OK, you guys have probably seen this one a million times-this woman has more guts than I do. Seriously, I respect what she's doing and try to realize what a risk this poor woman is taking in trying out for the most grueling talent show in the world (I speak here of the entire "Idol" format, whether it be UK, US, or in this case Bulgaria).

  But dammit, when she gets to the perfect babble at the chorus (tulibu dibu douchoo...) I lose all composure and laugh like a chattering monkey.

      I've made some new icons over the last few days. Oh yes, it is Allison Reynolds...pre-Ringwald makeover, just the way I love her :-).


        So here's today's song of the day-something fun and poppy. I hope you enjoy!

      OK, so unfortunately, I left my copy of 100 Years of Solitude back in the the gorram locker at work yesterday, so I picked up the used copy of Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret that I got a little while ago. Roomie was actually amused, because she knows I never really read teen fiction even when I was a teen. By the time all the girls in my fourth grade class were reading The Baby-Sitter's Club or the Fudge books, I had already read them two years previous, so while they were reading that, I had my nose buried in an Edgar Allan Poe story. I have told you I was a bit of a creepy kid, yes?

    Anyhow, visiting Margaret  for the first time as an adult was definitely interesting. My Banned Book Week celebrating self rejoiced in the fact that it dealt with puberty and religion in such a nice, funny, non-preachy way. The religion part I had a very strong reaction to, because I was so scared that it would end on a  "She has declared a religion! She's saved from being outcast!" note, which would have been terribly easy. Instead it was just the story of a pre-teen figuring out who she was, making the same mistakes I did, and trying to see through as much of the bullshit as she could along the way, just like any of us were. I particularly like her thoughts on the whole Private Lady presentation-totally a precursor to Daria. I would have been proud to sit at her lunch-table, yes indeed.
   
       *yawn* OK, I can tell by the huge *crash* that just occurred in my brain that I need a coffee refill. Talk to you later

                                                                                           -Kai
    

 

        'Morning, all. Not a whole lot going on, just going back to work with catering at 11. It may suck, but believe me, this tenure will be very short. To make my day (and yours) more pleasant, I humbly submit two versions of the same song: This lovely version for sipping coffee at the kitchen window, and this one when we  can handle a little more noise. Scarlet, you may not like the first version, so feel free to just skip to the original :-). 
         Started One Hundred Years of Solitude last night. I didn't get very far.because I started just before bed. But, I am enjoying it, especially the way Márquez mixes the mundane, the ridiculous  and the magical. This was exactly what I really liked about Love in the Time of Cholera. Now, if I can just get past the third chapter today, I'll have gotten farther than any of my previous attempts....
          Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get some breakfast and coffee into my system stat :-)


                                             
                                               Love and Cheers,
                                                                Kai          
 

     To the good people that saw me all bleary eyed and disheveled when I went to the drug store at seven thirty this morning to pick up some coffee filters-I am so sorry; the sight of me before caffeine has been sufficiently ingested is something nobody should endure.
     Today's selection. My personal favorite cut from an album I have fond memories of, thanks to a teenage babysitter I once had who happened to have a huge crush on Neil Finn. She used to put it on and let my sister and I stand on her feet and dance with her to "Don't Dream it's Over", like little kids often do. She told really nifty ghost stories, too.
             OK, so  the chamber on the revolver o'bookiness doesn't seem to be working this time, because it just seems like what keeps coming up is stuff that I'm not in the mood to read (sorry, but Lovecraft is sooo not a Summer read). So this time, I chose for myself a book that has come to be a bit of a myth in my bookcase. Yes, I will be chronicling my way through Gabriel García Márquez's   100 Years of Solitude. It's been sitting on my shelf for maybe two years, making me feel guiltier and guiltier. I loved Love in the Time of Cholera, so I picked this one up, and somehow I keep getting sidetracked by something or other. No more, my good people. And you will be with me every step of the way, just so I have someone to whom I can keep track of progress. So if I don't give any sort of update, feel free knock and be all "Uh, Kai, what's your page count for the day?"
            A week from Monday, school starts back up, which is awesome because I'll feel like I've gotten my freakin' brain back and won't feel quite so much like I'm knockin' around the zoo, so to speak.
          And now, I am off to enjoy my Saturday. But first, more coffee.

                                                                                  Kai

OK, NOW YouTube decides to release all the crap I've tried to post over the last month and a half...Jeez...

Gang, THIS is how you use London Calling. It does NOT belong in a Jag commercial!

(sorry, I'm home watching Billy Elliot-still one of my favorite movies...)

One of my favorite Elvis Costello songs, if only for the way that he hands it to both Roger Waters and John Lennon when he says "Was it a millionaire/who said "imagine no possessions"/A poor little schoolboy saying "we don't need no lessons"
Given the time of year, appropriate as well

Love,
K

     
 Today's song...Have I ever told you guys that I have always wanted to be a Wilbury? Well, I have, because I'm a geek.  Seriously though-when I was 15, I totally did. I always imagined coaxing George into teaching me the slide part to While My Guitar Gently Weeps, getting teased viciously by Dylan for a clumsy turn of phrase, teasing Jeff Lynne about his hair, and most importantly, getting to sing with Roy Orbison...man that sounded so cool...
  Anyhow, not much going on today other than pounding the pavement, which has a new prospect that I hope pans out, but I am so happy to say that my review is up! Such a cool thing to wake up to in the morning. I couldn't help but go "Hey, that's me!!" when I saw the byline.
   I am going to get more coffee and get to steppin' so I'll talk to you guys later.



                                                                                  Kai

Development Goals and Basic Accounts

Last week we updated our development goals for 2008. Generally we noted a number of cool enhancements and investments to LiveJournal that we are working on, including improved search, usability, and site development.

We also wanted to let you know how we hope to accomplish all these things, and how we plan on paying for them. In order to accomplish our stated goals for this year and beyond, we need to increase the revenue gained from both groups of LiveJournal accounts: paid subscription accounts and ad-supported accounts.

As of August 28th, all users will be able to choose to downgrade their account to Basic through their Manage Account page. Additionally, we will start showing advertising to visitors who are not logged in to LiveJournal when they are looking at Basic Account journals and communities.

Basic Account users themselves will not see ads on any Basic journal or community while they are logged in to their account. If you want more information about this, take a look at our new post on lj_2008 where we outline our reasoning.

Indian Flash Fiction Contest

In other news, we are excited to tell you we've launched "Quick Tales" LiveJournal's first initiative for users in India, in celebration of India Independence day, August 15th. "Quick Tales" is a flash fiction writing contest in which we're partnering with Caferati.com, one of India's largest online literary communites. The contest's winners will receive some great prizes and it is open to anyone with a mailing address in India. We hope that users with an interest in Indian writing or just India will watch LiveJournal's india_writing community. That's where the finalists and winners will be announced, so keep an eye on it towards the end of September! If you're in India then enter the contest - if your story is slick and quick (under 500 words) then you could be the lucky winner!

Meanwhile, back at LiveJournal Inc.

We have updated and redesigned our corporate site. The goal of the redesign was twofold: first, to update the look and feel (Dystopia users will appreciate it!); second, we want to provide a destination for prospective employees, partners, and members of the press where they can access important information about the company. Kudos to our design team.

     Hey guys! Just having a little coffee and relaxing before I head on over to register at the temp agency. Yeah, I admit it, I slept in. Thank you all for your kind congratulations on getting published. They even want me to make it a weekly thing, and my first review goes up on Friday. I'm proud.
    Today's song is a personal favorite from none other than Mr. Warren Zevon. I chose this one over a myriad of his Letterman appearances because I thought the maker of the video did a really nice job. Enjoy every sandwich, indeed...
      Hope your day is treating you well :-)

                                                                          Kai


                       

Sweet Lester Bangs' ghost my review's getting published! They loved it! *happyhappyjoyjoy*

    So, this morning, in my ratty Fender t-shirt and flannel pants, I finished I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone. I can't do a cold, clear analysis of this book because I read it in the  "My people!" kind of recognition that blinds me from doing so. I have a very similar relationship to music that the author has. I knew the music namechecked, felt like I had hung out and played with these girls in school (hell, I had!). I could identfy with Emily's attachment to her guitar. I kept glancing over at Bettie D. Stratocaster at certain points...poor baby needs a string change and a wipedown. I even smiled like only someone from Olympia, WA (show of hands if you know the significance of that statement) can when Mia Zapata was namechecked in the acknowledgments. I was so glad  when they caught her murderer four years ago...such a fucking tragedy, but at least the Home Alive organization, which provides late night escorts home, self defense classes and crisis counseling came out of it in honor of her memory.
    Stay tuned for another spin of the chamber o'bookiness...


