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Thursday 13 #5

*ahem* Happy Birthday to me.
Yes. Today is my birthday and I still have to go to work. I feel that this is entirely unfair, so I have decided to make this week’s [tag]Thursday Thirteen[/tag] a list of 13 Things I’d Rather Be Doing on My Birthday. Happy TT!

1. Sleeping (I need to do more of that anyway)
2. Watching TV (I’m sure that there are fun things on the Tivo that I haven’t seen yet.)
3. Seeing “The Seeker: The Dark is Rising” (Actually, I’m doing this tonight anyway. I’d just prefer to do it sooner. Christopher Eccelston *thud*)
4. Reading a good book. (I’m in the middle of reading all sort of things that I never have the time to just sit down and enjoy.)
5. Knitting (I’m almost done with one scarf and I’ve just begun another. Christmas isn’t that far away. I need to get my act together.)
6. Blogging (Well, that one should be obvious right about now.)
7. Getting my finances in order (Yes, for all that my job is interesting, I’d rather be home doing something like this. Even a boring day at home is better than a good day at work and all of that.)
8. Watching a film at the Chabot Space and Science Center (They have all of the best space-related films. I really want to see the one on Mars again.)
9. Going to the Pez Museum (I’ve been trying to get there for ages. Yes. I enjoy Pez….and Museums.)
10. Cleaning my room (Remember number 7? And I’d be happier if the room was tidier.)
11. Working in my garden (Or, as is more accurate at this point, working in the “back dirt.” My sister should be coming out this weekend to help me with this project.)
12. Going to the beach (I have a favorite sandwich shop that is near a beach. Why not get a sandwich and listen to the waves for a while?)
13. Aimlessly surf the internet (So many blogs, so little time. And I should really work on my e-mail inbox now that I come to think of it.)

It’s Banned Books Week, so I thought that I should make this week’s [tag]Thursday Thirteen[/tag] a list of 13 Banned (or Challenged) books that I have read. Really, if you ban a book, it just makes me want to read it more.

13 Banned or Challenged Books That I Have Read:

1. Sex by Madonna (I read this one in college. Well…looked at the pics is more accurate. Not too much text in that one.)
2. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) (Another book I read in college. I was in the back seat of my friend’s car. I wasn’t really all that impressed.)
3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (I read this one in High School. It was assigned. I did not enjoy it, but it did have some good quotes. “Sucks to your ass-mar” for example.)
4. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (I read this one in Junior High for fun. It was the first book that I read with a little bit of romance in it that didn’t make me say “ewwwww.”)
5. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford (I still like these books. They’re fun. I remember someone dressing up as Waldo for Halloween one year when I was in college.)
6. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (I read this one in elementary school. I thought it was good. I’m not sure why anyone would challenge this one.)
7. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (I *loved* this book. In fact, I loved the whole series. Okay, anything by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Another elementary school find.)
8. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell (I just read this one today. It is cute…and is also the most banned book of 2006.)
9. Candide by Voltaire (I read this one while I was working on my French degree. It was okay. I was amused by the extent of his optimism.)
10. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (I love the Lorax. I first read it when I was very young. I think it was one of the things that made me think about the environment.)
11. Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Another assigned book from High School. It annoyed me, actually.)
12. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (It seems to me that I read this one in High School as well. It was very interesting. )
13. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (I read this one in High School French class. I was annoyed with the main character for not seeing how much her husband loved her.)

Thursday 13 #3

I have many Television Shows that I enjoy. I even have a Big Geeky Notebook in which I have episode lists of all of my shows. Yes, I have annotated the lists to include the information about which episodes I have. Hey. I’m a Librarian. What did you expect? As you can imagine, I have quite a few DVDs. (If only Starman and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues would come out on DVD, I would have almost no VHS tapes left.) So, in the spirit of “getting to know me” that this meme is supposed to be about, I offer you the following list.

