Nancy Drew and the mystery of "why are my laundry settings different and whose gym socks are these?"

I don't even need Bess to solve my mysteries...

When I came home tonight, I noticed my roommate's door was wide open and a large pile of dark clothing smack dab in the middle of her floor. I thought nothing of it, because I could have opened by accident with my butt when leaving or something like that.

Later on tonight, however, when doing laundry I noticed that my washer was on different settings than I had had it the night before when trying to shrink pants. I found this odd... until I opened my dryer and found a male gym sock lying there.

I then found a lone male dress sock and a holey gross gym sock in with my laundry.

Last I checked... I wore neither.

So I came to the conclusion that while my roommate is in France for the week, she let her boyfriend borrow her keys and he is letting himself into my apartment to hang out and use my washer and dryer. Needless to say, I am not pleased. I've only met him a handful of times at this rate, and I don't like him having free reign of my apartment/food/bedroom while the two people whose names are on the lease are either at work or abroad. I also don't appreciate having no clue this was happening. I need to stumble upon it.

Also, his family is all in the area, and he has a studio, so it's not like he's without options for laundry and chilling time. He should NOT be in my apartment.

I think when she gets back from France, we'll all be having a nice little chat on common courtesies... I also love that at age 25, I need to be having this conversation with an adult. I thought I graduated college 3 years ago and left those social maladies behind, but apparently not.

In a moment of immature passive aggressive retaliation, I shut her door tightly and piled all the gym socks I found within my laundry neatly in a pile on the handle. Yep, I'm 18 deep down inside when provoked...

In non-dead people related news, my garden is doing very well

I thought I'd take a break from reporting on people dying and report on my plants living and thriving and growing. Here are the beginnings of one of the pots of beans...




I thought I'd take a break from reporting on people dying and report on my plants living and thriving and growing. Here are the beginnings of one of the pots of beans...


...and here are some Marigolds, courtesy of Grampy Flory.

They're growing like crazy, which I'm pleased about.

I might rename this blog "Hot Pants for talking about dead people"

When will it stop?! Now I wish I had some Oxy Clean. Also, I'm annoyed I keep getting these news updates via Twitter.


Oh, and I'm glad the Jeff Goldbloom rumors are false. He's good people.

Looks like the triplets start again. Watch out, Betty White and Abe Vigoda...

Curses, foiled again!

Loyal readers might be saying to themselves "isn't tonight the Thick As Thieves show you've been excited about since April?" and the answer is yes, kids. Yes it is.

But sadly... I will not be there.

Why, you may ask?

Because I have strep throat. I'm not contagious, but I'm on antibiotics, and I think standing around The Middle East Downstairs on meds and feeling lousy is probably the worst idea for me right now. So instead of seeing great shows and hanging out with some good people... I'll be spending a night by my television, catching up on movies, and cooking garam masala for myself.

BUT I do plan on being at the Oranjuly show at TT's on Wednesday, so I'll have a full report on that show.

One more mention of MJ

I want to eventually blog about other things other than celebrities dying, but here's one last one about MJ...

When driving to the doctor's office this morning I thought about Michael Jackson and his work within the poppy musicals. Granted, on the list of his achievements, this is WAY WAY WAY at the bottom of the list, but as I'm a theatre-y girl, it popped in my head.

Of course, we have his role as The Scarecrow in the movie version of The Wiz:



And then a little bit earlier is his cover of Pippin's Corner of the Sky:

And Michael Jackson, too?!

This time, Erin broke the news to me. Sadly, Erin didn't report back with news about ordering room service like Tim did. Ah well.

This blew my mind. I was shocked. I guess he's not someone I ever thought of passing away, especially since he was so young. Quite sad for his children. I'm also choosing to not mention his recent personal problems, but focus more on what I hope will be a more positive and lasting legacy... his music.

Also, is this a statement on public media or what? Twitter and Facebook were INSANE with this news. They essentially blew up, even when just TMZ was reporting this.

