The Sexiest Men Alive According to Elisa This Year

 Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you're excited for your gift.

Two bloggers I love and admire (but only one of whom I know) have recently set forth their opinions on how very wrong the good, but misguided, folks at People Magazine were when they put together their yearly "Sexiest Man Alive" issue. I would have to agree with both of them that People Mag's opinions, while appropriately heteronormative and allowably shallow, are far from spot on. Bradley Cooper? Eh. Here are my opinions on who the real, actual sexiest men alive are this year. Don't worry, I will be judging entirely on superficial characteristics. And you're welcome in advance, ladies/men who can be inspired to greatness from these sterling examples of HAWT-itude.

Ryan Gosling

Best to get this out of the way as soon as possible. People Mag. was right to list him as ONE of the sexiest men alive, but to not feature those blue eyes and that boyish grin on the cover? It's morally wrong. Ryan Gosling is God's gift to hetero ladies everywhere. Everybody thinks so. Also, man knows how to grow a beard. Let's face it. He's magical.

 Not to mention that he is featured on this amazing website which integrates two of my favorite things: gorgeous men and feminist theory.

Jason Segel

This picture should pretty much say everything about why I adore this man.

 Jason Segel is one of the few people who openly adores puppets as much as I do (he wrote and performed the puppet musical in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and in the recent Muppets reboot). Which is one million points right there. Additionally, he plays the charming, offbeat, extremely tall Marshall Erikson on How I Met Your Mother, one of my favorite shows out there. Love those boyish good looks coupled with disarming pseudo-awkwardness. Plus the occasional beard.

 Adorable infinity.

Zachary Quinto

I know what you're thinking. "C'mon, Elisa! You're only choosing this guy because he was on J.J. Abrams' 2009 summer blockbuster Star Trek!!" And my response to you is: well, not only. 

 I suppose it's my inner Eastern European that goes crazy for thick dark hair, even when it extends to the eyebrows. Additionally, I have a thing for noses. You know what they say. Quinto has all that going on and more. Look at that smile (which you don't really get to see in Star Trek). Look at that stubble! He has as much handsomeness as he has hair!

Not that it matters because I only care how people look and not about what's in their hearts or minds, but Zachary Quinto seems to be a genuinely kind, compassionate person, as evidenced by his Twitter feed and his contribution to the "It Gets Better" campaign.

Speaking of, he came out of the closet this past year, which was disappointing for me, to say the least. Nevertheless, I wish him luck in bringing happiness to some ridiculously lucky guy.

Seriously, some guys have all the luck.

Jason Sudeikis 

 I challenge you to name one funny sketch from SNL this year that did not prominently feature Jason S. OK, there might have been one or two. But Jason Sudeikis is the best thing that show has going on at the moment, and not just because of his cool last name. Who am I kidding, though? I don't care if a guy is funny! All I care about are looks. And he has those, too.

Yum. Also, yes, I am aware that he is the second Jason. 

Some of you may have picked up on an emerging pattern, so I will set your mind at ease right now: yes, I do love White guys with boyish smiles and who are maybe a little out of shape (AKA snuggly). This has nothing to do with my own body issues at all. Nor does my penchant for facial hair have anything to do with my personal self-consciousness about my lady-stache. I just want a man to be bigger and hairier than me, OK? To make me feel better about myself. Jeez.

I also like dudes that are funny and a little bit nerdy, except not really because I only care about physical features and not about personality characteristics at all AS STATED PREVIOUSLY. And empirically speaking, J.S. is gorgeous. Have you seen his mustache in Going the Distance? He and Charlie Day made that movie watchable. And buy-at-Safeway-able.

Alan Tudyk 

Yes, he was on Arrested Development and Firefly. Yes, I would love him even if he were not on either of those awesome shows.

Oh, look, another boyish White snuggly dude with the odd bout of facial hair (just not in this photo)! Did you think I would be bored of them by now? Of course I am not. Alan Tudyk is completely 100% adorable. He can even rock a Hawaiian shirt if his character calls for it. That is saying a lot because Hawaiian shirts are gross. He is also smart and funny. But who cares about that.

Seriously, I would play dinosaurs with this guy any day of the week. If you know what I mean. Do you know what I mean?

Lastly, when called upon the man has a very sexy way of dance (possibly NSFW if your boss is super uptight). This video was clearly shot at some sort of nerdy con which makes me love him all the more.

Lyman Johnson

Question: does a Whiter name exist in the whole world? Answer: nope.

