Waaaaaaaaarped!

Oh. My. God. Warped was crazy, and fun, and hot, and just such a total freaking blast I can't believe it. I had SO MUCH FUN! So, I left A2 around 10:20 which was a little later than I'd wanted to get on the road and made good time till I got to the exit for Comerica Park. Then I sat in traffic for a good 30-45 minutes. The whole parking/plaza area in front of Comerica was blocked off for Warped and they had stages, non-profit booths and merch booths set up all over the place. It was so fucking hot I couldn't believe it (I'm pretty sure it hit the high 90s plus disgusting humidity) but I stuck it out. Ok, so who did I see??

First I saw Vaux on the Volcom stage which was a pretty small stage and there weren't too many people there to watch them which sucked because they're an awesome band. However, I was able to get up close and got some pretty good pics. I also got to talk to the lead singer, Quentin Smith, after their set for a few minutes which was pretty damn cool too.

After that I saw The Academy Is... on the Hurley Stage which was much bigger than the Volcom stage. There were tons of people at this set and I couldn't get too close to see, but they played some good stuff. I liked Vaux more though:)

Right before I saw The Audition on the SmartPunk Stage I caught a few mintues of Helmet on one of the main stages. I feel like I should know more Helmet but I am woefully uneducated about them:) Decent crowd for them! The Audition was pretty good, not the best of the day but I give the lead singer points for his enthusiasm despite how freaking hot it was.

Next was Armor For Sleep back at the Hurley Stage. I fucking loved them, they were awesome. Great stuff, good crowd and a crowd surfing contest:) As with The Academy Is..I wasn't able to get very close (and after a while standing in a crowd in 90+ weather can make you feel a bit squiffy) but I sure as hell could hear them. Go download their album! It rocks!

Then I took a little break and a tour of the merch booths that were set up all around the inside of the baseball stadium-dangerous on the wallet but great to get out of the sun for a bit.


After that I went to see The Sounds on the right main stage. OH MY GOD. They were AMAZING. So sweet! I got up close and got some great pics (if I do say so myself;) and absolutely loved their set. I think they may have been my very favorite of the whole day. They remind me a bit of Blondie and they definitely had a different sound from most of the other bands on Warped but I loved, loved, loved them. The lead singer looks a bit like Debbie Harry to me, but you decide. I also got to briefly meet the band at a signing and got my Warped program signed by most of them which was pretty fun too:)

Because I hadn't had enough yet, and there were still some awesome bands to see, I zipped over to Main Stage Left to catch Thursday who played a bunch of songs off their new album. They drew a big crowd so I really couldn't see a bloody thing, but it was ok:)

Finally, the last band I saw was Aiden on the Hurley stage. I was pretty exhausted at this point (it was 7pm and I'd been running around in the sun for seven hours by then) so I didn't even try to fight the crowd and plunked myself on a curb to the side of the stage. I actually didn't have that bad a view of things, and it was a lot more comfortable than diving into the MASS of people who wanted to see Aiden. They were definitely good, I love the song "Die Romantic" and need to check out more of their other stuff. The lead singer had his face painted very Crow-esque (the movie) but by the time their half hour set was over it looked like his face melted off (lol:).

After Aiden I headed home-totally, utterly, disgustingly filthy, sweaty and hot, but very pleased with the day over all. I am SO going again next year;) Amazingly, I didn't get totally scorched either, a little red and peely on my face and a teeny bit red on one shoulder, but my constant reapplication of SPF 30 paid off. I mean, for ME, being out in the sun for almost 8 hours and to NOT get completely fried is nothing short of amazing. Go me:)

Busy, busy week...I'm seeing The Editors on Thursday, Big City Rock (with October Fall & Drive By) on Friday and The Raconteurs on Saturday. The only problem is, I think I'm getting sick. Apparently my body has decided I've done far too much running around and has decided to shut down. I feel pretty crappy and all I want to do is go to sleep :( I feel like I've already been at work for 8 hours and it's only 10:40...it's gonna be a long day...

