Ras Trent

This is the fifth in a series of blog entries about songs picked at random from my itunes library. For the post on the last song, "Hole to Feed" go (here). For "Every Little Thing" go (here). For "No Surprises" go (here). For "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Love Version)" go (here).

"Ras Trent" is a song by the Lonely Island, a group made up of Andy Samburg (from Saturday Night Live) and SNL writers Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. Go to their Blogger blog (here). I like them. I went to see Nick and Norah's Something or Other Playlist in the theatre because Andy made a 3o second cameo as a rapist homeless guy.

"Ras Trent," like many of the Lonely Island songs, was featured as a Digital Short video on SNL. It was funny at the time but the odd thing is, it's still really funny. I haven't gotten over it yet (unlike "D in a box"). It's also cool to sing to in the car, if no one is around. It will make you feel like a boss.

The song is sung by Andy in the guise of a white college guy who thinks he is Rastafarian. His roommate is a ball head (have you ever noticed how they suck?), his parents are bomboclats, he watches Murder She Wrote and has rollerskates, etc.

My favorite lines include (but are not necessarily limited to):

"Oh hot stepper/You do so many dutty crimes/plus you're fully skylarking all the time"

"Are you there, Jah? It's me, Ras Trent"

and the gem,

"Me toil part-time at Jah Cold Stone Creamery"

Ah, college.

Book Club #0

Would you like to join a book club?

Well, now you can join mine and you don't even have to live in L.A.!

I recently joined a book club. When I told my friends at work about it, they wanted to start a book club, too (which I also joined). So now I'm in two book clubs. I plan to post an entry for each book club book here the day before my meetings. If you want to join, just read the book and check out my blog on the right date! Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.

The following are the first two selections + dates:

Erased by Jim Krusoe (Monday, October 6th)

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaardner (Monday, October 13)

Happy Reading!

Followers of my Blog: Wear Sunscreen

In honor of Baz Luhrmann's birthday...

Remember ten years ago?

Swing dancing was big thanks to Brian Setzer and khakis? JFK Jr.'s tragic passing? The debut of The Matrix, SpongeBob Squarepants, and Napster?

Well, 1999 was also the year of Sunscreen. I don't mean the product you put on your skin to protect you from the sun (that was supposedly developed by a chemist in 1938) but the hit song, "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)" credited to Australian director Baz Luhrmann (he of Romeo+Juliet and Moulin Rouge fame). It was played on the radio non-stop for a time when I was in college - Everyone in the car would stop talking and listen to the entire song. It was timely. It was apropos. It was weird.

I was reminded of this spoken word tune today and, while I'm not going to re-print the entire speech (which is available, among other places, here and has its own Wikipedia entry - of course - here) I will print all the advice that consists of only one word. Pay attention, class of '99:

Sing.

Floss.

Stretch.

Travel.

There you have it. Want to listen to a version of the song? You can get the 2007 "remix" on itunes from the Romeo+Juliet soundtrack. If you can find it, the original radio edit is much better (Ah, for the days of Napster...)

I may not believe that growing up in Northern California has made me soft...

...but trust me on the sunscreen.

I Want to Like Phoenix

Phoenix is an alternative rock band from France (they sing in English).

Their website is We Are Phoenix.

I want to like them. They sound like such a cool band. I like the story of their rise to success (their songs more or less don't get played on the radio in France because of laws restricting the amount of non-French music on the air). They were cool in the interview I heard on the radio this morning - they have cute accents. So, I'm trying to like their songs, but I keep not paying attention when they are on.

Can you force yourself to be a fan of a certain band and their music?

Things I Said Today...

"Is anyone else here confused about the Duck situation?"

More Bento

Last week, I posted about bento. Bento is a Japanese style lunch packed in boxes. I often bring a bento style lunch with me to work (above is a picture of my lunch wrapped in a Japanese furoshiki - you can use a scarf or handkerchief).

I recently discovered the site I Love Obento (here) which has tons of cute bento boxes you can look at or buy (I haven't bought anything there, though).

Despite how much I love bento, I don't use a bento box. First of all, Japanese bento boxes tend to be small, leaving you hungry after lunch. Also, bento boxes can be hard to clean every day, especially if you don't have or dishwasher, or you do but do not run it every night. I have found a much better alternative - GladWare containers.

GladWare containers are reusable/disposable tupperware-like containers with lids. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be mixed and matched easily. I like to use the small round containers with the screw-on lids and the small square containers, mostly.

Yesterday I brought some leftovers for my lunch. I had salad, pasta (it was gnocchi) and garlic bread for dinner - saving some of the pasta and half of the salad for my lunch. I put the salad (with a little container for the dressing) in the square container, and some of the pasta into the small round container. I stacked the round container on top of the square one, put a plastic fork with them, and wrapped it all in my furoshiki. Then I put it all in the fridge.

At lunch, I put the container of pasta (with the lid half-off/half-on) in the microwave at work for a few minutes, put the dressing on the salad, and my lunch was ready! I even used the furoshiki as a cloth to put on my desk so I wouldn't make am mess.

The best part is, after lunch I cleaned out the containers, wrapped them up again, and took them home to use for my next lunch. If I were to accidentally forget to wash them out, though, for say, a few weeks - I could always dispose of the containers instead of having to face what has been growing inside - you can't do that with your expensive Hello Kitty imported bento.

I may not be using an authentic bento box, but my furoshiki is cute and everyone admires my Japanese style lunches. It also makes lunch fun and cute! The best part is, I can almost always use leftovers, so I don't have to cook or buy special food just for my lunch - or eat the food from the cafeteria!

Things I Don't Want to Buy From Urban Outfitters

WWPJD?

To be fair, here is a list of things I do not want to buy from my favorite shopping website - Urban Outfitters.

#1 Pocket Jesus

Colorful, but no. (see the picture, above). They don't sell this anymore.

#2 Vinyl Record Frame, Box, Coasters, Bowls, etc.

Records are for listening to, not for making picture frames, random boxes, and dishes out of. The coasters are a little bit cool, though.

#3 Shoe Form Hook

This is like something off a serial killer's wall. They don't sell this anymore, but here is a hand version.

#4 Bacon Floss

It's bacon flavored/scented dental floss. Yuck. It is also available in cupcake flavor, which is still not OK.

#5 The Dirty Mug

You need to see the picture. I work hard to keep my mug from looking like this.

#6 Brass Pencil Can

It is a can. It costs twenty dollars.

#7 Poo Log

No.