"This is a list of what I should have been but I'm not. This is a list of the things that I should have seen but I'm not seeing." ~counting crows

That's from the song "Cowboys," which is on Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings (the new album they're releasing in November). I can't tell you how excited I am about the album. It's been forever since Counting Crows released an album. Films About Ghosts, New Amsterdam, and the rerelease of August and Everything After don't count. Hard Candy was the last studio album, and that was seven years. ago. We need some new material. We've needed new material for awhile. And they're making up for that long stretch by releasing a two-disc album. I'm especially looking forward to the second disc (Sunday mornings). It's the quieter, acoustic one. So far it seems like the album will be fantastic. They dug up a few really good old songs to record for the first time. We have bootleg recordings of some of them, but it'll be great to have studio versions. I also like the new songs I've heard. I think AD said that "Cowboys" might be their best song yet (or maybe it was a reviewer who said it); I don't agree with that, but I do like the song and it grows on me every time I hear it. I like "Come Around" even more; it's fun. I've noticed that AD really does like the word "around." He's written the songs "Round Here," "Hangin' Around," and now "Come Around." They're all good songs, so maybe he should try to continue the trend.

The Broadway Flea Market was this morning. I spent waaaay too much money. I bought a framed Chess window card and a framed Secret Garden window card. I had to dig for both of those and they're pretty rare because they're from old shows that weren't open too long. Chess was on Broadway in 1988 and only lasted two months (Americans weren't quite ready for its brilliance), and The Secret Garden opened on Broadway in 1991 and closed less than two years later. So there aren't too many window cards for either show floating around, and I snatched them up. Chess is probably my favorite musical and The Secret Garden was the first Broadway show I saw, so they're both very special to me. I also bought a Wicked mug for $1 that I dropped soon after I bought it. The handle fell off, but it's still usable. And I filled up a carton with pins from Grey Gardens for $1. My favorite pin, "Jerry likes my corn," was in high demand but I got one.

This afternoon I went down to Century 21 for some shopping (I didn't buy anything; even though they've got the best bargains in the city, the clothes are still pretty expensive because they're designer brands). It's right across from Ground Zero. I sat next to Ground Zero under the gorgeous, clear blue sky, ate a really good slice of pizza for lunch, and felt incredibly sad. It was the first time I visited Ground Zero since 2001. I went on Thanksgiving in 2001 with two of my uncles (one of whom worked in the Twin Towers) and some of my cousins, and we looked at the site from my other uncle's office (which overlooked the ruins). I cried then and I almost cried today.

Let's move on to more happy things. This is a pretty big week for TV's new fall season. Be sure to catch Dirty Sexy Money on Wednesday on ABC at 10:00pm; I saw the pilot (I already raved about it here) and it's brilliant. Before that, at 9:00pm on Wednesday Gossip Girl airs on the CW. I've also seen that pilot and it's going to be my guilty pleasure this season. My excuse for watching it is that I get to listen to Kristen Bell's voice (I'm a huge fan of hers and she's the narrator), but I have to admit that I'm hooked on the show. You can download the pilot for free on iTunes. Also airing at that time (on ABC) is Private Practice (the Grey's spinoff with Kate Walsh). I'm torn as to which show to watch. I'll probably end up taping Private Practice and watching Gossip Girl. Grey's Anatomy returns this Thursday. Hopefully it'll be better than last season. I've heard it will be.

I really need to work on lesson plans for this week. We're starting a big unit on the journalistic feature article. I hope it goes well.