Goodnight Moons.

This is probably my last post for 2006 since I'll be traveling and then spending the rest of my free time figuring out what LP and I are going to do for New Year's Eve in Chicago...

Goodnight Moon.
Goodnight A Blog of a Good Time... and your dreams of your future husband Justin Timberlake.
Goodnight Anonymous Midwest Girl... and your AMBF.
Goodnight Autumn... it was a good one, but it is winter now.
Goodnight B-Muse... when are you going to start blogging? Surf blog?
Goodnight Carolyn Says... and your super cute kitty who is killing your little Christmas tree.
Goodnight Cat Pee Smell... I know you are a smell, and not a blogger, but you are starting to piss me off and I am not going to take (or smell) this shit (or piss) in 2007!
Goodnight Cherry Ride... it's Merry Christmas, remember that, and goodnight Richard.
Goodnight Chuckdaddy Xpress... I hope this is not one of your pet peeves.
Goodnight Classy & Fancy... hope you have many dreams of a Smiths' reunion.
Goodnight Darci from the Block... Sorry you lost on Days of Our Lives.
Goodnight Fish Not Fried... keep the indie rock alive, and listen to some Queen.
Goodnight Jader... I hope you have a White Christmas... since it seems like you and I are the only ones who like snow.
Goodnight K.i.d... enjoy your break from studying.
Goodnight King Dan... we'll have to throw back some maple syrup and O.J. when I'm in S.F.
Goodnight LP... I'll be up for a little while, I'm tryin' to figure out how this blog can get us paid!
Goodnight Lori Mocha... and all of your babies... although you're probably so amped on pills you won't fall asleep. A new meaning to the term White Christmas.
Goodnight Meaning of Loaf... hopefully you are sleeping on that green couch.
Goodnight Mimi Smartypants... when is your new book coming out?
Goodnight Random House... and Penguin, Viking, Doubleday, Harper Collins, Regan Book, and Bantam, I'm the guy you want for a book deal... really.
Goodnight Reckenroll Lifestyle... but is "Goodnight Moon" on your Top 5?
Goodnight Smack Dab In the Middle... hope you have a night void of violent dreams.
Goodnight Stuff On My Cat... you are an inspiration to all, and fuzzy too.
Goodnight Sufferin' Succotash... hope your child support payment comes in, and hope you hook up with Wayne Coyne.
Goodnight The Gancer... Liar's Club 2007!
Goodnight Annoymous Posters... who are you?
Goodnight Readers of 5 of 9er.... bored yet?
Goodnight Chicago... now bring me some snow!
Goodnight Moon.
Goodnight.

Merry Christmas!

Things To Do (before 2007): Update

With only 11 days left in 2006 I am realizing my list is going to be tough to accomplish. Not impossible, but probably impossible for me since I am a slacker at the end of the year. Here is an update on some of my goals...

1. Learn to play the guitar. Yesterday was day #1 of lessons. After realizing that my fingers in no way will cooperate with my brain, or the instructor (the man on the dvd I am watching), it is highly unlikely I will be playing "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve. So I am supposed to do some finger exercises on the guitar until my fingers work right... maybe by 2008. Crap!

3. Get over my fears of flying. Any one have drugs?

5. Find a good hor d'oeuvre to make for Christmas Eve. LP and I were at a Christmas party last night and the host's younger sister made stuffed mushrooms. She was so proud of them, and put a nice little twist on the standard recipe... and they were good. So making stuffed mushrooms is not all that bad. Is it?

6. Find Lori Mocha some help... I'm still working on this. Hopefully Santa will fulfill Lori's wish and she'll be so sedated she'll forget about my goal #6. Or, I'm going to call Tyra up and get Lori Mocha on that show. You all need to step off of Tyra. She is all that and a bag of chips.

7. Get more sleep. Been doing good on this, but I'm still sleepy. Crap!

8. Be more active. I stood up at the party last night... every time I needed a refill or another stuffed mushroom. LP and I can be such wallflowers around people we don't know. I ended up petting one of the fat kitties there... and occasionally saying things like, "uh, hi!" and "yeah". One of our good friends could not make it since her grandmother died (what a crappy way to spend Christmas, sniff sniff), and the hostess (our other friend) was way past drunk that it was pointless conversing with her... although she did tell us all the story of when she got thrown in jail for having a car full of drugs. I love drunk people!

9. Lose ten pounds. I guess all the beer, cheese, and stuffed mushrooms are not helping. Crap!

12. Come up with a plan not to get lice from my sister's children. I think I have accomplished this goal! I called my mom last night and told her we need to move Christmas Eve to my parent's house. I also mentioned that we should tent my sister's house... but somehow I don't think that will be done. I am still thinking about wearing the shower cap.

Today's entry has been brought to you by the letters: C, R, A, and P.

Judge Maria Lopez, Part 2.

