alternative metal type stuff like Staind and Linkin Park, though I was starting to broaden my horizons. Fifteen years ago, I was a fourth grader who was in a country music phase.

3) How do you go about your holiday shopping? All-at-once weekend frenzy, here and there for a few weeks, or dispersed over the previous year?

I usually do it all at once, a few days before Christmas. I’m actually almost done this year.

4) A great man was once quoted as saying something important. What would you be quoted for?

In high school AP government, we ran presidential campaigns. I was one of the leading candidates in the class, and somebody in my class ran smear campaigns against everyone with Photoshopped photos (i.e. they took a picture of me and Photoshopped it into a picture of a guy at a KKK rally, and took a picture of someone else in the class and Photoshopped it into someone being arrested for drunk driving). They then put up their posters with their names and wrote “I’d hit that”. To get back at them, I explained to the teacher (an older lady) exactly what “I’d hit that” means, and it got removed. People still remember that.

5) If you had a paradox-free time machine, but you knew that you could only use it once for a one-way trip, when would you go, where would you go, what would you do, why?

I don’t really feel like undoing a lot of things. I’d probably go back to dinner an hour ago and enjoy it again.

Bonus question: Can’t stand Feliz Navidad or Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer. I love traditional Christmas carols.

1. GI Joe 2? Men In Black 3? Resident Evil 5? Seriously?

Boxing : MMA
as
Movies : TV

There is literally nothing that comes out that I’m excited to go see, except for maybe any new Pixar movie with my kids. TV is in a golden age right now. I will be looking forward to more Breaking Bad, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, and my new super favorite Shark Tank. I am also filtering back through some other stuff like Deadwood and other driftwood I missed along the way.

2. My answer is about the same as Tracer Bullet’s. I looked at several best of lists for 2011 and found some stuff to check out (where is andrewmiller’s yearly column?), but nothing I’d listened to yet. I hear the new Blue October is very odd. I liked the Young the Giant album. I am a hardcore music fan, but with the little time I have now with college and married life and kids, I have to sift thru a lot of crap. The music scene is so fractured right now. A great song here and a great song there, but most seems to be rehash lately. I know there is a paradox and music probably is even better because of quantity, but I must just be getting old.

I went thru my phases as noted in the Super Mega RRCCA, but now I have such a huge range of music. I like GOOD music. It ranges from N.W.A. to Johnny Cash to Johnny Denver to Explosions in the Sky to Miles Davis to whatever is good. Only genre I don’t listen to is gospel.

3. I scavenge thru the year for deals…ebay about 2 weeks before to get it shipped in time…then do some last minute stuff around town.

4. This is a tuff one. I normally just steal from everyone else. I stick by a personal motto: “Objectivity is everything.” or something like that. Mainly for fantasy sports and sports betting. I like this creation which probably isn’t orignal: “When life gives you lemons, make a batch of spiked lemonade.” Maybe it sounds better as: “When life gives you lemons, drink alcohol.”

1. I really want the Sherlock Holmes movie to be good, but havent heard great reviews so far. Not too thrilled about the rest of the lot.

2. I liked Nine Seconds of Light by TV on the Radio, Future Weather by The War On Drugs, and The Rip Tide by Beirut.

3. Got 3.5 out of 6 gifts so far. Probably gonna finish the shopping when I go back to the midwest to get better deals than here in NYC.

4. “Indiana Soccer-ing” – I once asserted that Indiana had a terrible men’s soccer program, and a friend called bullshit on me. Turns out they are one of the best programs in the country and have been for decades. And I still get shit whenever I make similar bold assertions amongst those friends.

5. Practically speaking, I don’t think I could go anytime far from now…it would be too big of a culture shock. However, I could probably enjoy going back 5-10 years or something and using all that inside information to make a killing and do good (like putting my life savings on the Cardinals to win the World Series when they had 100-1 odds this season, telling GMDM to draft Kershaw instead of Hochevar, preventing 9-11, etc).

Christmas carols: I love “Carol of the Bells”, and hate “12 Days of Christmas”.

1. “Dark Knight Rises”, “Three Mississippi”, “The Avengers”, “The Woman In Black”. Couple others look interesting and I’m sure there are some I haven’t heard about, but that is my small list so far.

2. The Roots “undun”. Only music I bought this year, and it was two weeks ago. On this date in 2001, I saw the Roots at the 9:30 Club in D.C., so I guess my tastes haven’t changed much.

3. I don’t buy gifts. Gift giving is a scam foisted upon us, I don’t participate in the madness.

4. Seems a bit much to assume I’ll decide what words of mine others should deem important.

5. Wouldn’t do it, keep on trucking.

1. Nothing that I’m aware of. Maybe TinTin with my daughter. War Horse by the devil incarnate. I’m a huge movie fan, but with a 10 year old, I’m not hepped to the good stuff until well after the fact.

