OTIDT Outtakes: Monday October 25

Other things I did on Monday that could've been turned into One Thing I Did Today entries:

• My job for the day was to basically act as an on-site representative for Dominion Voting, the company who provided the software and machines for tabulating election results. If anything went wrong, I was supposed to be there to "help." I'd received about two hours of training, so I wasn't expecting to be able to do much, but when I arrived in the town of LaSalle, they were getting error messages galore. After looking through their setup, I realized that they had an older version of the software! I e-mailed Dominion HQ, got the newest version e-mailed to me, and installed it on their computers. Things ran MUCH smoother after that. I believe the phrase "saved the day" was thrown around when they discussed my contributions. You're welcome, LaSalle residents, for saving democracy.
• Amherstburg's setup had no problems, so I wasn't needed much there, but there was one highlight: among the scrutineers watching the results being tabulated was an outspoken old woman who constantly asked questions and seemed generally suspicious of the process. At one point, she called the chief election officer in Amherstburg a "bitch." I know this not because I witnessed it, but because both parties mentioned it to me later (old lady: "I shouldn't have called her a bitch..."; election officer: "at least you didn't get called a bitch today!")
• For breakfast, I went to a restaurant called Cora's and ordered the most ridiculous plate of fruit I'd ever seen. It was easily the most fruit I've eaten in one meal in my life, even counting fruit salads. It was also the first time I can remember ordering a meal which the menu describes in terms like "beautiful" and "lavishly cut."
  

iTunes Playlist: "favsongs"

Earlier this month, I made reference on One Thing I Did Today to a playlist I'd compiled on iTunes: 17 songs that I could absolutely listen to over and over without getting sick of them. I was asked about these songs since then, so I figured I might as well share them here.

Now, here's the thing about this list: I don't consider these the best songs in the world, or even in my collection. They're not necessarily the most-played tracks in my iTunes, and they aren't necessarily the ones I'd mention first if I was asked to rhyme off a few all-time classics. I'm not even sure if I'd call some of them my favourite songs, despite what the playlist title suggests. But as of right now, October 18th of 2010, these are the songs that I'd have an incredibly hard time skipping if I heard their first five seconds(*). That's it.

(*) Qualifier: I've also had them in my iTunes for at least a few months, so that I've had ample opportunity to get sick of them. Otherwise, Rihanna's "Only Girl (in the World)" would definitely be making the cut....

Here they are:

Favourite songs from favourite bands

The Thermals - A Pillar of Salt
The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend
The Strokes - 12:51

Short and sweet

The Marked Men - Fortune
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Eight Day Hell
Deer Tick - Ashamed

Incredible post-bridge conclusions

The Speedies - Time
Plants and Animals - Bye Bye Bye
Islands - Rough Gem

Secretly the best songs they've ever been involved in

Loretta Lynn - Portland, Oregon (feat. Jack White)
Teddybears - Punkrocker (feat. Iggy Pop)
Julian Casablancas - Out of the Blue

Perfect female-sung hooks

Santigold - Lights Out
Major Lazer - Keep it Goin' Louder (feat. Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze)

Party hard

Andrew W.K. - Ready to Die
Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet

The one I forgot until I saw I'd only listed 16 here

Spiritualized - Soul on Fire