Do you watch "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl?" If you don't, you are seriously missing out on some quality television. Go watch it right now. And after you have done so, we can get together at Aurora Donuts and drink whole milk and squee over White Jay. Because he is perfect.

See what I mean? He rocks the funny hair with the boyish grin and makes me believe it. See also: the beard. He also has an engineering degree, but who cares because I just want him to stay at home and wait for me every day when I come home from school.

Am I right, ladies/GBTQ dudes? Suh-woon.

Donald Glover

Granted, the rest of these guys except for Zachary Quinto have kind of all looked the same, but I want to make it abundantly clear that I find all races and creeds attractive, especially when they are funny and know how to rap. Enter: Childish Gambino AKA another guy with a kinda White-sounding name.

 I also definitely have a thing for glasses even if they are fake. 

Donald Glover is currently the best part of the best show on the air (-ish), Community. He is funny, charming and has good jeans. He's also talented at whatever he chooses to do outside of the show, which lately is do stand up and release hip hop EPs. He's totally awesome. Also, if you're not currently watching Community you should start watching it right now, because if you don't it might go off the air permanently and it would be all your fault for not supporting it.

And also because damn, right? 

I hope you all enjoyed these pictures of attractive men that I got you for Christmas, because unless you are my mom I definitely didn't get you anything else. 

xoxo,

ek

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

Go ahead and listen to this song and replace Kotter with Koler:

Have you noticed I have not blogged in a long time? Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. I'm not going to apologize for not blogging, because I'M NOT SORRY. I am also not sorry that this quarter is over, because working fulltime and going to school fulltime is totally exhausting. IT IS THE WORST. Did not enjoy. For all those who did that for four plus years: I SALUTE YOU.

Over the past quarter, I have been so frequently pressed for time that I have become disgusting. Evidence:

1. One time I borrowed my employer's husband's deodorant when I needed to go straight from work to school. Fact: ladies should not smell like Old Spice.

2. Once, while eating dinner/studying in bed, I spilled yakisoba sauce on my sheets and rather than wash them, I just slept in them. Fact: I still haven't washed them yet. Probably this weekend.

3. I also washed my hair in the sink at work.

4. Another time, I dumped cornstarch in my hair at work because I needed to go to school and I had not showered. Fact: I am an Italian greaseball.*

5. Tonight, I ate M&Ms for dinner. Plain. Because they were part of the visual aid for my math class.

Don't worry, I have lots of great stuff in the works! Here's a preview:

1. Even more 2011 books.

2. Installment 1 of Book vs. Movie vs. Movie.

3. Installment 2 of 30 for 30: the "Should I get rid of this?" edition.

4. Installment 1 of I Really, Really Love TV.

5. In-depth reporting on Star Trek Con 2011 in Vancouver, BC. HELL YES I AM GOING TO THAT.

6. Kevin Clash.

Here's to a great summer!

*Also fact: I am not Italian.

Not Being Naked: day 15

I put on clothes today, guys!! A dress, even.

black t-shirt + black leggings + short red dress + no shoes = 10/10 for comfort and bliss

Things I am Thankful for:

1. My badass family

2. My beautiful friends

3. Good music

4. Star Wars

5. Tofurkey

6. Jim Henson

7. Sego

8. Podcasts

9. Texting

10. Hot water

11. Cuddling

12. Jesus

13. Snow days

14. Being barefoot

15. Scrabble

16. Books

17. Missions

18. Persimmons

19. Lists

20. Everything

Some Really Obvious Things.

1. I watched the movie Babies today. I loved it. Babies are so cute! At first they can't do anything except just lie there and be squishy, but then they learn how to do things! And when they mess up it's adorable because they're little! I never get tired of babies.

2. It's getting colder! I think fall is coming! Fall is usually really fun, because I love the first day of school, but since I'm not in school right now mostly fall is just cold. My birthday is happening soon, but mostly that just indicates that after I turn 26 it's going to be cold all the time for a long time. I just really hate being cold!

3. Know what I like to read? Books. Especially the Classics. So timeless! You should definitely check them out.

4. Sufjan Stevens is a great singer. I know, he has a funny name, but hear me out! He is generally categorized as an "independent" or "indie" songwriter. Some people argue that indie music is superior to commercial music because it's more "real."*

5. A good food to eat is pasta, maybe with sauce. If you want to get crazy maybe you should try TOMATO sauce. Whoa. Now that's a good combo.