He definitely had a huge influence on modern pop. The song style, the dancing, the (and I say this with the 70's and 80's in mind) polished-ness of it. Pop artists of the 90's to the present wouldn't be where they are without Michael Jackson.

I think the reason why I'm so surprised he died is because I literally can't remember a time before he was big and so influential musically. I can rattle off ten songs of his without even trying. The one glitter glove. The Moonwalk. We Are The World. Pepsi. Thriller, for Christ's Sake. My mom sings Billy Jean to my dog on the regular.

His influence on culture will be felt, just like Elvis and The Beatles before him. I'm sure there'll be tributes pouring in for him for a long time better written than mind.

It's been real, Michael Jackson.

Farrahhhhh

Bringing me back to being about four...


I feel this blog has become a little somber, for which I apologize.

Tim notified me today that Farrah Fawcett died after a long battle with cancer. He also notified me that he ordered room service today like a trashy whore, but that's another story altogether.

I missed the boat on Charlie's Angels, being a youngin', and don't really have much memory of Farrah except for one thing...


...her shampoo.


My mom used to babysit a girl with long hair and she used to ask the girl to "do the Farrah", which means shake your hair out to get it a little puffier, in My mom speak. So when she had me and she wanted me to shake out my hair to give it some volume... she told me to "do the Farrah".
Sad for her family and Ryan O'Neal, and that cancer has taken one more person. It seems she had it pretty rough near the end.


I'm sure Farrah has legions of fans who loved her on Charlie's Angels, but for me, I'll remember her shampoo and her hair. So thanks, Farrah.


Update: Email exchange between me and Mum:

Me: And because you'll appreciate it... I just shook my hair out in honor of Farrah.

Mum: That's my girl.




Update Part II: The commercial that started it all (for me and Mum):

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!

While driving in, I heard the sad news about Ed McMahon. This did not come as a surprise to me, since I know his health had been failing in the last few months. But still, quite sad.

A good entertainer, a cultural and television icon in the last 40-50 years, and a big influence on pop culture. He also set the tone and standard for late night TV show sidekick with Johnny Carson. I doubt there'd be a Andy Richter without an Ed McMahon.

And is there someone in my age group who doesn't have fond memories of Star Search? Doubtful. He also worked with Jerry Lewis with the Labor Day MDA Telethon, which is great.

So it's been real, Ed. There's another Star (Search) in the sky today.


...too soon?

Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, Oh yeah

I was saddened to read this news from NPR, as well as on the Kodak website, that Kodachrome is being discontinued after over 70 years. This is what Kodak had to say about this big change:

“KODACHROME Film is an iconic product and a testament to Kodak’s long and continuing leadership in imaging technology,” said Mary Jane Hellyar, President of Kodak’s Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group. "It was certainly a difficult decision to retire it, given its rich history. However, the majority of today's photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology – both film and digital. Kodak remains committed to providing the highest-performing products – both film and digital – to meet those needs."

I'll admit it... I'm a digital film user, and have been since 2006. But I really like how film looks when it's not digital. I'm also someone who is sad when new technology kills old technology. The cell phone killing the home phone. LPs falling out of favor (unless you're a hipster or like old music formats like me). And so on and so forth. My friend Jason still has an old Polaroid camera, which makes great cameras. Now it'll be hard to get the film, if not impossible.

Are the images as crisp? No, not at all. I can tell even in scanned images from college which ones I took with my film camera as opposed to my digital camera, but I love those differences. It like how I love listening to old records for those flaws and pops and fizzes. I don't want everything to be digital, I like seeing those flaws and defects. It makes it more personable.

So it's been real, Kodachrome. I'll miss you. You've been fun and memorable.

Yet another movie based on a children's book to nerd out about

Twitter is all... well... a-twitter (sigh) with the release of some photos from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. They are, in a word, amazing:



I love Burton's eye for detail and texture. I also love that he can create a dark feel with such vivid colors. Johnny Depp, ever the chameleon, will be creepy and amazing I'm sure. Helena Bonham Carter, will be terrifying, but also I'm sure thanking her lucky stars that she's sleeping with the director since she keeps getting these cushy roles in each movie. And I'm further committed to the idea that there is no one more lovely looking than Ann Hathaway.

