I'm just as sad as the puppy.

I know that everyone does this all the time, and I now understand why. I'm going to have to take a blogging break, and I HATE HATE HATE HATE to do that, because I love blogging and don't want to lose any of my approximately three readers. But today was only the third day of school, and I'm already being sucked into a black hole of work. Actually, I'm being sucked into a black hole called AP US History. I play volleyball and I'm in marching band in the fall, and that's hard enough. But on top of that, this year is junior year, which I hear is a bitch, and I have a 3-page-outline on a president every week, plus an outline of a thirty page chapter, 20 questions, and terms and definitions due every week, plus a test nearly every week. My teacher tells us that it's all "mandated by the college board," but I kind of think that's bull. This weekend is blessedly three-day, so maybe if I finished my teetering mountains of work, I'll post a little, but I'm just not sure. I'll still be reading and commenting on other blogs, and it would be super awesome if when I came back, people still remembered me and read me. It's late and I'm tired and pissed off and sad and I just watched Amelie, which doesn't relate to any of those said feelings, but I thought I'd throw it in there. you should check it out.

Stay classy, blogosphere!

peace!
a.

PHELPS FOR THE WIN!

I'd like to thank Mrs. Phelps for the service she did the world by putting her son in a pool. Hot damn.

MiCHAEL, Mi-CHAEL, Mi-CHAEL.

The Olympics get me all patriotic and intense. I honestly start shaking before each of Phelpsy's races. Did you SEE THAT RELAY?????????

Even better than said relay was seeing Michael Phelps go apeshit, specifically seeing each and every muscle in his arms.

I'm normally not like this, I swear.


School starts in two weeks. In odd haze of AP work, volleyball, band camp, intensive TV-watching, and hot swimmers.

peace!
a.

Now accepting donations.

NOT the type of mole removed from my face. That might be a little uncomfortable.

I got a mole on my face removed today. Not for vanity purposes; I loved my mole. It was kind of annoying when people when reach up and try to pick it off, informing me that I have "something on your face," to which I would respond that no, it's not chocolate, or dirt, or pen, and no, it's not coming off. But still. I liked my mole. I left band camp early today for "surgery" (as I enjoyed putting it), and when I returned, many people went, "Anna, what happened to your FACE?" and I would reply, "I got a mole removed," and a SECOND after I replied that, I realized that I just missed the PERFECT opportunity to use that amazing line from Rushmore that I've been looking for the opportunity to use in real life. Peter: "What happened to your face?" Max: "I got punched in the face. [turns to Rosemarie] What's his excuse?" I constantly think of good things to say five seconds after I say something lame. But anyway, now I have a huge bandaid on my face, and I have yet to see the stitches, but the numbness was extremely weird. It was like, "I KNOW this woman is carving my face up, HOW CAN I NOT FEEL IT???" And when I tried to smile later, I looked like I had Bells Palsy. It's been six hours, and the area is still numb. It's the creepiest thing in the world.



But on to my real reason for posting. I love Say Anything. I love Max Bemis. I'll talk more about that in another post. But when I came across a post on their website, I realized just how awesome he really is. Max is offering the chance for fans to email him a few paragraphs about a problem in their life, or something they've gone through, or just a topic they feel needs to be written about, and he will write a SONG JUST FOR THEM. A SONG. WRITTEN ESPECIALLY FOR YOU. BY MAX BEMIS. Here's where Max Bemis' genius comes into full view. He knows that we all download his music for free. But to get a song written just for you... well, you CAN'T get that on any website. The website says they're not accepting any new emails because requests are getting sent in faster than Max can write songs, but they'll open it up again later. So WHY have I not jumped on this chance of a lifetime?

Umm.... anybody have one hundred fifty bucks?

The thought of having my own Say Anything song literally gets me all excited in my stomach, because I'm easily excitable (that sounds dirty), but I simply don't have $150. I KNOW they can't give away songs for free, the amount of emails would be riDICulous, and they have to make money somehow. It's times like these I wish my last name was Gates. Or Winfrey. I once read somewhere that Jolie-Pitt is the best last name for getting into restaurants aside from, say... Winfrey-Christ. Ha. HA.

Here's the video Max posted is a "haze of sleeping medication." So he's not drunk.

I wasn't aware the earth produced quite that much black eyeliner.

Would you like to know how awesome my Warped Tour experience was? Just read the sign:


In case you can't read the sign, it says: "TIP! WE NEED $ FOR OVER-SIZED CONDOMS AND DRUGS!"
Yeah, that's how awesome my day was.

I went to Warped Tour with my two friends, both of whom had never been before and one of whom I was very afraid would not be able to handle it. I love her to death, but when she got into the car with big earrings, some eyeshadow, and a relatively small purse with some sort of logo on it, my only thought was, "Oh.....no." I realized that description makes her sound like some sort of priss, but she's really not. She and I are just different. But anyway... A's dad drove us, and as we walked in, A and M were already freaking out because random guys were coming up to us, saying things like, "Hey girls, not to be awkward or anything, but I'm in a band, and I was wondering if you'd like to listen to a song and tell us what you think." The guy was really nice, but I politely refused, though I'm sure many people at said Tour would have been like, "Dude... fuck off." So we walk in, and thank God I had been there before, because it is pretty overwhelming. So we checked the huge schedule and I start panicking because no one on said schedule did I see Be Your Own Pet.

Yes, I know. I was just as shocked. Only after I got home and looked on their myspace did I realize that the Warped website was woefully not up to date. While the website, which is SUPPOSED TO KEEP ME INFORMED, still said that they would be playing, but alas, BYOP's myspace had the tragic message that they would not be participating at all in Warped this year, since they were burned out from touring. :( I really wanted to see Jemina. And sing along to "Becky."

