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Speaking of entertainment… not that we were, but let’s do…*

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I cannot get enough “Friday Night Lights.”

I have never so badly wanted to be a) a Texan, b) a football fan, or c) named Tami Taylor… sadly, none of which I will ever be.

This show is so good.

I was going to write more about it, but that’s honestly all I can say.  This show is so good.  I am still on season 1 – but I watch it before I go to bed, I watch it when I am getting ready for work, and am already planning the upcoming weekend around watching at least 12 episodes.

Welcome to my glamorous life.

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One of my favorite singer/songwriters, Gretchen Peters, just released a greatest hits CD.  Not available on iTunes, I ordered it off her website – and I am so glad that I did.  A double disc set, the packaging is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and last weekend, I sat in a comfy chair for over an hour, listening track by track, and reading through the liner notes.

I mean, when was the last time you did that??  It is joy-inducing, I swear to you.

I’m also listening to Mindy Smith’s “Stupid Love” on repeat.  No one has ever made heartbreak sound so good.

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Books sitting in a stack beside my bed but haven’t been reading because I’m too busy watching “Friday Night Lights”:
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” – Audrey Niffenegger
“Acedia and Me” – Kathleen Norris
“Eclipse” – Stephenie Meyer
“On Beauty” – Zadie Smith

The only book that I’m actually devoting any time to is “Oxymoronica” by Mardy Grothe.  Okay, fine – so this is just basically a long list of oxymorons and paradoxes.  One liners.  It is fantastic.  I read it every night and laugh.  I have another book by Mardy Grothe called “I Never Metaphor I Didn’t Like.”  Come on – THAT IS AWESOME.

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*my favorite phrase for changing the subject.  It works every time.

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22 Comments

  1. Kates on August 19, 2009 at 10:11 AM

    Love, love, love, love, love Friday Night Lights! Sadly, the new season doesnt start until summer 2010. That’s a really long wait for something I can’t get enough of.

  2. Greta on August 19, 2009 at 10:29 AM

    Don’t waste your time with “On Beauty”– disappointing. Heard that “White Teeth” was much better, but “On Beauty” is worth exchanging for more episodes of FNL.

  3. Carly on August 19, 2009 at 10:58 AM

    Annie…I am fairly certain we would be great friends.

    Besides the fact that we both adore Mary Elizabeth Hiemstra, I am currently entrenched in season 3 of FNL and am pretty much obsessed. BEST.SHOW.EVER.

    Also, I own (and love) the book Oxymoronica.

  4. Lisa on August 19, 2009 at 11:08 AM

    Who doesn’t want to be Tami Taylor?! Best.show.ever. I’m sure JJ will get on here and rave enough for all of us…so I’ll stop here. :)

    Love and miss you, Miss Annie!

  5. JJ Kissinger on August 19, 2009 at 11:26 AM

    FNL 4 eva!

    Seriously.

    WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!! I have to say, this show is absolutely the BEST tv show I’ve ever watched. EVER. And believe me, Annie, I have watched some TV in my day.

    DID YOU KNOW that they don’t even really rehearse? They just show up with their lines memorized and GO. There are always three cameras that hover around them, waiting to find out what happens. That’s why it feels so natural and REAL.

    I know!

    So good… You could change your blog to all FNL all the time, and I would still read it. And I’ll start calling you Tammy, if you want. I mean, you’ve got the “y’all” thing down…

    OK…that’s enough. Clear eyes, full hearts, CAN’T LOSE!

  6. Marijke on August 19, 2009 at 12:23 PM

    I don’t know if it’s kosher to comment FOR somebody else, but when Sally finds out you’re watching FNL she is going to FLIP.

    Me? I never got into it for whatever reason… Perhaps I should revisit?

  7. marisa on August 19, 2009 at 12:32 PM

    you know minka kelly on FNL is the actress we took to africa last month! (she has a little video on our homepage) i’ve yet to watch the show though…i hear awesome things!!
    p.s. miss your face.

