Why I Oughtta

1. Travis Morrison talks about his day job.
2. There’s going to be a Smashing Pumpkins tribute album — but the only tracks I’m really interested in are the ones by Ben Kweller and The New Amsterdams.
3. I recently saw Kristin Hersh at IOTA where she performed with The McCarricks — a married duo from London who play violin and cello. You can download their entire New York show (at the Bowery Ballroom) here.
4. A list of 25 underappreciated artists from Rolling Stone — with Ekrobi’s boyfriend coming in at number one.
5. New MIA.
6. Maria Bamford acts cute on YouTube.
7. There’s a new JoS. A. Bank sale going on. You know what that means. Or how about this?
8. Domestic partnerships for Oregon?

1. It’s official: Rudy Giuliani can go fuck himself.
2. The New Amsterdams (or, really, Matt Pryor solo) does the whitest version of Hey Ya imaginable. But it’s still good fun.
3. An L.A. Times sports writer is coming out as a transsexual.
4. Fun context news: the new header of the baby is a photo I took in Vegas last summer. I covertly took the shot because I was afraid the mother would think I was some sort of predator if she saw me. I like changing the headers a lot because, for some reason, a lot of photos that aren’t good enough to stand up on their own (like that one and the flower one before this) make really good headers. Maybe it’s just because you have to sort of artfully crop it. The flower photo (this one:) was actually meant to be a a photo of this whole gigantic bed of gerber daisies. But the focus was all fucked up because I don’t know how to use my camera. But, part of the photo that was in focus made it workable and made it so the photo wasn’t a total waste. As you can see on the left, I actually flipped the photo (see the little baby alien head flowers on the right?).
5. Jake… and a baby carriage.
6. A thing I wrote and a chart I made on TV death.

1. If you’re local and, like me, want to get rid of a lot of old computer equipment, the EPA is having a free recycling event on the 22nd. This way you don’t have to pay to be environmentally safe.
2. Click here for a free soap sample!
3. I wrote TiFaux stuff on Sam Champion and things I love on tv.
4. Has Trent Reznor always been this hot?
5. DCist tries out Google’s new 411 number, but instead recommends 1-800-FREE-411.
6. And a newish episode of the Maria Bamford Show.

1. Ira Glass talks to The Advocate about bringing This American Life to TV and how he’s not a gay. He says, “I don’t think I’m hot enough to be a gay man’s sex symbol. I live in Chelsea [in New York City] and have gay friends. I am definitely not in shape enough. If I wanted to sleep with a gay man, I think I’d have to work out a little more.”
2. Matt and Lance are out, Austin is in as Jake’s new supa-friend.
3. An annoying blog post about an annoying article about David Sedaris.
4. Engineering students made this out of post-its.
5. A picture of tomatoes.
6. There is no news or content attached to this — but did you guys ever see Scooby Doo Goes Hollywood?  I must have rented that movie 15 times before my mom just bought it.  It was Scooby Doo Goes Hollywood, The Goonies and my Fisher-Price record of Mickey Mouse and the Haunted House.

1. Natalie Dee and Toothpaste For Dinner Drew appear in a weird YouTube clip.
2. Download these Decemberists live songs here before YouSendIt automatically takes them down.
3. My period of extravagant spending continues. I went and spent $600 on this.  Go through Bargainist’s link to get 8% off all purchases and $1 shipping at Overstock.com.
4. If I didn’t already own 3 seasons, you bet your sweet ass I’d be buying this.
5. Anna Wintour things the word “blog” is garish.
6. Nine papers have dropped Anne Coulter.

1. Baby tigers plus baby orangutans equal too cute for me to handle.
2. The first marine seriously wounded in Iraq has come out of the closet. It’s all in an effort to publicize a Massachusetts congressman’s attempt to get rid of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
3. Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble has put together a compilation album pairing Scottish poets with Scottish bands. The album, called Ballads of the Book, features bands like Sons and Daughters, Idlewild (naturally), Emma Pollock, Malcolm Middleton and Karine Polwart. You can download the Sons and Daughters track at You Ain’t No Picasso.
4. New Laura Veirs song!!!
5. Free fabric softener while supplies last!
6. A memorable Toothpaste for Dinner.

1. See? This is why I don’t think children should get nominated for Oscars. Quoth the NY Daily News: Abigail Breslin hasn’t lost her childhood innocence. The “little Miss Sunshine” nominee is bringing her stuffed Curious George as her date to the Oscars.
2. Wired has an annoying/pretentious article about how to approach my favorite book, House of Leaves. The guy is taking issue with a perfectly reasonable suggestion of “how to read” the book. Note that he doesn’t come up with a better way to read it — he is making a valid point about the structure of the book, but not actually addressing the idea he’s criticizing.
3. Audioslave broke up. Yay!
4. Edward Monkton, an artist I like, has a new Web site.
5. My Old Kentucky Blog has a list of mp3s for covers of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.”
6. The AV Club interviews DC punk legend Ian MacKaye.

In general, I’m very much opposed to novelty socks. Especially if they’re holiday themed — but that might just be because I’m also very much opposed to Christmas.

Site Map It just seems to me that novelty socks make adults seem like children and not in an altogether flattering way. It’s one thing to have a youthful spirit (getting excited about snow or cookies) or an appropriate sense of nostalgia (cupcake parties, classic kids books and movies). But it’s a different, completely off-putting, thing entirely when women speak in baby voices or people refer to asses as “tushies” or sandwiches as “sammies.”

Think about Rachael Ray. Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.

However, I might have to have a moment of weakness at some point today and pony up the four bucks to buy these communist socks.

I mean, come on. Awesome.

Also, if you enter in these handy coupon codes you can get them even cheaper.

1. The Pipettes and figure skating — a natural combination (thanks K).
2. The Smashing Pumpkins reunion is a sham. I’ll be curious to see what Billy Corgan’s album is like, but I’ll just think of it as his second solo album.
3. Buy one, get one free at Cold Stone Creamery. Just print out this coupon.
4. Natalie Dee’s good today. It’s called “It’s a good talent, but I’m afraid the judges will find it redundant.”
5. Counties!  Care for gays, care for gays!
6. Get a free flosser through the mail.

1. Jake. Why do you insist on talking about girls all the time. It’s unattractive.
2. Click here to watch Laura Veirs play a solo acoustic version of “Where Gravity is Dead.” And wear a fetching sweater.
3. Inara George has a new band called The Bird and the Bee. She’s on Leno right now, wearing this dress that looks like it was stolen from an extra on Laugh In.
4. Minnesota Public Radio has a lot of good stuff. Click here to listen to a bunch of bands’ live sets, including Snowden, Jamie Lidell, Now It’s Overhead, Matt Pond PA, Silversun Pickups and Tom Vek.
5. Worthy of mention: went to Express on my day off to pick over the remnants of the final clearance sale. I walked away with a $10 lamb’s wool sweater and a $10 dress shirt. My roommate Lems said that they are a “bluish purple” and strange shade of green, respectively. And she confirmed, just as I thought, that they would go quite well together. In fact, her mom would say they would look “snazzy.”
6. The man-bob is apparently a new fashion phenomenon.  May I add We Are Scientists’ Keith Murray to that list?
7. Free crispy strips at KFC!  Wooooo!