You Know I'm Always Moanin', But You Jump Start My Serotonin

Lest you think all I can do is post old dancehall videos on my blog, here I prove to you that I can post old Scottish indie videos as well. The title of this blog is a line from this song by Arab Strap, called The Shy Retirer. I remember having an ludicrously impassioned debate with a friend of mine about it - I took the position it was a stupid lyric, and he took the position it was the best lyric ever written. In retrospect, I believe that copious alcohol consumption in the run up to the debate may have caused us each to defend our points with a bit too much enthusiasm.

For some reason, this lyric popped into my head when I woke up this morning, and I had to hear the song. I like Arab Strap, but this has never been one of my fav songs by them (obviously after objecting so strenuously to that line in the song, I always had to take a hard line against it), but what do you know, I like it now. Go figure. This is the one and only time I'll admit, though.

Shameless. Watch It. Now.

I've got loads of writing that I should be doing - which obviously means I'm surfing the internet instead. My friend in Scotland just promised to send me the last few seasons of this show - Shameless - on DVD, and I can't wait, so I've been watching clips on YouTube. This video of the old opening credits isn't the best quality, granted, but you'll get the point. Can't recommend this show enough, and fortunately, it's available on DVD in the US now - so buy it, Netflix it, whatever you do - but check it out.

I got the most fantastic piece of spam today - it said the sender was CNN and the subject was "John McCain Will Invade Your Vagina." Wow. Dear god, I hope this is some kind of mistake. Can I get some kind of retraction soon?

It seems like I shouldn't end with that, but yet, I got nothing else. Um, sorry. Watch the video.

Scotland: Not in England After All

I'm having a long, technically troubled day, and really, I wasn't going to blog at all. Then, I went to buy milk and a conversation with the cashier and bagger gave me something to write about and an excuse to post a Limmy video.

First, yes, I got into an overly long conversation with the cashier and bagger, but that's another story. Suffice it to say that the fact that I used to live in Scotland came up. Here's a rundown of the conversation - it starts with one of my favorite questions ever (lucky for me, people ask me all time!):

Cashier: "What language do they speak in Scotland?"

Bagger: "They speak English! Scotland is in England, dummy!"

Me: "Well, they speak English, but Scotland isn't IN England. They're two different countries, but they're both in the United Kingdom."

Bagger: "No, you're wrong. England is the same thing."

Mind you, I had just explained that I spent seven years living in Scotland, but what do I know? Anyway, it made me think of this Limmy video. By the way, if you don't know Limmy, he's hysterical. This probably isn't his funniest, especially if British politics aren't your bag (understandable), but you can check out more on his YouTube channel. GTA IV video - highly recommended (if you're not easily offended).

And Scotland is not in England. Please believe me.