From the Salmon

My brilliant wife had a breakthrough this month in her graduate work — one that was finally and substantially confirmed today. This is the result that we’ve been hoping for and praying about for, well, a couple of years now. I can’t tell you how much this makes today a Great Day. And I can’t say enough how proud I am of her.

In celebration, I offer this list of other things that make me not nearly as happy, but happy nonetheless:

• Any day that McSweeney’s and Fafblog! take on the same topic is a veritable perfect storm of interwebby goodness. If you’re keeping score at home, Fafblog! wins. The money quote: “Giblets wants to stuff a panda full of coal just to watch it burn!”


• The Final Four and Red Sox-Yankees Opening Day on the same weekend! (That’s the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox, to you.)


• Finding a music video for The Decemberists’ “16 Military Wives” — the standout track from their newest album, Picaresque. The song by itself makes me happy, but the video owes an awful lot to Wes Anderson’s Rushmore, which makes it that much better. (The site includes a streamable version and a link to a high-quality torrent.)


• “Well, what are we protecting you from, a wrong cheeseburger?”


• More McSweeney’s: ”The Lyrics to the Billy Joel Song ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ If They Were Written by a Muskrat Instead of by Billy Joel.”


• I discovered this morning that Christopher O’Riley’s second album of solo piano Radiohead transcriptions comes out this week. And it includes “Gagging Order”! When we saw O’Riley perform a full Radiohead recital a year and a half ago, that song was the highlight. Well, apart from his gorgeous rendition of “Motion Picture Soundtrack.” (Thanks to Tim for the heads up and for a great review. I’ve been meaning to say hi and catch up, TJ, but your “Discuss” section mystifies and confuses me.)


• And last but not least… Four of the sweetest words in the english language, when found on The Daily Show website: “Next Week: New Episodes!”