The concept art is also incredible. Burton clearly will have his own crazy world, just like he does in every movie, filled with great scenes and art. Even with a movie that's trapped in Suburbia (Edward Scissorhands, I'm looking at you) I feel he creates his own crazy universe. And I love that.

I then went online to look at the rest of the cast list on IMDB, and HOLY HELL THIS WILL BE AMAZING. I list:

Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) as The White Rabbit
Alan Rickman (Sense and Sensibility, Harry Potter) as The Catepillar (interesting choice)
Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings) as The Jaberwock
Crispin Glover (GEORGE MCFLY) as The Knave of Hearts
Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew in Harry Potter) as The Bloodhound (he kind of looks like one, should be good)
Noah Taylor (the dad in Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as The March Hare
Stephen Fry (Jeeves and Worcester, narrator in Hitchhiker's) as The Cheshire Cat


This, along with Where the Wild Things Are, makes my heart a-flutter. I also realize that layout-wise, this is a very bad post, but I wanted to capture all the images out there. If you want to see HBC and Ann Hathaway, go to the link I provided up top.

Click on Johnny Depp to look up close at the various textures and affects he has going on, because it's pretty awesome. How creepy but fantastic does he look?!

More ink I'm a fan of

I swear, despite what it seems, I do more than find really cool tattoos to drool over. I also go to shows, read, like music, drink tea, and find culture on the North Shore. It's just that I keep coming across awesome art.

Here are two more I think are worth pointing out. First, here's a neat Edward Gorey-inspired one:

I love that it travels from one arm to another. And the linework. So neat.


And then here's one I LOVED. It's the Verlag Crescendo bird, which was the trademark for Verlag Crescendo Sheet Music in Germany. Only used in the 20's, and is all sorts of awesome:

Those Germans sure are clever.

I'm pretty sure I'll be blogging about the usual fare soon. I have several shows coming up, and the Salem Farmer's Market opens next week.

Check out my sweet ink

Before I begin, I want to say that I probably will never get a tattoo in my life, but sometimes it's fun to ruminate on the subject and try to figure out what I'd get.

I decided I'd want something that had a lot of personal meeting (i.e., no stupid dolphin or flower or tramp stamp) and would be subtle. So probably on my hip or foot. While I've always liked how they look on your ankle. I want something I could cover up easily if need be for a job interview. And have I mentioned how dumb the tramp stamp looks? Yeah...

So if I were to get a tattoo, I'd get the Armenian letter L:

At this point, you may be thinking "...wtf? Really?", but let me explain. My last name starts with the letter L, along with my brothers (and my dad). And my mom and stepdad's first names both happen to start with the letter L. And my stepdad is of Armenian descent, and I've grown to like the culture and feel close to that side of my family. So it's a way to tie together all my family in one letter, you know?

I realize it's a kind of simple character, so I'd probably find ways to spice it up. Like have it be a neat color, or maybe have some design work around it. But again, not sure. We were talking about tattoos last night at Pub Trivia, and also on Monday at bowling, so it made me think more on this again.

And while were on the subject, here are two of my favorite tattoos I've come across.

Marc Chagall's Time is a River:


And Le Petit Prince's Prince with birds:

Soooo cool!

I might be touching the line of "Crazy Cat Lady" with this post

But some photos of the cats (and one dog) in my life.

My cat, 17-year-old Midnight, who's still kicking and spying on the neighbors.


And my aunt's two new cats, George and Marty... yes, as in Back to the Future.

Marty

Whoa, that's heavy!

And George. Who is 10 and 20 lbs. So I'm so happy my Aunt adopted him.

I'm George! I'm your density... I mean, destiny.

And one more, of George and Marty's dog sister, Maggie. Who is feeling a bit put off about all these new animals.


Maggie

WTF, mates?

Yep... getting a little closer to Crazy Cat Lady.