6. I'm pretty excited about my interview for grad school! I was worried I wasn't going to get one, which would have meant that I was the bottom quarter of all the applicants. That wouldn't make me feel good. However, my being chosen only means that as an interviewee I am in the top 75%, which isn't that comforting either. What if I am not in the top 25%, or even the top 50%? It feels good to be chosen for things you want to do. Accordingly, I will be sad if I do not get chosen.

7. I can't wait to get some student loans so I won't be so worried about money! It's great to get money from the government. It sucks that you have to pay it back, though!

*I am not one of those people.

A Continuation of 2010 Books

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Part of my "banned books" series. I am surprised that I had never heard of this book before, considering how famous and controversial it was in the 1970s (it was even made into a reportedly mediocre movie). This was a really great read, but I could also see why some parents would get their panties in a twist over their teenagers reading it. It's got violence, corruption, bullying, masturbation, loss of innocence, all that bad stuff you think your high school-aged children know nothing about, but actually do. The ending is a Cormac McCarthy level of downer. Highly recommended for misanthropic mood days.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

So I read The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen not too long ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. This was before I learned that every Sarah Dessen book appears to be the same. Read one, and you've read them all. I kept getting distracted throughout this book (which is about a girl's addiction to drugs and her abusive boyfriend ... serious stuff) by deja vu. Upper-middle-class, gorgeous girl who is successful to the point of obsession? Check. Elusive sibling? Check. Dark, dangerous love interest? Overbearing, irritating suburban mom? Masculine, idealized father figure? Quirky, free-spirited best friend? All check. Seriously? Why bother to write another book? You know how annoying it is in movies like Orange County when someone gets touted as a great writer but really he's just fictionalized all the quirky folks in his life and not created anything original? Yeah. That. I think I have a pretty decent handle on Ms. Dessen's life.

The thing that really upset me about Dreamland is that the subject of domestic violence is really important to me and I want there to be lots of believable, empowering literature on the subject for women and teenage girls. But this one fell so short that it mostly just pissed me off. Also, how often do real people actually brush their hair out of their faces? According to Dessen everybody does it like every three seconds.

If I'm way off and her other books are really good and super original, please let me know.

Peter and Wendy (AKA Peter Pan) by J.M. Barrie

To balance out how disappointed I was by the previous book, this book was everything I hoped it would be and more. I deeply identify with confused, motherly Wendy. I was just like that as a little girl. I am still like her, actually. And I love how dark and dangerous and totally-not-for-kids the storyline is. It feels exactly like how I imagined the world as as child--dangerous in a way that no adults truly understood. Read this book.

Escape from "Special" by Miss Lasko-Gross

Speaking of suburban teenagers, this was much more likable than Dreamland. Melissa "Miss" Lasko-Gross wrote this autobiographical graphic novel (isn't it cool how those two words echo each other?) about growing up as a misunderstood kid that everyone perceived as "different." Of course, many of us different kids grow up to be writers. She also chronicles the loss of her faith and her relationship with her parents, who seem pretty cool. If you haven't read a non-fantastical graphic novel before, this would be a great introduction to the genre.

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

Yeah, yeah. I decided I wanted to read this after I saw the (hilarious) movie. Mostly because I wanted to see if the kissing-Jacob scene was any good. Why do I keep doing this to myself? Her writing makes me cringe in a way that only Ms. Meyer and Sarah Palin can (stay tuned for me review of Going Rogue ... I am clearly a glutton for punishment).

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

There are a couple of defining childhood books that I missed out on when I was actually a child. Since I am out of school and planning to be a teacher (of children) I figured now is as good a time as any to catch up on some of those aforementioned books. Also, NPR did an interesting podcast on Laura Ingalls Wilder a while back that piqued my interest.

This book was OK. I am definitely not going to read the nine or so other books in the series. I can see why they would have appealed to me as a kid, reading about the mundane happenings in the life of a happy little girl. She lives in the woods and churns her own butter and loves her parents. Anytime you think anything exciting is going to happen (a bear in the front yard!) nothing ever does. Everybody just ends up safe and snug in their little house eating maple syrup. Again, I can see how that would have been sort of comforting to a young child (I think a second grader could easily plow through one of these books in a week or so) but at this point in my life I don't find it very enthralling.

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore & David Lloyd et al.

This and books like it are probably the reason why I didn't find Little House in the Big Woods very exciting. I am having a moral crisis trying to figure out if I like this book better than Watchmen, which is also a work of staggering genius, and now I think I love them both equally but for different reasons, as if they were my children. V for Vendetta gets into your head a little more, I think. But it's just as fascinating and surprising and character-driven as Watchmen and holy cow, I loved this book. I doubt I will see the movie, though. Especially after Watchmen broke my heart like it did. The fifteen minutes of awesome didn't make up for all that other stuff they did.

