Matt & Kim:  daylight.  Ok, it isn't that new, or amazingly groundbreaking.  But I like it.  It has a fun catchy beat and clever lyrics.  It's a song I can turn up on my iPod during my train ride, and close my eyes.  The men-in-suits reading the Wall Street Journal and ladies wearing skirts with goofy track shoes and too much purfume disappear from around me.  I actually escape to another place during this track.  By the end of the song, I'm wearing a small wry smile and can almost tolerate the loud-phone-talker two rows behind me.  (Note to said loud-phone-talker: we don't care what kindergarten your daughter got into, or how much your slipped disc hurts- just read your newspaper and be quiet!) 

 Get it free on their site.  Or, if you like their songs, you can buy the whole album on iTunes.

I was a bit of a nerd as a child.  Preferred my LEGOs and tinker toys (shaped into super-cool lazer ray guns of course).  I had one main TV obsession as a six-year old.  And that obsession was space-themed anime.  From the Wiki:  Star Blazers is an American animated TV series adapted from a Japanese sci-fi trilogy anime series called Space Battleship Yamato I, II and III.

Star Blazers ran from 1979-1980 in the US. There's so much to this short-lived series.  It had, gulp, adult themes!  There was flirting!  There were sexy girls and lots of loud people yelling "Look-out!" and fighting. The epic space ship battles were my favorite part of the show.  I so super duper loved this series.  I bought the whole thing on VHS tape the second I could, quite a few (15!?) years ago.  It's finally available in digital form, on iTunes. 

My favorite memory of watching Star Blazers is of turning my Dad's recliner into a "spaceship", with rocket launchers and laser guns, fighting my next-door neighbor as he piloted the couch.  Pew-pew-pew!   We'd re-enact the whole episode we just watched, adding new drama and lots of fighting.  I'd love to hear your Star Blazers memories...add a comment below!

I was perusing iTunes for something new to buy (always gets me in trouble with the Mr...), and I came across the banner "Pixar in HD", which of course piqued my interest.  I then discovered that Wall-E is available for download in HD from iTunes.  I have to marvel- it was only a tiny bit ago that I could only buy such things in a store, and it was not available to me at a moment's notice---now, I can watch Wall-E anytime, from anywhere!  

Pixar also released HD versions of Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille, and A Bugs Life (of which a DVD shipped with my iMac DVSE, ah, those were the days...).   It couldn't be easier to find and watch, and without the mess and waste of plastic and stickers and such.  If you are a collector, you'll still want to own the blue-ray or DVD.  But for most, a trash-free HD version straight to your computer is a beautiful thing.  Yay for less waste!

YES, YES, I know, they are already over-exposed, over-highlighted and over-played!   Yet, the band is only 3 years old.  And that's the thing- and the reason I think the attention is deserved.  They are fresh and fun, and yes, talented.  So give the four white boys who attended Columbia a break- they may not have a sob story but they are good.  Very good.  Their debut album, Vampire Weekend, is highly listenable, and I can't wait to get my hands on the sophmore album, arriving January 12, 2010.

A good omen for the music businees, and a smart move on thier part- the single Horchata from thier next album is available for free download on thier website:  vampireweekend.com   So you can check them out for free, and enjoy.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Halloween.  I love the scary, the gory, and definitely the sweet.  When I'm not fashioning fancy blood- squirting vampire fangs and eating copius amounts of candy, I take a half hour to watch the best Halloween classic, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

I really think everyone in America has seen this animation, and I'd hate to ruin it for the three adults who haven't watched it, so I'll hold back on the plotline information.  Suffice it to say, it involves the whole Peanuts gang, trick-or-treating, and a pumpkin patch.  Watch for the eeerie howls of Snoopy, and the cute costumes (poor Charlie Brown, he can't catch a break...) and the unrequited love all around. 

You can find the stand-alone DVD on Amazon:  It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown