Inside My Collection

I'm totally one of those people that loves to know what items people have in their possession. In other words, I love to know what stuff people own. If you had me house-sit for you, I would totally look through all your CDs, movies, books, etc. Why do I love to know what people have in their collections? I think for one because it tells me something about that person -- even if just a little bit. You are what you love ('and not what loves you back'). I think also because no matter how 'predictable' someone is or how much I think I know someone's preferences or styles -- there's usually something that I'm surprised they own/like. Maybe it's the Jay-Z album next to their Tammy Wynette album. And I love stuff like that. But for some reason, I like to know what people have in their collections. When I run into a friend on the street and they're listening to their ipod, I usually ask them what song is currently playing on their ipod. Because I'm curious about stuff like that. When I visit someone's house, I check out what's on their selves. Because I'm curious about stuff like that. I just can't seem to help it. And I don't think I'm alone on this.

So, I have decided that I will indulge any curious people by doing a feature on my possessions (I guess it's my way of 'giving back' for being so curious about other people's stuff). Maybe I'm the only one fascinated by stuff like this. Who knows. Anyway, I decided to choose stuff from my collection based on randomness. I used a random letter generator to pick a letter for me and then a random number generator (1-100) to pick...a number for me, way to go! With my collection in alphabetical order, I picked the item that falls on that number within that letter series (and to think I'm so busy with grad school...) Without further ado, this selection of items is D-83.

DVD:
Dead Like Me, Season 2


This was a Showtime series that is now canceled. It is yet another excellent Showtime show that had really good writing/characters and never made it past the second season. Dead Like Me, summed up, is about a group of reapers (...give it a chance). What's interesting is that all the deaths happen in really creative ways -- the people never end up dying how you think they're going to die. But, the deaths and the reaping is really only secondary. The majority of the show is about the characters, their lives, and their relationships with each other and other people (and of course other people do not know these people are reapers or that they are deceased). The main character is an 18 year old girl named Georgia (who was killed by a toilet seat that fell to earth from the MIR space station...like I said, unpredictable). She is super cynical and sarcastic and I totally love that humor. Also, an interesting piece of trivia is that the show was filmed in Vancouver (though supposed to take place in Washington). Since living here, it's really fun going back and watching the show because you see so much of Vancouver in the episodes (because the reaps take them to so many different locations across town). The reapers get their assignments on post-it notes that say the last name and first initial of the person they need to reap, their time of death, and an address. What I have since picked up on since living here is that the addresses on the post-it notes are actual Vancouver addresses (and it's the actual location for where that scene was filmed). So that's pretty neat.

Book:
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris


This book is on my need-to-read list. I've read two of his other books -- Me Talk Pretty One Day and Naked. And I absolutely loved those books. All of these books are autobiographical essays/short stories and, man, has he led one crazy life. I love the stories about his super quirky family (and I'm totally in love with his sister Amy). To illustrate what I mean, here is an excerpt from Naked. It's a story about his grandparents:

"She [Ya Ya, David's grandmother] was joining us for dinner one night in the backyard when my father, trying to engage her in conversation, said, 'Talk about your shockers, did I ever tell you that Ya Ya found her own brother dead in the middle of the road? The guy was slit from his chin to the crotch, murdered by rebels just for the hell of it. Her own brother! Can you imagine a thing like that?'
'I imagine it every day of my life,' my sister Lisa said, tossing an olive pit onto my plate. 'How come she has all the luck?'
'Was there a lot of blood?' I asked. 'Did he crap in his pants? I hear that's what happens when you die. Were his organs soft to the touch, or had they been hardened by the sun? How old was he? What was his name? Was he cute?'
Ya Ya cast her eyes toward the neighbor's basketball court. 'In Jesus' blessy name,' she said, crossing herself with a barbeque chicken leg. [...] Her husband, the man we addressed as Papou, had been just as morose as she was. We had to turn their photographs upside down in order to catch them smiling. [...] Papou had died when I was six years old. He had been in the newsstand late one night when intruders hit him over the head with a lead pipe, rupturing a vein in his head. He was carried to the hospital and died on Christmas Day. 'Did you still open presents?' we asked. 'After he died, did he crap in his pants? Did the thieves concentrate only on money or did they take magazines and candy bars while they were at it? Did they catch them? Did they go to the electric chair? After they were electrocuted, did they crap in their pants?'"

Here's what he said about the state college he went to:

"I expect someday to open the newspaper and discover the government had used that campus as part of a perverse experiment to study the effects of continuous, high-decibel Pink Floyd albums on the minds of students who could manufacture a bong out of any given object but could not comprehend that it is simply not possibly to drive a van to Europe."

So while I haven't read this particular book (Dress Your Family...), I already know I'm going to love it because it's not possible for him to let me down. He has a similar style to Augusten Burroughs, if you're a fan of his.

Album:
The Decemberists - Her Majesty, The Decemberists


I realize The Decemberists are not for everyone, but they are one of my favorite bands. I am so amazed with their songwriting and instrumentation skills. And Her Majesty is such a great album. Such a diverse set of songs. From the peak of "so goodnight boys goodnight" in the song Shanty for the Arethusa, to the beautiful, calming lull of "Red Right Ankle", to the high energy and infectiously catchy "The Chimbley Sweep", to the amazing lyrics of "I Was Meant for the Stage"...there are just so many amazing moments and songs on this album.
My favorite song on the album is probably "Red Right Ankle". You know how there are certain songs that remind you of a particular person, for whatever reason. It could be because the song lyrics remind you of a person, or the song in general reminds you of that person because it was a personal favorite of their's, or because the song is attached to a specific memory/experience you have with that person. Anyway, no matter how many different times or situations I hear "Red Right Ankle", it always makes me think of one of my closest friends, Denise. It reminds me of one particular summer where we spent so many nights lying on her bedroom floor listening to music or playing music and talking about anything and everything. I remember how the blinds would erratically blow open and brush up against her window sill with a breath of cool air coming off from the water and down from the canyon. And it would go on for hours. This song always makes me think of that and of her. And it makes me homesick for those times.

Song from I-Tunes Library:
Jack Johnson - Do You Remember


What a great love song. What a great song in general. It's not a cheesy romantic love song -- it's just real. It's a real, sincere love song. He wrote this song for his wife to celebrate the 10 years they've been together. It's a song about their relationship throughout the years -- from when he first met her to when they first moved in together and about all their years together. It's so beautiful. This song, of course, makes me think of Eagan and the relationship we have and everything we've experienced together (awww...). This songs has the power to make me smile and cry -- all at the same time.