Last.fm just keeps better - now a bunch of artists have made whole CDs available there for free streaming! It's a great idea. I very rarely buy CDs by new-to-me singers because I'm too uncertain of whether I'll really like them, but this gives me a chance to check the full CDs out online first...which is great for my music library, although not for my finances! After trying out a few experiments yesterday, I've spent most of today on last.fm digging out singers that I hadn't heard for years, listening to full CDs by The Indigo Girls, Mary Chapin Carpenter - all my favorite female folk-rock singers back when I was in undergrad. They're not my favorites anymore, but listening to those old CDs is great for inspiring the best kind of memories. (The joy of nostalgia - listening to them, I remember all the good bits of being a freshman in college: the way I felt like the whole world was opening out in front of me and I could do anything! Whereas, when I really think with cold clarity about that year, I remember an awful lot of stress and worry and romantic angst taking up most of my time and energy...but I'm happy to forget those parts, especially while I'm listening to the music!)

I went onto Amazon.com today just to do some gift-shopping, but while I was there, I clicked onto "My Recommendations". And oh, does Amazon know me well...I was horribly, dangerously tempted by their recommended Pride and Prejudice T-shirt. It's just perfect in its choice of quote: "Obstinate, headstrong girl!"* I saw it and drooled with desire. I NEED it!!!! Of course, as Patrick pointed out, I could probably make the shirt myself, since the quote is hardly copyrighted - and the T-shirt is completely un-styled, so it would be smarter to wait and get it made in a nice design someday - but ohhhh, the temptation. My hand hovered over the "Add to Basket" button for several minutes before I finally forced myself to close the page!

And speaking of dangerous temptations...for the first time ever, I am glad that the Italian buffalo mozzarella I adore is too expensive for me to buy. Check out The Independent's article: Italy's Toxic Waste Crisis, the Mafia - and the Scandal of Europe's Mozzarella. Eep. I wonder if there is such a thing as yummy buffalo mozzarella made locally in the UK? Hmmm....


*(Lady Catherine de Bourgh, one of my favorite characters in literary history, shouts that at Elizabeth Bennet, my other favorite, for refusing to turn down Mr. Darcy. Go, Elizabeth!)