blaHCL Presents

For Christ’s sake! Get these freaking tunes OUTTA.MY.HEAD!!!!

Oh, and did I mention I can’t stand Kelly Clarkson? That’s not singing, it’s screaming. And it’s playing in the office EVERYDAY. Along with this. It’s a fun song the first few times. But three times a day, 5 days a week is called overkill. Don’t get me wrong, I still like Gwen’s music in general.

Anyway, looking around in recent album releases, I found it lacks anything that holds my attention/interest up for a prolonged period of time. Many of the tunes get repetitive and annoying quick. I was surprised to find I haven’t bought any new album from iTunes (my main source of music) in a few months. My most recent album purchase was actually Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam, and track purchase was Time of Our Lives from Paul Van Dyk’s album Reflections, thanks to the power of advertisement (it’s used for a car commercial). None of these purchases were for newly released albums…

Alternatively, recently I found myself deeply immersed in the universe of Podcast and audio books. Podcast is such a good medium to keep in touch with political/technology/entertainment news without scaling back my time for Heroes, Law & Order, House, Family Guy, and So You Think You’re Smarter Than A Fifth Grader. And audio books are perfect for morning/evening commute - rather than starting at strangers during the 40-minute train ride, or attempt to read a book while trying not to get motion sickness, you can rest your eyes and still learn something new everyday.

For those of you interested, you can either buy audio books from iTMS at regular retail price, or you can join Audible. If you think you’ll read (well… listen) to approx. 1 book a month (a normal book runs ~6 to 8 hours) a month, their offer is definitely worth a try. It gives you quota to download one book/month. Most books will be available for download, even new releases or best sellers, while some others may require more “token,” which you are given one/two per month, depending on your subscription plan. I’m currently subscribed to the $15/mo plan, so that gives me one token a month. Thought it was a pretty good deal! If you want to join, and don’t mind letting me be your referral, let me know. =)

So what book am I reading/listening now? The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. It’s cheaper to get on Amazon, but Audible makes it easier to carry it around~ Quite an interesting “read” (I’m only about 1/3 way through). The narrator did a great job narrating the book!