  8. Sally on August 19, 2009 at 12:38 PM

    I Love FNL! I totally blogged about it. And this friday Marijke and I are going to Post Grad… a movie that stars Matt Saracen AND Rory Gilmore.

  9. rachel on August 19, 2009 at 12:42 PM

    I have not entered into the apparent wonderfulness that is FNL but it is going to the top of my Netflix! I was just thinking this morning that I needed a new show and this just might be what I need.

    Also, this summer I saw a copy of “Time Traveler’s Wife” wandering around camp and fell in love with the cover, which made me really want to read it. Then I saw that they had made a movie out of it and have been reading a lot about it on people’s blogs. I think it’s a sign. Pure and simple.

  10. Duane on August 19, 2009 at 1:29 PM

    you COULD be a Texan if you really wanted to. i would put in a good word for ya with the immigration folks…

  11. Laura on August 19, 2009 at 1:46 PM

    Hurray! One recommendation: make time for the Time Traveler’s Wife. Seriously good stuff, there.

  12. Isaiah Kallman on August 19, 2009 at 2:47 PM

    Last week before my show, my drummer and I sat outside the venue and listed to all of Stone Temple Pilots’ “Core”. We got pretty pumped. I support full-album listening.

    Screw mp3 players.

  13. becca on August 19, 2009 at 4:59 PM

    someday when i have money again, i will buy mindy smith. rather, her record.

  14. Allie Dearest on August 19, 2009 at 5:30 PM

    I want to read The Time Traveler’s Wife, too!

    Also want to read: The Family: Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Politics.

    I don’t think they’re in the same genre…

  15. Allison on August 19, 2009 at 6:54 PM

    1) it is so good to be a texan.
    2) friday night lights is enjoyable. have you seen the movie? the soundtrack is great.
    3) reading the liner notes while i listen to a cd for the first time has been my routine since i was in middle school, and is one of the main reasons i don’t download much music.
    4) the time traveler’s wife is surprisingly good! it sounded cheesy to me, and maybe it is, but i liked it a lot.

    i like reading your blog for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that i discover how much we have in common.

  16. Julianne on August 19, 2009 at 8:42 PM

    Jon and I love FNL too! We have watched season one and are hoping to start season 2 soon!

  17. Deborah Barnett on August 19, 2009 at 9:30 PM

    I’ve been wanting to read The Time Traveler’s Wife… also just heard rave reviews about The Art Of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein. Trying to get copies of both…

    I miss your face something awful.

  18. Casey Evans on August 19, 2009 at 11:13 PM

    Carlos said to me after reading this blog, “could we start watching FNL?” Currently we’re watching every episode of Greek on Hulu, almost done. Come be a Texan, Claire will like you. p.s. we saw Time-Travellers Wife b/c of you. Maybe we just follow you a lot.

  19. Rebecca on August 20, 2009 at 12:10 AM

    I love FNL as well – I used to watch it with my parents- my mom knows what football in a small town is like since she grew up in Alabama.

    Oh, QB 1 (aka Zach Gilford) is in a new movie -he is in “Postgard” with Rory Gilmore (well, Alexis Bledel but around my house we know her as Rory) and I can’t wait.

  20. Dad on August 20, 2009 at 9:36 AM

    Annie, I swear, I do not know how it is that you have turned out as such a refined, aristocratic rural cowgirl. You, who raged against Montrose and how stupid and small and ridiculous small towns are, and who have made your life in two incredible cities, always seem to be called back to the story telling of country stores, names like Tami Taylor (I went to high school with someone named something close to that), Friday night football, and (gasp) old cars. I think you are one of the most delightful people I have ever met. And so complex I will never figure you out.

    Love, Dad

  21. faith on August 22, 2009 at 2:09 PM

    Woot-Woot!! Another FNL fan!! I LOVE that show and I love Tami Taylor. New season starting Summer of ’10. Cannot wait.

  22. lyndsay on August 24, 2009 at 11:27 PM

    Um. UM. When I first discovered FNL I spent many a day fearful that my friends and family were planning a Tim Riggins intervention.
    Welcome to my graceland.
    PS I found your site from sweet annie downs :)

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