Today, I Liked My Job

Today was a very good day at work - the type of day that makes me happy I sucked it up and made the change. So I thought I'd share.

I was supposed to work at reception all day today (bleh) but upon clocking in Stephs hurriedly told me I was working in the back instead, as Bethany had called in sick. I was stoked; I'd much rather work in the back anyway but today there was a particular surgery I wanted to see and now I was going to be able to! Plus, I much prefer being busy, busy, busy and with one person down, I was actually going to get to do tech stuff (instead of being the new person who has to do the more peripheral stuff). I got to monitor anesthesia on the first procedure and got to watch a bit of the surgery I was interested in*, a chinchilla came in (and you KNOW how much I love chinchillas!!!) and I got to help out with its exam, and I got to x-ray a guinea pig. It was awesome! :o) I had to work an extra 90 minutes past the end of my shift and I didn't really care. I may still be in the honeymoon phase of my job but even if that's the case, it's nice to have days on the job that make you feel so fulfilled.

And because I didn't get to take any pictures of the chinchilla, here are some other photos of animals from the clinic. And a picture of me holding my first chinchilla while interning at MVVC. ;o)

Today's chin was only my second so I expect to squee every time I see one for quite some time to come.

I was almost as excited for this guy, a very handsome panther chameleon. LOVE. He bit me and pooped on me while I restrained him and it was totally worth it.

This little guy is just one of the many Petco bearded dragons. He's enjoying his heat lamp. (Never, ever, ever under any circumstances buy an animal from Petco.)

These are two of our three clinic cats, Logan (male, top) and Trinity (female). They're just hangin' out in the break room. They're both super sweet and friendly and I spend lots of time pestering them.

And THIS is Lola, the third clinic kitty. She's my favorite because she's a huge purr machine and she looooves love and...

she makes biscuits on your neck!!!!!!!!! Or your arm. Or your chest. But mostly your neck. (She's declawed up front, don't worry.) She's my surrogate cat since Linguini sucks so badly. We're BFFs.

* The surgery was a partial ear amputation. It sounds gross, I know, but amputations always kind of fascinate me and I was indeed fascinated. I almost took a picture of the sutured ear but figured I would be the only person who found it cool so decided against it. You're welcome.

Is Weird Al a Jerk?

A cloud of sadness has hovered over me for the past three days and there are no signs of it clearing up anytime soon. You see, it was three days ago that Dr. V (from Pawcurious) responded to a comment I left on one of her posts and with that response a little piece of my Weird Al-loving heart was shattered. Why, you ask? Because apparently he's a dick. I don't know what he did. I don't know when he did it. But he did something that caused Dr. V, a woman I don't know at all but who seems very normal on her blog, to cease being a fan altogether. I am crushed, people! CRUSHED!

Several days ago, Dr. V posted about a negative experience she had at Disneyland. (It acutally kinda surprised me - Disneyland is usually super awesome at customer service! In my experience, anyway.) As she's starting off the post, fifth paragraph in, she says:

Now I know Disneyland and I have had our moments in the past- the Splash Mountain debacle, for one, and a heartbreaking encounter with an accordion playing D-list celebrity I used to be a fan of, but still, I figured how could they screw this one up? All you have to do is make some reasonable accommodation for a disabled guest, blah blah Magic of Disney etc, right?

Say que?  A heartbreaking encounter, you say? That's a strong word. :o(  An accordion-playing D-list celeb, you say? To whom else could she be referring but my beloved Al?! (I fervently hoped she was talking about Judy Tenuta but I strongly suspected that was not the case.) I couldn't let it rest. I had to find out. So, I posted the following:

To which Dr. V replied:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Say it ain't so!!!!! I'm glad Dr. V was kind enough to reply to me but this is one of those cases where what you have seen cannot be unseen. What you have learned cannot be unlearned. I really, really, really want to message her and see if she'll spill the beans because I Google'd "Weird Al + rude" and "Weird Al + negative fan encounter" and "Weird Al + mean" but came up with bupkis! And since my previously undying love is sullied now anyway, I may as well know the truth. But I don't want to appear a wackadoodle so I probably won't. Still, I'll always know someone I like is out there thinking badly of Al and that will always make me sad. Boo.

