Linkalist.

Heh.

Doodz! Doodz! Doodz!

Wanna know what band you should keep an eye on that hail form Chicago? Now you know!

Drenched and drained.

It's been a week. And it's only Tuesday! But vacation planning is underway so at least it looks like there is some relaxation time in my future.

Oh, and the drenched pat has to do with the pouring rain that soaked through my clothes on the way home. Yay!

I love "I Love It."

I am not going to pretend I wasn't woefully late to the party when it comes to discovering the sweet bliss that is Icona Pop's "I Love It." Embarrassingly  I only became aware of it while listening to the Pitchfork top 100 songs of the year. Since this is usually a pretty painful effort you can imagine my surprise when "I Love It" broke through the largely monotone din to smack me with silly smiles all across my face. Now, it wasn't exactly a mainstream hit in 2012, but given my musical weaknesses and the crowd of folks I know I can't believe no one introduced me to the tune and I didn't stumble across it on my own.

I guess I should just thank myself that last night's episode of Girls wasn't the first time I heard it because then that would have been really embarrassing.* Anyway, on the off chance you're even more out of the loop than I am, let's fix that right away.


*If last night's episode of Girls was your first time hearing "I Love It," you needn't be embarrassed.  The comment above is directed squarely at myself and no one else.

Look at that face!

Adorable, no?

You know it's cold when...

...I actually dress appropriately for the weather. Usually it's a leather jacket, but lately I've even been willing to muss my hair wearing a hat!

The tiniest things can change your whole day.

It's the middle of a very busy cycle at the 9-to-5. And part of that includes lots of late nights. And today I completely forgot to eat. No breakfast. No lunch. So imagine my joy when GalPal offered to make me chicken and a baked potato.

It completely made my day and has me still smiling.

One picture speaks a thousand years.

Sometimes cliches are so true they hurt.

Was it really only four years ago?

Photo of us at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration by Mich.

Four years ago I scored us tickets to go to Washington D.C. and see Barack Obama inaugurated as our President. It was freezing, and the day was long, and all sorts of logistically impossible to get anywhere once the ceremony was over, but I am so glad we went. This time around I stayed in Illinois and watched him take the oath of office for a second term. 

While it's hard to feel as excited or as hopeful as I did four years ago, I sincerely hope that the next four years see a fearlessness in the leader of the free world as he tries to make lasting changes to create a legacy we can all be proud of. Oratorically Obama has sounded less willing to be beaten about by politically sound career moves and instead take a stand for the things he believes in. I know more than a few Liberals--and Conservatives--who think this will reveal his true "radicalism," but they're wrong. Obama is not and never has been a radical. Bt I do believe he's a man who believes in doing right, and that he probably feels a little freer to do so now that he'll never have to face a public vote to get or retain a job. 

The changes he seems committed to making aren't radical; they're right, and just, and long delayed. It's about time.

My weekend has finally begun.

FINALLY.

Five years of Tankboy on Twitter.

Today is my fifth anniversary of being on Twitter. My Twitterversary? And it just so happens that I finally got access to the archive function on Twitter, allowing me to download every single tweet I have ever composed.

To celebrate, I will share with you the first fifteen pieces of content--what we now call "tweets"-- I deemed noteworthy enough to share with the world when I first started composing updates in 140 characters or less.

[shudder]

just signed up to twitter, we'll see how this goes

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 17, 2008

eatin' a pork chop!

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 22, 2008

Just finished enjoying a Fanta. It was so delicious I think I just might have another. Fascinating, no?

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 22, 2008

Wore a hat to work today, and whenever I take it off I am totally rocking NASCAR hair.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 22, 2008

Oh no. Now I can update from my phone. This can't be good.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 22, 2008

Saddened that Heath Ledger won't be alive when everyone is praising him for finally getting the Joker right. So depressing.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 22, 2008

Going to the gym and dreading the January crowd. Maybe it'll be too cold for many people to show up? I can hope.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 22, 2008

There was zero parking so I skipped the gym ... shame on me! I picked the wrong day to eat a bunch of junk food.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 23, 2008

At the Burlington getting fed shots by Lizz.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 23, 2008

How can someone have 16 hours of podcasts to catch up on?! I hadn't realized how many I was able to knock off going to and from Michigan.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 23, 2008

Scott has just reminded me just how fucking awesome Andrew WK is. Too much awesome in fact. Loved his Double Door show.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 23, 2008

Home, finally. And did Di a favor and shoveled and salted her walk.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 24, 2008

After 3 nights in a row at The Burlington I am taking tonight off. And going to Double Door.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 24, 2008

Oh yeah, and I'm in Time Out Chicago today.

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 24, 2008

I still think Jenny McCarthy is hot, is that a sign that I'm old?

— tankboy (@tankboy) January 24, 2008

Riveting!

Man, do I miss this face.