M liked this band called Automatic Loveletter, so we went to see them. They reminded me of Paramore, fronted by a girl with unique hair that millions of teens across the nation will desperately attempt to copy. The lead singer's name is Juliet, which is kind of rad. I always wished I had a unique name. AL was good, way better than they could have been. Ie, not screamy or overly ironic, any of that shit. Juliet had a strong voice, and it was fun watching guys who shouldn't have been listening to that kind of music desperately trying to grab her ankles. But Juliet's voice was definitely unique... it kind of sounded hoarse and kept cracking, and I thought, "hmmm... maybe her voice is getting tired?" But no, apparently that's her voice, because it's like that in recordings, as well. Weird.


Grrrr. Before the pictures were too big and now they are too small. Oh, woe is me.

Then after Automatic Loveletter we walked around and looked at the plethora of tents, which is one of the best parts, and M wanted to get an AM shirt, and who was standing outside the AM booth but JULIET??? She was taking pictures with whoever wanted one and now I kind of regret I didn't get one, and M didn't get one, but I'm shy about that kind of thing. It's not like I could gush about her songs, because I'd just heard them for the first time. Ahh well.

And passing by the Relient K tent, we saw a long line and I look at the front of the line, and who is standing there but Matt Thiessen, the lead singer. It was slightly surreal, just because I had a crush on him in.... I think it was sixth grade. It was just weird. I saw a lot of people that day that I've read about in magazines and everything, but seeing them is oddly anticlimatic. It's just like... "Oh look. It's [insert name here]. They look shorter in person."

We would have had a large gap in between shows, so we decided to check out Reel Big Fish. I had heard about them before but never listened to them, and they were AMAZING. Their music is ska, with trombones and trumpets being used a lot, a sort of reggae-feel to the music, and it just made me want to dance. And I am not a dancer. It takes a lot for me to want to dance. But I was bouncing and such. But there was this creepy old guy next to me--literally old, he was probably a father of a teenager there--who was really fat and sweaty and knew every single word. M was next to him but then oh-so-subtly switched places with me. My friends are always thinking of others...



Reel Big Fish know how to entertain. The lead singer kept going, "We are the Reel Big Fish-a!" And one of the trumpeters had this WWII-style bomber's hat on. Kind of sweet. Then the lead singer went, "This next song is about a girl who left me, for another girl!" The song is called "She Has A Girlfriend Now," and halfway through the song he sang, "She kissed a girl and she liked it/ the taste of her cherry chapstick/ she kissed a girl just to try it/ and her boyfriend...oh, he minded/" The giddy crowd started cheering like crazy. Then they played one of their songs in different musical styles, including country, disco, death metal. It was great.

Then we looked at more tents (I tell you, the tents are one of the best parts. There's all sorts of band merch and awesomeness. My friend A told me several times throughout the day how much she loves the word, "merch.")

We decided next to see The Academy Is..., which is a band that tends to attract a lot of chubby girls who should NOT be wearing Medium American Apparel band tees, but insist on doing so, much to the chagrin of those around them, not to mention the world in general. Mean? Yes. True? Also yes. I only know two of their songs, "Slow Down," and "We've Got a Big Mess On Our Hands." The lead singer, William Beckett, is your typical emaciated emo-frontman. Seriously, man, eat a fucking burger.



Wait, I bet he's vegan. They all are. A.... tofuburger? A hell of a lot of lettuce?
And throughout the show, my friends and I were all trying to decide whether he is gay or quite possibly the most effeminate heterosexual I have ever encountered. I couldn't even pay attention to the music, I was staring in dumbstruck wonder at the complete lack of body fat on that frame. And he kept popping his hug out. Weird. But he does know how to put on a show, Beckett jumps up and down a lot and swings the mic and shit.




Luckily, they played both "Slow Down" and "We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands," so I didn't have to stand their like an idiot for the WHOLE set and at least had a FEW songs to sing along to.
Oh! Oh! And it was at the The Academy Is... show (that ellipsis is REALLY. ANNOYING.) that M had her first ever encounter with a crowd surfer falling on her head! Aw, she's growing up so fast. Sniffle.


*Raises eyebrows. Looks quizically at reader.* You make your own conclusions.

By then it was 3:00, and the next show wasn't until 5, and we were really hungry, so he realized that were going to have to pay approximately eight dollars for a cracker. (If you are still reading this, I love you.) Eight dollars actually bought us a pan pizza. They had tons of pepperoni left because everyone at Warped Tour is really into not eating animals. Do I wish I could be vegetarian? Yes. But I just love chicken....

So then we.... wait for it... walked around some more, and preceded in buying a ridiculous amount of pins. Buttons. Whatever you call them. I procured at least ten, probably more, on Warped Tour alone. I took pictures of them, I'll post them later. We basically walked around every stand, looking for buttons of any kind--free buttons, band buttons... Then I found the Vegan/Vegetarian stand that I remembered from last year and, while they are constantly asking you if you've gotten your free vegetarian starter kit, the stand had TONS of bumper stickers and PINS GALORE. The bumper stickers are all hippie liberal stuff, which I love so I bought three: a peace sign, a "Free Tibet" one, and a "Hugs Not Drugs" one. But I'm boring you. Oh! Obama had a stand! I wanted a pin, but since it was a campaign I had to sign up, so I did. My writing really sucks right now, I'm sorry. But I got my pin!

The people who work at the stands in Warped can be kind of weird. They're all very outgoing and happy. Who DOES that? Kidding. Ish.

Part of the fun of Warped Tour is watching people, watching people try SO hard to rebel and be original. I mean, it was freaking hot. I'm not going to wear skinny jeans, or black pants and a jacket, just so I look "cool." I was wearing some random shorts and a ratty old t-shirt, I didn't try to pretend that I was so different from everyone else. I realize I sound self-righteous, but it's odd when "rebelling" becomes so cliche that it no longer is rebelling.

The next show was Say Anything, which I was most excited for, since I absolutely adore their music, and Max Bemis is as fucking badass as they come. The lyrics are so honest, sarcastic and just great. For your own good, listen to "Admit It!!!"