Whew, long post, I'm out. I'll do photos from Warped in a separate post since Blogger is wonky about text & pics together (or maybe I'm just inept at it).

~Sasha
Listening to: The Editors "Sparks"

Heavens is Heaven!

OMG...you MUST go check out Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio's) side project/band Heavens. They are fucking awesome! I can't wait for this album to come out...
Seriously, listen to it on their myspace page. Your ears will thank you.

f*&$@!**! Raccoons!

Bloody hell. Stupid raccoons kept me up again last night. At least they waited to start their attempts at scaling the wall until 2:30 am instead of 1:30...not much consolation though. I am so freaking tired I can't stand it and there isn't an easily accessible Starbucks or Espresso Royale to be found. Two weeks without a decent cup of coffee or tea and a complete lack of sleep.
I am so ready for this week to be over...ugh, ugh, ugh. How am I going to make it through today??

Raccoons, making your ears bleed and a few other quick updates

Word,
So, last night I was awoken not once but twice as these two rather fat raccoons tried to scale the wall outside my bedroom. Cheeky buggers didn't even run off when I turned the light on, banged on the glass in the window and made all sorts of weird noises in an attempt to startle them and get them to run away. Of course all this was going on at 1:30 and then 3:30 am...needless to say, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. Those damn raccoons kept scaling the wall, sliding down it, chattering, grunting, sighing and trying to get into this terracotta planter (why, I have no idea). Finally I got them to run off by talking to them, guess my conversation wasn't all that interesting to raccoons:) Anyways, it all resulted in me being exhausted this morning, hitting the snooze button (which I discovered, doesn't work on my travel alarm clock) and waking up 20 minutes before my class started. Now, mind you, Bath, where I'm staying, is 15 minutes from MSU, so I didn't exactly make it on time. In the end I was only 10 minutes late, but have since felt frazzled all day. Stupid raccoons, I blame them.

New review up on Static. Read it here. The album made me think I was going to bleed from the ears it was so bad. I was rather pleased though, my editor ran my piece as I wrote it and it didn't get toned down which was a bit surprising since I was pretty damn mean.

Psyched for Warped this weekend and I get to cover it for Revolt. Now, if I could only get my hands on a press pass...
I also have a second date with the guy from a couple of weeks ago. I am being forced to play pool. I suck at pool. If I survive this humiliation, it will be a miracle.

That's it for now, back to class...
~S

Oops, almost forgot. My review of Anterrabae's latest is up at Static here. They're a bit slower about getting reviews up. The album I'm reviewing for them right now (won't say who it is yet) is AWFUL. My god, I can't tell if I'm being horribly mean or just honest in my review so far. I may need to tone it down a bit. Good god it's bad though. Ugh. Makes my eardrums want to cut off all the oxygen to my brain.

I'm also going to get to cover Warped, The Raconteurs, The Editors and Drive By for Revolt. Woo hoo! Fun! Man, I LOVE writing for Revolt:)

Feature is up on Revolt

Ok, v. quick post...
My first feature is up on Revolt, go read it here. Woo hoo!

So far, my class is going pretty well, though I think all day for a week is gonna be a haul...I am getting to shoot a Nikon D-100 Digital SLR for the week, which is pretty damn fun and I'm learning a lot about Photoshop. I knew I only used a fraction of what the program was capable of, so this should be good.

Very, very psyched for the art fair. I can't wait to go!!
Right, class is starting back up, go read my feature and let me know what you think:)
Ciao,
Sasha

The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism...

Wow, what a weekend... So, the party went great if I do say so myself. I spent Friday after work doing all the Meijering (yes, it is a verb) and started baking the cake I had planned for the party. Saturday for the most part was a fast trip out to get a few last minute items and frantic cleaning. The highlight of all the preparation was getting a very unexpected phone call from my friend Lodina who was going to be able to come to the party after all. I haven't seen her in a year or two (she lives up in London, ON) and it was so, so exciting to get to see her!!

