The Joshua Tree

In honor of U2 re-releasing one of the greatest albums of all time (although when they re-release Achtung Baby, I will seriously have a melt-down and an all-out party!!!!!!!), I am going to write about some of my favorite memories of the album and how it affected my life.

1) During Christmas break of my senior year of high school, I was forced to have all of my impacted molars removed surgically. I was miserable because the pain meds only made me sick. I literally slept for 24 hours straight, while listening to The Joshua Tree on repeat that entire time. From then on, I think of the album as my sleepy music.

2) My sister INSISTS that she learned to love U2 through osmosis. My bedroom was directly below her bedroom, and I was constantly listening to either The Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby throughout high school. Every night, she would fall asleep listening to the soft beats and drum lines of U2. Now, she shares my love. Osmosis ROCKS! Also, I had to drive her to school every day in my cool little car, and since it was MY car, and I was driving, she had to listen to what I wanted. Inevitably, The Joshua Tree. Sometimes I threw Violator by Depeche Mode in there just to mix it up a bit.

3) In college, my girlfriends and I drove from Pocatello, ID all the way to San Diego, CA. It was a long trip, but in those days it was all about the trip and not the destination. (I like to think that life is like that now, too. I try to, anyway.) When we arrived in San Diego, I insisted we drive a few hours back out of our way to The Joshua Tree National Monument. I knew that Bono and the gang did not have their photo shoot with Anton Corbijin in the actual park, and it was actually somewhere in Death Valley, but I really wanted to go out there. We drove in, took some pictures, I bought a patch for my world-travelling backpack, and we left. It was a very short trip. I also insisted we listen to The Joshua Tree the entire time. My friends were quite annoyed with me, but put up with my obsession because they love me.

4) For the very longest time, my most prized possession was The Joshua Tree on vinyl. (Now it is Bono's water bottle, but it still runs a close second.) Unfortunately, when I moved and put my things in storage for three months, a rat got to one of the corners. But I still love it and now I put it in a special frame because the thought of another rodent or animal getting to my most prized possession absolutely freaks me out. One of the reasons it was most prized possession is because my friend, Chris, and I used to talk about The Joshua Tree all the time: her parents owned the album on vinyl and she used to listen to it all the time with them. My parents were not exactly that hip, so I never had that cool experience, but we still talk about it with nostalgia in our hearts.

5) And I totally forgot, until Chris reminded me, that we used to have our own personal U2 air-band. I was Bono, of course. What good times we had.

So, in honor of my favorite band re-releasing my second most favorite U2 album of all time, I dedicate this blog to them: the band that stuck with me through thick and thin. The band that never ticked me off. The band that never disappointed me, even when they disappointed the critics. The band that always puts out the hits.

Thank you.

You Have to Watch This

Will Ferrell. Need I say more? Click here. This is courtsey of Tracy.

Sabotoge!

**Please note: I have yet to read Tracy's "rant" in full. I am typing my response as I read it.**

Tracy, in response to my "Kiefer Sutherland is the hottest man on TV" post, has now posted her own version of hot men on TV. While I respect her opinion, I was quite disappointed on how she tried to taint your mind with unappealing images of Kiefer when he was acting in MOVIES! Now, we all know that these men are actors, and spend hours and hours a day trying to look good for women like Tracy and I to drool over. But when she pulls up a picture of Kiefer being a bad guy in a movie to "prove her point" of why he is not hot, that is just silly. He was ACTING. It is a little something called his JOB. And just because he was acting as a villain, doesn't mean it detracts from his handsomeness at all.

Even if Kiefer is a white trash Klan member in a MOVIE, he is still looking hot. Not quite Jack Bauer hot, but hot nonetheless. While it MIGHT detract from his overall hotness, it certainly does not make his less good looking.

And vampires are hot. Even girl vampires. Everybody knows this.

But this doesn't matter because he was in the movies, and when I stated Kiefer was the hottest man on television, I meant television.

Now, there are two things I have to mention with the rest of Tracy's list. While I still respect her opinion, she listed all the men from Lost. EXCEPT Matthew Fox, who is the hottest one of them all! I mean, why leave out Matthew? He is smoking hot, too. (Although not HALF as good-looking as Kiefer.)

And the whole shit about Phil, the host from Amazing Race, is just lies. That is like saying that David Caruso is hot at all. I mean, Phil? He is fugly. Seriously, what were you thinking, Tracy? Phil? I might have been sucked into your fantasy if you hadn't mentioned Phil. Phil. Please. I am shuddering as I am typing.

Now, am I saying that there aren't hot men on television besides Kiefer? Of course not. That would be like me saying that U2 is the only music I listen to. It would be a lie. But do I still think that Kiefer is the hottest man on TV right now? Yes, yes I do.

In other words, Tracy, I think we might have to just agree to disagree on this one.

Why Jack Bauer is the Sexiest Man on TV, But Why I Would Rather Marry Jim

Last summer, Heather and I decided to Netflix 24 and after watching one episode, we were absolutely hooked. As the seasons progressed, (TV seasons, that is) Jack Bauer just got sexier by the minute. Maybe it is the fact that not only does he save the world in one day, literally, but he can do it while looking smoking hot (Yummy tight t-shirt season in L.A.!), beat up, and compassionate all at once. He has saved numerous people, including but not limited to, his daughter, his wife (almost), the President of the United States, and everyone living in L.A. and the surrounding area.

Side note to the producers at FOX: Please bring Kim back. And then kill her. And Audrey, too. You kill everyone else that I like on there. Kill people I don't like. Please.

Now, I must admit a secret crush on Keifer since I was a little girl. I thought Keifer was right up there with Harrison Ford, which is saying a lot. And now, when Kiefer wears a tight gray t-shirt with a gun holster strapped over it and is running through the streets of L.A. to get the bad guys (who are all REALLY bad, not "kinda" bad), he just makes my knees tremble. And when Jack is double-crossed by the evil terrorists, and he knows that everyone at CTU is wrong, instead of getting killed, he rips out the terrorists jugular...with his TEETH! That is not only bad-ass, but sexy as hell. What other man on TV would do that, I ask you?

Now, why would I not want to marry Jack Bauer? Because about once a year, Jack gets into a sticky situation and then has to take at least 24 hours to fix it. At the end of last season, they sent him to a Chinese prison!! I couldn't live with that. We would have beautiful children, but the stress of living with the one man that can save the world would be too much for me. So I prefer to look and admire him from a distance. Still knowing full well that he is the hottest man on TV at this very moment.

With that in mind, though, I want to marry Jim from The Office. He is the funniest person, and someone that I would love to spend the rest of my life with devising great plans to trick Dwight. And he is sweet and endearing. Is he as hot as Jack Bauer? Hell no. But he is a catch in my mind because most men aren't funny enough. (And if Jack has one flaw, it is that he isn't funny, but then again, nuclear bombs really aren't that funny.)

Ok, who's with me?

PS: The #2 sexiest man on TV is Julian McMahon from Nip/Tuck.

The #3 man is Jeff Probst from Survivor. Say what you will, the men are sexy. So there, Tracy.