Music Minims 10: The Return of the Mode

It has been almost 3 years since my beloved Depeche Mode has gone on tour (remember the sad cancellation of '09?) but they're coming to the Shoreline this September. Yay! See that one sad little exclamation point there? In other years there have been many more but I can't muster it this time around. I still love the Mode as much as ever (though I never like their new albums as much as their old stuff... though Delta Machine has a few good songs on it, so that's encouraging) but the ticket-buying experience has been completely ridiculous. Buying tickets for stadium tours is always obnoxious but in this case there were 4 presales to get through that made it even more so. Four presales!!! Ridiculous! There was a presale for CitiBank members, Facebook fans, special Shoreline VIPs, and those who purchased the album in advance from Amazon.com. Past experience has proven that presales do not always offer the best seats but the fact that there were 4 made me think the odds of getting any type of ticket that wasn't for the lawn were slimmer than usual. I was only eligible for the Facebook presale and that offered only lawn seats (surprise!). So Robert woke up early on Saturday to try to get tickets during the general sale and knock me over with a feather we got some! That aren't on the lawn!!! In the two minutes it took for Robert to complete his transaction, all non-lawn seats blew away so we got lucky, I guess.

You guys didn't really need to hear that story but I wanted to post an interview with Dave in Time so that is my lead-in. Sorry. :o)

TIME: You’ve been making music for almost 35 years.

Dave Gahan: Yeah it must be something close to that. We were playing gigs at little clubs around London and trying to get out of London in 1979, ’80. Then we put out our first single in 1981. It’s been awhile. What do you think are some of the biggest changes that you’ve seen in the industry? It’s totally different. It’s kind of beyond me, really, now. What’s changed the most, I think, is the idea of having an album – of having that special thing in front of you and reading the lyrics and all that stuff – that died the minute the record industry decided to make the compact disc. It was the death, really. Even when they first came out, for me, the packaging was sh–, ‘What is this piece of plastic? It’s nothing special.’

Was Delta Machine released on vinyl? Yes, it does come out on vinyl, but that was all you sold back then. That’s what people bought. They bought albums or cassettes. And now HMV just closed in the UK… There’s no more record stores! In New York I’ve watched them slowly disappear. One thing that happened though, is that I think live music is more popular now than it’s ever been. The possibilities are endless now, with performing, getting your music online, getting your own website and getting your music out there. I think that’s very cool and amazing.

Have you embraced social media? Personally? No. I barely email. I text, but—put it this way: The other day, my daughter texted me something that was funny, so I texted back to her “LOL” And she texted back to me, “Don’t do that, Dad.” I was like, right, right. I do use texting as a great way to communicate quickly, but I don’t Twitter or anything.

Speaking of technology, as pioneers in the electronic music field, how have the changes in technology affected how you make music? Funny enough, in the studio we tend to lean towards modular synthesizers, old fashioned synthesizers, from the ’70s through the ’80s. So you have the exact same equipment you started with? We have a lot of equipment. Martin [Gore] has a collection of old synthesizers and drum machines that would fill this room, literally. [Ed. Note: It’s a big room.] They are big and old and clunky, but they make great noises. We use soft synths too, online, but not so much on this record. This record was predominantly modular synthesizers that were manipulated and played and sent through amplifiers. Same with drum machines, guitars, and everything. We often manipulate original sound– whatever is creating that sound– through a wall of synthesizers and amplifiers to create a sound that is really interesting to us because of the rhythm or the atmosphere it creates. But, you know, for me, making records has become …well, I long for it to be a simpler process. Making a record with Depeche Mode is not a simple process. It’s quite complicated and long. We have the luxury of time. I’m not sure that’s such a good thing when you’re being creative. We come into the studio with lots of songs in mind. I’ve demoed songs, Martin’s demoed songs, we have 20 songs and we come into the studio to record them. You would think coming into the studio with songs demoed and ready, that we would come into the studio ready to record them quickly. But we don’t. I kind of like that process of working a little faster in the studio. It gets boring for me. They are in their laboratory surrounded by all these twiddly things with all these things that make bleeps and noises and I sit there, like, “Can I sing now? Can I sing now? Can I sing now?”