Have YOU lost that loving feeling?

While reading articles about the troubles in Iran, I stumbled upon the following article from NPR about some of the worst songs for weddings. The Top 5 are:

Send in the Clowns (horribly sad song)
Have You Lost that Loving Feeling? (I don't care how much you love Top Gun... listen to the FREAKING LYRICS)
Just a Gigolo (whaa?)
The Lady is a Tramp (again... listen to the lyrics... no bride wants to be called a tramp)
La Donna e Mobile (translation basically calls the girl a ho bag)

I'm happy to know not to put any of these songs on my CD. A few others I thought of that were bad were...

--Breaking Up is Hard to Do. My Mum went to a wedding once, and THIS WAS THE FIRST SONG. Aren't weddings about coming together in a union... and shouldn't the concept of breaking up kept far far away??
--Funny Little Frog in my Throat. I almost added this to the CD, since it has a good beat... then I listened to the lyrics, and thought better of it.


So onward I go on my quest for a good Wedding CD... without any of these songs.

Finally, good news coming out of the auto industry

beep beep!

On Friday, I listened to a very cute story from NPR. And a similar one from boston.com. It discussed that not all bad news is coming out of the car industry. There is one car maker who isn't closing factories or having to declare bankruptcy... and it's even a car I have a lot of experience driving. It's the best-selling car in the United States.

Why yes, yes I am talking about The Little Tyke Cozy Coupe.

Here's a good quote from the article:

"This car really has done a great job of reading what the consumers want these days," says auto expert Paul Eisenstein. He publishes TheDetroitBureau.com.

"Whether you're talking about its performance, which is pretty good, depending on who's behind the wheel. It has a lot of really nice features," says Eisenstein. "You don't have to worry about these vehicles breaking down. In this case, the driver might break down a little bit. Get a little tired and have to count on Mom and Dad."

ADORABLENESS.

Here are some fun facts from the article:


--450,000+ of these cars are sold in the US every year.
--The Little Tykes factory in Ohio works 24 hours a day to produce enough cars. (how refreshing is that stat?)
--This is the 30th anniversary of production.
--The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland just inducted the Cozy Coupe into its permanent collection.
--This car is gas free.
--The car has barely changed in its 30 years. The front now has a happy face, and there's a cup holder, but really... it's the same car. No bells and whistles.


Enjoy the adorableness on this Sunday morning!

The iPod wedding

Mike and Christine: Their cuteness knows no end.

Many plans with many people fell through tonight, so per the advice of Tim I poured myself a gin and tonic, plugged in some tunes, and enjoyed a quiet night in with myself. Just what the doctor ordered.

I'm doing a lot of personal work tonight, one of which is working on my contribution to Mike and Christine's iPod wedding.

I have been friends with Mike and Christine since I was in 6th grade. They will be getting married on a beach in Rockport September 2009, and I can't wait. These two are so happy and in love with one another, and I can't think of two better people. They're both good friends and very sweet and loving.

Well, because the money train isn't quite in the station for them, much of their wedding is DIY. Joe's parents are tending bar. Friends and families are making pies. Emily is taking photos. And all their friends were given a blank CD and told to make a mix for their iPod wedding. Instead of spending money on a DJ, they're making a list of good songs to have playing. I've had my CD for months now, and I'm still not quite sure what I want to put on it.

I have a few ideas, but I'm not 100% sure of the final list. Here are my ideas so far:

--If not for you, by George Harrison
--I Believe, by Stevie Wonder
--Think I'm In Love, by Beck
--Eternal Flame, by The Bangles
--Do You Realize, by The Flaming Lips
--God Only Knows, by The Beach Boys
--DANCE, by Justice (I just think this is a fun song to dance to)

These aren't for sure going to be on my CD, just some ideas. But I keep thinking of a song and then thinking "not good enough" or "not wedding enough". I'm asking my readers out there... any ideas? Please post comments with songs. I'm looking for all ranges and genres.

They arrived!!

