I Promise, I'm on it.

Alright, I usually save the music recommendations for the end of my posts, seeing as my readers don't all necessarily have the same taste in music as I do, but I just have to post this song first. It's by a band named "Friendly Fires" from England. Lemme tell ya, this band is pure indie-pop goodness. They make incredibly catchy music, and this song (called "Paris") is no exception. I've probably listened to it 10 times in the past two days.



Ok, enough gushing. Did you know that Britney Spears' little sister Jamie Lynn is pregnant? Are you the slightest bit concerned that I learned this on a site called omg.yahoo.com? New low? Maybe. But it honestly looked like she was the only one that was going to get out with a regular showbiz career... but then there poor Jamie Lynn goes, sucked into the churning pop culture machine just like her sister.

I got this sweet ass keyboard for graduation -- it's made out of rubber and is all wiggly and you can bend it and spill shit on it. The only problem is that I type so fast that it can't keep up, and I'm beating the poor thing to death with my frustration.

I read today that Kisten Cavalleri was considering joining the cast of The Hills. Fucking barf. Why try so hard to make a scripted show seem real and then let the press know that you're changing it? And if it's not real anyways, why does it have to be so fucking boring?! This video was up on Funny or Die a few weeks ago -- James Franco and Mila Kunis doing a scene from the show. Their parody is perfect; it perfectly captures the silence made by two people who have nothing interesting to say.



Generally speaking, actors are probably some of the least intelligent people on the planet, but they're the ones we hear talking most -- interviews, TV shows, movies. That's weird. I guess people only want to listen when the person talking is good looking, even if they're not even saying anything interesting.

Anyone hear about the whole Jessica Simpson/Tony Romo clusterfuck? I mean, is that girl cursed? Everything she touches turns to, erm, dirt (?). Romo apparently played the worst game of his life when she was there. What was that? Something about football players hooking up with chicks and then playing like shit? Weird.

Oh, this performance is brilliant. Beruit, the city of Paris, street peformances... you don't get much better. Beruit is a band that Mark introduced me to, and sort of like when I introduced him to Silversun Pickups, I fell in love with the band. Zach Condon is a musical genius... the band uses tons of brass, and acordions, and djimbes... ungh. I love it. So unique.



I had so many things to talk about, but I got to listening to all of this music and now I've found myself staring at my computer screen while thinking of all sorts of non blog-related things. I'm going to go to bed, dear readers. Sweet dreams.

Whoa...

It's finals week. I've been walking around in a daze lately (and not my usual "finals-week-Red Bull-and-stress-induced daze" or "finals-week-freakout-bitchfit-aftermath daze"), because I just cannot believe I'm almost out of here. I've spent my entire life in school, and now I'm expected to go out and get a real job? I mean, it's not like I put everything I had into being an amazing student because I am, admittedly, a "B with sporadic A's" student. (I only started really trying about 2 and a half years ago, in order to get into the business school.) But still, college was the time in my life that I really "found" myself, as cliche as that sounds. I have such a better knowledge of who I am and what I am not than I ever had before.

I don't know if I've mentioned before that I often think about whether or not my life would be different if I could be the person I am now back in high school. If you could glean from a few drunken posts ago, I wasn't "popular" by traditional definition. Well-liked, yes, with friends all over the place, of course, but after a few interesting occurrences over Thanksgiving break, I kind of learned something about myself. I didn't hang out with people that were (gag) "popular" because I couldn't; I didn't hang out with them because I didn't want to. And sure, that sounds like a cop-out, but it's true. Sometimes there is so much more to life than whether or not people want to be like you, and I know that now. I still have a lot of growing to do, but I'm happy with the fact that I've become much more self-realized and confident than I was before.

I also realized that I am wearing the exact same outfit as I wore freshman year -- my grey ski hat, black Alkaline Trio hoodie (which I have lost and found again three times in the past 5 years), jeans and my black converse all stars. Talk about coming full-circle.

Anyways, I'm sure you've come here for something more interesting than me rambling about myself, so here you go.

