[finder] another stray memory

I must have been 7 or 8. For some project (in school?) we needed "code names", and the suggestion was that we look up our own names in the dictionary and use the next entry as our code name. This made me "Ab Absurdo", which somehow seemed unsuitable, so I reversed it. Od Rusbaba. Od Rusbaba!

It still seemed unfair that other people got real words after their names and I had to settle for a stupid phrase. In my mind this felt like it was related to my name having a double-A, which everyone knows can't happen in English.

[finder] meanwhile

I still don't know what to do with Shice Gebruary and Wiscometer Kurope (names courtesy of spam), who are clearly either crimefighting partners or mortal enemies. I believe that Shice Gebruary may be a human-sized mound of garbage which acts as a private investigator.

[music] VANESSA CARLTON - Harmonium (A&M)

Forms an interesting comparison with her first album-- which is sadder, the fact that the music industry manages to sell stuff that's no good at all (like all of that first record save for "A Thousand Miles"), or that it sells stuff which is just barely good enough (like most of this record)?

The new single, "White Houses", is less distinctive than "A Thousand Miles", but that's a small price to pay for being able to make it through the whole album twice without the skip button. There's even a second song with "single" written all over it: "Private Radio", featuring perhaps a little too much danceable pouting and a piano solo that saves the whole thing. Two more good songs after that.

I think I may just be impressed that she's improved at all. I didn't know pop stars were allowed to do that anymore.

Oh, and I lied about the skip button, but it only happened because I can't stand U2 (whom she covers).