We got there early, quite luckily, dare I say, because as the show started and I looked behind me, the crowd went back ridiculously far. I can't lie, seeing Max Bemis up close was really, really amazing. If you've ever been to a concert, who know what's it like to hear those opening chords, or drum beat, or anything, and just flip out because you know that you LOVE that song. So when I heard the opening to "Alive With the Glory of Love," I screamed kind of loud. My friends looked at me kind of oddly. But whatever. So of course I sang every word. Max and the gang then proceeded to play "Woe." Then I heard the opening to "Every Man Has A Molly," and Max called out, "Who has our album Is A Boy?" Many hands then shot up in the air, perhaps hoping to receive some sort of trophy or gold star. Max: "This is a song from that album, it's a true story, it's called 'Every Man Has A Molly.'"



(it's really annoying how pictures make things look farther away than they really were. I swear I was closer.)

Then we heard the phone ring that starts off "Wow, I Can Sexual Too," and the crowd basically went apeshit. Then they played "Shiksa," but beforehand Max said this (I can't believe I remember it so well): "Are there any Jewish boys out there? *Random cheers* There's not too many of us left, is there? How many of you have ever dated a Christian girl? Yeah, how'd your parents react to that? Not too well, huh? Well I wrote a song about it. This song is for all you girls who have to deal with those parents. It's called 'Shiksa'."

They also sang "Woe," and we had to leave five minutes early to get a good seat for Katy Perry, but as we were leaving, we heard the last song, "Belt."
Seeing Max Bemis is person was also weird. The sarcastic, honest lyrics that come from the man's brain..... and all he's been through and done in his life, his DIEHARD fans. It was... surreal.


Ugh, I've been writing this post for a week and I'm getting tired of it. I don't have a very good attention span.

OH! This is good. In the crowd at Say Anything I took this picture of my friend, and I wouldn't have put it up here but I wanted to show you the emo girl in it because I thought it was funny.



I didn't even know she was there, I just took the picture and later I looked at it and realized how hilarious it was. Girl: "Who is this person wearing...bright... colors? Where is her eyeliner? Black hair? Bangs? I don't understand.... Ew."

Oh, the retarded black is my attempt at covering up my friend's identity. But you can see my reflection in her glasses. Oooo, mystery.

Then we went to see Katy Perry, very popular, obviously. She came out with a parasol, definitely more theatrical than any of the other bands. She knows how to work a stage though; pretending to rub up against the security guard, jumping off the drum platform. She sang "Hot N Cold," which was great. Singing "Ur So Gay," at the end, she said, "And the choir SINGS, one two three..." and the crowd cries "PENIS!" Katy: "For those of you in the back, that was 'Penis!'" She saved "I Kissed A Girl" for last of course, pulling a phone on stage and saying, "Hi Mom! How are you, I'm doing a show.... wait. What did you hear? I KISSED A GIRL???" Cue apeshit crowd. Blah... it was good, I'm sure somewhere in the crowd some lesbian action was occurring.





We had to miss the first 15 minutes of Relient K because of overlapping Katy Perry, so I was bummed. I distinctly remember loving Relient K around sixth grade, pretty hardcore, in fact. Not RElient K. They are certainly not hardcore. I meant I loved them hardcore. Hardcorely? Ehhh. We got there twenty minutes into their set, and I'd missed "Be My Escape." :( That was my little sixth grade-self's favorite. Then Matt Thiessen, the lead singer said, "How many of you watch NBC's 'The Office'?" I started screaming and waving my hand around like a moron, because the heat and loud music can do that to a person. Then he said, "We wrote a little song about it." I recorded it, and I really want to put it up here, but I need to set up a youtube account, so I'll do that later. But it was seriously one of the highlights of my day, I don't know why. Here's the lyrics,

Michael Scott
Pan and Jim
You've got me glued to my television.
And Angela, you're way too cute
to be messin around with someone like Dwight Schrute.
Relient K and the Football Hall of Fame are from Canton
I wish someone would just transfer us...to Scranton




He then proceeded to say, "That's in Pennsylvania, right?" which caused me to shout, since my poor old home state gets little recognition. Then they played the theme, and I was happy and smiling and it was just great.




They played "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" and some other song that I am sorry to say I don't remember, but that's all we saw.

We wanted to see All Time Low, but they were at 8:00, which is slightly ridiculous, and by then it was only 6:30, and our ride didn't want to have to wait, which was understandable.

After Relient K we tried to run to stands to buy some final things, but the annoying thing about Warped Tour is that after six o clock they start taking things down/ selling out of things because they have to be somewhere else by the next day. M tried to run to the Katy Perry stand but it was being taken down, and I wanted Say Anything buttons, which they HAD BEFORE BUT WERE NOW SOLD OUT OF. The annoying thing is that I know they HAVE them somewhere, I'm sure there was a big box of buttons in the bus, but they just don't come prepared. Incompetence. Kidding.

On the way out, I was walking by the Reel Big Fish stand, and I was like, "Whoa! It's the lead singer!" So, the wimp that I am, instead of actually getting in line to MEET him, I sneaked up to the side and took a picture.




So then, sadly, we had to leave, but first we had one last mission to fulfill. My friend's sister, who was in the car when we were dropped off, thought it would be hilarious to rip out posters of the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus from some magazine she had, and we would have to hand them out to kids at Warped, telling them to support the Jonas Brothers, and if they left now, they could still make the Jo Bros' show, 7 o clock at Hershey! Well, my friends and I can be pansies sometimes, so we left the posters on the ground instead of handing them out.


I bought WAY too much for my own good and now owe my mom sixty dollars. I took pictures of everything I bought, I'll post them some time later this week, maybe. Posting is going to be scarce, I have band camp eight hours a day for the next two weeks, and school starts this month (we start really early in Pennsylvania), so I am currently panicking at all I have yet to accomplish. Boooooo.

GO TO WARPED TOUR! It's always so much fun I feel guilty.

Peace!
a.

REALLY?