So, people started rolling in around 7, I managed not to give anyone food poisoning and I think generally everyone had a good time (I suppose it's a good sign if the party began at 7 and people hung around till about 3am...) I had a blast and even though I am exhausted today (um, yeah, lots to drink and going to bed at 4am after drunkenly washing mountains of dishes tends to have that result) it was so worth it. I am totally going to do the Pink is the New Party party in the fall. Watch your email for deets (you know who you are).



As always with these kinds of things, a few important highlights are necessary. 1) Most games are even more fun when you've been drinking. Scrabble is no exception. Best of all is when you say to hell with the rules on the box and make up your own. We played "band/frame name scrabble" and, let's say, the results were interesting if not found in the dictionary. Did you know you only get four points for "snot"? Here's how the board looked at the end...


Also of note were a few quotes, which we all know, I tend to write down when drunk/drinking. Some of the best of the evening were:

• Cute like the Cold War.
• I know about culture. I've offended most of them.
• This is the sort of common sense you don't normally think of.
• That's better than calling your toilet "the ring of fire."
• We didn't drink the Everclear that day, we used it to clean the room.
• The truth hurts like that last coffin nail.

We also got to try the tequila cream that Husband and Wife brought back from their jaunt to Mexico. What amused me most was Husband drinking his from a brandy snifter...well, that and the Hawaiian shirt with the snifter:)
Wife and I ended up drunkenly talking till about 3am after everyone else left and Husband fell asleep in a chair. I know I've said it before, but I am so happy and lucky that my sister in law and I get along so well! We're going to take a trip to the Art Fair at the end of the week and as much as the Art Fair is a huge pain in the ass, I can't help but love it! I missed it last year when I was in England, so I can't miss it this year. There was also some talk of taking a roadtrip out to Jersey which could be a hoot, so hopefully that will work out.







I'm also probably going to go up to London to see Lodina before the summer is over...she & her boyfriend are getting married in the fall so we'll definitely need a girls night of vino in excess before the big day! I love her fiancee though, he's so good for her and I'm so happy to see her happy after all that she's been through lately. I am so happy they came to the party! What an awesome, awesome surprise:) (aargh, I look like shit, oh well.)

So, the fun and games are over for the time being, tomorrow I start one of my week-long, all-day, every-day classes at MSU. I'm not terribly looking forward to it, I figure it'll be somewhat dull, but I get 3 credits done in a week, so I can't complain about that. I won't mind the two weeks off from work either (of course the only problem is, when I don't work, I don't get paid, but I think the time away from that place will be a good thing). No call from the guy I went out with this week which I'm pretty bummed about, but I'm just trying to focus on what amazing friends I have and maybe someday the right guy will fall into place for me.

I probably won't have much time to post this week, so till next weekend, have a good one and get psyched for the Art Fair! Woo hoo!
~S
Listening to Mass Romantic The New Pornographers

Living for the Weekend

Whew, almost the weekend. Thank god:) I'm throwing a smallish dinner party on Saturday (smallish because I apparently picked the single worst weekend all summer to try and get people in one place) but it should still be fun and I'm excited about it. Of course I still need to do all the shopping for it, but I'm figuring it didn't make any sense to buy stuff before today since I need lots of chicken and veg. So, see, my procrastination has its benefits! As far as priorities have gone, I spent more time working on my party playlist and getting my collection of alcohol and related accessories together than I have on actually cleaning or shopping, but good tunes and booze are def. important! A few selections (and recommendations) from the playlist (it is way too long to include the whole list, as always, I went totally overboard):