I've been sent the Muppets vs. 30 Rock article about five times from five different people since Tuesday, so I think I might blog about it later on, though it's been done a few times already.

But this post is more exciting news on the bowling front. Guess what arrived on Friday?!



They are purple and satin and awesome.

Bonnarooooo

Bonnaroo, which sounds like Xanadu, but probably features less Olivia Newton John...

Today my brother Pete and his girlfriend Ashely took to the road to head back to Bonnaroo. They went last year with a bunch of their friends, and another group of them are heading out today. I am mixed jealous of them. Mixed in that I really wish I could go to a festival and listen to all my favorite bands for a long weekend... but not mixed because I like the creature comforts of showering and sleeping in a bed.

So I hope the trip goes well for them and that they see all the bands they want to and have a hell of a good time. Safe travels on the roads to them as well.

(this post is just some sisterly love to two great people)

Life's like a movie, write your own ending

Do do do do do do...

Well, readers, if you haven't figure this out at this point yet... I am a giant nerd about certain things.

So one of these things are The Muppets. Love love LOVE them. My high school quote might have been from Being Green. And by might, I mean yes.

Anyways, when listening to a TBTL podcast from May 29 today about the traveling Muppet exhibit from Smithsonian I decided to try and find the exhibit information to see if maybe it was coming to NYC, as I'd be willing to travel there to see Muppets. After some Googling, I found the exhibit page, as well as some good news.

1. There is a Podcast from members of Henson's family. (eeep!)
2. THE EXHIBIT IS COMING TO LEXINGTON.

Yes, folks. The exhibit is coming to Lexington on April 3, 2010 to the National Heritage Museum. I am very very excited and when I read this, I gasped. So mark your calendars... The Muppets are coming to town (in ten months).

Leo Blais at The Middle East Upstairs

Oh local music, you are so great.

After a weekend of showers, Erin and I headed to The Middle East Upstairs to see friend and fellow bowler Leo Blais put on a Sunday night show. It was a decently-sized crowd for a Sunday night at nine, and Leo et al put on a good set.

I have to admit, unfortunately, that I wasn't very familiar with Leo's music before attending, though I did look up several of his songs on Blip and Youtube before attending. I liked what I heard (as I've mentioned before, I am a sucker for a piano-based song) and saw. As I told Erin, anyone who covers George Harrison's Beware of Darkness on the piano is good people. So off we went.

Erin compared Leo's voice to a bit like Ben Folds, which I can see. I would call his sound at times solemn and deep, but also had a lightness to it that many pop acts have. He and the musicians he played with were having a good time on stage, which made the crowd have a good time as well. The audience was definitely into Leo Blais and his music, as well as all over the map as far as age. As Erin joked, "I believe we have a mom sighting".

The more shows I see at Middle East, the more I like that space. The dinner space up front is way too small and I sometimes feel bad for people dining there since there are tons of concert-goers walking all around them, but I think you have to expect that here. I'm looking forward to seeing more shows there in the future.

So this morning while preparing for writing this post and looking for picutres of Leo, I found the following videos. The first is an interview with Leo, along with an installation art piece he created in his Lowell apartment with lyrics from his album. This is very, very cool.

Leo Blais - The Free EP from Leo Blais on Vimeo.

And second, here's a (unfortunately not very good) live version of Everyone's Feeling Alone at TT's:

TETRIS!

When I went to Google this morning, I was greeted with a special Google logo, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Tetris. And I smiled.

Many people who know me also know that we weren't allowed to have video games until we were well into our teens. I'm not even sure I was in high school when my brothers broke my mom down and she let us get a Playstation II. But we did have a computer... and on that computer was Tetris.

Maybe it's my organization skills, or maybe it was the challenge and the panic that inevitably set in as the pile of unused blocks rose, but I loved Tetris. I still do. My strategy was to always stack them and wait for the straight line of 4 blocks to get a Tetris, but this wouldn't always work if those were hard to come by.