I still find myself hurrying home from time to time, excited that she'll meet me at the door, and it's not until I turn the lock and then put my body in from of the door to prevent her from sneaking out that it hits me and I remember she's never going to try and sneak out an open door ever again.

I hear that "Girls Want Rock."

Sometimes writing a review for an album you're in love with is really difficult, so I'm taking a break from my reflections on Free Energy's new LP, Love Sign, to just enjoy the latest video for one of its insanely catchy tracks.

Re-start.

So whaddya say? Can we get a do-over on the beginning of 2013? It's been a rough couple of weeks but I feel like the ship is slowly righting itself again.

C'Mon, C'MON!

In an effort to continue avoiding writing up what I think of as "The Ballad of Betty the Beagle" I am going to continue trying to drown out my sad thoughts with blasts of cotton candy color. Luckily for me Ke$ha released a new video today, allowing me to do just that.

Congrats K-Clark.

Kelly Clarkson is up for a bunch of Grammys for this song. We go waaaaay back, so I'm rooting for her.


And here's something a little more recent from her.


Go, girl!

I've got my eyes on you.

Related: I picked the wrong month to stop drinking!

Happy birthday David Bowie.

Trust my numero uno man to do his best to cheer me up in sad times. It's David Bowie's birthday, and guess what? He's giving me a present! He just released a new single, "Where Are We Now?"--that I of course bought seconds after midnight--and has a new album, The Next Day, coming out in March.

The only thing that would top this surprise announcement would be another where he announces a tour with Blur as the opening act.

Maybe with a date landing on my birthday?

Welcome back David, I'm glad you weren't gone forever after all!

Still reeling.

I'm home from work today. I would've taken a full on sick day, but things are a little hectic so I didn't have that luxury. Luckily my team is understanding and let me at least work from home. I just didn't want to run the risk of bursting into tears in front of everyone at the office. I have a manly-man image to uphold!*

I woke up this morning at 5:30 a.m. and started to go downstairs until I realized I didn't have to. There was no one down there that had to go outside to go to the bathroom. When I got up from my computer at lunch to grab a glass of water I carried my plate with my food on it with me, and then realized I could leave it on the table because no one was going to jump up and gobble it up!

And while I threw out a lot of Betty's old bedding, the stuff that was just really unsalvageable after years of use, we still have her big pillow and favorite blanket in the corner of the family room. I don't know when we'll be able to finally move that. A little piece of me hopes the cats adopt it as their own so I don't have to. Because once that's gone, there's no clear sign of Betty outside photos on the wall and our bookshelves. And the scratches on our coffee table. Hee.

And then there's the weirdness of social media. the support of friends, family and even barely known acquaintances has been awesome. But I'm afraid of coming across as whiny if I keep posting about Betty on Facebook. Or Twitter. Or Instagram. And at the same time, even though I know I have to maintain my activity in those spaces I worry that jokes I tell or links I share will give people the impression I'm over my grieving and everything is hunky-dory  Or even worse that I didn't care that much in the first place and just move on quickly. Grieving is weird in this day and age. Emotions take a long time to process but the conversation everywhere else just keeps zooming along.

Man, fourteen years is a long time to spend with anyone. I know you can't just jump out of that right away. And I don't want to. But I do want it to stop hurting so much.

*Yeah, right.

Betty the Beagle: 1998 - 2013

I want to be like the cat.

I'm working on it!

Dry.

I decided sometime last month that January would involve me not getting involved with booze. As expected I'm already feeling the positive effects of abstinence from alcohol, but it's been an incredibly emotionally trying last few days so my mood is lower than it should be. Here's hoping for good news on a number of fronts tomorrow.
I'd really like to start being able to enjoy 2013

Scorched earth. And teasing out new life from it.

I spent the end of 2012 trying to burn out any internal demons in hopes of beginning 2013 like a Phoenix rising from the ashes of my victory. Instead what I woke up to was a landscape of scorched earth. I still have grand hopes for 2013, but I'm starting it off on a much less positive note than I had hoped. In fact, the last few days have just been really difficult, on a number of levels. First, there's me, and my attempts at self-improvement that are varyingly successful. Then there's Betty the Beagle, who has been pretty sick since I got back from St. Louis last Wednesday. And my fear about hat that means is pretty huge. Then there's just life in general, and the fact that as you get older nothing really does get easier. Hopefully you just get better at dealing with the general stuff of life. Again, that's also something I'm been varyingly successful at.

I am not one for resolutions, but this year I am one for looking at the demarcation line between December 2012 and January 2013 as a place to gain greater strength and acceptance. In many ways I already lead a healthy and productive lifestyle, but there are some areas that are in great need of improvement and I am dedicated to making those changes. I guess maybe I'm finally at a point where I realize half my life is probably behind me so looking to my future is an ever shrinking window and I want to see the most in it before it shuts entirely.

Happy new year.

Sasha the Cat oversees the entry of 2013.