• "The Distance" Cake Fashion Nugget: an oldie but a goodie, and it always makes me think of my brother:)
• "Cubicle" Rinocerose Rinocerose: yeah that song from the iTunes ads on TV.
• "It's a Hit" We Are Scientists With Love and Squalor
• "A Certain Romance" The Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am
• "Heart of Glass" Blondie The Best of Blondie: a classic, how can you go wrong with a little Debbie Harry??
• "Hysteria" Muse Absolution: Brit alterna-rock with a splash of techno (very good for working out to too...)
• "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism" The New Pornographers Mass Romantic: no, this is not what I expect to happen to my guests at the party.
• "What to Do" Ok Go Ok Go: the best line might be "mediocre people do exceptional things all the time."
• "Lying Is the Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" Panic! At the Disco A Fever You Can't Sweat Out: yeah, P!ATD...guilty pleasure, what can I say?
• "The Dark of the Matinee" Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand: "Oh, I Love this track" (quick, Husband, name the movie).

Hung out with E for a bit last night drinking martinis and just having some girl talk which was fun. I went on a date on Wednesday night that went quite well, but b/c I'm interested, he probably won't ever call me. Grr, dating sucks at times, but who knows, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. Not too much else of excitement at the moment though I did go see the new Pirates of the Caribbean last weekend which was very fun. Mmm, Johnny Depp...sigh.

Well, I've got lots to do to get ready for my little shindig, two articles to do the final edit to and I suppose I ought to do some work since I'm AT work:) I'm out.

Listening to: Fall Out Boy From Under the Cork Tree

LOLOLOLOL!!

Oh. my. god. These are bloody ridiculous. Ben, it's all your fault.

The North Atlantic

Hey y'all:)
Check out my latest review of The North Atlantic's album Wires In the Walls at Revolt (of course!) Also, I'm going to be having my first feature article on Revolt in a week or two, all about The Distance, a sweet band out of Connecticut (weirdly enough, not all that far from where I was born...karma? kismet? one of those k-words??) I am LOVING the writing I'm getting to do, heh, now if I could just get paid for it, it would be perfect...

Go read Revolt! You know you've got nothing better to do;) You should also go get yourself the latest issue of Rolling Stone if for no other reason than Johnny Depp is on the cover. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical about the first Pirates of the Caribbean just because I'm not usually much a fan of pirate movies, but it just cracked me up. I cannot wait for the second Pirates!

I also just got the good news that I aced my Media Law class-woo hoo! Guess all my busting my butt on the dreaded group project was worth it in the long run. Sure, it wasn't fair that I did more than my "share" but at least I got the great grade to make it worth it. Too bad my slacker group members also got the good grade (at least on the project, who knows what they got on the exams) too... I'm still glad that the class is over though. Oh yeah, how was this for irony-I get home from my very last media law class and what's waiting for me in the mail? A jury duty questionnaire...I wonder if I'll get called?? I'm kinda curious about it, but with my luck I'll get called at a totally rotten time. Guess I'll just wait and see.

That's all for now. Enjoy the beautiful weather! Almost the weekend:)
Ciao,
~S
Listening to: "I Bet that You Look Good on the Dancefloor" Arctic Monkeys

More Adventures

I, unlike most of the state, am at work today:( The U of M never gives days off. Boo, hiss. Ok, yeah, I'm off tomorrow, but everyone I talk to is like 'oh, four-day-weekend this' and 'four-day-weekend that" so it makes me want a four day weekend too!) To add insult to injury, the air conditioning isn't working in our office. Not only is it a bit toasty, the worst part is that there is NO air circulation whatsoever and, being an office building, you can't open the windows. Sucky sucky. Ugh, two and a half hours to go.
If it doesn't rain, maybe E and I will hit top of the park tonight...

Well, interesting weekend. Before I get to that though, my first review for Static is up. Check it out here.

In other news, AMG is looking for pop music editors again (sheesh, if they'd just hired me back in the fall, this wouldn't be an issue;) so I'm trying again. At least this time I've got a bunch of recent clips to send them, which I didn't last time around. Fingers crossed...