The Dark Knight is the greatest movie EVER MADE? I have difficulty believing that.




According, that is, to the IMDB users who have rated it NUMBER ONE on the Top 250. And IMDB has a formula resembling a rocket science equation to figure out a movie's place on aforementioned list, so I know it has to be somewhat accurate. The formula involves how many movies the user has rated and a slew of other things. The hype for this movie is kind of getting out of hand. Though it's already been released, so perhaps hype stops once something is released. But I have to say that I am one of approximately seven people in the...entire country who has not yet seen The Dark Knight (that's an official estimation, folks). I was on vacation when it came out and I've been really busy.

So who's seen it, is it really worth the 9.3something rating it was given on IMDB?

Oh yeah, I know how lame this post is, but I started it the other day and now I just want to finish it. A better post is coming soon... I hope.

peace!
a

I wuv reading.

Sorry for my embarrassingly sporadic posting, and this one isn't going to be much better, since I am leaving for San Diego for a week and I have a lot of packing and stuff to do. But hopefully, between the summer reading and AP History work I have to do out there, I will glean some inspiration.
So this post is pretty much about some books I am planning to read in the near future. Pshh, talk about lame. Thank you for reading this if you still are. (Sometimes, if you can't tell, I have confidence issues. :P)

1) The Perks Of Being A Wallflower


The grade above mine is really strange in that they all get obsessed about several things and pass it around the grade. For example, Fight Club, both the film and the book. And all of them seem to think that THEY are the one who started the phenomenom. It's quite fun to watch, actually. One of these obsessions is The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, which is, in and of itself, already a cult classic. It's the kind of book that causes people to write to the author and tell he/she that the book kept he/she from killing themselves. Whoa. (Though I read somewhere that someone wrote the same thing to the author of the Twilig ht books and I couldn't help thinking that there's nothing philosophical or deep in those books that could honestly keep someone from killing themselves. Oh, even better: I once hear that HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL kept someone from killing themselves. Yes. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL. How many people are secreting wanting to kill themselves but are just waiting for that classical magnum opus [cough] to keep them from doing so?) But anyway, what I've heard from this book is that it is written in the form of letters from a teenage boy named Charlie to an anonymous reader, and it's all about angst and adolescence and things like that. I think I'm going to love it.

2) Everything Is Illuminated


I bought this book at the incredible Strand bookstore when I went to New York over New Years, and it's been lying on my bookshelf every since. It's weird, I know, but I've just been waiting for the right time to read it. It's written very oddly, so I can't be distracted by any shiny objects while attempting it. It's about...I'm probably going to get this horribly wrong, but I'm pretty sure it is about a guy with the same name as the author who goes on a search throughout Eastern Europe to find the woman who helped his grandfather, somehow, in the Holocaust.
Here's hoping I have a better idea of what the story is about after actually reading it.

3) My Sister's Keeper


I can't help it, but I really like Jodi Picoult's writing. Well, actually, I've only read Nineteen Minutes but that was so absorbing and wrenching that I'm sure her other stuff is also well written. My sister and several of my friends have read this book and lurrrv it, so I figured I might give it a try. Basic story: This girl was conceived as a donor for her sister, and her whole life has revolved around surgeries and such to help her sister, and then I think she decides to sue her family or something light-hearted like that.

4)Eclipse


Yes, yes, I've read the first two Twilight books, and I must say... I just don't... GET it. The most recent Entertainment Weekly cover article was on the books, and it dared compare them to Harry Potter. I got pissed at that. Harry Potter was a series like none seen before, gorgeously crafted with astounding detail, and they were so many people's childhood. They transported us to another world, one of Quidditch and potions, a Ministry of Magic and owl post. All sorts of people loved those books; male and female, rich and poor, young and old. However, the Twilight books appeal mostly to one audience: obsessive teenage and pre-teen girls who think that Edward Cullen is the perfect boyfriend or whatever, even though his speech consists of two variations: 1) Bella, I love you, I would die for you. and 2) Bella, don't be stupid, I'm going to laugh at you now and then two seconds later tell you how much I love you. Bumper stickers on facebook ar e like, "Romeo who? I'm waiting for my Edward Cullen." And I'm thinking.... actually, they're both two men that I would NOT want as mates. Romeo is whiney, melodramatic, and rash. And Edward is just possessive and creepy, no matter how hot he may be. However, I still read the books because they're easy, and fun to read.

Reading is one of my favorite things to do, and it has been since I was three. When I was younger, I would take a book in the car EVERYWHERE, even if the ride was only going to be ten minutes long. When people told me that they couldn't read without getting carsick, I remember feeling incredibly sad for them. What did they DO in the car?? Stare out the window? How unfortunate. :P And I know a lot of random things, from trivia to history facts to lots and lots of geography, and when people ask me how I know, I almost always answer... "I read a lot." And it's true.


In a non-book-related subject, I watched Wes Anderson's Rushmore on Sunday and again this afternoon. It was so freaking awesome my mind is still buzzing. I'll write more about that when I get back and more about..... BILLY JOEL, who I saw in concert last week. Gagagaga. I love old people music.

And just because I have random pictures sitting on my computer, here's one of Audrey Hepburn in that Gap commercial from two years ago.



And this, which I found as a bumper sticker on Facebook and it pretty much made my day.



What books are YOU reading this summer?
I'll write more once I'm back from sunny San Diego! Oy. That sounds like some cheesy weatherman thing. "And it's sunny in San Diego today folks!" Cue cheesy grin.

peace!
a.

Fuck Starbucks!