I'm going to start working full-time at my internship for the next few months, in order to make some money for traveling. This probably means Good Bloggie will be back in full-swing, seeing as I don't have the patience for anything but my dear blog anymore.

Oh! Damnit. I asked Mark what he wanted me to write about on here and he said "the writers' strike". I had these great intentions of writing a well-thought out piece on the implications of thousands of the people who make us laugh everyday up and quitting the very thing they do best, but I, erm, never got around to it. So here it goes, me trying to make up for it.

The Writers' Strike: Gimme My Money, Fool!

Whether it be for information, or entertainment, everyone watches television. Even with the advent of the internet, TV is still a medium before which people enjoy plunking themselves down in front of and basking in its warm, vacuous glow. A show's success is outwardly dependent on its actors and producers, which can be displayed by the popularity of reality television. For a while, reality TV dominated the formulaic sitcoms we had grown so accustomed to, with bigger and better ones coming out every season. But after a while, it seemed that the genre had become exhausted, and networks started springing for different shows. These shows needed actual actors, directors, and most importantly, writers. Shows like Lost and Grey's Anatomy took off, garnering a huge viewership in the millions each week.

Soon after, the networks realized the power they held with respect to their most popular shows. People were becoming attached to the characters and, unlike reality TV, would watch them season after season, forming a bond with each one's personality. A new opportunity emerged, as people started spending more and more time on the internet: the networks now had two ways in which to broadcast their shows, and consequently, two ways in which to get money through advertising. Although viewers weren't expected to sit through 13 minutes of advertising for an hour-long show anymore, they were still willing to endure a smaller amount of it in order to watch their favorite shows at their convenience. Networks put full episodes of their most popular shows on their sites, and began to reap the benefits of the increased profits they brought.

This is where the problem began; the writers of the most popular shows got paid only once, while the networks were benefitting from twice the amount of advertising. The writers were paid less than a cent for each click, while the networks were still getting millions each week to feature a different product in addition to a show. They were, in essence, doing twice the work for half the pay. They began to realize this fact, and in mid-November, decided to strike.

The resolution seemed simple: the networks should pay its writers for "new media" -- TV shows that were re-broadcast on the internet. However, the networks declared that the internet was "too new", and that they had no idea or basis for which to pay their writers because it had never been done before.

But wait -- too new? Then why, in March of 2007, did media giant Viacom sue YouTube over the use of its material to the tune of over one billion dollars? It seems that there was, indeed, a price for TV shows on the internet -- numbering in the millions. Why could Viacom expect a site like YouTube to give them a billion dollars, but couldn't be bothered to give the writers on shows like the Colbert Report or The Daily Show a few extra bucks everytime someone watches something they worked so hard on? It hardly seemed fair.

So far, negotiations haven't produced anything resembling a resolution. The networks are simply unwilling to delve into their deep, deep pockets to pay the people who work for them. The choice to strike was admirable, and will probably end up in some sort of compromise, but what about what happens as a result? Most of the crews that support the shows have been laid off, because they haven't worked for weeks. Seeing as it's pilot-production season, no writers mean no new pilots. No new pilots mean more reality shows are getting the green light than they would have without the strike. More reality shows may mean less room for existing shows, and the possibility that when the strike does end, the writers may not even have jobs to go back to.

Hopefully, this whole thing will end up with everyone happy, and the writers will get what they want and need. They are the reason for the networks' success, and deservedly so.

Har Dee Har Har, Old Man

I don't know what my deal is lately; the only things I seem to set time aside for are school, and partying. Apparently, partying parlays into blogging, which is buffered by my drunkeness. Awesome.














I've been listening to the same Daft Punk songs over and over for the past few days -- their MySpace has the most amazing live version of Too Long.


Oh, actually, that leads me to my next topic -- http://www.snap.fm . Interestingly enough, a friend of a friend started a really cool music news website, kind of comparable to Digg.com or Elbo.ws -- you submit music-related articles and people rate whether they like them or find them relevant. Basically, you can find up-to-date news on your favorite artists just by doing a search. I've been asked to write for the blog section of the website, which is great. I basically have ultimate freedom to write about whatever I want (and whatever I want is most likely going to be music). The posts I write for Snap will most likely be more structured, and less stream-of-consciousness like Good Bloggie, but I figure in order not to neglect my baby, I'll post them on here too.