2. Grinderman II, Tom Waits Bad as Me, Kurt Vile, PJ Harvey, etc…been thru many phases. Circled back to stuff I used to thing was cheezy, and vice versa. Waits and Nick Cave still hold up. The The and Red Hot Chili Peppers not so much. Been listening to a lot of jazz lately, which is new. Don’t have the passion or energy to pursue the alt/indie scene like I did when younger. Don’t get that same buzz by discovering a new band. Maybe a new to me jazz record gives me a bit of that old thrill.

3. Halfway home. On-line blowout supplemented by a one night consumerist orgy, whereby my lovely wife and I will traverse the town, hitting up big box stores to fill in the margins.

4. A) Blessed are the flexible, for they don’t get bent out of shape (obviously stolen from someone or somewhere, but I like it).
B) My religion permits me from gambling, games of chance, estimating, rounding up, adding OR subtracting fractions, looking more than 2 months ahead on a calendar, diagramming sentences, or dating anyone who uses tampons.

C) Anyone can be a “people person” when they are dealing with individuals they like. How you treat dickheads is a true mark of your character.

5) I fantasize about going back to the 40s or 50s….for the music, the writing, the horse racing, etc…makes me sound like a vapid shallow fuck considering the fascinating civl rights, cultural, and world changes that took place during that era as well. But yeah, send me back to 1946 and I’d be good.

1) What movie(s) are you looking forward to seeing in 2012?
In no particular order: The Dark Knight Rises, The Expendables 2, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, John Carter, Casa de Mi Padre, Norwegian Wood, Safe, The Raven, Argo, the two Malick films that are in varying stages of production and post-, Gangster Squad, Only God Forgives, Gravity, Cogan’s Trade, The Five-Year Engagement, This is 40, Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, Stolen, The Frozen Ground, Seeking Justice
Stuff I haven’t seen yet that’s about to be released (or the few things that have been that I haven’t seen yet): Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (with the caveat that I didn’t particularly like the book or the Swedish film, but think Fincher and Zaillian can cull a good movie out of it), The Artist, The Sitter
I’m morbidly curious about The Great Gatsby as well

2) What was your favorite album of 2011? Is the type of music you listen to now the same or different than it was ten years ago? fifteen? twenty?
Bon Iver Bon Iver, Bon Iver, Grinderman II, Waits’s Bad As Me, Kurt Vile Smoke Ring for My Halo, Hayes Carll’s KMAG YOYO, Destroyer Kaputt, Bill Callahan Apocalypse, Megafaun s/t, Explosions in the Sky Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, Radiohead The King of Limbs, Wilco The Whole Love. If I had to pick one, it would be from the narrowed list of Carll, Bon Iver, Waits, and Destroyer. I might go with Destroyer.

I listen to a lot more country now (not that Nashville machine bullshit, though). I listen to much less music that is heavy on hooks. I definitely have a harder time finding new music by newer bands that I give a shit about.

20 years ago I was 12 and listening to very little that I listen to now. By 17, there were quite a few similarities, although I was keeping much more current on music, perhaps to a fault. At 22, it was much more similar to what I listen to now, although there were certainly more leanings toward music with a slightly poppier sensibility than I do now. I would say that on the whole I listen to slightly more masculine music, but only by degrees. Oh, and the aforementioned shift into the realms of country. The tent has gotten larger as I became less and less self-serious.

3) How do you go about your holiday shopping? All-at-once weekend frenzy, here and there for a few weeks, or dispersed over the previous year?
All-at-once frenzy for the most part.

4) A great man was once quoted as saying something important. What would you be quoted for?
I’m definitely not a great man, so I likely won’t be quoted for anything. If I were, it would probably be something along the lines of:

Real men don’t wear sandals.

5) If you had a paradox-free time machine, but you knew that you could only use it once for a one-way trip, when would you go, where would you go, what would you do, why?
1952 to carry out my life’s two missions, one being top secret, the other being getting with Grace Kelly
—OMD

1. Batman?

2. Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math… Not really into genre’s, good music is good music.

3 I only have to buy for 2 people.

4) Nothing.

5) I don’t know… I doubt my lone voice would have changed anything… I’d probably have just wont up being in a loony bin, then examined when prophecies came true.

1) What movie(s) are you looking forward to seeing in 2012?
Battleship, Total Recall, World War Z, Expendables 2. One alien invasion movie, one sci-fi remake, once zombie movie, and one ensemble action flick sequel. Because Hollywood gives me no other choice. There will probably be better films I may actually see in 2012, this is just from browsing through a list of upcoming releases.

2) What was your favorite album of 2011? Is the type of music you listen to now the same or different than it was ten years ago? fifteen? twenty?