Has that always been your process? Yeah, I’ll just go in the other room and fiddle around on my guitar. Now, I don’t waste my time. We recorded a chunk of Delta Machine at Jungle City, Alicia Keyes’ place, and we recorded a bunch of it out in Santa Barbara where Martin lives in a downtown studio there. But Martin has his own studio and I have my own studio – they’re both small places. So when they are working in the main studio, I’ll be in the little studio – mine or Martin’s – doing vocals. They might be working on one track during the day, and I’ll say to the producer, ‘It sounds good, give it to me now before you start fiddling with it too much.’ Then I’ll go do vocals, give it to the producer, he’ll shove it in a computer and see what works, what has to go. It’s like a puzzle. It’s a continuous thing. We don’t close the door on it all until its finished. Each song goes through many different interpretations. As Martin always says, we always go thorough a reggae version of the song and it never ends up there, but it gets that beat going on. We’ll try a blues-driven beat. We speed it up, we change the key, we’ll play with it until it works.

Do you have a favorite song on this record or is there one that you think holds the album together? On this record, for me, one of the key songs was “Heaven,” which isn’t probably the most obvious of singles, but Martin and I felt it represented the record in lots of ways, which is why we wanted to put it out first. It’s not like we felt it was going to be a big hit or something, but that doesn’t really drive us to make music. We all like to have hits, it’s nice to have hits, of course, but after making 13 records together, it’s not what drives you. What drives you is to make a great record. That’s what still drives me. Certain songs propel that. “Heaven” is one of those songs. When Martin played the demo for me, I was in. It’s gospel-y bluesy, it’s right up my street. Songs like that speak to me. I hope I can write one someday. I did a Soulsavers project last year and we wrote a bunch of songs together and there are some songs like that on there. This song would fit very well on The Light the Dead See. That’s where I’m at right now, a gospel-y bluesy thing just speaks to me.

Which, of course, is the antithesis of what people think of when they think Depeche Mode. The title Delta Machine describes it, though. It’s influenced by the blues, but it’s made by machines. It’s what we do and this album embraces that more than the last couple. Every album leads you to the next one somehow. Sometimes, you make a record and you’re not quite sure why you’re making it, but you find out when you make the next one.

As an artist who has such an ardent fanbase and impressive discography, do you feel tied to the past at all? Or do you just make what you are driven to create and hope the fans like it? It’s probably the latter. There’s a lot of talk like that in the recording studio from record companies and you have to watch out for it. They’ll say, ‘Oh that sounds like old-school Depeche’ and alarm bells go off for me. Martin and I have an undeniable chemistry together, and you don’t mess with it, it just is. His songs speak to me. I don’t know why that is, but it works. For me, when I start hearing people in the studio saying that it sounds old-school or that it sounds like something that is far away from who we are I’m, like, ‘Great let’s go far away from who we are.’ Because it’s like a clock, you can try and get away from who you are, but it will come right back round. It’s my voice, it’s Martin’s influences, there’s a style that the song is written and arranged. It’s good to take it away. There are some fans who will love this record, and there are some who think, ‘I don’t like this record, because it doesn’t sound like that one.’ You have to keep moving forward as an artist. It’s a ridiculous idea to try and repeat a process. I am afraid of that. If we go in the studio and it feels too normal, then you’re not pushing yourself. The moment that happens, I think Martin and I will look at ourselves and say, ‘We’re finished.’ [laughs] Why stay in the same band and limit myself as a musician?