Stuart Little by E.B. White

I can't believe I never got around to reading this, especially since Charlotte's Web is one of my favorite books of all time (animals! vegetarians! baby spiders!). It was a nice little read. I liked how they put this very absurd character (an anthropomorphic mouse born to human parents) into this very idealized version of New York City and no one ever reacts like anything weird is going on. It's like Magic Realism for Kiddies. One of my favorite scenes is his failed date with an inexplicably tiny girl. How many of us have ruined a potentially perfect relationship because we were being narrow jerks? You so have, too.

Oddly, I felt like the end of the book was setting it up for a sequel, but there isn't one, is there?

Webslinger: Unauthorized Essays on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man by Gerry Conway (ed.)

This is proof positive that I am a huge nerd. Particularly the fact that after a while, I wasn't even embarrassed to be seen reading this book in public. Also, because this book is really, really fascinating. It consists of essays written by a bunch of gifted pop culture writers about various topics as they relate to spider-man: psychology, religion, philosophy, various literary themes. It's a veritable feast of comic-book-obsession-hood. If you like that sort of thing, read it.

Matched by Ally Condie

Thank you thank you thank you Kayla for this book! It arrived in the mail only a few days ago and it was one of the most exciting packages I have gotten in a long time. Kayla and I were talking one day about how we like getting mail, and how we both like books, and she was like, "Hey! Why don't I send you a book in the mail! Then you can send a different one back to me! It will be fun!"

It totally is fun. Not only is this an advance copy of a book by an author I have never heard of (she lives in Salt Lake City so she may or may not be Mormon? she makes no mention of it in this book either way) but it was a really fun, pleasurable YA read. I read it in one day while I was doing front desk reception at a really slow office (today, actually). Matched is a dystopian romance along the same lines as The Hunger Games (which I love), but even though the plot is a little tread, Condie is a good enough writer that I was totally engrossed. It's not predictable, either. I was genuinely concerned about the characters and how/if things were going to work out. I'm not positive if Condie is planning on a sequel, but I hope she is. If she is Mormon, the book turns into a very interesting commentary on our ideas of destiny vs. agency. But either way, it's a great book.

An Inventory.

Tonight I did an inventory of my life. I do this when I start to feel bored or annoyed with my goals and accomplishments, which honestly, isn't super often. I don't share the whole list with anyone because it's too personal and even (especially?) those of you who love me the most would judge me for it. But, allow me to present a numerical break-down.

Years I have lived: 25

Years I will live according to this website: 105 (Word of Wisdom, biatches!)

Years I have left: 80

Goals I have:

Total: 82

Accomplished: 12

Goals that require me to be married or close to it: 5

Goals that require me to have children: 2

Goals that I can do whenever the hell I want: 63

So you know, there's that.

If I start talking a lot about Scrabble tournaments and hot air balloon rides and travelling to the East China Sea,* you'll now know where it's coming from.

*These are all actual life goals.

My Favorite People, Day 3: Cori Anne

We took this photo in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

Today's subject is Cori Anne Marie Devard. She has lots of names.

She likes typography. And water.

Whenever you hear me start a story with "My best friend ..." this is who I am talking about. She and I have been friends so long it is totally pointless to explain how we met. That would be like explaining to a grain of sand the geological history of the Planet Earth.

Things Cori and I have done together:

1. Travelled to Japan.

2. Transported a goat in the back of a van.

3. Written and starred in an award-winning skit.

4. Studied belly-dance.

5. Driven my car backwards in a parking lot for over a mile to see if my odometer would reverse one mile (it did not).

6. Tied for second in a sushi-eating contest.

7. Stolen an entire pizza from the teachers' lounge.

8. Attended a VIP party at Nintendo headquarters.

9. Dug a huge 2003 into the hill next to our high school (before someone called the cops).

10. Seen Bob Dylan live.

11. Gone to Disneyland.

12. Gone to Tokyo Disneyland.

13. Skipped school to see the first three Harry Potter movies on their opening day.

14. Taken black-and-white photos of each other on the beach.

15. Snuck into a hotel to use the pool and eat the waffle breakfast.

16. Gotten locked inside the Husky Stadium after hours and escaped by climbing a fence (thus ripping holes in the crotches of our respective jeans).