Foo Fighters Wasting Light. The Decemberists The King is Dead Adele 21

3) How do you go about your holiday shopping? As much as possible is done online on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. We knock out the rest ASAP after that.

4) What would you be quoted for? Not original to me, but I place “I’ve worked in the private sector, they expect results” well as a federal employee.

5) If you had a paradox-free time machine, but you knew that you could only use it once for a one-way trip, when would you go, where would you go, what would you do, why? I would do nothing, because I need to learn to live with missed opportunities in the past and turn focus on what I can control moving forward.

1) What movie(s) are you looking forward to seeing in 2012?

What ever is on the library shelf

2) What was your favorite album of 2011? Is the type of music you listen to now the same or different than it was ten years ago? fifteen? twenty?

None. Not one album I bought or downloaded in 2011 was produced in 2011. I just don’t listen as much. I kind of just stay with stuff I liked in the past because I don’t have time to sit around listening for new stuff I may like.

3) How do you go about your holiday shopping? All-at-once weekend frenzy, here and there for a few weeks, or dispersed over the previous year?

Slowly. I have just picked stuff up when heading to the store for normal TP or diaper runs. I did go on black friday to get a new camera that was $250 but on sale for $100.

4) A great man was once quoted as saying something important. What would you be quoted for?

“$hit Christ _uck” It is the default words out of my mouth when something goes really bad. Picked it up sometime while in the Navy.

5) If you had a paradox-free time machine, but you knew that you could only use it once for a one-way trip, when would you go, where would you go, what would you do, why?

I would go back and spend a day with my dad talking. I was only 22 when he died and there is a ton of questions I would have like to ask him.

1. Dark Knight, Great Gatsby, The Dictator

2. Not a huge music guy. Liked Black Keys “El Camino”, Bon Iver “Bon Iver” and Beastie Boys “Hot Sauce Committee”

3. Usually a last minute guy, but this year I got all my shopping done the first weekend after Thanksgiving.

4. “Damn, those were so good tacos.”

5. I’m too scared to alter the time-space continuum and end up changing my present to a world where we are all half-man, half-dinosaur beings, the sky rains donuts, and the Royals sign Nick Punto to a crippling contract.

1. The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy definitely seems like it would be up my alley.

2. I’m surely not as cool as most of the more knowledgeable music critics on RR, but I have really enjoyed “Odd Soul” by MuteMath.

3. I don’t have a huge extended family, and no kids yet, so it’s not very tough for me. My wife has actually handled most of the shopping, and I’ve got hers wrapped and under the tree, so I’m good.

4. “Oh, yeah, it’ll work out…” To me, one of the most annoying/ridiculous sayings that other people use is some variant of “Don’t worry, things will work out”. I know people are usually just trying to be nice when they say this, to give you some comfort during a stressful time, etc., but to me, it’s just inane bullshit. Of course “things will work out” in that there will eventually be some sort of conclusion. It may not be the best conclusion for you, or even a good one, but yeah, they’ll definitely work themselves out. I don’t think anyone that really expects that the space-time continuum will suddenly grind to a halt, and things will never, in fact, work themselves out. I guess the part that annoys me the most is the sense that you just have to give up control of situations affecting your life because it’s all just fate, God’s will, etc., and just accept the outcome. I also think people who say that naively assume that if you just work really hard, you’ll have success and everything will be fine no matter what. So, anyway, whenever someone says something like that to me, I just respond with “Yeah, I know they’ll work out. The question is whether the things are going to work out in a positive way and whether I’ve done everything I can reasonably do to make that positive outcome happen.”

5. I guess I’d go back to when I was 12 or so and tell my dad to get his leg pain checked out ASAP. Maybe then they could have saved his leg and ultimately his life from the cancer that took him two years later. I’d also like to relive my high school/college-prep years to see how the last 16 years of my life would have gone if I had chosen a different college path or major.

1) What movie(s) are you looking forward to seeing in 2012? The two Terrence Malick movies, though I don’t really expect either to see the light of day until late 2012, [The Hobbit, Prometheus, The Dark Knight Rises (stupid title notwithstanding) — Though I’m constantly let down by these fanboy movies; movies for male children aged 21 – 40]

2) What was your favorite album of 2011? Is the type of music you listen to now the same or different than it was ten years ago? fifteen? twenty? Stephen Malkmus, Radiohead, Crooked Fingers….that’s about it.

3) How do you go about your holiday shopping? All-at-once weekend frenzy, here and there for a few weeks, or dispersed over the previous year? All at once.

4) A great man was once quoted as saying something important. What would you be quoted for? This question has at once depressed me and made me rethink my life.

5) If you had a paradox-free time machine, but you knew that you could only use it once for a one-way trip, when would you go, where would you go, what would you do, why? I’d go back in time, to 1938, and go up to Hitler, and give him a massive zerbert.