http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFL...

Help me raise money to fight cancer. Celebrate - Remember - Fight back!

http://pattiesrants.blogspot.com/2008/01/writers-blocked.html

http://pattiesrants.blogspot.com/2008/01/not-whole-lot-going-on.html

Song Lyric of the Day:

Show me what its like / To be the last one standing / And teach me wrong from right / And Ill show you what I can be

Nickelback / "Savin' Me"

7:52AM.
I'm not sure if you know this, but VH-1 plays music videos for a few hours every morning during Jump Start. That's right--a music channel that actually plays music videos. And, I have to say, there are a few videos worth checking out. Here are a few of my favorites.

"Here It Goes Again" by OK Go - This is my absolute favorite video at the moment. Known as "the treadmill video," this quartet takes a handful of treadmills and some clever choreography and turns a low concept idea into sheer genius. Watch the video, and you'll never look at a treadmill the same way again.

"Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley - The duo of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse take the concept of Rorschach test inkblots and turn it on its head in a trippy, optical illusion-heavy masterpiece. It's impossible not to watch.

"Not Ready to Make Nice" by Dixie Chicks - Brilliant art direction gives substance to a song about the rejection and threats the group went through after their Bush-bashing comments a few years ago. Visually stunning.

"Sexyback" by Justin Timberlake - Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, and a spy caper mini-movie set in Europe, complete with a femme fatale and a big explosion. And did I mention Justin Timberlake? Enough said.

"I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by Panic! at the Disco - Wedding meets circus and turns into a carnival. Helping stilts make a comeback.

"Savin' Me" by Nickelback - A man's life is saved, leaving him with the ability to see exactly how much time everyone around him has left to live. Simple and dramatic. (Check out this video set to footage from X-Men: The Last Stand and this one set to the "Out of Gas" episode of Firefly).

"Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers - The band pays tribute to everyone from the Beatles to Elvis to Nirvana in this fun clip.

*YouTube recently announced that it would like to someday be home to "every music video ever created." I, for one, absolutely love the idea. Which video would I revisit first? "Take on Me" by A-Ha.

8:00AM.
Season two of Prison Break kicks off in 12 hours (8PM ET). Woohoo!

9:11PM.
I won't go into details right now since a couple of friends who read this haven't watched Prison Break yet, but OH MY GOD!!! I can't believe the last five minutes!!! I can't believe they did that!!! I think it's safe to say that, like with the first season, anything will go for the second season. Season two is definitely off to a roaring start.

Video Rewind

Song Lyric of the Day:

Dream of better lives the kind which never hate / (You should see why) / Dropped in the state of imaginary grace / (You should know better)

Modern English / "Melt With You"

10:27PM.
I drove to Bristol, VA, yesterday (259 miles round trip) for the bridal shower Samantha's almost-mother-in-law threw for her. I enjoyed meeting all of Shawn's extended family--the female contingent, at least--and chowing down on good food (the spinach finger sandwiches were faboo). I left a bit earlier than I'd planned on thanks to the hellacious thunderstorm that started rolling in around a quarter to six. I managed to get ahead of the storm after about 45 minutes or so, and only encountered drizzles and light rain the rest of the two-hour drive. Thanks to a Best Buy run with Rich earlier in the day, I had a new CD mixed in with my usual rotation, One by The Panic Channel. Nothing like good music to make a solo drive more fun.

I got home right at 8PM, used the bathroom, changed my shirt, and headed out with Rich to meet Jonnie and Curry for dinner at Bravo. It was nice catching up with them since it's been a few weeks since we've really gotten to spend any time with them. Unfortunately, the headache that started during my drive back from Bristol became a full-blown migraine by the end of dinner, so we had to postpone seeing Snakes on a Plane until later this week.

Today I met up with Jonnie, Curry, and Tamara for lunch at Ruby Tuesday in the mall. I'd been out running errands in the vicinity and they braved driving in a thunderstorm to meet up with me, which I appreciated. After lunch, I finished running errands, came home and vegged for a bit, and then set about doing housework. You know--same old, same old.

11:34PM.
The TV gods are smiling down on me--Prison Break's second season begins at 8PM tomorrow night. Can't wait!

Song Lyric of the Day:

There's a burning in my pride, a nervous bleeding in my brain / An ounce of peace is all I want for you / Will you never call again?

Blue October / "Hate Me"

6:31PM.
I gotta say, I'm glad I got a Mac and not a Dell. Not that my Mac may not go up in flames and/or spontaneously combust someday (knock on wood). I guess I should check what kind of battery it uses. Seriously, though, it's pretty scary to see the damage lithium-ion batteries can cause. This is a prime example of how our dependence on technology can sometimes come back and bite us in the butt.

***
I picked Finn up from the vet after work a little while ago; she had to be hydrated a bit more, via IV, today. I was very pleasantly surprised, and more than a little shocked, to hear that she actually behaved herself today. Today there was none of the hissing and growling and swiping at the staff like she indulged in yesterday. I guess she figured if she behaved today, maybe she wouldn't have to go back tomorrow (thankfully, she doesn't).

***
Several days ago, I received a Rocky Top Brigade dispatch about a blogging project being organized for a fifth anniversary tribute on 9/11. The project is called, simply, 2,996. The idea is for each of the 2,996 victims of the attacks that day to be honored by individual bloggers around the world.

I have been wondering for a few weeks now what I would do to mark the anniversary this year; I knew I would write about it--that's a given--but what exactly would I say? To that end, this afternoon I signed up to participate in 2,996. I will be honoring the memory of a 26-year old man who died in the World Trade Center that day. I was the 1,816th blogger to sign up, so there are still quite a few bloggers needed to fulfill the project's objective. If you're a blogger and you'd like to participate, you can sign up here. You will randomly be assigned an individual to honor. Just keep in mind that your post is supposed to go live on 9/11, not when you complete it, should you finish before then.

My reason for participating is really quite simple. And when I can put it into words, I'll tell you what it is.

*Blog post title comes from the Garbage song, "When I Grow Up."