17. Organized and starred in an award-winning dance performance.

18. Gone to a midnight showing of Lord of the Rings.

19. Bought baby clothes when neither of us were pregnant or even close to becoming pregnant.

20. Held spontaneous dance parties in our condo parking lot.

21. Invented a game called "green ball."

22. Attended a rained-out production of the Manti Temple Pageant (Neither of us knows how it ends, to this very day).

23. Nair-ed our legs, to less than spectacular results.

24. Walked like one million miles (literally) on the Burke-Gilman trail.

25. Always had fun no matter what we did.

Awwwwwwwwwww.

Dear Donovan and Dallin,

I know you probably can't picture your sweet-eyed Mormon mama doing some of the things I just listed above, but rest assured that she really is that cool. How lucky are you?

xoxoxoxoxo

Auntie Elisa

Guess how old we are in this picture? 17. Wait. I was 17, Cori was 16.

CAN YOU BELIEVE WE WERE EVER THAT YOUNG WHAT THE HECK

The Seven Deadly Sins, Day 5: Gluttony

I have learned a very sad fact about myself. Setting a goal to do the same thing every day for one month is too much for me. Unless that thing is:

1. Taking my vitamins.

2. Flossing my teeth.

3. Charging my phone.

4. Taking my dog to the park.

5. Staying away from drugs and alcohol.

In short, I have no discipline. Sorry I was MIA all weekend, guys.

To be fair, my mom was in town this weekend AND it was my aunt Maurine's birthday party and there were lots and lots of events, social and otherwise, that required my attention. Also, I went to church twice because somehow I thought that would make up for missing the first 15 minutes of Sacrament. I do not know why. Maybe I just really like church. Anyway.

Gluttony! It's a fun word. I think I am guilty of gluttony like, every day. That should be obvious, because I am overweight. How else could you explain it? Do you think I have some sort of gland problem? Heck no. I eat too much = getting fat = sad and alone. Luckily, I am working on eating less and have lost an undisclosed amount of weight. I am proud of myself for this.

Here are some foods that make NOT being gluttonous really hard for me, because they are so delicious.

1. Chocolate milk.

2. Macaroni and cheese.

3. White chocolate chip and Macadamia nut cookies.

4. Curly fries.

5. Nachos.

6. Banana ice cream. Not ice cream with a banana on top of it, you idiot. BANANA ICE CREAM. The only kind of ice cream I really can't live without. If you know me, you know this.

7. Mayonnaise. I know mayonnaise isn't by definition bad, but eating too much of it definitely is. Also, is this picture creepy or what?

Me: I love mayonnaise.

DHB: That's disgusting.

Me: I know. Do you still love me?

DHB: No.

8. Twix bars.

9. Mozzarella sticks.

10. Waffles with all kinds of crap on top.

11. Anything that Bob and I think might taste good deep-fried. This hobby is much more dangerous than drinking alcohol.

The Seven Deadly Sins, Day 4: Wrath

Sorry, guys. Apparently I took the "sloth" thing a little too far yesterday and forgot to post. Fail. To be fair, I was helping my aunt clean her house and then walking around Greenlake with Judith, so it's not like I was lazing about getting fat. Anyway, I thought about posting this one retroactively but I think I will just post twice today. Consider this a day of many sins.

Were you mad that I didn't post yesterday? Probably not. But if you were, that's a sin. The sin of wrath (which is basically anger) is one of the SEVEN DEADLY SINS. I assume that righteous anger is not a sin, however I also assume that only Jesus has truly righteous anger. What do you think?

In honor of wrath, here are some things that really piss me off.

1. Bad parenting.

2. Bland food.

3. When people lend my stuff out to other people without asking me.

4. Being asked about my finances by adults I don't know.

5. Overly aggressive salespeople.

6. People who insist on being exclusive for no good reason.

7. Capital One. It's story for another time, but those bastards are going down, just as soon as I draft that letter to the Attorney General. Hey, guys. Remember how you gave a third party company permission to withdraw money from my checking account without my permission? REMEMBER THAT??

8. Bad writers who act like they are really good writers (I'm looking at you, Nicholas Sparks).

9. Misogyny.

10. Homophobia.

11. Eh, bigotry in general.

12. People who are so loyal to one genre that they close their mind to all other genres. I'm think of Indie Music, but there are lots of examples.

13. Stretch marks.

Um, that's all I got.

I Can't Believe I Haven't Blogged About X, Day 5: Pet Peeves

This post has been in the works for a million billion years. AND HERE IT IS!!

