🏷️ 10 things

TMBG = They Might Be Giants, a great band, for those uninformed.

1. The live shows. I've never been in a happier place.

2. They are Geeky. So geeky.

3. They are pop, but not lame.

4. Multiple instruments are utilized, and even the weird ones fit perfectly.

5. Dial-a-Drum solo.

6. Dial-a-song.

7. Unconventional song topics, that aren't unconventional to them.

8. The ability to write a catchy song in nearly any style and still be able to transcend said style.

9. Tight harmony.

10. Songs that I can sing a long with.


The list was so easy. There are probably 100 things I like about They Might be Giants, and after that, I could just list songs, 'cause I like each of them, too. Videos and Children's books should be the list, but I just went with the first 10 I thought of.

1. I can see who's online.

2. People aren't really shy here.

3. It's an online community that also has a real community.

4. It's just about the right size (although more e:peeps would be nice).

5. It's mostly personsonal, but also cultural and political and other -als.

6. There's almost always something new.

7. Easy help is available, simply by asking.

8. The statistics. Its fun to count things, even if they don't matter (that Count von Count certainly influenced me as a child, didn't he)

9. When it tells me not to forget my umbrella.

10. When a picture or sound surprises me in the chatter.

Another challenging one. I'm not sure I can come up with 10, but I'm going to try.

1. Courage of conviction. Sure, he's wrong on just about everything, but he had to know he would get laughed at for saying that there aren't gays in Iran, and he said it anyway.

2. He called the US hypocritical for having nukes but asking other nations not to. He isn't wrong about EVERYTHING.

3. His name is fun to say. Especially if you imagine Adam Sandler tilting his head back, chin out, eyes closed, and stuttering slightly as he says it.

4. His "openness" to study the Holocaust, if applied to other disciplines, will allow for a much more progressive system of Education in Iran.

5. His country has healthcare for everybody written into the constituion (my guess is that he has something to do with its implimentation).

6. I think he actually wants peace.

7. He gently reminded the guy that introduced him at Columbia that they practice hospitality differently in Iran.

8. Before doing that, he smiled through a litany of attacks.

9. He desired, for whatever reason, to show sympathy for victims of 9/11, and did not protest when told he could not, at least not publicly.

10. He's stayed alive during his visit. Conspiracy-theory Drew was worried that he was brought here so that he could be hurt or killed in such a way that would start a chain reaction that would end in war. As dumb as the guy is, the world will be much better off if he keeps breathing, at least until he is home.


I did it!

1. I can sprawl out over the whole bed.

2. I can eat what I want, when I want.

3. I don't have to share the computer, or the tv, or anything else.

4. I can drive the car that I like.

5. I can walk around in whatever state of undress I would like.

6. I can work late (I know this is weird, but I like my job).

7. I can sleep in (especially if I work late).

8. As long as it gets cleaned up by Wednesday, I kept the house clean the whole time.

(these last two are the sappy ones--just a warning)

9. Nice phone calls from my wife every night.

10. Saying good-bye and welcome home.

1. The glasses.

2. The fact that she was the first female head writer at the male dominated SNL.

3. She was an awesome update host.

4. Mean girls.

5. She tells yo mama jokes and delivers other such similar lines as well as any guy.

6. She's the smartest person to come out of SNL ever.

7. She has quite the extensive improv background. Second City and ImprovOlympic.

8. She still does improv, quite well actually, with asscat.

9. She answers questions online at nbc.com/30_rock.

10. 30 Rock is the funniest show on tv. Each episode is packed with jokes, and yet there is still a compelling story that develops over the season (and you can watch online for free!).

1. For me, they are Fridays (I take Friday off.)

2. Thursday night is 30 Rock night. 30 Rock is the funniest, most underrated show on tv, starring the brilliant Tina Fey. (Have I done 10 things I like Tina Fey yet? Maybe that's next.)

3. At work, I try to make Thursday, "encourage the congregation day." I send letters and make phone calls. It feels good to do that, and it goes a long way in terms of building up the community, too.

4. There's a new Artvoice on Thursdays.

5. Often @janelle and I grab a beer and/or some wings on Thursday night, and I always like spending time with her (not to mention beer and wings!)

6. Janelle has a standing commitment early on Thursday evening, so in addition to quality time WITH her, I get a little bit of time to be alone.

7. Thursday in the square. Is tonight the Dropkick Murphy's? I may have to be there.

8. Thursdays are relatively chore-free. I knock out a lot of work on Friday, so I tend to chill on Thursday.

9. If this Thursday is a representative sample, Thursday is an active estrip day.

10. Thursday is named after Thor, who's hammer got referenced in the comments of @janelle's post. Maybe today is the day that we can finally grab his hammer. "What would we do with it anyway?" you ask? Well, "if I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in evening, all over this land. I'd hammer out freedom. I'd hammer out justice, all over this land."

Why do we need a hammer for justice? Is it for the toes of filibustering senators (see @dcoffee )? I guess I never got that song. Maybe I will when I get a hammer. Please hammer, don't hurt 'em.

