These are a few of my favorite (weird) things

I like some weird, off-beat things, and what better time to share them than Christmas time? I'm always sad when I bring them up and literally nobody has any idea what I'm talking about. I'd like to talk about some things that I really enjoy that you might have never heard of, and if they sound cool, encourage you to check them out.

The Up Series. I think Andy (Randrew to most of you) introduced me to this. This is a series of documentaries following a group of kids in England. They took a bunch of 7 year old kids from totally different parts of the country and lifestyles and income levels in the 60's and interviewed them. All of the kids were ridiculously cute, and they were all interviewed and asked a bunch of questions - What do you do for fun? What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you think of the opposite gender? etc. Then, they check in with them (at least the ones who agree to continue the series) every 7 years. Of course it's trying to make a statement about what kids are born with and where they end up, and it's just really interesting to see them grow up, and compare their "phases" to your own. For example, this one girl went to a boarding school (Q: who will raise your kids when you grow up? A: a nanny) and went on extravagant trips, and when she's 21 she's chain smoking and obviously super rebellious. She reels it back in, but I don't want to spoil it for you! At least the first two movies are on Netflix Instant (7up and 14up), and I think up to 56up is out.

The Kleptones. This is a band I discovered in high school and they've stuck with me. They're a mash-up band (klep-tone - get it? so clever) but unlike Girl Talk (who I also like) they generally just use 2 or 3 different song per track. And they have all of their stuff free to download on their website. I first listened to A Night at the Hip Hopera which is hip hop songs laid on top of Queen songs! LOVE! They did a similar album with The Flaming Lips, and one called 24 Hours, where they had times associated with each song and ideally you listen to that song at that exact time of day. I've always wanted to try actually doing that but never have. They're fun, dancey, original, and did I mention their music was free?? They also have a lot of movie/tv clips (Lebowski, Clerks, Aqua Teen, etc) Here's one of my favorite songs, Stevie Wonder and Jet -

Chicken Wing Pizza. It blew my mind when I moved to Oregon that it seemed like nobody had heard of chicken wing pizza. It's the best thing ever, and the best I ever had was actually in high school and you pretty much bribed the lunch ladies to get a corner piece. It's a ton of cheese, chicken, and hot sauce. Some places put blue cheese on it, but I prefer NOT to and to dip it in ranch dressing. The IGA at home has the 2nd best (usually) and I always get it when I'm home. Sometimes we have to add extra hot sauce to it, but it combines some of the best things in life - pizza and chicken wings.

Infinite Jest. This book (by David Foster Wallace) is one of the most amazing thing I've ever read. It's clever, it's intense, it's difficult, it's long, it's crazy, and it's hilarious. It basically took over my life while I read it, and for month afterwards. There are about a billion characters I could never keep straight with weird names, a crazy tennis-based world domination game scene that's probably my favorite passage in all of literature, and a pretty intense puppet show. It's so hard to even succinctly say what it's about... it's set during a time (modern though, not really "in the future") where the government sells years to companies (for example, it's not 2005, it's The Year of the Trial Sized Dove Bar), Quebec wants to secede, most of the Northeast US and Southeast Canada are covered in toxic waste and left alone, a video tape is so entertaining people who watch it literally cannot stop, there are some people very serious about grammar, and a lot of it takes place in a drug rehab facility or next door at a tennis academy. How these worlds interact and what is left up to your mind to fill in is genius and I just completely love his writing. I laughed so hard at some sections and some are very emotional and personal. I'm not eloquent enough to explain how awesome this book is and all of the really cool literary thing DFW accomplishes and just how off the wall so many of the great parts are. One of my favorite books, and as soon as I have 3 months of my life to waste I will be reading it again.

Decemberists - The Calamity Song - took my favorite scene out of the book. Eschaton goes SACPOP. Friggin Kittenplan. I seriously want to go re-read this scene right now for the 12th time.

I can't explain why, but I really like kids educational songs. Not necessarily to learn anything from them, but they're just great. For example, I really like Schoolhouse Rock songs, especially Schoolhouse Rock Rocks. But even the original ones are fun and catchy and I can't tell you how many times I've sung along in my car about how to write a check (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiTC4S5FsCg). A lot of bands I love have been on Yo Gabba Gabba, so of course I really like those songs as well. I mean, bands like of Montreal and Apples in Stereo being adorable and singing about brushing your teeth and how bugs can be your friends? I'm in.

I'm pretty sure this is gonna need a part 2 at some point...