Checking in

I haven't posted here in quite a while.

I haven't forgotten about you, faithful readers! Okay, so it isn't like I have an army of readers or anything. But still...I owe the five of you that read this quality content and I have been lacking in producing the quality content that you deserve.

I feel like late Summer found me feeling kind of 'meh' about it all. I haven't seen any new movies in a while. I haven't read anything worth blogging about lately either.

The only fall premiers I've watched so far are the Sunday night animated shows on Fox. The Simpsons premiere was pretty good. I didn't care for Family Guy. But man...American Dad killed it!

I've been watching The Rachel Maddow Show almost every night. She's been pretty awesome, too. Her show is smart and funny. And even though she's unabashedly liberal, it's not so off-putting that you'd be in a rush to change the channel.

I am hoping that the arrival of Fall will find me with a lot of books to talk about and music to review.

In the meantime, how did you spend your Summer Vacation? Did you read anything good? See any good movies? Go to any good concerts? Listen to any good albums?

Rachel Maddow is made of awesome

I try not to discuss my politics on my blog and, until now, I think I've done a pretty good job of not showing my hand.

I fear that this post will blow that out of the water. So forgive me my partisan crowing for a minute, m'kay?

Tonight, at 9pm Eastern, Rachel Maddow's show premiers on MSNBC. And I, for one, couldn't be happier.

Maddow started her rise to television fame on Air America Radio. She started by reading the news and then moved on to serve as 1/3 of the show Unfiltered with Chuck D (yes, that Chuck D) and Lizz Winstead. Two weeks after that show was cancelled, Maddow got her own show on Air America.

Despite Air America's revolving door of hosts and shows (Morning Sedition, anyone?), Maddow has remained a fixture on the station. She is smart and funny and snarky. She isn't afraid to stick it to the Democrats as often as she sticks it to the Republicans and the fact that she starts her show with "news from Iraq and life during wartime" shows (at least in my mind) her commitment to supporting the troops even if she doesn't support the war.

Imagine my delight, then, when Maddow started showing up on MSNBC. She appeared as a guest on Keith Olbermann's Countdown show and took a place on the panel on David Gregory's Race for the White House.

As her role has grown on MSNBC, so has her fan base. MSNBC recognized that by offering her a show airing directly after Countdown.

I, for one, am rooting for Maddow. She's an insightful commentator and, well, a woman. How many of those do you see hosting in primetime on cable news?

"I’m a roustabout/And I’m bound to roust you out "

It's been up for nearly two weeks, but this post on Mike Doughty's blog has some great You Tube videos of him singing some stuff off the newest record with Scrap Livingston accompanying him on bass.

They are made of awesome, so you should definitely go check them out.

Doogie Howser needs a new pair of shoes...

...or, more accurately, he has shoes to give away.

Go watch Neil Patrick Harris' upcoming appearance on Sesame Street.

Remember when he was Doogie Howser, M.D.?

I totally do.

It's nice to see him all grown up and succeeding in Hollywood.

The Pioneer woman

I collect blogs. I read a lot of them. A lot.

I've been following Ree, the pioneer woman, for a while now. Her blog, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, morphed into a full-blown website at some point in the past year.

Ree lives on a cattle ranch. She cooks and takes pictures and home schools her punks.

She is a-maz-ing.

You should go check her out, if you haven't already.

"Electric feel" by MGMT

I hate to be so meta that I have to talk about a specific song.

But I do.

I love the song "Electric feel."

If you've ever heard of MGMT, you know that their first single off the album Oracular Spectacular was "Time to pretend." It's okay, but it isn't the best song from the album.

I don't know if I could pick one, I loved this album so much.

But I do know that I love "Electric feel."

The biggest thing it's got going for it is the fact that it's sung in falsetto. Every "pop" song sung in falsetto has this certain....feel...about it. They all seem to be seductive. Creepy, sometimes, but seductive.

This song oozes seduction. And it's lounge lizard vibe kills me every time.

I can't not love it.

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.