Fairly uneventful weekend, except, wait, dying my hair FLAMING RED on Friday. Yeah, decided that I didn't have the personality to go with the color and dyed over it the next day. Actually, the second time around it came out more like I wanted-brownish with some bright red streaks in it. I believe my mom's reaction when she saw the full head o red hair was "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR HAIR!!!???" It was kinda funny, but I didn't totally disagree with her this time around. My dad called it a mistake, I prefer to call it an adventure;) heh, heh.

Had dinner with some friends in Livonia on Friday night but it was a fairly early night which was ok. Then I went and saw "The Devil Wears Prada" on Saturday and got a big kick out of it. Totally girly but it amused me greatly. Not much else of interest really.


Later,
~Sasha
PS-I will post pics of the hair, before and after, I just don't have them with me right now:)

Finally Friday...

Well, I'm my funk has dissipated for the most part. I blame total and utter fatigue for my depresso mood the other day. Good news is, my class is over, the project got done (no thanks to my group) and the two reviews I have due are not only in, they're in to my editors early. Woot! I got to review a collection of poetry written by indie musicians called Revolution on Canvas for Revolt. Check out what I said about it here. My review of Good Riddance's album My Revolution will be up at Static sometime this weekend.

Speaking of music, I am going nuts for AFI's new album, decemberunderground. Totally rocks my socks and I've fallen a bit in love with Davey Havok (second from right...insert sheepish grin here) :) It's definitely been one of those albums that I just like more and more each time I listen to it. You should really check it out! However, I am really bummed though that they pulled out of Warped because I was psyched to see them live :( So did From First To Last, which sucks because I was psyched to see them live again. Well...I'm sure it'll be a blast anyways.

Courtesy of a loverly gift certificate to Amazon, I also just got The Arctic Monkey's Whatever You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, From First to Last's Heroine, The Editors' The Back Room and Muse's Absolution. Needless to say, I'm still working my way through them all since I also have all these other albums I need to digest before I write the reviews. Like I need more cd's :)


And just because it's the big news on the MCR front and I still adore them, rumor has it that Gerard has gone blonde. Not sure if this pic is real or photoshopped, but this is supposedly the new look. Guess both Way brothers are going for makeovers because Mikey got lasik and has said goodbye to his glasses, dyed his hair dark and got a tattoo. Wow (ahem, teenie moment, forgive me) they are both still gorgeous...hmm, I wonder if they could be cloned;) MCR is working on their third album and I am psyched to hear it. Too bad it probably won't be out till the fall. Guess I'll have to wait, eh?

Various fun plans in the works for the weekend but I really need to do some serious cleaning and laundry too (boo, hiss). Things have become a bit of a disaster as they tend to when the semester is coming to an end. I seriously need to do something about my haircolor right now too. It's totally wack. I'm trying to decide between pink, red or purple again...dilemmas, dilemmas.

Listening to: decemberunderground, AFI

A (crappy) syllogism

All group projects end up with one person doing all the work.
I want a good grade on my group project.
Therefore, I am doing all the work.

Ok, so Aristotle is probably rolling in his grave...however, I am NOT a happy camper. The final project for my media law class is (you guessed it) a group project. I like the class. I like the prof. I don't even mind the assingment itself, but I hate group projects. Here's the dilemma: do I only do my "fair" share and get a crappy grade because the two people in my (assigned) group are slackers OR, do I do more than I *should* have to in order to get a good grade (and they get the good grade too even though I did 98% of the work)?? I want the good grade, so I guess I have to suck it up.

It still isn't fair though. Ugh, ugh, ugh. It's 12:15 am. The project is due tonight at 6pm. One person in my group emailed me his short part about 15 minutes ago. The other person hasn't emailed her part at all yet. I've gone ahead and written her part on the off-chance she doesn't email it at all. Did I mention I hate group projects??