Oh Judge Maria Lopez... I have given you my time and attention every weekday (well, almost every weekday) for the past month. My goal to get away from my desk during lunch has been semi-successful. I do actually eat my lunch away from my desk... but staying away from my desk for at least 30 minutes is really hit or miss. Our lounge area is only ten feet from my desk so I can still hear my phone. But on the days I do sit back and relax for a few minutes I still have been zoning out on TV. Yes, I've gone through my phases... Tyra (still dig her), Jerry (ashamed), Maury (just sad), CLTV (Chicago's NY1), and Judge Maria Lopez. But I finally made my commitment a month or so ago. I made my commitment to Judge Maria Lopez. I would give up the rest. My 30 minutes at lunch were all about Judge Maria Lopez.
Judge Maria Lopez is intelligent, fair, sharp witted, and hot. She's Cuban, and declares she is the "true American dream." And how she slams down that gavel, and rules with such authority - Yet, she still has a couple minutes after each trial to show her personal side and talk to the viewer (that’s me!) about why she ruled the way she did. I know I've written about Judge Maria Lopez before, but for daytime TV her show does not get old... at least that is what I thought. The past few times I have tuned into Judge Maria Lopez it has been re-runs. Re-runs! I have so many choices of crappy daytime television, how can you do this to me Judge Maria Lopez? I could watch Judge Mathis, Judge Hatchett, Judge Alex, Judge Judy, Divorce Court, or the People's Court. I have many other choices and you give me re-runs after a month of viewing.

Judge Maria Lopez, I think this calls for a break between us. I am giving you up until 2007. Maybe by then you'll get your act together and give me new episodes. If not, our relationship is over.

Things To Do (before 2007).

With thirteen days left in 2006, these are some of the things I wish to accomplish before 2007:

1. Learn to play the guitar. I just purchased a how-to DVD and Book, so I need to pull out my guitar and figure out how to play it. I think I remember where my guitar is.

2. Come up with a plan to get to Tucson, AZ for the White Sox Spring Training. The White Sox are playing the Giants on March 21. Must get there!

3. Get over my fears of flying. Especially since I am flying to San Francisco this weekend.

4. Get rid of the cat pee smell. Ok, I have not smelled it in over a week... but I am worried it will come back. Although it now my desk smells like coffee since I just spilled my coffee all over it... shit!

5. Find a good hors d'oeuvre to make for Christmas Eve. ...so my family does not stick me with the regular stuffed mushrooms. My family thinks I'm a complete moron when it comes to the kitchen, so when it comes to Christmas Eve I am usually in charge of stuffed mushrooms or cutting cheese in the squares... while the rest of the family is making things that light on fire and uses ingredients no one has ever heard of.

6. Find Lori Mocha some help, friends, reasons for human interaction, or maybe a book deal for her comics.

7. Get more sleep. I've been tired lately.

8. Be more active. See #9.

9. Lose ten pounds. I don't want my mom to think since I moved to the Midwest I got fat. Technically, I have not gained any weight since moving to Chicago... but I can always shed ten pounds.

10. Find out where to get Leberkäse. I am completely addicted to this spam sandwich at the Christkindlmarket. And the market leaves on Christmas Eve. Maybe if I stopped eating them I could lose ten pounds.

11. Try to insert more good albums into my Top 10+10 list. What about The Raconteurs, Built to Spill, Eagles of Death Metal, Mojave 3, Sonic Youth, Scott Walker, Futureheads, Justin Timberlake, Yo La Tengo...?

12. Come up with a plan not to get lice from my sister's children. Only one kid has them, but we are supposed to spend Christmas, or Christmas Eve there. I'm thinking about wearing a shower cap.

Favorite Albums of 2006.

2006 was a good music year... Not great... not like 1992. But I've never struggled to find 10 albums to make up my list. This year was missing jazz for me. I was not super excited about any of the jazz records I heard except for a few re-issues. There were some good ones, but not great ones. And there sure were disappointments this year... for me the biggest disappointments were The Decemberists' lousy album "The Crane Wife" (capitol)... three good songs, that's it - And also Patricia Barber's unlistenable crap-maker "Mythologies" (blue note).since compilations of old material never make my Top 10 (since it's previously released material) I must point out two super great compilations... Soul Gospel 2 (soul jazz) and Air's "Late Night Tales" (thrive). Both are worth the listen. My favorite singles have to be "Country Girl" by Primal Scream and also The Tyde's "Do It Again." My most listened to record of the year was the Hot Snakes "Thunder Down Under" (swami)... but since it is a live record of old material... I decided to keep it off the Top list.

My Favorite Albums of 2006...
1. Belle & Sebastian "The Life Pursuit" (rough trade)
2. TV On The Radio "Return To Cookie Mountain" (4ad/interscope)
3. Bonnie "Prince" Billy "The Letting Go" (drag city)
4. The Hold Steady "Boys And Girls In America" (vagrant)
5. Clipse "Hell Hath No Furry" (re-up gang/zomba)
6. Kelly Stoltz "Below The Branches" (sub pop)
7. The Sword "Age of Winters" (kemado)
8. So Many Dynamos "Flashlights" (skrocki)
9. Donavon Frankenreiter "Move By Yourself" (lost highway)
10. Laura Gibson "If You Come To Greet Me" (hush)

and the +10:
Bruce Springsteen "We Shall Overcome" (columbia)
End Of The World "Youre Making It Come Alive" (flameshovel)
Ghostface Killah "Fishscale" (def jam)
Josh Ritter "The Animal Years" (v2)
Jo Jo "The High Road" (blackground)
Left Alone "Dead American Radio" (hellcat)
M. Ward "Post-War" (merge)
Mastadon "Blood Mountain" (reprise)
Mission Of Burma "The Obliterati" (matador)
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 "Ole! Taranula" (yeproc)