Genius!

Over the holidays, my mom treated herself to a new iPod Touch. In the process of helping her figure out all the cool things it could do, I rediscovered the Genius function. The idea is awesome: You choose a song you really love, and let the iPod generate a playlist (out of your music library) of about 25 songs based on that song. Here’s what came up for “The Love You Save” by the Jackson 5:

1. “The Love You Save” – Jackson 5
2. “Lovely Day” – Bill Withers
3. “Truly” – Lionel Richie
4. “C’mon and Ride it (The Train) – Quad City DJ’s
5. “Mess Around” – Ray Charles
6. “No More Drama” – Mary J. Blige
7. “Green Light” – John Legend feat. Andre 3000
8. “Breakin’ Dishes” – Rihanna
9. “All I Could Do Is Cry” – Etta James
10. “Crazy in Love” – Beyonce and Jay-Z
11. “ABC” – Jackson 5
12. “Use Me” – Bill Withers
13. “Someday” – John Legend
14. “Say You, Say Me” – Lionel Richie
15. “Hallelujah I Love Her So” – Ray Charles
16. “Rainy Dayz” – Mary J. Blige
17. “Umbrella” – Rihanna
18. “I Want You Back” – Jackson 5
19. “Lean on Me” – Bill Withers
20. “Endless Love” – Lionel Richie
21. “Georgia On My Mind” – Ray Charles
22. “Rehab” – Rihanna
23. “Ain’t No Sunshine” – Bill Withers
24. “Penny Lover” – Lionel Richie
25. “I’ve Got a Woman” – Ray Charles

How cool is that? Such a neat little mix of songs. I’ve also made Genius lists based on “That’s Not My Name” by The Ting Tings, “Southern Belles in London Sing” by The Faint, and “The Heart of Life” by John Mayer. So many possibilities!

Some personal notes

Something I’ve always wanted to do for Christmas: Buy a Salvation Army bell-ringer a gift. Last year when I took the bus on Nicollet Mall, I would sometimes watch the bell ringers stand out in the freezing cold ringing those bells away, and I always wanted to buy them a hot chocolate or apple cider. This year I don’t wait there for the bus, but I still see a volunteer on the skyway in the City Center.

So this morning I stopped by a place to grab a croissant and some juice, and on my way out grabbed some white-chocolate-covered pretzels. I put a dollar in the bucket and gave the pretzels to the ringer. He was very grateful, and I immediately fell into the Christmas spirit.

Also, on Sunday, I was digging my car out of snow to move it back to my street for the Snow Emergency. After about 20 minutes of trying to get it out, a kind stranger walked out of his house all bundled up and ready to help me. He eventually taught me rocking techniques for getting a car forward. After about another 20 minutes, we were successful. This is something I’ve often heard happens in Minnesota but never experienced myself, and I’m very grateful for him.

Tonight I pack for my trip to Texas to be with my family for Christmas, and tomorrow I fly out. Sometimes packing is half the fun, isn’t it? I say that now… but then I’m making the permanent move back to Texas and I’m sure that will be very… un-fun.

Merry Christmas!

Given a task (especially a fun one), I will complete.

Recently I came upon a fun game to play. It reminds me of my favorite assignment in a design class I took in college, where we had to redesign an album cover. Instructions:

• Step One: Go to Wikipedia and click on Random Article. This is your band name.
• Step Two: Go To Flickr and on the “Last 7 Days” section, choose the third picture. This is your album cover.
• Step Three: Go to Wikiquote and click on Random Page. Go to the last quote and copy the last few words in the sentence. This is your album name.
• Step Four: Assemble and post.

Here’s my creation.

Update: Here’s another. I couldn’t help myself.