Here's something else that kinda has me bummed in a pity-myself, I'm-a-shitty-friend kind of way. So, a friend of mine just got out of a crappy relationship. To make a long story short, she finally dumped a guy who didn't treat her well and who she found out was cheating on her. They've maybe been broken up for a month or so. Anyways, she's at a bbq the other night, gets talking with a new guy who she sort of knew and already has a date all lined up for tomorrow night. I know (I know!!) I should be happy for her. I hope this guy treats her like she deserves since the last guy was a complete jerk and wasn't good enough for her but there's also that horrible, babyish, selfish, shitty part of me that is going "why can't I finally meet someone!?" It's been three years since I've really dated anyone and I don't think this drought is going to end soon... I know, take up a hobby or something, try internet dating, etc. etc. Thing is, I've DONE the internet thing and it just doesn't work out (at least in my experience) and I have trouble spending all that money for something that I've already tried multiple times with no success. The guys at work don't even notice I'm alive (I'm just the girl they assume is an idiot because I work in the call center and they think that's my greatest ambition in life) or they're married. The blind date thing didn't work out and I don't really have any friends with single guy-friends that I could be set up with. (Either that or I'm horribly hideous and guys just don't find me attractive...)

I don't know. I've been very good about not letting this get to me lately and it hasn't really bothered me too much, but every now and then I can't help but wonder what's wrong with me. Why do some girls have such an easy time meeting people-even just randomly (I have another friend that manages to get asked out by people when she's waiting in line at the grocery store, and we're not talking by totally skeevy guys either). That kind of thing NEVER happens to me.
Ok, I better go before I get even more depressed about this. And if anyone even so much as thinks about commenting something like "it'll happen when you stop looking for it!" I'll hunt you down and sic wild, rabid badgers on you.

Listening to: David Melillo "Vatican Roulette"

I need a weekend from the weekend...

Aargh. Very good weekend, very busy and now it's only Monday and I'm exhausted and ready for the weekend again...

So, Friday I joined Husband and Wife at Ben's for dinner. He went ALL out, my god he's a great cook. His girlfriend is very lucky! It ended up being a pretty late night, not too much drinking, just enough;) I ended up playing guitar in front of people for the first time ever, though I'd have been better if I'd had some music with me instead of relying on my slightly hazy/alchohol infused brain for stuff I've got memorized. It was fun though and not nearly as scary as I'd expected. It was also determined that we know K-Fed better than each other...long story.

Saturday I spent the first part of the day working on a review for Revolt and then I had to head up to MSU to work on a group project. I drove two hours to meet for 30 minutes. I was not a happy camper about that, especially since I'll just end up doing all the work and the presentation myself. Grr. However, Saturday was redeemed when Elana called and wanted to go out. We went and hung out at Cafe Felix drinking overpriced martinis and noshing on brie as we peoplewatched. We scored a great sidewalk table, it was gorgeous out and just a lot of fun.

However, I think the martinis were just a little bit stronger than I thought, either that or the combined two nights of drinking/getting to sleep late etc. caught up with me because I was definitely a bit hungover yesterday. No rest for me though...had brunch with Husband and Wife and had to work on reviews and the project for my class. Ugh.

The fun news is that I've scored an interview with The Distance for a feature on Revolt. I'm reviewing their album which comes out tomorrow and I have to say, I really like it (hmm, is that ok to say??) I've also got four albums coming my way from Static to deal with. I hope I can keep up with it all! With each review I write I'm definitely feeling more and more confident, so that's good. I'm SO glad I got hooked up with Revolt! I really like what I'm getting to do (and the fact that I get a byline too!)
I hope the week goes fast...

Listening to: "Inspired by You" The Distance

You put Leon Trotsky and ska together and what do you get?

You'll have to read my review of Catch 22's latest album on Revolt if you want to find out:)

The weekend was almost non-stop work which wasn't a whole lot of fun. However, I did take a much needed break on Saturday night and went and killed some brain cells by seeing Nacho Libra with Elana. I got a big kick out of it:) It's just too ridiculous and Jack Black amuses me to no end. Hardly an award winner, but it was some much needed humor and entertainment after spending the rest of the day studying, writing and such.

