(no subject)

Picking up a meme from abiku:

Go to YouTube.
Type your birth year into the search box.
Post your favorite music video from the year.

Some good stuff: Carpenters, Bread, Cat Stevens and the remarkable Shirley Bassey.

But clearly, this is the definitive 1971 song:

Watch on YouTube

And I must say: Though there was harder stuff out there--acid rock, etc.--the fact that some of the most popular music out there was emotional ballads really helps me understand why my early childhood--and the cultural things I learned from it--was so different from that of the kids who grew up in the late 70s-80s. Even though the particular subculture I was born into wasn't all that peace, love and hippie beads, the larger pop culture I was exposed to had a heavy, heavy dose of that.

Probably because the Vietnam peace movement was in full swing and there was a concerted effort to ditch Nixon, the message that was kind of planted in my newly forming memories was be yourself, love one another, be groovy, etc. I know there was an undercurrent of a lot uglier stuff--lots of drugs and such--but the fact that there was at least some strong popular support for compassion and gentleness really shaped my feelings about those things. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the compassionless, anti-emo attitudes of the kids whose pop culture childhoods were more shaped by the coke-fueled arrogance and money worship of the Reagan era than the pot-fueled mellowness and togetherness that inspired folks to vote for Carter.

Travel plans

Unfortunately, due to being busy, our spring break plans never really got assembled properly in time to do something elaborate. We still want a few days of sunshine, though, so we're thinking about heading down to San Diego.

Anyone (foxykc?) have any suggestions of where to stay? We're looking for a resort of some sort, with water views and a room with a balcony. We may do a few of the touristy things we haven't yet managed to do in our past ComiCon trips, but mostly, we're just planning to sit by the pool and read and sip something with a paper umbrella in it while soaking up some vitamin D. So, something quiet, away from the kiddie magnets would be good.

Price isn't a huge consideration, since it's a short trip and airfare there is cheap, but we're not in the Four Seasons/Fairmont range. Anything around Hilton or Hyatt quality usually works for us.

Random

Holy crap, this kid is mind-blowing.

Watch on YouTube

She's 15 now, but was 13 in this, and just won some big world competition for fast drumming.

Almost makes me want to take this up again. I messed around with it when I was about her age. Never could afford a kit, so I never got very far, but the itch is there.