13 TV Shows That I Own on DVD
1. The Avengers (I have all of the Emma Peel episodes, and the ’63 set number 1. This show is just so much fun, and it even contains a strong female character who is also smart and well dressed.)
2.Monty Python’s Flying Circus (I have the first 8 DVDs, plus The Life of Python and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. As you might imagine, I enjoy British humour. Especially the absurdist kind.)
3. Doctor Who (Everything that is available, I have. What? I’m not obsessed. Oh. Maybe I am. *shrug* Oh, well.)
4. The Tomorrow People (I have set 1 of the DVDs, plus all of the newer version of the series on tape. I used to watch the original series when I was a kid, and I loved it.)
5. Forever Knight (I have season one and the original pilot on DVD, plus a bunch of the rest of the episodes on tape. The first season remains my favorite, but some of my favorite individual episodes are in the second season.)
6. Red Dwarf (I have set one of the DVDs. I didn’t ever see the whole of the series, but the few seasons that I did see were fab.)
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I own seasons 1-4. I have the original pilot on tape somewhere. I started watching this show during season 3, and I fell in love with it. Joss Whedon rocks.)
8. At Last the 1948 Show (I have the 2 DVD set. It’s the only thing that’s available. This is one of the two shows that most of the Pythonites came from to form Monty Python. As you may imagine, it’s a bit silly.)
9. Benji, Zax, and The Alien Prince (The whole show is on DVD, and I have it. It was only one season long. This is my most obscure show. No one else seems to remember it, but it was my favorite Saturday Morning show when I was 10.)
10. Due South (I have all of this show on DVD. I loved it from beginning to end. How can you go wrong with a buddy cop show that includes a sexy Mountie?)
11. Do Not Adjust Your Set (I have the 2 DVD set, which is all that is available. This is the other pre-Pythonite show. It is also silly. No big surprise, there.)
12. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (I only have The Wild World of Batwoman and Eeegah. *sniffle* Must…get…more. My favorite episode was Fugitive Alien II.)
13. Campion (I have season one plus one episode of season two. I really enjoyed this show, and the books that they came from. It is my favorite of all of the shows that have been on Mystery!)

Thursday 13 #2

Hello again. For this week’s [tag]Thursday 13[/tag] I am offering 13 Music Videos That I Enjoy. Let me just say that this was a lot more difficult that I was expecting. First of all, I wanted to limit the videos to one per group. This was particularly difficult, as a couple of the groups on my list have more than one fabulous video. I also discovered that there are quite a few videos out there that I watch because I like the song, not for the video itself. Add to that my inability to call to mind ones I’ve enjoyed in the past and well…it took a while.

My Husband calls my taste in music “unfocused.” I prefer the term “eclectic,” but whichever word you prefer just be aware that these videos are not all from the same musical genre. Do you have a favorite music video? Please let me know. This whole precess has made me wonder what I’m forgetting.

1. [tag]A-ha[/tag] – Hunting High and Low (I loved this video even more than “Take On Me.” I’m still annoyed that they haven’t come out with a music video DVD. I’ve been waiting for years. Yes. I used to have an A-ha poster on my wall.)

2. [tag]Muse[/tag] – The Knights of Cydonia (I still can’t name all of the film references in this video. In any case, it was very cleverly done. This is one of those cases where I had trouble choosing just one video. I also enjoy “Time is Running Out.”)

3. [tag]Manic Street Preachers[/tag] – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough (I love this song. I like how the video starts out with what is basically two bands (one male, one female) singing at each other. As the song progresses, these two bands become one. One of my friends who blogs about British Music pointed this group out to me. Thanks, Dave!)

4. [tag]Weird Al Yankovic[/tag] – White and Nerdy (Okay. How can you go wrong with Weird Al? I could fill up a list with 13 Weird Al videos that I like. Yes. I’ve seen him in concert. Three times. Al dos a great job with this video. And is that Donny Osmond dancing in the background? For the record, I am white and nerdy.)

5. [tag]Mediaeval Baebes[/tag] – Temptasyon (I love the way that they make each of the ladies in this group seem a bit mystical in this video. It appeals to the part of me that started college as a Medieval Studies major. I wish that I could find more videos that they’ve done.)

6. [tag]Adam and the Ants[/tag] – Prince Charming (Surprise! Adam Ant is even cute without the make up. How can you say no to a video that takes the Cinderella story and turns it on its ear? It even includes a dance for you to learn. I’ve loved this song since slightly before 6th grade. This is yet another one of the groups that I had difficulty choosing only one video from.)

7. [tag]Madonna[/tag] – Frozen (In this video, we see my love of goth music and Madonna coming together to create one very visually interesting video with a dark color scheme. I particularly enjoy the transformations. Madonna is another of the artists that I found it difficult to chose only one video from. I have several other favorites from her back catalog.)

8. [tag]Billy Joel[/tag] – We Didn’t Start The Fire (It’s a music video and a history lesson. Yay for educating folks when they don’t realize that they’re learning! Plus, you know, catchy tune.)

