(no subject)

Ok, so I AM running a fever.

I have nowhere I have to be today, nothing I have to do, so I'm huddling under blankets, taking vitamins, and drinking water. I'm going to try to roast this thing out.

Apart from being warm and having a mild headache, I actually don't feel very bad.

(no subject)

D. and I watched Scratch, a documentary of hip hop djs and the current "turntablism" trends.

It was a real eye-opener. For the longest time my only exposure to rap/hip hop music were imitations of the Fat Boys and Run DMC, annoyingly performed by my high school classmates. I learned to appreciate it a little more given the substantial crossover between hip hop and (insert electronic music genre here), but still found "pure" hip hop incredibly silly.

Now that I have some idea of the "noises" that my classmates were trying (and failing) to imitate, I have a whole new respect for the genre (even if I still have little use for MCing - I'll just take the scratching, please!). This is NOT like beatmatching - scratching well is using the turntable as a new musical instrument, and anyone who has the patience and endurance to learn to do this well is to be commended. It's not just using current records - many of these artists use old jazz, concept rock, children's records, even classical, combined with wit or just to make a good beat.

How people can say that this isn't music, or isn't original, is beyond me. I'm not a huge fan either, but just because I don't like something doesn't make it a less valid form of artistic expression.

improvement

My fever appears to have gone down. I'm still headachey but that's about it.

I spent the day under piles of polarfleece to get this result. Also ate a lot of echinacea (no matter what the studies say).

While I sweated I read. I'm trying to read more often so I'm working on Outlander and The Battle for God concurrently, reading a chapter of one, then of the other etc.

The former had been recommended to me by several people a long time ago and I finally picked it up for some light reading. The historical details are fascinating even though I have no idea how accurate they are. I think it is also supposed to be a romance, but that side of the story seems so obvious - I'm much more interested in seeing how Claire gets home.

"The Battle for God" is a popular history of religious fundamentalism that I started after D. finished it. Well written and easy to read and explains how the worlds 3 major religions still manage to inspire fanatics in this secular age.

Flipped through the Victoria's Secret end of year sale catalog - nothing much to scream about except these, even though I can't and shouldn't wear stilettos they are so beautiful and a great price... someone stop me before I rationalize further.

Side thought - I cannot believe I'm already getting spring catalogs.

Also can't believe it's so late. I should probably try and sleep some more, after showering and throwing my stinky clothes in the wash.