The amazingly cool/creative/funny Sister Libby over at Ice Cube Confidential recently posted her "Coffee Shop Mix-tape," and it was so great that I was inspired to create one of my own. I've always secreted desired owning my own coffee shop..... a quaint but not cramped space in an old brownstone in a historic part of a town like Boston or Burlington, Vermont, decorated in my favorite quirky style, where I could sell my favorite books and some fair trade items from places like Nepal and Peru. I would bake all my own... baked goods, sell as much tea as I did coffee, and I would have a super-small stage where local artists could perform on open-mic nights. Sigh. If only. And perhaps most importantly, I could chose my own perfect soundtrack. And everyone would love my coffee shop so much that they would spurn the Starbucks around the corner... and that other one around the OTHER corner. When dreaming up my Coffee Shop Mix, my mind immediately went to spare acoustic songs, but then I realized that if I would be in said shop, I might get weary of those kind of songs, and who wants to be sad all the time? So I mixed that kind of song a lot into my mix, since I have plenty of those on my iPod, but I also mixed in some more upbeat tunes.

“New Romantic”- I just discovered Laura Marling, and her voice is so surprising; she’s this tiny little blond, milky-skinned fairy-tale creature, and this soulful, alluring, smooth voice comes out of her. I also suggest “The Captain and the Hourglass.”

“Criminal”- She was 17 when she wrote this. 17. And this song is one of the best I’ve ever heard. I’m 16. This makes me angry at God for not granting me more talent.

“First Day Of My Life”- I love Bright Eyes. I love this song. I suggest that you watch the video. It’s so sweet.

“New Slang”- You’ve all seen Garden State. But this song hits me deep every single time I listen to it, and I can listen to it over and over and over. It just transports me to a different plane of living. This is the only version I could find though, it’s different than the one I have… I really really want to learn this on guitar… which might take a while. Oh, and just to be obnoxious, I loved this song before I saw aforementioned movie. :P

“Angeles”- I couldn’t find the recorded version, but every time I listen to Elliott Smith, a switch is hit somewhere inside me, and I am constantly in awe of his genius, every song is a work of art.

“Love You Much Better”- The Hush Sound is probably my favorite band without a member named Ringo or Lennon, and I wanted to put “Where We Went Wrong” on the mix, but they didn’t have it.  Wah wah wah.

“I Will Follow You Into the Dark”- I hear those opening chords, and I simply melt. Ben Gibbard’s voice and lyrics…. “If heaven and hell decide/ that they both are satisfied/ illuminate the “no’s” on their vacancy signs/ if there’s no one beside you/ when your soul embarks/ then I’ll follow you into the dark/… so sweet, so poignant, yet also slightly dark.

“One Of These Things First”- Nick Drake’s music is autumn in song form.

“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”- To lighten things up a bit.

“Aux Champs Elysees”- Do I have any idea what the hell he’s saying? Of course not. Does that keep me from loving this buoyant, joyful song to bits? Of course not!

“Naked As We Came”- I actually use this song as a lullaby. Weird, I know. But it’s so soothing.

“Portions For Foxes”- Guitar-driven, but it’s a light song, and I love it.

“Sweet Baby James”- My mom always said that if she had the opportunity to run off with any celebrity, it would be James Taylor, which I always thought was really weird because he’s gross and old and bald. But I can’t deny how much I love his music, and the uniqueness of his voice.

“Just Like Heaven”- SHOW ME SHOW ME SHOW ME HOW YOU DO THAT TRICK… The guitar riff is killllllller.

“Hey Jude”- This is the part in my coffee-house fantasy where one person starts singing along, and then one more, and eventually the whole place breaks into song. Like in Almost Famous. And a lot of swaying is involved.

“Spit On A Stranger”- My dad got me into this band when I was around eight, and their first album was really bluegrass, but their second was this amazing mix of bluegrass and jazz, and I’ve listened to it so many times that it’s all scratched up. This is a cover of a Pavement song, and I love Chris Thile’s (lead singer and mandolin player! Hell yes!) voice and skillz.

“Tangled Up In Blue”-…It’s Bob Dylan.

“Life Is A Song”- This was the last song they played on “The O.C.” and the lyrics, gentle guitar, and honesty of Patrick Park’s voice are what have made it one of my most played songs. “We always forget how strange it is just to be alive at all.”

“Vienna”- I listen to old people’s music, don’t I?

I'm going to go make myself some tea. Oo, and PLEASE make your own coffee-house mix, but be sure to credit Sister Libby for starting the movement.

peace!
a.

P.S. I can't stop listening to "Buddy Holly" by Weezer. It's so catchy, and the music video is absolutely astounding, check it out or be lame. Ouch. That must've STUNG.

Try not to work yourself into a bother.

I'm going to my grandparent's house for a week, and they don't have a computer, so I'll see you on da flipside, yo.

Holla.

peace.
a.

Any integrity I had is now lost. I don't even know what the hell this post IS.

This is the kind of disgustingly choreographed goodness I subjected myself to.

I'm not one of those people who makes a big deal of shunning anything and everything that might appeal to girls around age 13. Mostly. Well, Miley Cyrus is one of my most hated people on this planet next to oh, I don't know, bin Laden, and I want to jab her eyes out every time I see her face and put duct tape over that stupid mouth so I can't hear her grating voice. But aside from that, every now and then I just enjoy some brainless, sugary, high-calorie bubblegum fun that I can laugh at and kind of make fun of with my sister but I know we both secretly kind of liked it in a really oblique way.

Yes, I am admitting it, I watched Camp Rock on Disney on Friday. And I may or may not have watched it again on ABC last night. Possibly. And it was so train-wrecky awesome and Disney-fied that I couldn't help smiling. Possibly because it was so formulaic that I kept guessing exactly what was going to happen and turned out being right. For example, as soon as the character of Caitlin was introduced, I guessed, "She's going to be Mitchie's friend, but then she's going to be ditched for Tess and then Mitchie will realize it's stupid and they'll be friends again." And I was TOTALLY right.

By
"OMG! Bitch! Let's suck at acting and let Disney put us through the star-processor as we sell our souls, kay?"

It was also funny how unashamed Disney was in objectifying poor Joe. From the a-bit-too-long-to-be-accidental butt shots to the ridiculously placed "let's have Joe emerging shirtless from a lake, a scene that could have TOTALLY been erased, but let's get the little girls screaming!" it was all kind of crazy. Especially the shirtless thing. I could hear the 13 year olds across amazing squealing. But I'm not going to lie. That was a pretty hot shot.