9. [tag]Sting[/tag] – Fragile (I admit it. Half of my enjoyment of this video is Sting himself. The other half is the song. He just looks so poetic sitting there.)

10. [tag]Qntal[/tag] – Von den Elben (What happens when you ask the Frouds (Brian and Toby in this case) to make a video for your music? A visual feast, that’s what. Give yourself the time to enjoy this video. It’s a bit long, but well worth it for the juxtaposition of song and imagery.)

11. [tag]The Monkees[/tag] – Riu, Chiu (I first saw this on our black and white tv set. I loved The Monkees. I’m very glad that I managed to catch their reunion tour. Actually, I’m a bit amazed that I coould find it to share with you. The video is followed by a very raucous Christmas message.)

12. [tag]Kate Bush[/tag] – Cloudbusting (This is one of my all time favorite videos. It seems to me that I first saw it on VH-1, years ago. It has a storyline (even if the end is a bit confusing.) And…well, I love the song.)

13. [tag]Morningwood[/tag] – The Nth Degree (From the band with the interesting name, come a video that showcases the different styles each member brings to the band. I love the use of the album covers. Very clever.)

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. jennifer
2. Yen
3. Malcolm
4. amypalko
5. Moondancer Drake
6. Samantha_K
(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Welcome to my very first [tag]Thursday Thirteen[/tag]! *huzzah* *confetti*

Since this meme is supposed to help you learn about me, I thought that I would start off with 13 Places I Have Been. I love to travel, but I don’t get to do it often enough. Hopefully this will change in the near future, but in the meantime I will remind myself of some of my previous destinations.

1. Edinburgh Castle (May 1999. I got to see the Stone of Scone. Must…go…back.)
2. 221 B Baker’s Street (May 1999. The Sherlock Holmes Museum is just where you’d expect it to be. Fun and touristy.)
3. The Royal Ontario Museum (1995. I was there as part of RCW 139, a fan generated Due South convention. I remember that we startled the catering staff by all joining in on the chorus of “Ride Forever.”)
4. The Library of Congress (Summer of 1985…July I think. My parents, like myself, are Librarians. Of course we had to stop and visit the LoC during the great Summer Road Trip of Doom. 7 people in a Winnebago for 2 months. Egad.)
5. Stone Mountain, Georgia (Most recently, 2005 when I was in Atlanta for Nana’s surprise 90th birthday party. I stood on the top of the mountain and admired the view.)
6. Ashland Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, Oregon (A couple of times…1987 and 1988 I think. I love Ashland. I’ve been to the town since, but I didn’t manage to see a play. Don’t drink the Lithia water.)
7. Disneyland (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005…We were there for our honeymoon, and spent one night in the Honeymoon Suite in the Disneyland Hotel if you can believe it. The bathroom is nearly the size of the room, and the bed is re-enforced. We go back whenever we can. Favorite Hotel: Grand Californian. Favorite Restaurant: The Napa Rose.)
8. Florida Everglades (Summer of 1985 RToD. We even went on an airboat ride.)
9. Mexicali (April 1987. Went as part of a Church Mission trip thingy through Azusa Pacific. I ended up sweeping the little church’s floors a lot, and not showering for a week. Yeah. ew.)
10. The Globe Theater, London, England (May 1999. My High School helped raise money for the reconstruction of the theater. We have a pillar with our name one it. I had to visit it, so I went to see an all male production of Julius Caesar. It was excellent.)
11. Central Park, Manhattan, New York (Summer of 1985 RToD. My Aunt Bette lived on Manhattan, right near Central Park, and she worked for Greyhound Bus tours. We parked the RV in New Jersey, and stayed with her for a few days. I remember that she lent me her copy of Firestarter by Stephen King and made sure that we tried real New York-style pizza. We ended up crossing certain bits of Central Park on our way to and from various Museums, etc.)
12. Old Sacramento (2007. Okay, this almost doesn’t count as I’m from Sacramento, and my Senior ball was even in Old Sac. Still, I’ve been back for a real visit, and I got to go to the Railroad Museum. I also got an “Old Time Photo” taken. )
13. Yosemite (June-August 1995. Actually, I been back since, as my Husband’s parents live nearby, but this span of time is from when I actually lived there. Yes. I once worked in Housekeeping. I also got a chance to see the Moonbow, nearly blind my roommate by standing in the river (my skin is *very* pale), and tell tourists not to pet the deer.)

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. Yen
2. Mark Caldwell
3. vigilant20
4. Nicholas
(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)