Have you ever wanted to do anything else career-wise? It’s great being in a band. If it doesn’t work and you’re just fighting other bulls–t and the music’s put on the side, you gotta move on. You have to find the right spot. I was lucky to find that right when I was about to throw in the towel. Before we made Exciter …we began making that record and it felt like, ‘We’ve done this.’ For me, it did, anyway. I don’t know if Martin and Fletch did. I had demoed a bunch of songs, but it was clear that the band was not interested in any of my writing aspirations. I played a couple of things and there was literally no reaction. I remember being quite upset about that. I didn’t vocally say anything, but I was quite upset. Like, ‘F— you guys!’ — but the message I got was, that’s not what you do—you sing. I made a decision that I was going to work really hard on my vocals. I was going to go on the Exciter tour and then I was going to go in the studio — with different people. That, for me, was the beginning of actually becoming very enthusiastic about making music. I was getting to the point where I wanted to go paint or something. I wasn’t interested in making music anymore. I wasn’t interested in myself as an artist. I wasn’t stimulated. I didn’t know it then, though, but now I see it. I had, like, 15 or 16 songs that eventually became the record Paper Monsters. And, then, forming a band to tour with that for six months, changed my whole outlook. Then, I was ready to go back in the studio to make Playing The Angel with Depeche Mode. I don’t think I would have done that without making the Paper Monsters album and touring, though.

Is that a lesson that you would want to pass on to younger artists? Make sure you’re doing what you love? When you’re younger and you’re driven by something that seems much larger than life when you begin. You’re in a band. You’re in the back of a van, traveling from gig to gig, and it’s just you against the world. It’s cool! It’s the greatest thing. Do you miss that? I got it back when I did the Paper Monsters tour. There was a lot of that, where we were just in the back of the van, traveling through Europe, getting held at borders, barely making the gig, running on stage. It was fun. So I try to make this fun now. Touring with Depeche Mode is a whole different thing. This tour that we’re doing in Europe now, it’s 30 shows and we’ve already sold a million tickets. That’s beyond what we couldn’t have imagined. But touring with Depeche Mode is a production. There’s a hundred people in the crew and lights and show—and a lot is expected. That’s what we try to live up to. Depeche Mode has become something that I see very clearly …our fans who come to the gigs, they know us. They know our music. It means something to them. It means something in their life, or it meant something, anyway. Thirty years is a long time. It’s why people walk up to me on the street in New York and say, ‘That record got me through college!’ or ‘That song came on when my daughter was born.’ I get more of that than anything else and that’s a really nice feeling, to have meant something. To be part of something that means something to people. 

Finally, here's an amusing interview the band just did last week with Jonathan Ross:

Whatever! I Just Don't Wanna Eat Liver!

Robert bought me The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic (3 awesome CDs) for Christmas but I just got around to importing it into my iPod this past weekend. There are lots of songs I hadn't yet heard so I've been enjoying listening to it while typing up my posts. But when I started listening to "Trapped in the Drive Thru" I had to turn it off because I was laughing so hard I couldn't concentrate on what I was writing! I've never heard the original recording of "Trapped in the Closet" but knowing Al this is probably pretty spot-on. I must share. Enjoy.





The only version of the song I've heard is from the 'Trapped in the Closet' episode of South Park:




And because it's one of my favorite, favorite moments:



Robert and I "OhMahGahd!" all the time at our house. We're weird.

TV Tidbits: Spring TV Predictions

(Look, Bob! It's a TV post!!! :-D)

Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook know how outraged and saddened I was by the loss of Ben and Kate and Don't Trust the B- in Apt 23 and I still am, quite frankly. I don't care if I was the only person watching it, like my mom was with According to Jim - the networks need to burn off the remaining episodes during the summer at the very least! They were GOOD shows! I swear! So funny! And charming!!! Ugh. This is just getting me riled up again. Anyhoo, EW.com just posted their Spring Survival Scorecard and it is as follows.(AARGH! Blogger is formatting this so weirdly! And I can't seem to clean it up so if you want to view it in its original format, click here.)



The TV industry is less than two months from the New York upfronts, when the broadcast networks unveil their new fall lineups to advertisers. Several pickups have already been announced (as if anyone expected CBS to not say yes to another season of Hawaii Five-0 and Person of Interest.). But many more remain on the proverbial bubble. Here’s an update to our recent rundown of current show survival odds, with each show’s current season-to-date rating among adults 18-49 (including DVR).