Watching Joe Jonas try to portray any emotion other than the easy cocky rock star thing was kind of hard to watch, but sadly, as I was watching, I kind myself going, "Hm. He's kind of hot. NO! SELF! NO LIKING THE JONAS BROTHERS! NO! BAD!" But fuck it, I can't help it. He's hot. And when the Jonas Brothers performed "Play My Music," I unwillingly found myself going, "Dude. Nick's really sexy. Like REALLY sexy. I love his clothes. I love how low he holds his guitar. I love... NO! STOP! ENOUGH!" But after I watched the movie, I went to my computer and looked up interviews with them on youtube, the only website to which I would sell my soul, and they're actually kind of awesome. Oh God. Did I just say that? But they are. Except Kevin. Kevin is just disgusting. They're articulate, funny, polite, and they dress really really well. Except Kevin. But let's just ignore him from now on. Sorry Kevin, you're out of the band for not being pretty enough. (Oh, for the record, the three interviews were they've been on Ellen are really enjoyable. Unless you have some integrity left, then I'd understand how you'd be finding this whole post absolutely ridiculous.)

But let's just explore the whole situation. I HATE the whole fanbase of this "band". Is it even a band? Well, they write their own songs and play their own instruments, so yes, I guess. But you know if one them had welts on his face or they were ugly, they'd still be regular guys from New Jersey. Sad, but true. Their music is purely, PURELY, bubblegum pop. In fact, I was wondering how they deal with it all... all the screaming, nay, SCREECHING girls, the product placement, the whole "Disney" thing, supporting Miley Cyrus on tour... I mean, that in itself is enough to make anyone want to, oh, I don't know, DIE. Kevin is 20, I think, and Joe is 18, how do they POSSIBLY deal with this tween obsession with them? Any time they appear on talk shows, the screeches are literally embarrassing to watch, and whenever they say something "cute" and all the stupid girls so "Awwwwwww!" I literally have to cover my eyes, it's just too sad. Youtube comments are just hilarious, aren't they? One time when they were on Ellen, this one girl won a chance to travel on a plane with them, and she was really excited or whatever, but she wasn't CRYING, which I found noble of her, and all the people in the comments were like, "Bitch! She's not even excited!" Whoaaa. LAY OFF. Just because she's handling it sanely and not FAINTING like YOU would...

But yeah, by principle alone, I should hate the Jonas Brothers with every fiber of my being. But I can't. Why? Because they (remember, this is totally excluding Kevin, because he's just gross) are just too damn pretty. And they dress really well AND they're straight. And I will NEVER, EVER, be one of those people who are all, "Mrs. Joe Jonas!" I mean, that's just sad. But how many straight guys dress that well? Joe wears saddle shoes, you know, the 50s style one, for Christsake, which I should find absolutely disgusting, but is actually kind of awesome. They wear suits and skin-tight pants a lot, which is just fine with me, and Nick wears a lot of Chucks, which is basically my soul is a shoe, so we are obviously... SOLE mates. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Yes, I DID just go there. I just made that ridiculous pun. Bah-zing!

Except for these white pants that were in "Camp Rock." Normally the pair miraculously manage to make white pants look good, but these ones just make Joe's stubby legs look extra stubby.



HAHAHA that scene was awful. He just walks in and starts doing this dance, and everyone someone picks up on it IMMEDIATELY. god, I tell you. It's amazing.



This is them on Ellen. She gave Joe a helmet because I guess he falls down alot. I like his pants....

I dig a man in Ray-Bans. And a tie.




I still can't believe I am actually writing a post involving the Jonas Brothers. Wow. WOW.

Whoa, just came across an article with the title, "Jonas Brothers: 'We are all virgins.'" I already knew about the whole purity ring thing, but isn't that kind of... blatant? I mean, way to just... put it out there, guys. It actually made me kind of uncomfortable to read that title. Just like when watching the screeching girls. In fact, everything involving the Jonas Brothers makes me kind of uncomfortable, probably because I know I shouldn't be attracted to them.

I'm sorry, this post is so completely unstream-lined, and it kind of sucks. I need to work on my editing skills. Or just my life skills in general...



They're all very skinny, which I love (does that sound bad? I'm sorry, I just prefer skinny guys...). And that all-black thing is REALLY good. Like, REALLY.

I already mentioned Nick and the shoes, but he is a REALLY good dresser. And the fact that's he's actually YOUNGER than me makes me 1) feel a little skeeved out; 2) feel inadequate because I've done nothing with my life and here he is making music (however crappy 99% of that music may be) and touring the world.

During "Camp Rock" there was this scene where the brothers came on to perform as a different band, but, whatever. The song was called "Play My Music" and it was such high-octane pop that I found my self, horrifically, smiling. And it was fun to watch Joe try really hard to be a rock star. I will admit to downloading the song and rocking out it several times a day. Sue me for not wanting to listen to philosophical Bright Eyes ALL the time, ok? And while Joe is a bit effeminate and has a really girly voice, I oddly don't mind. And it was REALLY fun to watch Nick be sexy. And where great clothes. I'm a total sucker for any guy in a plaid button down. Except truckers and lumberjacks. Sorry. But any other guy.




Along with being a sucker for plaid-sporting men (kilts, however, do not count), and non-emo guys who wear Chucks, I am also a sucker for musicians and curly hair. All four things fuse into Nick Jonas. Do you see how I am left without a choice? I am powerless to this attraction.



I don't know/ care who the woman in the middle is... and what is up with that hat... but the coats on the other two are great.



Nick, please just shave your head or get some major scars on your face or something, because this attraction is embarrassing me.



Perhaps this is Nick getting in touch with his "Disco self" but I, surprise!, love how he's dressed.




And, just to objectify the poor boy even farther, I'd like to point out that he has REALLY nice arms.




