The Case of the iPod

If you've ever met me you probably know that I love my iPod. I know, I know, it's an annoying trend and there are better devices out there, whatever. I bought the iPod because it syncs easily with iTunes (I hate the Windows version, but it's better than most alternatives) and because of the storage capacity. At 160GB I can carry my entire music library with me at all times.

If you've ever met me you probably also know that, while I'm not a total disaster, I'm pretty hard on my stuff. My electronic devices get used hard, and this sometimes means accidentally dropping things like my cell phone, iPod, external hard drive, etc.

The Dilemma: iPods are kind of fragile. I have a 160GB Classic, so it's an actual hard drive, not a solid state.

The Solution: the ArmorSkin Case by Speck!


The Test: I accidentally dropped my iPod down a flight of steel stairs. While I wouldn't try this test often, my iPod still works and there's only a small scrape in the side bevel of the case's front cover. Yay!

The case is available in black or clear and is nice and grippy so your iPod doesn't slide out of your hands or pocket and onto the concrete or into a lake. :-P

Before I got this case, I kept my iPod in a sock. Not an actual "iPod sock" but a sock from my sock drawer. This is definitely a much better case!

Also, Speck has a cool logo and their slogan is punny.

Снова в СССР / Back in the USSR

Last Saturday night I decided it was time again for a trip to Tunes in Hoboken. I love Tunes because they have a pretty big selection of $1 CDs, and I think you know by now that I'm addicted to music. Anyway, after sitting in traffic forever and paying way too much money to a bunch of jerks* to park in their shady lot, we got to Tunes... about 30 minutes before it closed.

After finding a bunch of CDs I wanted I decided to look through the vinyl section, as I recently acquired a record player**. Of course I looked for some cool Beatles stuff, but then I looked under Paul McCartney. Then I saw it. The Russian album. Снова в СССР. Was this the 1994 international re-release? Nope, this was the original 1988 LP only available in Russia. The album jacket? All in Russian. SO AWESOME!



Some Background Info
In 1988 Paul McCartney released this collection of old school rock & roll covers with the intention of it only being available in the former USSR, since for so long the Beatles' music had been banned there. In 1991 it was re-released internationally because apparently everyone outside of Russia wanted to hear it too. In 1994 it was released on CD.

By the way, "Снова в СССР" translates to "Back in the USSR".
The cover art was done by Linda McCartney.
On the international re-release they spelled it wrong (СНОВА Б СССР) and used some Cyrillic letters that look like Latin letters to spell Paul's name. Evidence:

A Few Personal Notes
I loved this CD as a kid, and remember listening to it on the way to a family vacation in Ocean City, MD.

My aunt's cousin was living in Russia in the early '90s and was nice enough to bring back a copy of the original LP for my dad. I'm not sure where that copy got to, but I'm pretty psyched to have my own original copy now. And for only $8!

"Crackin' Up" was my favorite song on the album, and you should go listen to it on last.fm. :)

Footnotes
*The jerks at the parking place in Hoboken earned $0 in tip money because the one guy almost ran my friends over with my car. Way to go, winner!

**As for my record player... it doesn't work. Apparently the motor in this one is on the fritz too. Great. I'm going to go steal my dad's now. :)

2.5 Song Commute

First off, no one commented on my last post requesting info on cool stuff to do in FL, so I'm now forced to follow through with my threat: maps. Lots of maps. They're coming. Beware.

[Drastic subject change]

I woke up this morning to a beautiful day.

View from my bedroom window.

Usually I opt for something energetic to wake me up and get me psyched, but today I opted for some relaxing music for my 10 minute commute to work with the windows down. 2.5 songs is probably a more accurate measurement than 10 minutes.

My first song of choice for my 2.5 song commute? "Some Things About Me" by Steve Poltz. Since he's awesome, you can download it here. I first heard this song at a show at the World Cafe back in March. Good times, fun show, I love this song.

My next song in my 2.5 song commute was "Impala", also by Steve Poltz. This song is pretty cool, and I particularly like the lines:

Everything today is so high tech
Why can't we just park by the lake and neck

I don't remember what the .5 song was, but who cares. I had a great commute today. :)