I am so glad the semester is almost over. One more stupid group project and I'm FREE. Too bad that means most of next weekend will also be consumed with work. Blech. Oh well.

One other thing I'm really not sure how to feel about. I hate the Gnarls Barkley song "Crazy" right? So, why the HELL is it growing on me?? This isn't supposed to happen! I'm supposed to keep hating it! I think I'm getting soft in my old age. First Nicole Kidman (Husband and Wife, you know what I'm talking about) now Gnarls Barkley. What's next...Paris Hilton?? Good god...

Pink is the new Party!

Aargh, just had a great inspiration for a party theme, and maybe only Wife will appreciate this, but what about a Pink is the New Blog/Party party?? How fun would that be? Yeah, totally girly, but what a hoot... (pink drinks-TNTinis, cosmos etc., pink food-shrimp, um, i'm sure there's more pink food, I'm just not thinking right now), snarky celebrity gossip...what more could a girl want??)
Wife? Up for it? I think we should TOTALLY have a Pink is the new Party! Woot! :)

Happy it is finally Friday! NOT happy that I have to drive out to MSU to work on a group project tonight :( boo hiss. What kind of a Friday night is that?! Yuck.

Um, what else...I officially got word that I wasn't chosen for the Rolling Stone/MTV thing. I figured that one out ages ago, but at least it's official. Eh, no biggie. Much more important is that I also found a job posting for Alternative Press and would pretty much give a limb for it. I already sent my stuff in. PLEASE keep your fingers crossed for me!

Another writing job!

Hah, I guess when it rains it pours or something like that. I just got offered another writing job, this time for Static Multimedia. Same deal, review albums, get free CD's, no real paycheck but it's experience I hope will translate into a real, paying job when I'm finished with school. I think I'm going to be busy, busy! My editor is sending me 4 cd's to review, I wonder what they'll be...

Father's Day is posing a bit of a problem...I have NO idea what to get my dad. His birthday was just in May, so now I'm getting hit again and haven't got any good ideas. Anyone? Anyone? (Bueller?) aargh!

Ok, on the blind date front. I was officially introduced to the guy on Friday. It was weird and awkward and he gave me his business card and told me to email him if I wanted to meet up (is that weird? I don't even know). We met for maybe 30 seconds so I can't tell what he's like really. I did email him on Monday but haven't heard anything back. I actually don't really care, but Jen (the girl who is trying to fix us up) is making me crazy. If she asks me one more time what I thought, or if I talked to him, or mentions that she talked to him, I'm going to completely flip out. I am seriously regretting letting her do this, not because of the guy, because of how nuts she's being.

On a lighter note (hah, pardon the pun), some music commentary:

• Ben, you asked if I'd heard the Paris Hilton song. Scarily, yes, I have. Even more horrifying is that, though it's bad, it isn't nearly as bad as I'd expected it to be. I fear for the summer airwaves because I think that is ALL radio stations are going to play. Fight Paris Hilton's world domination! (hmm, that could be a catchy t-shirt...)
• As much as I hate the Gnarls Barkley version of "Crazy," I've heard some covers that are actually pretty good. Guess it isn't the song but the presentation.
• I am still undecided about Head Automatica, but their song, "Graduation Day" has grown on me. The video is pretty funny too.
• I love the I Am Ghost song, "Dead Girl Epilogue." Very creepy...you can download it on their myspace page.
• Check out Reggie and the Full Effect, "Take Me Home Please." Download it here.

That's it for now.
~S

Snow Patrol Review up on Revolt!

Read my review of Snow Patrol's latest album on Revolt here. I'm really happy with how things are going at Revolt so far, yay!

It was a good weekend, but way too short. Friday night I skipped the department party, did a little homework downtown at Starbucks and then met my parents for dinner at Cosi (yum!). Saturday I camped out at Espresso Royale to write my Snow Patrol review and then met up with a friend for coffee which was fun. Husband came over for dinner which was good too:) Sunday wasn't too exciting, just more homework, the gym and some loafing. I really wish it wasn't already Monday though...boo.