Some people have lots of pet peeves. I only have a few. Which gives me the right to take them very, very seriously.

My Pet Peeves:

1. When people leave their grocery carts in the parking lot instead of returning them to the designated area. I never worked as a cart wrangler (or whatever they're called) but I imagine it is one of the most annoying jobs in the world. I don't like it when people make other people's bad jobs even worse.

2. When people leave garbage in the movie theater. Similar to the justification for #1 but also, seriously, can't you pick up your own trash? Just throw your candy wrappers and popcorn cups away. Not that hard.

3. When people take pleasure in killing living things. This particularly bothers me with spiders. I love spiders. All they want to do is live and make the world a better place by eating all the mosquitoes!

4. When people mispronounce my name. Rhymes with Teresa, guys. Once again, not that hard. Also, that's an S, not a Z. Please go home and practice your alphabet. There is no excuse for so many people in this crazy world to get Vilja Hynynen's name right and yet mispronounce mine. V, you said you wanted a "shout-out" on my blog. Does this count?

5. When people (especially men) speak to me in a condescending manner. Allow me to provide an illustrative example.

Today I took a standardized test called the WEST-B. It's a test for prospective teachers to determine whether they have the basic mental function to be entrusted with other people's children. Literacy, basic math, etc. At the test site in Renton, they also administer specialized tests so teachers can be certified to teach subjects such as math, science, special education, and so one. Consequently, there were a lot of people there.

One has to turn in one's cell phone before taking a test, and while I was standing in line to do this I noticed that the guy standing next to me was cute. I struck up a friendly conversation (it was early, I have no idea what I actually said) and when I noticed he was carrying a graphing calculator, asked what test he was taking. Cute math teacher has to be a win, right?

Not exactly. He got all cocky looking and said, "Yeah, I'm taking the MATH test."

The girl standing nearby overheard and piped up (teachers seem to be a neighborly bunch) "Oh, really? That's a hard test. I flunked it the first time." This last part she said with an embarrassed look on her face.

My new boyfriend, however, thought this was right sportive. He LAID INTO this poor girl, saying something like, "REALLY? You FAILED it? SERIOUSLY? I can't believe that..." Blah blah blah until I maybe wanted to punch him in the face.

Then he turns to me, looking all satisfied and, while doing this weird calf stretch thing that I think was intended to show off his muscles or something, asked me, "So, what are you taking?"

I responded, "The WEST-B. All three sections."

His response was, "ALL THREE? Ha. Good luck with that! You shouldn't have signed up for all three at once! You will be in there right until the bell rings. I like, barely finished." Implying, of course, that if he barely finished, hell if I was going to manage to figure out the instructions.

I finished with an hour to spare. Take that, meathead. He probably can't even read.

Moses Lake, I love you but you're bringing me down.

After a rather stressful week, if I say so myself, things took a turn for the better when I drove up to Spokane this morning and picked up my brother. He is done with his freshman year of college and will be home for four months, and he is like my best friend, so that is pretty much the best news ever.

On the way home, in Moses Lake, because we are awesome, we stopped by this random record shop where they had a bin of CDs for ONE DOLLAR. Many of these were the WORST CDs YOU CAN IMAGINE.

We agreed that we would each choose several CDs and purchase them, and the rule was WE HAD TO LISTEN TO THEM ALL THE WAY THROUGH NO MATTER HOW BAD THEY WERE.

Some of them, however, we bought just because they were so awesome.

Here were David's picks:

Monty Python Live at City Center, 1976. This was a really funny CD even if it was a lousy recording. We had to keep adjusting the volume at weird intervals. But, you get what you pay for.

Ray Charles, Genius & Friends, 2005. This one was mostly for our dad.

Johnny Cash, Ragged Old Flag, 1974. Um, how could you NOT buy this CD, I ask you?

And here were my picks. I was a little more adventurous.

Deep Blue Something, Home, 1995. Remember that song, Breakfast at Tiffany's? Well, I do.

Batman Forever soundtrack, also from 1995. The Offspring, Massive Attack, Seal, Nick Cave. Delicious.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch soundtrack, 1998. Apparently I was in a very 90s mood today. Also, CHECK OUT THAT LINE-UP. Additionally, I have fond memories of listening to this very soundtrack with Cori when we were younger, but still old enough to know better.

And, last but not least:

Lou Bega, A Little Bit of Mambo, 1999. This CD sucked even more than you imagine it sucks.

As you can imagine, it was a pleasant roadtrip. I feel like now that my brother is here, everything else will be OK.