My Mum was so into Tetris that she had to actually uninstall it from our computer for a brief time, then it made its triumphant return a month or so later. And it was always the challenge between me and Pete who would get the top score starting at level 7.

I'm not even sure which computer in our house now has Tetris on it, but I'm pretty sure it's too slow or antiquated to work. And neither my laptop nor my home computer have it on there. So it's been awhile since I've been able to play a round or two. Ashley just brought her NES home from NH, and I've heard rumor that she has Tetris. So that's exciting.

What was it about Tetris that made it so addictive? Compared to other games on the market, it's pretty simple. Different shapes of four blocks slowly drop and you need to stack them to make complete rows, which eliminates those blocks and get you points. If you can make multiple rows at once, you get more points. As your pile of unused blocks rises, the blocks move faster. And if the pile reaches the top, you lose. Not that complicated or fancy. But maybe its simplicity has allowed it to pass from generation to generation? I feel not even the delightful Oregon Trail had this much staying power.

So thanks Tetris for years of entertainment and tension from me and many others. You are great and so addictive.

I found online the original Tetris theme, which is still in my head and memorable. This song can only be one thing.... Russian genius at work:

Little more than a "casual bowler" now...

I've made a decision. These are the bowling shoes I will be purchasing:

They're within my price range and purple. I mean, come on. THEY'RE PURPLE. I also like how they still look like bowling shoes and not "old man sneakers" like a lot of them tend to look like. I just need to place my order, and within a week, I'll be sporting new kicks. I'll also be a lot more than a casual bowler after this point.

No, I will not be buying a ball any time soon. That's a level of commitment I'm not ready for yet. Many people in the bowling club have balls, but that's not something I'm ready for quite yet. I also still need to get my sewing machine, and that takes priority.

Tune in for me modeling my new shoes when they get here.

I blame Mechanized Death for this bad dream

I woke up in the middle of the night with the strangest "bad" dream and a strong desire to blog about it.

Friendly's was closing.

I'm no the biggest fan of Friendly's, but it holds a soft spot in my heart. There was one in Gloucester, and I spent a lot of time there in middle and high school after school plays or bowling. And who doesn't love a good Fribble, the made-up word that's a frappe?

I don't think I've been to a Friendly's in years, but the idea of the store closing made me sad at 3am. More like an "aww" moment. Then I went back to bed and didn't think about it again until I woke up and thought "did I have a dream that they're closing Friendly's?" and went to the internet. Sure enough... they're not. Friendly's is fine. All is well. Just a very vivid and crazy dream on my part.

Though now I do really, really want a fribble. I might get one when driving around, and report back if it's as good as I remember them to be. I'm guessing not, but we'll see.

Also, I'm amused at how retrospective this blog has been in the last two days.

In retrospect, probably shouldn't have seen this video series

So today at work a coworker and I were discussing my Mum's first car, the AMC Gremlin. We then found an article from Time on the 50 Worst Cars ever. In the article, which definitely is a justified list since almost all those cars are pretty awful, it mentioned a movie called Mechanized Death.


Mechanized Death is one of many videos used in the 50's and 60's in drivers' ed classes to teach road safety and what highway patrolmen do. These movies aren't usually taught in classes anymore, because they're pretty traumatic.

So these movies are so controversial and remembered is that it showed actual footage from car crashes in Ohio. Wreckage, burning cars, and... yes, dead people. Lots and lots of dead people. Dramatic orchestrations, matter-of-fact voice overs, these movies are pretty much all the same. Nothing is blurred out.

When I was in Driver's Ed, my teacher held onto to many of these videos because he decided they were a good tool in teaching highway safety. And in retrospect, he was probably right. I know it freaked at least me out, since it's so graphic and shows just how easy it is to get into a car crash.

I had forgotten about these until today, and had a very good feeling they'd be on Youtube. And I was right. I found one that I saw on Youtube, and it brought me back to being freaked out in high school. In the video I saw, there were:

--two men burned to a crisp so they were unrecognizable.
--several dead people.
--burned cars.
--dead cattle.
--people blowing through stop lights.
--people speeding on winding roads.
--people disregarding the right of way.
--people dying.
--The sound of people dying.
--People being notified that their spouses were killed.