The plans are in motion for the next party, I hope people can come on the day I picked. It won't be till mid July but I wanted to give people plenty of time to plan ahead. I'm definitely looking forward to it (I hope other people are too!)

Am I the only person that hates the Gnarls Barkley song "Crazy?" Man, if Virgin Radio plays it one more time I'm going to lose it. I also can't STAND The Streets' "Never Went to Church." Uhhg, I hate it...

On the other hand, I really like AFI's song "Miss Murder." I also love "Die Romantic" by Aiden. Go download it on their myspace page. Good stuff.

That's it, work is hell today. Later,

~S

Funny

Ha ha! I love it. Brandon Reilly from Nightmare of You has started a blog. He's quite funny and makes some pretty good commentary on the state of the world. I particularly love this comment:
" I'm not anti-religion. I'm anti-imbecile."

Hmm, this sounds distinctly like it's verging towards the "People are stupid" theory of mine if you as me:) Anyways, I'm amused by his blog and will add it to my daily routine. You can read it for yourself here. (Brandon Reilly also has a ridiculously cute cat named Bella, so that bumps him up even higher in my regard;)

Now for a confession...I broke down and upgraded my cell phone. I was probably one of the few people on the planet that didn't have a flip phone but here's the thing. I still won't:) I've used other people's flip phones and they just feel weird to me, I'm perfectly happy with my slab 0'phone type cell. Anyways, I decided to use a little of my huge income tax refund and got myself a Sidekick (the rest of the money is getting socked away, so I guess one "treat" isn't bad). I feel guilty since they're kinda expensive, but I was able to get a bunch of rebates that helped a lot. My monthly plan won't be any more expensive than it already was, so that's good. I really like the idea of being able to check my email, make calls, keep a calendar/address book etc, IM, check the web and take photos without having to carry around three or four electronic devices like I used to. Anyways, it should come today, so that's kinda fun:)

One other thing, if any of you html gurus out there know why I've got those damn gaps between links on the sidebar under "Other blogs I like," can you tell me how to get rid of them? I've gone into the template and the html for those lines isn't any different from the other non-gapped link sections (ex. cool places to shop). Help! It's really beginning to bug me...
~S

Listening to: Nightmare of You, Nightmare of You

This Is Hell

Grr, this is the third time I've tried to make this freaking post and everytime it actually goes on-line, something is either deleted or fucked up. Last try. If something seems wack, missing or wrong, ignore it. I'm fed up with this.

My review of This Is Hell's album Sundowning is up on Revolt's page. Check it out here.

Next on the agenda? Covering Snow Patrol's latest album. It's good, but I think I liked their first album more...

Got my hair chopped over the weekend. I've never had bangs before, this will take some getting used to...I really like how it came out though. I can tell my mom hates it but at least she hasn't said anything yet. My hair. My choice.

She's trying to talk me into going to this big fancy-shmancy award dinner that our department has every year. Part of me slightly wants to go, the other part of me sees no point in spending even more time with a bunch of people who treat me like I hardly exist (except when they need something). I'm actually so low on the totem pole here that I wasn't even invited to the party even though I've been working here full time for over a year. Then you have people that were just hired a month or so ago, and they get invited (and it isn't like they're doctors or anything). Grr. I'd feel bad making my mom go alone, but I really don't want to go...and I was also kind of kicking around the idea of seeing Snow Patrol over at Clutch Cargo's that night. I guess I'll wait and see what happens.


Husband and Wife inspired the best idea for the next party...It's gonna be a movie theme. All the food will somehow have to be connected with a movie. Example? Ok, how about Extreme Fajitas a la Office Space? Or rum ("but why the rum?!") from Pirates of the Carribbean? Or maybe, turkey curry a la Bridget Jones? The possibilities are endless...still working on a date to have the party, I'll keep y'all posted.
Kinda grumpy today....glad work is almost over.


Listening to: Dying to Say This to You, The Sounds