Ok, this post has to end. or it's just going to get even MORE out of hand.

Did anyone else indulge in this poppy train wreck known as "Camp Rock"? If not, and you're not afraid to act like a little kid and smile at really stupid stuff, it's on tonight, ABC Family. Any does anyone else find Nick and Jonas oddly sexy, against your better judgement? If so, LET ME KNOW. i need to know I'm not completely insane. Or at least, I'm not alone in my insanity.


Sorry for this. I'm going to go hide in my room now and listen to some Sufjan Stevens to regain my "indie cred." Just kidding! I do love Sufjan, but I don't give a shit about my indie cred. If I did, I certainly wouldn't have conceived this post.


as dorky as ever,
a.

Summer forecast

I always expect summer to be way more awesome than it is. I picture lazy days floating on a river/ lake, strumming a guitar by a fire, writing in my journal in a garden or in a tree or something... cheesy stuff like that. Instead, I am stuck at home a lot, since I can't drive myself yet, in the frigid icebox of my home when my dad gets his hands on the air conditioning, and the either really nice and breezy oasis or stifingly hot and sticky sauna of my home when my mom gets HER hands on the air conditioning (depending on the weather). But this summer, I am actually doing some interesting things. Ish. Interesting things-ish. Enough to keep it from being a total waste. So I thought I share those with you, because I know I'm just fascinating like that. Cough.




Learn the acoustic guitar.
Quite a summery thing to do, is it not? After around.... four years of desperate longing, I FINALLY got a guitar for my recent birthday, though I just got it a few days ago. I just really want to be able to play and sing my favorite songs, and if the heavens open up and the Muses pour their sugar on me, maybe write some EXTREMELY simple music. But obviously the Muses have used all their sweet sweet sugar up on Conor Oberst.
I bought a "Teach Youself Guitar!" book (yayyyyy! Woo! I hate that freaking exclamation point in the title) at the bookstore, and it's good, plenty of chords and whatnot. But it's weird... I'm halfway decent at piano, I taught myself on a toy keyboard for about two years until I finally got real lessons, and then I had enough skills to skip a whole level. I've since had to stop lessons due to bloody school and volleyball and every other stupid thing I'm involved in, but I play constantly, and I love illegally procuring sheet music online. Woooooot. But anyway, my point was that I ridiculously expect myself to already be playing songs on the guitar, forgetting that it's taken me several years to get good at the piano. So I'm just randomly strumming chords, kind of lost... I need the structure of a lesson, but obviously lessons aren't happening, so I'll just have to find some online. But that's a good summer project for me. And then me and my friend who has also just started tea ching herself guitar can go stand on a street corner and play obscure songs to up our indie (and street) cred, and people can throw pennies in our cases if they are sweet and yell obscene things like "Get off the fucking sidewalk!" at us if they are just plain awesome. Because we would suck so badly.



rockmantica

Paint
Painting is like a tranquilizer for me. It calms me to near meditation state, and this summer I'd love to do a little tranquilizing (I always felt bad for those animals in the gorilla movies that got tranquilized. :( ]. I specifically was thinking of either some cool drippy, Jackson Pollock-style piece, or the cover of She & Him's album, which is awesome.



plasticTHERAPY

Read my summer reading books.
Sure, I'll voraciously devour many other books, but I put those in my "Reading is Sexy" sidebar [see left if you are as of yet unfamiliar]. For summer reading (which always pissed me off for this reason: Summer reading is to keep kids reading during the summer, their brains going, blah blah. Then why give summer reading to HONORS kids, who WOULD be reading on their own ANYWAY?) I have to read "Hiroshima" which doesn't sound half bad, and my favorite book EVER (next to Harry Potter), To Kill A Mockingbird. On TKAM, I have to write poems from the point of few of several characters, which should be...interesting and will most likely result in my rhyming "Finch" and "in a cinch." The deal with TKAM, though, is that I read it in early 2007, so I kind of feel protective of it, even though millions and millions of people before me have read it and named it as their favorite book. I always get weird and stuck-up and want people to know that I read it before we had t o for a grade, since there are some kids in my class who don't read for fun and just obsess over grades. (And I'm still first in my class, so SUCK IT. Sorry, had to put that in there. That took so many stressed nights and hard work that I feel like it's ok to brag a little.)
I also hereby declare that I WILL NOT leave my summer reading until the last two weeks of August.


Picture for this subject unavailable, due to total lack of any sort of creativity associated with it.
AP History work
For some insane reason unbeknownst to me, I am taking AP US History next year. Well, I do like history. And I have a crapload of reading and outlining to do this summer. Yay.



Xmoncharmant (NOT MY ROOM)

Clean my room
My room’s been cluttered and really dusty for at least a year, and I always TRY to clean it, but something else in my room captures my attention. Just for a weekend or a few days, I need to buckle down and just CLEAN. I still have my American girls in my room, for Pete’s sake. As nostalgic as they make me, maybe my starting-to-be-pretty-cool room isn’t the best place. Ooh. I’ll post pictures of my favorite stuff in my room when it’s all clean and pretty and camera ready.


Now for things such as trips and concerts:



He doesn’t really have that much hair anymore. [not from deviant art.]

See Billy Joel in concert
That's right, my friends, I dig the Piano Man, and I will be seeing him in concert in early July, and it should be AMAZING. I just love his music, even though it might be "old people music" or whatever. (Old music is better, anyway.) And to top off my super awesomeness (not) I am going with my sister, parents, and grandparents. I honestly love spending time with my grandparents. They are honestly the raddest grandparents ever in an un-rad way, like how I had to teach my grandpa how to click a mouse and he wears those flat Irish caps all the time and always cuts himself shaving.
But back to Billy. This will be my first real "concert" (sad, I know. When I can drive... I'll be at every concert within 100 miles of my town.), since I don't count Warped Tour last year. I'm really excited though, I mean, COME ON. It's Billy Joel. He's a classic. If he plays "Vienna," I might cry, because that's honestly what I do, and if he plays "We Didn't Start the Fire," I fully intend to shout along to the part that Dwight sang on that one episode of The Office:

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television, North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn MonROE!


