I hope someday you'll join us...

One of the best American Idol performances I have seen. Ever.

She hates the sounds that goodbyes make...

Jon McLaughlin on the Oscars last night?
Niiiiice.
He and his voice are awfully dreamy.
His song Human has been a star of my personal playlist since I heard it on Scrubs a few months ago.

Daniel Day-Lewis has enchanted and charmed me immeasurably; not only with his unparalleled talent, but with his brilliant eloquence and gentlemanly grace.

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Here is what I do when I cannot sleep:

I watch a three-hour block of Full House on Nick at Nite, which includes one of my favorite episodes (that's right, I said it. I actually have favorite episodes of the Cheesefest.) , wherein Stephanie teases a boy at school, calls him "Duckface", then subsequently apologizes and must deal with his burgeoning crush on her.
So I decide that this Duckface kid is a great little actor, and I do a little Googling to find out his name, and then I head to IMDB to check him out. This leads to an IMDB frenzy, wherein eventually I end up on Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber)'s page, then check her out on wikipedia, then finally on myspace.
This is the power of the internet, y'all.
Beware.

----

Also?
I've decided I must see Juno again.
According to Diablo Cody's blog, there is a My So-Called Life reference in its dialogue that I somehow missed.
I'm very disappointed in myself.
This must be rectified.

Take a sad song and make it better

My friend Dan shared this on livejournal.

This kid is my hero.

Tiny updates

First things first: Free rice. Dig it.

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I seem to be suffering a bout of insomnia.
I cannot pinpoint a reason. Chances are, they are multiple.
I have watched a great wealth of Curb Your Enthusiasm, however, which has been glorious.
Plus I am reading John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces (one of my favorite titles ever, by the way) and its protagonist - Ignatius J. Reilly - is swiftly becoming an all-time favorite character.

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I was working at Trinity House Theatre on Saturday night, which meant that I was treated to the fabulous set performed by Jordan Keller, whose songs are now a semi-obsession. The Riverbanks is an early favorite.
He's good people, too.
Very down-to-earth, friendly and kind.
Discovering "new" music is always a very sharp, unusual joy.

[DON'T] let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

It usually takes me approximately 15 minutes to drive to Wal*Mart.
Today?
It took 40.
Why?
The wintry four-lettered menace known as SNOW.

Okay, it makes things look pretty.
It facilitates calendar-caliber photographs.
It packs into cute little hand-held weapons for friendly rivalries.
It descends in specialized crystals, no two of which are alike.
I get all of that.

But when it's piled onto slick, icy roads upon which people are attempting to drive and not crash and die, that's when it becomes my arch-nemesis.

If I were in charge of the weather, I'd give the world a light dusting for Thanksgiving, a generous dump for a white Christmas, and maybe a slightly white New Year's Eve.
Otherwise, the White Menace would stay in the clouds where it belongs.

Three's Company

three names you go by:
1. Stacey
2. Stace
3. Spaceman (a nickname coined by my coworker, Casey...it started out as Spacey, then became Space, then one day he expanded it to "Spaceman". We both laughed, and it stuck. And my new theme song is David Bowie's Space Oddity.)

three physical things you like about yourself:
1. My hair, most of the time
2. My smile
3. My eyes

three physical things you don't like about yourself:
1. My nose
2. My weight
3. My unpredictable skin

three things that scare you:
1. Driving in bad weather
2. Speaking in large groups
3. Having surgery

three of your favorite musical artists:
1. Iron and Wine
2. Over the Rhine
3. Death Cab for Cutie

three of your current favorite songs:
1. Why Georgia ~John Mayer
2. Innocent Bones ~Iron and Wine
3. The Way I Am ~Ingrid Michaelson (thanks, Annie!)

three things you want in a relationship:
1. Humor/Laughter
2. Affection
3. Open communication

three lies and truths in no particular order:

LIES:
1. I love my living arrangement.
2. I don't mind cigarette smoke.
3. I love mice.

TRUTH:
1. I love staying up late and sleeping in.
2. I get obsessed with things very easily. Current example: The Office on dvd.
3. I would love to have a Newfoundland or a Saint Bernard.

three physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to you:
1. smile
2. hair
3. distinctive dressing style

three of your favorite hobbies:
1. reading books
2. taking pictures
3. going to movies

three things you want to do really badly now:
1. take a tropical vacation
2. sleep
3. get a new job

three careers you've considered (at some point):
1. college professor
2. psychologist
3. social worker

three places you want to go on vacation:
1. Ireland
2. England
3. Scotland

three kids names you like:
1. Sebastian
2. Aden
3. Lucy

three things you want to do before you die:
1. travel to the United Kingdom
2. get some of my writing published
3. fall in love

three ways that you are stereotypically a boy:
1. I don't like shopping.
2. I always laugh at phallic jokes.
3. I have a very low tolerance for drama queens.

three ways that you are stereotypically a girl:
1. I love to listen.
2. I always have to wear makeup.
3. I have raging "body image" issues.

Three people that I would like to see take this quiz:
1. Anyone
2. who
3. wishes

Big-Boned Tuesday

Mmmm...paczki.

I got up early, went to Tim Horton's and bought a dozen to bring to my family as a peace offering of sorts.
Yesterday found me feeling crabby, sick and miserable, and sadly they bore the brunt of my misery.

Today is better, although I still feel exhausted.
An important talk with a friend last night rendered me unable to sleep for more than a couple of hours. I need a nap. The glorious caffeine of this morning's Starbucks Caramel Macchiato has gone bye-bye.

In a dream I had the other night about a longtime crush, he was standing on some sort of balcony grinning at me, I was grinning back, and we were somehow flirting by singing Steve Miller's The Joker to each other.
WHAT?
Do I subconsciously find that song romantic?
If so, that is more than a little unsettling.

plus minus

+ It is Friday.

- It is snowing without an end in sight.

+ I'm going to dinner with Mom & Dad and Josh & Aimee tonight.

- This is shaping up to be a very bad hair day.

+ My "home office" at my parents' house is working out pretty well, all things considered.

- I feel sleepy/groggy and seem to have a perpetual cold with major congestion.

+ Lost came back last night, and proved to be as delightfully weird as always.

- Joel is currently watching some show called Flight of the Conchords, which he thinks is hilarious. It's not.

+ Tangerines are yummy and sweet.