                      Much love,
                              Kai

    OK, so I finished The Condition. I so wanted to enjoy this book, and on many levels I did. I appreciated the fact that Turner's character wasn't portrayed as helpless-her family just treated her that way, something I can totally relate to as a Turner's girl (Gawd, doesn't that make me sound like a fucking Shirelle or a Vendella or something? All I'd need is a nifty beehive and kickin' Motown moves...). I also really liked the way that the inner lives that the characters were leading gave the reader insights into any given character's flaws (Frank, especially, earned my sympathy on that score).
    However, the letdown was in the ending. The catalyst for the family forgiving each other was not some epiphany reached by a character's hard-fought soul searching, but by the deus ex machina device of the 9/11 attacks. Maybe I'm just being hyper-critical, but by using the attacks, it seemed like Haigh was kind of grasping, thinking "I can't think of any organic way in which to bring these characters together. What's the one thing that can get everyone all misty? EuREEka! I'll use something as beyond control as a terrorist attack!"
     Ending aside, I did find it very engaging all things considered. On a scale of 1-10 (10 of course being the highest) I'd give it a 7-solid story, but the clumsy ending distracts from its considerable merits.
     

          Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to get a glass of ice water and go to bed :-)

                                                                   Love and Cheers,
                                                                                   Kai

It's my birthday on Friday. Yay! Cause for celebration, right?

WRONG!

Mommy's going away. She'll only see me for like 2 seconds on my birthday. That's not anywhere near enough time to spoil me rotten and give me extra treats and stuff.

*pout!*

I will, of course, have to act like I don't care. If I act like I CARE, she'll prob'ly think she's right about me being a closet cuddlemuffin. (it's really torture when she tries to cuddle me! I always try to get away as soon as I can!)

Hmmmph.

~Gryffin

    I'd like to first welcome I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone author Stephanie Kuehnert to the friendslist. So nice to run into you here! You guys should check her out, especially because her latest entry contains a Boomtown Rats reference.

     Took advantage of the quiet apartment last night to get my first review done and turned in. I hope they like it! I would have turned it in at lunch like I wanted, but for some reason, as always, the hot weather sapped my will. So, I wound up finishing it up over dinner, choosing instead to spend the day with The Condition on the balcony drinking lots of iced tea. I have less than 60 pages to go, so I'll be giving my final thoughts in the very near future.
 
    Speaking of which, that hand-wringing over the main character that I said wasn't happening? Yeah, it's happening now, but in a way I can stomach because it seems to be leading to a  Lesson in being overprotective, even if it's done out of kindness. Kind of one of those road to hell-good intentions things.
    It occurs to me that I owe you guys no less than three songs. So here (BTW, my answer: Frequently) here, and here.

     Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to go have some more java and get my day to startin'. Maybe treat myself to an iTunes card or something...


                                                          Love and Cheers,
                                                                                     Kai

    Good morning, all! Just hanging around, enjoying the morning. Today, my goal is to get my review done and turned in over lunch. And those are my only plans :-) Yesterday was productive, getting some school papers turned in, shopping reviews to other places, and getting some grocery shopping done, which means I have a fresh supply of yummy blueberry bagels. After that, we rented movies and I saw P.S. I Love You. I have to admit that the fact that they used my favorite Pogues song "Fairy Tale of New York" warmed my heart given my love of Anti-Christmas carols. And, yeah, I admit it, I've always kind of wanted to sing Kirsty MacColl's part...
     As of right now, though, I'm having my java and watching the third episode of the Tennant reign on Doctor Who, and, hello! WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THAT ANTHONY STEWART HEAD DID A STINT ON THIS SHOW?? When I saw him, the Joss Whedon fanatic in me squeed and said "It's Giles! No way!"
    Now onto bookish matters, I am on page 165 in The Condition, and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. There's blessedly little talk of Turner's in and of itself yet-So far, although there have been discussions about it  and how it affects Gwen's life, it's mainly concerned with all the secrets that the family has been keeping, rather than  the handwringing chorus of "What shall we do with poor Gwen!" that would be so, so easy to do. For that, I'm very, very grateful to Ms. Haigh.
    I think my next book is going to be one that, I admit, I chose because I liked the title-It's called "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" by Stephanie Kuehnert and I picked it up because it shares a title with my favorite Sleater-Kinney song. Not only that, but MTV books put it out, and I really have to say I like their YA selections, especially Perks of Being a Wallflower.

      And on that note, my friends, I leave you to your Monday morning.

                                                Many Cheers
                                                                Kai    

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