Far out, man

No more evidence needed. The people who listen to WFPK in Louisville are old hippies. I know because I am one. And because of this list.

We were asked to write in with our top 5 greatest albums of all time. The folks at the station would compile the votes and spend the week between Christmas and New Year's playing selections from the top 919 (because they are 91.9 on the FM dial) albums.

Here are the top 20. (Asterisks indicate my votes.)

1 Pink Floyd, Dark Side of The Moon*
2 Beatles, Revolver
3 Beatles, White Album*
4 The Clash, London Calling*
5 Miles Davis, Kind of Blue
6 Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited*
7 Beatles, Abbey Road
8 Van Morrison, Moondance
9 Beatles, Rubber Soul
10 U2, Joshua Tree
11 Joni Mitchell, Blue
12 Beatles, Sgt. Pepper
13 Radiohead, Ok Computer
14 Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks
15 Grateful Dead, American Beauty
16 Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street*
17 Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
18 Velvet Underground, Loaded
19 Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark
20 Paul Simon, Graceland

Do Be Do

After days and days of decorating and wrapping and cooking and entertaining and being entertained I ... just ... stopped.

I consider myself a "do -er" not a "be -er" most of the time. And now I know why. I'm not very good at just be -ing.

After a day or two of having nothing to do I can feel my brain starting to rot. Instead of reading, I watch trashy TV (did you know that HGTV has a show about Scrapbooking?). Instead of doing things around the house, I wander around the house (I threw some dishtowels in the washer and forgot about them for 2 days). Instead of doing anything productive online, I play online games (Bejewelled is the best!).

Then I decided that I should run some errands. You know, just to get out of the house. I am usually very efficient. But that's when I am in do -ing mode. Be -ing mode is entirely different.

I waited in line for 40 minutes to renew my license tags. I waited in line for 40 minutes to return/exchange a gift at Best Buy. The cat ran out of her special prescription food so I rushed over to the Vet ... and bought the wrong kind. Now I have to go back.

What about you? Are you a be -er or a do -er? Maybe we can give each other lessons.

The mania is over, it is now safe to leave your homes

I got a little manic Christmas weekend.

SATURDAY: Eight people showed up for the post Hanukkah latke-fest. I cooked seven pounds of potato latkes, or a little less than a pound of latke per person (except that Jack ate four pounds on his own).

SUNDAY: Lynn's Paradise Cafe is a terrific place for Christmas Eve brunch, especially when your friends order bourbon french toast AS AN APPETIZER and the bloody marys are world famous. I almost went to the mall afterwards to sit in the massage chair but came home and took a nap instead.

MONDAY: Presents, a movie with the children and chinese food for dinner.

My 2006 Travels

Following Kottke.org's lead of listing every place visited in 2006, here's my list.

One or more nights spent in each place. Those cities marked with an * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

New York City*
Gurneville, California
San Jose, California
Birmingham, Alabama
St. Louis, Missouri
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Las Vegas, Nevada

I'm not a bad tipper, I just can't do math in my head

I must confess. I stiffed a cabdriver when we were in New York.

I didn't realize it until we were out of the cab and Hannah said to me, "Mom, I can't believe you just did that. I'm so embarrassed I want to die."

The fare (quick run across the park) was $6.10. I gave the driver $10.25 and asked for $4 back. I'm so dumb. I meant to ask for $3 but I screwed up. So the driver got a whopping 15 cents.

I'll bet I've done this before. In restaurants, in bars, and now in taxicabs. I can't be trusted.

Trees and lights

We're finally decorated for the season.

Have a happy and a merry!

The 20-Year Old in New York

Hannah and I had a wonderful trip to New York to celebrate her 20th birthday.

We saw two musicals (Evil Dead and Spamalot), five museums (including MOMA, Metropolitan, Natural History and Guggenheim), five neighborhoods (Upper East Side, Upper West Side, East Village, SOHO and Midtown) and tons of good food.

Added: See images from Glitter and Doom, as referenced in the comments. VERY disturbing. We were not allowed to photograph this special exhibition but the museum provides these terrific views.

My new favorites

New favorite song: "Fake is the New Real" by Alice Smith
New favorite color: Moonlight
New favorite mood: Subversive
New favorite activity: Kvetching
New favorite TV show: College football
New favorite old movie: Princess Bride
New favorite alcoholic beverage: Cabernet Sauvignon