No post-holiday hangover here.

Seriously, there isn't. One primary reason behind this turn of events? I didn't go to Liar's Club, like I usually do every Christmas night, and opted to just stay in entirely. The downside? I have today off, yet I'm still up at 5:30 A.M.. Damn internal clock!

A few observations from the past few days and a touch of miscellany.

• Saturday's show marked the first time I've ever lost money on a show and had to pay the headlining bands out of my pocket. Where the hell was everyone? On the flip side, though, it was money well spent since all three bands put in performances worthy of a sold-out room. No band ever plays a Tankboy show for free, especially when their sets end up being some of my favorite of the year! Thanks to all involved for leaving the folks that were there with such a great memory.


• Did anyone actually catch the MisShapes vs. Dark Wave Disco thing I previewed Friday? Let me know how it was, since Photogal and I stayed in that night. (Well, actually we saw a movie and then went home, but the movie was kind of sub-par, I fell asleep for 50% of the film, and I don't feel like I can give an honest appraisal of what we saw, so I'm going to avoid naming the movie or giving my opinion on the work one way or the other.)


• Y'know, it's not as funny as the original Lincoln Park Trixie site, but it's still pretty damn funny. Ladies and gentlemen, the Lincoln Park Chad.


• Let's see, one week left in 2006 and I haven't finished my "Top Albums of 2006" list yest? Well, due to Idolator I have it half done, at least. Look for the rest of it before the end of this week. Sorry I didn't get it in before you got all your Christmas shopping done, since I know you depend so heavily on my opinion whence buying your 12-year-old the latest and greatest in CD releases.


• Has anyone else noticed that mid-20 to 30-somethings seem to have suddenly discovered texting multiple recipients in the past couple of months? Like and email list via phone? It's weird how it -- at least amongst my group -- has suddenly caught on. Of course I partially blame myself for utilizing the technology over the past year myself to promote things I had going on (or just to see what was going on) but it seems to have virally exploded. I;m sure it's nothing new, it's just funny that everyone I know seems to have started using this particular application at the exact same time. Or maybe more people have just gotten a hold of my cell number? No matter. I'm all for any way to keep people you know abreast of what's going on via technology.


• That last bit came out kind of stiff.I thought all this reading I've been doing was supposed to re-limber up my writing muscles?


• Photogal got me some great stuff for Christmas, but my favorite gifts from her were the books she bought for me. Both of them showed that she really does listen to me when I prattle on about stuff, and she really does have a decent idea of what I'll like. As a matter of fact, she picked out one book I had never even mentioned to her (but had been planning to buy after reading a few articles about the author and then hearing him interviews on NPR) thus displaying a firm grasp of "knowing my boyfriend a lot better than he thinks I do." And no, I'm not telling you which books yet, wait for the write-ups as they slot into my 52 Books in 52 Weeks (attempt deux) project!


• Oh yeah, I also got something else cool for Christmas from Photogal and my mom. Can you guess what it was? Here's a hint, it looks kind of like this:*

Well, I think that does it for now. Since I'm up so early I may as well get a head-start on the day, huh?

*Quick question, should I pay for the AppleCare thing for the iPod? Or can I buy it before my orginal year-long warranty expires? Any suggestions? I'm not actually placing the order until later today since I haven't finalized what I want engraved on the back. (I know, I'm a dork.) Also, on a technical note, the version pictured above is the 30 GB one and I've got the 80 GB one on order, but all the pictures of that one had either Bono or Johnny Depp on the display and I didn't really want to post them on the site when it's obvious I prefer the Gorillaz.