This just in: New feature on the sidebar

I decided to keep my at-work playlist in the sidebar. I also decided to list the albums by the week.

So, each week brings a new playlist...

If I'm adventurous, I might even rate them at the end of the week.

Don't hold your breath.

Year in review! the music edition...

Hooray!

Apparently my previous post about Coverville was my 100th post. If I were a grocery store and that entry was a customer, it'd win a free ham or something.

Anyway...

The Dude and I collaborated on our respective top picks in music lists.

Because I am lazy, and because I wanted to give The Dude some linky love, go visit his blog and read the list.

Go ahead...I'll wait. But remember to come back when you're done!

What are you still doing here? Go!

Okay, so you've read it. You should know that the headline comes from my favorite Futurama episode ever.

What did you think? Did you think we were spot on?

What was your favorite album of 2007?

Leave me a comment and expose me to some new (and awesome) music, y'all!

Happy New Year!

*cue the noisemakers*

Wait...what? New Year's Day was a week ago?

I figure that I should post some New Year's resolutions for this blog, since I feel like I've gotten off track.

1. Review every book I read, movie I watch, or album I listen to.
2. Add more links to websites I enjoy and bloggers who rock my world.

Wow...that was lame.

Anyway, I have two books under my belt already, so I'll get reviews up either today or tomorrow.

And I still owe y'all a "best of" list musically speaking. The Dude and I talked about doing a "he said"/"she said" list. We'll see...

Coming up this week...

This week you can look forward to:
A post about Tori Amos' new disc American Doll posse
A post about our new Tivo

and whatever else strikes my fancy.

TTFN, y'all

Things I've been excited about lately

1.) Romance novels with a sense of humor
I can't help it. Despite my English major sensibilities, I prefer chick lit to literary fiction. And, I refuse to make a value judgment about what I'm reading. So many people are down on chick lit. The librarian in me says that we should all read what makes us happy.

I read Faking it by Jennifer Cruisie. It was fun and funny. Not too terribly realistic, but so what?

Now I'm reading Hot stuff by Carly Phillips. I think the author goes out of her way to write "sexy" which, honestly, bugs me a little. But, I still think it'll be fun.

2.)Reality television
I haven't watched the Top Design finale yet, but I couldn't stop myself from looking to see who won.

I picked up the second season of Work Out and I'm going to watch this season's Real World/Road Rules challenge. Also, MTV has been showing reruns of Beauty and the Geek. Not this season, but one of the earlier seasons. And, Flavor of Love Charm School starts soon as does a new season of Celebrity Fit Club.

No wonder The Dude wants to get a second DVR...

I know full well that reality tv isn't realistic at all. But, since all of the scripted shows I like get cancelled, I decided to accept reality television as the wave of the future. And, nothing is funnier than reality television's worst moments.

3.) 30 seconds to Mars
I didn't want to like them. I thought that Jared Leto's emo stylings were a lot over-the-top. But I kept hearing "The Kill" on the radio and I could never get it out of my head. So, I listened to the clips on iTunes and bought the album.

I dig it. A lot.

It's got more depth than I originally gave the band credit for. But they balance that depth with a sense of humor.

Sooo....what are you digging right now?

You just walked in to find me here...

I guess you should have made me leave my key.

I've been absent from blogging, but I'm back. I went to visit The Dude in Florida and then, upon my return, I fell ill.

I am finally feeling better, though, so I'll be back up and running again soon.

Ratings system

I'm going to post my first book review shortly, but I realized that I need a system for rating things.

I think I'm going to do a fairly simple 1 to 5 system with 1 being more awful than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick and 5 being better than the best thing I can think of at the moment.

Okay? Okay.

A few steps ahead of myself...

So, I figure that I should backtrack and introduce the major players in the blog:

Mrs. Dude: Me
The Dude: My husband
Whatsamatta U.: MPOW
The Home Team: The basball team my husband covers
Evil Overlord: My cat
Super Genius Dog: My dog

...and give you a quick rundown of the action thusfar:
I'm a librarian working at an academic institution in the midwest. I got married in January 2006 and live with my husband, The Dude, and our cat and dog. My husband is a sportswriter covering The Home Team, a baseball team.

Also, I figured that you might enjoy knowing some of my likes:
my iPod (Black Frances), Better Than Ezra, National Parks, reading celebrity gossip, magazines, crocheting, most animated films, Kevin Smith, reality television, popular culture, Animal Planet, The Food Network, Bravo (especially reality shows on Bravo), Questionable Content (a web comic).

...and my dislikes:
selfish drivers, precious indie bands, most country music, critics darlings in any medium, mean people.

I figure that this information should catch you up to speed...