I'm going away this weekend on (you guessed it) an airplane! Hence the latest installment of the series named after the number of fingers I have right now.

1. Taking off. I like the feeling of being pressed back into the seat and the roar of the engines. @janelle does not like this, but this is my list.

2. Snacks. I would probably like hell itself if they came around with a cart of snacks. For that reason, they probably don't.

3. Newspapers. I don't even buy one (yes, I am that cheap), but there are always some around airports, and I like to grab one and read it.

4. The little puffer machines that sniff you to see if you have explosives. I don't even know if they have these in Buffalo, but they amuse me.

5. Seeing all sorts of people have to take their shoes and belts off. Sure, its inconvienient, but it also gives me a good, democratic feeling that the bigwig buisness travellers go through the same stuff as schlubs like me.

6. Moving sidewalks. When will the rest of the world catch up to airports?

7. Free internet stations. Ok, so I have only seen this in foriegn airports. The US needs to catch up on this one.

8. Airport drinks. Sure they are expensive, but there is no better way to pass the time waiting for a connection than at an airport bar.

9. My favorite Men's room in Minnesota. Just kidding! I've never been to Minnesota!

The real 9. Landing. It's like taking off, but its where you want to be.

10. Going through the gate after landing, and re-joining people with out tickets. I love it when there is a crowd waiting and people holding signs, even if none of them are looking for me.

1. His hair.



2. His car. Dude is a professional athlete, making millions in salary, plus endorsements, but he drives a Kia. Why? Because he doesn't need a fancy car. A Kia seemed good to him.

3. He's super fast.

4. He hits REALLY hard


5. He's a Pittsburgh Steeler.

6. He never lifts a weight over 15lbs. Sure, he trains really hard, but its all speed, flexibility, and repetition. He believes this sort of training is more conducive to football then lifting weights. I'm not going to argue with him.

7. He's anti-Gatorade. He thinks water is better for you and Gatorade is all marketing.


8. He's a spiritual guy.

9. He's Samoan. I don't know why I like that, but its cool.

10. He's not even that into football. Well, he likes playing, but he doesn't watch it at all. I guess we are different in that way, but I appreciate that he is interested in other things.

1. Lot's of "dark heroes," i.e good guys that do bad things or bad guys that do good things (well, guys and girls actually, even if it is guys in most cases). Really, there's only one completely good guy in the whole thing, and his contemporaries thought he was a bad guy.

2. The language. It was written, mostly, in Hebrew and Koine Greek. Both are relatively simple, for ancient languages. The Greek used was not literary (Attic) Greek, the language of the marketplace, which means that it was written to cross languages and cultures.

3. It surprises me. Still. Even after reading it as much as I have, the Bible still kicks my ass. Martin Luther used to call scripture, "my enemy," because he said, "it destroys me."

4. It's an underdog story. The younger brother gets the inheritance. The slaves get land of their own. The Romans get beat, non-violently at that! Remember the term "David and Goliath story" comes from a book that is full of David and Goliath stories.

5. It's honest about where it comes from. For example, there are four different accounts of Jesus' life, and while they DO converge, they DON'T completely line up. Rather than just pick one, and "get the story straight," early Christians included all four in the Bible, because all four had value. Some thing with other sections of the book (actually, the Bible is better described as a library than a book, but I digress . . .)

6. It reads well. The church has tried to ruin this, by chopping the stories up, or always skipping ahead to its favorite parts, but exodus is exciting! So is Mark. Esther is regarded as great literature by plenty of people who could care less about whether the Bible is "God's Word" or not.

7. It reads even better in community. It raises questions that have to be discussed. It's a "book club" kinda book. (Instead of a book you club people with, which is how it often gets used!).

8. It really does show me God. Sometimes its easy, other times its hard, but God is revealed in that book.

9. It also shows me humanity. No where is it clearer how dumb/selfish/stubborn we can be, but also what God can do with stupid humans like us. It's a pretty good mirror

10. It's got a happy ending. (like this list, I hope). Despite other interpretations that have become popular in recent years, the Bible isn't about how sinners finally get their comeuppance. The Bible is a love story, and thus it ends with a wedding. Humanity and God are made one again, and there's no more death or pain or sickness. Is there judgment? Yes, but that is second to last. The story ends well (and many would argue [using the Bible no less] that it ends well for everybody, not just Christians).

Next: 10 things I like about Troy Polamalu, unless somebody makes a better suggestion.

1. It exposes me to new music that I like, something I desperately need.

2. It's free, the best cost ever.

3. I love to give a quick "thumbs up," when really good music plays, like Derek Webb.

4. I get to feel a sense of indignation when it plays something lousy, and I give it a thumbs down.

5. The thumbs down kills the song playing, and it moves on to something else.

6. It showed me "Omar and the Howlers," who I had never heard before, but sound pretty good.

7. It sounds good on my new speakers, complete with a subwoofer, all of which came to me in a yard sale.

8. Thanks to those amazing tubes of the internets, its available at home and work and wherever else.

9. It gives me the satisfaction of being a part of a musical genome project, or something like that.

10. I think I can listen to what my friends like, too--but I haven't checked that out yet.