I’m a bit out of sorts today, in part because I’ve not made much headway on any of the projects that need to be completed before the semester starts. Every time I think I’ve got some aspect of academic work under control, I meet up with someone who really knows how it’s done. Today I brought my Frankenarticle to the prof for whom I originally wrote it, and to watch her go through with a simple black pen, recognizing in seconds what should stay and what should go, was…humbling. And I mean, like, really, seconds. She practically speed-read the thing, and it’s still better than it was before. So, I can write, but I can’t edit.*

In music news, Mr. Wizard bought a satellite radio receiver. Here is my life: I like gadgets. I marry someone who also likes gadgets. Now we have gadget babies running all over the place. To be honest, I’m neither pro nor con satellite radio, but I see the purpose in our particular household. Wizard is from A Country that is Not in North America, and as such he is used to the plentiful talk radio options of home. Every time we are in the car for more than thirty minutes, roaming somewhere outside our NPR bubble, a rant like this occurs:

Wizard: Where is the news? Why can’t I find news? Whyisn’tthereanewsstationinthiscountry?Whatiswrong withpeoplewhereisthenews?

Perpetua: (explains for the umpteenth time that NPR stations are generally located in the same set of frequencies, somewhere between 88 and 91) (news located; headlines read; jazz/classical resumes)

W: Why don’t they have a separate station for that? Would it kill them to have a 24 hour news station in this country? Why is it only headlines? (etc., ad infinitum)

Somehow, this obsession of his is funnier in real life than it is in print, perhaps because he gets just as worked up over it every single time the problem arises, as is if the lack of news is new. It’s kind of like how a dog gets maniacally excited every time you come through the door, even if he just saw you five minutes ago. For sanity’s sake, and for a sense of home, he needs the damned news and talk radio in the car.

For me, the fun comes in rediscovering the stuff you like. Not the bands you’re passionate about, not the albums you buy, but the horrible crap you’d forget you even remember unless you hear it on the radio. I? Apparently really like electronic/dance music. Today, driving to my meeting, I got super excited by that Gorillaz song “Feel Good.”

WTF is wrong with me? But I love it. And I’ve always loved that style of music. Chemical Brothers, Sneaker Pimps, Propellerheads, dare I even say, Fatboy Slim. I have a thing for late-nineties electronic, trip-hop, ambient, computer-driven, dance music. And admitting to this proclivity makes me feel just a little bit like these guys:

Best teen comedy parody ever made.

*Bonus points if you recognize the lyrics.