NBC

Revolution (5.0): One of the few freshman success stories this season. These lights will stay on.
Animal Practice: Cancelled after four episodes

Chicago Fire (2.3): There’s already talk of a spin-off. If that’s not a positive endorsement of this show, we don’t know what is.
Community (1.7): If the Greendale clan is lucky enough to get another season, it will be a short final semester.
Deception (1.7): Poor-man’s Revenge with poorer ratings. Not hopeful.  
Do No Harm: Cancelled 
Grimm (2.5): An easy call.
Law & Order: SVU (2.1): Seems safe.
Off Their Rockers (1.7): We don’t expect Betty White to stop rocking anytime soon.
30 Rock (1.9): Final season 
Go On (2.4): We think Matthew Perry will return one more season, as long as NBC can keep attaching The Voice respirator.
The New Normal (2.1): We’re hearing “yes” and keep asking “are you sure?”
Guys with Kids (1.6): Somebody needs to head off to Chuck E. Cheese …. and never come back.
Parenthood (2.8): A renewal is certain.
Parks & Recreation (2.0): Knope expected to get a “Yes.”
Smash (1.5): The curtain is closing. That new Saturday slot isn’t a reward.
Celebrity Apprentice (1.7). We expect a return next year.
The Biggest Loser (2.8): Jillian Michaels didn’t muscle up better ratings this season, but we still expect a renewal.
The Office (2.6): Final season

Rock Center With Brian Williams (1.0): Nothing NBC has done with this show has made much sense so … yes, it will probably return.
The Voice (5.2, 4.8): RENEWED
Up All Night (1.7): Nothing said officially but no other show screams CANCELLED more than this one.
Whitney (1.5): Sorry, it still has a shot.
1600 Penn (1.5). Soon to be sequestered.



CBS

2 Broke Girls (4.0): RENEWED
Blue Bloods (1.9): RENEWED
CSI: NY (1.9): Wasn’t mentioned this week as one of the 18 shows renewed for fall. Gary Sinise and company could follow CSI: Miami out the door this spring.

CSI (2.9): RENEWED
Criminal Minds (3.6): No pickup announced yet but that’s only because the actors are currently renegotiating their deals. Expect a return.
Elementary (3.0): RENEWED
48 Hours: RENEWED
Golden Boy (1.9): Tarnished. If the ratings don’t surge soon, this one is a goner.
Hawaii Five-0 (2.6): RENEWED
How I Met Your Mother (3.9): RENEWED FOR FINAL SEASON
Made in Jersey (1.1): Cancelled
Mike & Molly (3.6): RENEWED
NCIS (4.2): RENEWED
NCIS: LA (3.5): RENEWED

Partners (2.3): Cancelled
Person of Interest (3.5): RENEWED
Rules of Engagement (2.9): CBS has used this show to patch a hole when new comedies drop out, but this season will likely be the last.
60 Minutes (2.3): RENEWED
Survivor (3.0): RENEWED
The Amazing Race (2.7): RENEWED
The Big Bang Theory (6.4): RENEWED
The Good Wife (2.0): RENEWED
The Job(.8): CBS hasn’t said officially but this short-lived reality show is dead.
The Mentalist (2.4): RENEWED
Two and A Half Men (4.2): CBS and studio Warner Bros are still talking, so we expect to see another season.
Undercover Boss (1.8): RENEWED
Vegas (2.2): Very much a gamble.



FOX

American Dad (2.7): RENEWED
American Idol: (Wednesdays, 5.2 rating; Thursday, 4.8). Dive bombing this season, but still winning many nights. Safe.
Ben & Kate (1.5): Cancelled

Bob’s Burgers (2.3): RENEWED
Bones: (2.8). RENEWED.
Family Guy (3.7): RENEWED.
Fringe (1.6): Final season
Glee (3.3): The comedy musical is expected to return for a fifth season, but negotiations between the network and studio are still ongoing.
Hell’s Kitchen (2.1): RENEWED
Kitchen Nightmares RENEWED
New Girl (3.4): RENEWED.
Raising Hope (2.0): RENEWED.
The Cleveland Show (1.6): Once again, this is the only Fox animated veteran without a renewal in the spring (the animated shows require a longer lead-time to produce next season’s episodes than the live-action shows). We expect Fox’s hesitation will be permanent this time.
The Following (4.2): RENEWED
The Mindy Project (2.2): RENEWED
The Simpsons (3.2): RENEWED
The Mob Doctor (1.3): Cancelled
The X-Factor (3.6 and 3.4) RENEWED
Touch (1.0): Not looking great. Kiefer Sutherland is fielding backup offers.