I am one who argues that we should not coddle kids, especially when it comes to driving since way too many kids die in accidents every year. My exboyfriend Justin lost a former student earlier in the year to a drunk driver on 290 a few months ago, and I know many people either killed or injurred in car crashes over the years. Teenagers think they're untouchable, but every year some kid dies.

But re-seeing these movies, I completely understand why these movies are generally not seen these days. Not because people shouldn't see this information, but because I feel the director uses the tragic loss of life (exploits it even) for his own gain. He gets right into the faces of the victims and profits. There seems to be no respect for the loss of life and death.

Maybe I'm sensitive because I was in a bad car accident one morning on my way to work where I totaled a car. Fortunately, I just walked away with some scratches, and the other driver was also fine, but the accident was awful to view. But I think even if I wasn't in a car accident myself I'd feel uneasy about these films.

This may be moot, since these films are not generally used to teach, but since it popped in my head today, I thought it was worth discussing.

Also, I refuse to post a video from this, since it is pretty disturbing and graphic, but there are plenty online if you want to check one out.

I think they got me hooked

I've found bowling shoes, and will be buying them online tomorrow when I get paid.

It's official: I'm so into my bowling club, I'll have bowling gear.

More upcoming concerts!

June is chock full of concerts, and there's one in September I'm a little excited about:


June 7
Leo Blais at Middle East
I bowl with Leo, and got word of his show this Sunday, so I'm going to trek up to Cambridge for the show. Should be a good time, and he's a good egg, so I'm happy to support his music.


June 10
JENNY LEWIS at House of Blues
I have a girl crush on her.


June 27
Thick As Thieves at Middle East
Brian, Annette, and I are trekking back to Middle East to see Thick As Thieves perform again. Really looking forward to seeing them live again.


July 1
Oranjuly at TT's.
BEK is performing on (appropriately) July 1. Should be a good time. He's like the love child of Brian Wilson and Rivers Cuomo, so definitely worth a viewing. AND Oranjuly has a full band now, so it'll be even better than when I saw them at Church a few months back.


And September...
THE KILLERS AT THE NEW GARDEN
I think the feathers and shit are a bit "channeling David Bowie" and I'm not crazy about their latest album, but I've heard they put on a good show.

Exhausted by Exhaustion

Before I continue, I will say this... I realize that by griping about this woman, I am going to hell.

I read this morning, that Susan Boyle is being treated for exhaustion today after the finals of Britain's Got Talent. The media shit storm that she attracted was too much, so she needs to spend some time away from the lime light.

...is this really news? I know TBTL did a segment on this months ago, but I need to add my two cents.

Exhaustion is an overhyped disease created for celebrities. There, I said it. I've been exhausted. If I were a celebrity, I would have gone to a hospital or a clinic or spa and taken some time for myself. But because no one knows who I am, I instead slept a few more hours, drank some tea, and watched movies. Then I was magically better. Did I find the elixir, the cure for exhaustion? No, I rested.

I get very annoyed whenever I read that a celebrity has exhaustion. THIS IS NOT NEWS. Everyone gets tired and worn down by the course of events. They take some time for themselves, and then moves on. Many of my friends have been exhausted. I tell them to get some extra sleep, do something nice for themselves, then stop feeling bad for them.

It's people like Yahoo and probably CNN who make Susan Boyle exhausted, as they choose to make this a top story on their homepage, instead of focusing on real news. Leave this poor woman alone. This isn't news. It's like if they said "Susan Boyle was spotted getting cold medications for seasonal allergies symptoms" then proceeded to nit pick it.

I don't care that Susan Boyle is exhausted, just like I don't care when Lindsay Lohan or Kate Moss or Halle Berry or Amy Winehouse are exhausted. It's a BS attempt to shine again in the spotlight with a BS "ailment". Get some sleep, have some tea, read a trashy magazine, and get over it.