Friday Random Ten with minor confession

Got to work fairly early today, arriving at the office at eight, maybe a couple of minutes before that. Luckily, I did not set off the alarm. That's happened before. There's always a little bit of stigma attached to it, since the street is mostly residential. Oh well, we all have those moments.

1. The New Pornographers--Failsafe
2. Devo--Mongoloid
3. Gnarls Barkley--Blind Mary
4. Bonzo Dog Band--The Bride Stripped Bare by 'Bachelors'
5. Stan Kenton & His Orchestra--Ecuador
6. David Bowie--Breaking Glass
7. The Fiery Furnaces--Keep Me in the Dark
8. The Rolling Stones--Under My Thumb
9. Johnny Mathis--Chances Are
10. Yuka Honda--Liberation #6-Leaving the Memories Behind

Blatant filler

If I want to get up for work tomorrow and not be a complete zombie, I can't write the post I meant to tonight. But when I do it will be awesome. Unless it's not.

Turns out...

Yeah, we got a pretty sizeable snowstorm, albeit not the kind DC got. First thing in the morning, it looked like a washout, and that the schools had been foolish to close ahead of time. Different story by mid-afternoon.

Lotta snow?

I've heard the word Nor'easter being bandied about. That certainly raises the bar. (Hey, this could be a Twitter post. Well, up until the parentheses.)

Another Friday Random Ten? Yes!

Today I asked a woman who works in my office where she came from. Croatia, it turns out. Glad I didn't ask her how Serbia was. Not that she necessarily carried ethnic grudges, but even reg'lar folks don't like to be mized up like that.

1. Squirrel Nut Zippers--Bad Businessman
2. Charlie Parker--East of the Sun (and West of the Moon.)
3. Todd Rundgren--Breathless
4. David Bowie--What in the World?
5. Empress--It's Not All It's Cracked Up to Be
6. The Fiery Furnaces--Lost at Sea
7. Taj Mahal--Sweet Mama Janisse
8. The New Pornographers--Challengers
9. Sarah Vaugan--Key Largo
10. D'Oyly Carge Opera Company--The Sun Whose Rays Are all Ablaze*

* Recited by one of the noir teens in the movie Brick, which demonstrates good taste.

Fragrant rhythm

These old George Pal puppetoons are a real joy to me. This one features a full-size, live action human guy. To wit, one Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington. And some perfume bottles with a major crush on his music. Charming and just a little surreal, and I hope YouTube isn't forced to take it down.

Be good to the world, be good to yourself

A lot of organizations have been involved with aid to Haiti. There's the good ol' Red Cross. Doctors Without Borders will accept whatever donations you give. I've given a little to Mercy Corps. The list goes on.

So while it's nice of all these shiny people to remake "We Are the World", you can help without subjecting yourself to it. I mean, if you really feel a need to do penance...