ABC

America’s Funniest Home Videos (1.5): Naturally.
Don’t Trust the B– in Apt. 23 (1.6) Cancelled
Castle (2.6): A sure thing. Nathan Fillion’s drama is one of the few solid performers at 10 p.m. on broadcast TV.

Malibu Country (1.6): Reba McEntire is a reliable performer, but country girl is on the bubble.
Modern Family (5.4): Of course.
Body of Proof (1.6): We can’t see ABC taking a risk on another season. Then again, the show just won its time slot last week.
Dancing with the Stars (2.6): Ratings aren’t great this season, but ABC won’t give up on the fringe.
Grey’s Anatomy (4.3): Absolutely.
Happy Endings (1.9): The cool kids like it but the masses don’t. Too close to call.
Private Practice (2.4): Final season.

The Neighbors: (2.0) Quintessential bubble show.
666 Park Avenuee (1.5): Red tagged!
Last Resort (2.0): Docked for good
The Taste (1.9): Hmmm, tastes like … the vacant dusty air of a closed restaurant.
Nashville (2.5): One of the best new shows of the season. Yes.
Last Man Standing (1.9): Tim Allen and his new primetime family could go another round.
Red Widow (1.6): Somebody should prepare for another funeral.
Once Upon a Time (3.8): Safe despite recent ratings drops.
Revenge (3.3): Nobody thinks the drama had a great second season, but expect it to return for a third.
Scandal (2.8): Hell yes. This soap has risen in the Thursday ratings to come within shouting distance of Grey’s — and now even Idol!
Shark Tank (2.1): A total blockbuster — by Friday standards.
Splash (2.6): Week 2 ratings dive. Still too soon to call, though.
Suburgatory (2.6): Stable performer, but not a lock to return.
The Bachelor (3.2): ABC’s not dumping this franchise into a limo anytime soon.
The Middle (2.6): You don’t watch it, we don’t watch it, but somebody’s watching it. So yes.
Wife Swap (2.0): Fills holes. Sure.
Zero Hour (1.5): Cancelled



THE CW

Arrow (1.3): RENEWED
Beauty and the Beast (0.7):  Likely to continue.
Cult (.3): This cult doesn’t have enough of a following.

Emily Owens, M.D. (.5): Cancelled
Supernatural (1.1): RENEWED
The Vampire Diaries (1.6): RENEWED
America’s Next Top Model (0.8): RENEWED
Nikita (.5): The wild card. The bar is low on The CW on Fridays. But this low?
Hart of Dixie (0.8): If The CW is actually conflicted about Nikita, you gotta figure this soap is reasonably safe.
90210 (.6): Final season.
The Carrie Diaries (.7): Kinda sorta likely to continue. Kinda.

Chicken Cheese Twists

As I mentioned in the previous post, the boys and I spent Easter alone. Which I honestly didn't mind because Easter is not a big holiday for me at all. (As any of my childhood/high school friends can attest, the Kimball house was never short on supply of candies so, really, the Easter Bunny had to pull out the big guns to get me something I didn't already have access to!) But I felt like there should be something special for my guys, so I tried out a new dog biscuit recipe. Funk absolutely loves them so I thought I'd pass it along.

Ingredients:
2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup of Cornmeal
2 Tablespoons of Chicken Baby Food
1 Large Egg
3/4 Cup of Fat Free Milk
1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baby food, egg and milk. Mix well. If necessary, knead the dough with your hands. Dough will be slightly sticky. Finally, mix in half of the Parmesan cheese.

Next, using your hands, roll small pieces of dough into logs. (I found coating my palms with butter made a huge difference!) If possible, make all of the logs the same size. (As you can see from the photo above, I made most of mine the same size but threw in a few larger ones just for kicks. I baked them separately, of course, but they turned out just as well.) Take two logs and twist them together. Roll in left-over Parmesan cheese and place on parchment paper. Bake for 23 to 30 minutes. Cool completely. 

Note: Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks, then freeze. I know from experience that homemade dog treats will mildew if you look at them crooked so keep an eye on'em!