(Uhh.. I forgot a picture for this one and don't have time to find one. Enjoy this picture of Jim Sturgess I had on my computer already instead.)


Yum.

Go to San Diego
My dad goes there a lot for business, and I've already been there, but any chance to get out of my hometown is welcomed with open arms. Oo, but something I didn't do the last time I was there was GO TO DISNEYLAND, which I am doing this time. I can't wait to tap into my inner child and get dizzy riding the teacups and running around Sleeping Beauty's castle (the one in California really is Sleeping Beauty's, Cinderella's is in Florida) whilst humming happy happy tunes of joy.
Plus, in San Diego, my dad plans to take us to some kick-ass ethnic restaurants, and I heart food.
And the icing on the cake is that we're going down to the border, and there's this sign with a mother running, dragging a child, and it means "Watch for illegal immigrants." Isn't that the coolest thing you've ever heard?



Glass fields.
[Yep, that’s totally what it looks like at the end of the day.]

Go to Warped Tour
Warped Tour last was so mind-blowingly fun that I'd love to go again, and now that my friend can drive, she can take us, sans-parents. :O That's where the trouble comes in... I just have to convince my mom to 1) let a new driver drive me to the large city that shall remain unnamed and; 2) convince her to let us spend all day without a parent. Fingers crossed! And while Warped is filled with mostly shitty emo bands, that's what makes it fun, watching how seriously everyone takes themselves. But there are going to be some really good bands there, and some pretty good bands that I would like to see. A list:

All Time Low is a bit whiney but they're fun.
BE YOUR OWN PET!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly wept when I saw that name. They are so not emo that I can't WAIT to see Jemina Pearl in action. Seriously, watch some live videos. She's fie-uuuuuce.
Charlotte Sometimes-- I haven't listened to her, but I hear she's kind of indie-pop, which I can always dig.
Katy Perry would be a blast to see.
I LOVED Relient K back in middle school, so it might be fun to see them, just for nostalgia's sake.
I hear Reel Big Fish are good, I should listen to them...
and finally SAY ANYTHING, whom I love.
So Be Your Own Pet and Say Anything for really good. Two out of like 50. That just shows you Warped Tour's demographic, does it not?

Hahahah the names on this band list are so funny : As I Lay Dying, Every Time I Die, All That Remains. Get over yourself and grow the hell up!



seafairy

Go to New England for a weekend
Oh God, that seems so preppy. "Oh, sorry, I can't, I'll be in New England for the weekend." I should rename myself Muffy or Lila or Harrison (if I was a boy) to fit in. But I think we're going to Cape Cod, and my dad wants to swing by Providence: "We can just check out Brown, would you like that?" Ok, yeah, Dad, when Miley Cyrus says something interesting, THAT'S when I'll get into Brown. Precisley for the reason that my name isn't Muffy or Lila or Harrison, and my last name doesn't begin with a Vander and end with a Bilt. (Did you know Anderson Cooper is a Vanderbilt? That's his mom's maiden name. So he's led a very cushy life, I'm sure. Whatever. He's still the most badass news anchor around, if only for his white/gray hair and squint.




The beautiful scenic vistas of New Jersey. Ahem.

Visit family in New Jersey
While my parents jet off to Yellowstone, they are leaving me for four long days under the rule of my disgustingly unhygienic older brother. But luckily my afore-mentioned grandparents will come to rescue me from his hair-in-the-sink world and bring me and my sister to….. New Jersey for a week.
Not going to lie, I hate New Jersey. I’m sorry, it’s just an opinion, I can see why plenty of people would hate Pennsylvania, but the only good part of New Jersey is my family and the shore. I could go on and on about how it’s all highways and development, but that would be tedious, so I won’t. But going to my grandma’s without my parents is great because my sister and I get the spare bedroom with the TV, and we stay up until the wee hours of the morning watching old Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Cosby Show reruns on Nick at Nite. And I get to go to the beach for a day, visit all my cousins, etc. Plus my grandparents are taking us to New York to see the Bodies exhibit, where they, for lack of a better word, “freeze” a bunch of dead bodies is cool positions and you see all the muscles and stuff. It’s going to be morbid and grisly and all around great.




Because it made me laugh.

Band camp
Yes, I’m a band geek. And no, I haven’t seen American Pie, but I’m sure it’s nothing like that, I’ve heard all the, “This one time, at band camp…” jokes and camp is nothing like that. It’s at school every day for two weeks, and while the people who march are outside in the sweltering heat getting burnt, my section, the mallet section who doesn’t march, stays inside the (albeit, un-air-conditioned) band room and pretend to practice when our director walks in and gives us the hairy eyeball but otherwise we eat and get water and Gatorade for the rest of the band and those of us who can play the piano do so, and we cram in last minute summer reading while listening to the rest of the band bitch and moan about how “Pit doesn’t do anything” when they come in for a break. Whatever. At least I don’t play the sousaphone, ok guys?


That is pretty much the extent of my summer. It looks good written down, but in reality I have a lot of boring free weeks to sit around on my ass and blog. Yayyyyyy.

What are you going to be up to this summer?


Juxxo

(Hopefully something a little less dependant on anti-gravity forces than that.)

I had one more picture I wanted to share. I found this really cool (if it can be called that), colorful propaganda poster from WWII. I just found it interesting. I guess if you love art enough even the colors in a propaganda poster interest you, as they do me.




Have a lovely, propaganda-free rest of your day!

Listen to: “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon. Bah-ZING.

Peace.
a.

P.S. All pictures are credit of the talented people over at deviantart, unless otherwise noted. The propaganda one just came from a google search. I put the name of the artist underneath the picture, in case they some how manage to find me and sue me for copyright infringement or something, because that’s the kind of thing that happens to me.