I know that most of you share the same affinity for trash TV as me; either that or you've been around a TV when "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila" is on. I found a news article the other day about the casting for the sequel to "A Shot at Love" -- nope, no surprise bisexual twists in this one; it's going to feature Dominico, the speedo-wearing Italian. Seriously. Okay, I found it hilarious when he would talk about his junk like it was a living, breathing little man... needless to say, I'll be tuning in. Guh, I'm a sucker. But! The news item that just came about today was about Miss Tequila herself; apparently people are saying that she is not, in fact, bisexual, and that the whole show was just a gimmick. According to Page Six (which, although snarky and bitchy as shit, is usually pretty reliable), Tila has had a long-time boyfriend, who she wouldn't even leave during the filming of the show -- poor, poor Amanda and Dannie -- they never stood a chance. I guess neither did I, when I fell for that shit.

This video is just... awesome. I love when people use kids in their videos and make them do things they won't understand for a few more years:



Oh, also, Britney Spears is apparently pregnant. Again. Yes, our little Brit Brit (ALLEGEDLY) got knocked up by producer J.R. Rotem. How did the public find out? Oh, duh, via Blackberry.

Judicial system got you down? Taking away your kids, giving them to K Fed? The solution is simple, see? Just have more!!!

Ashlee Simpson has a new single (and, I assume, a new CD soon) out, and it was produced by Timbaland. Hrmph. I have an affinity for most things good ole Timbo does, and I really want to give her a chance -- Nelly Furtado went from a free-love folk singer to a bonafide badonkadonk-shakin' pop princess in the course of like, a year. I'm too lazy to post a link, because it's almost 3 a.m. (god damnit, I'm a loser), but it was on the AOL music page earlier, so check it if you must. I'm sure you'll hear it sooner or later.

Like I said, it's mighty late, so I'm going to head for bed. Good nighty!

"Do You Wanna Drink Some Alcohol?"

This is my favorite part about being a (quote unquote) "blogger" -- at the point where people no longer answer their phones (it being 2:27 in the a.m.), I still have someone to talk to. That's you, baby. Ohhhh yeah.

Honestly, I've spent this entire break being a drunk. (I'm actually wondering at this point why my bloody eyes won't focus -- must be a problem with my computer screen. Yeah, if I close one eye, it stops spinning around the room. I win, computer.) I don't mean to, I mean, I enjoy imbibing, but honestly, I'm totally aware of what it's doing to my mind and body -- I was smarter in high school, when I would get made fun of for using "big words", that weren't really big to me. On Friday, CSU beat Wyoming, which led us to winning the "bronze boot". It was being carried around Lucky Joe's, and I thought it would be a really good idea to drink my beer out of it. Bad news, Whitney -- the thing is an actual old-ass BOOT -- bronzed and attached to a pedestal. This, unfortch, made me plow into the bathroom and make the difficult decision to pull the trigger. Pull the trigger I did, and I definitely felt worse for the wear for it. Apparently, later, I was attempting to remove a brick from the wall, which I was positive would lead me to a secret treasure, or passageway. Couldn't remove it, but did gain a valuable insight into myself; apparently, when I drink, I don't give a fuck. Truth.

So tonight, we went to the Rio, where I ran into my entire high school. Okay, there were only like, 75 of us; however, I was confronted with the realization that I a) wasn't very (conventionally) tight in high school, and b) that I was alright with that, as the people who were were that kind of kids that would still make me feel terrible about myself 5 years later were still terrible, unconfident assholes. I swear, kids like that are so self-conscious that they get off on being withholding (thank you, Buster Bluth) -- the kind of people who have been validated their entire lives for being attractive that cannot, cannot handle being face-to-face with someone who is completely comfortable with themself; the kind of person who has no problem being fucking nerdy and identifying with other people like that, and not giving a fuck what they're doing or look like.

Wow. That was a rant... you know; when you get drunk, and you ramble, you get super intense about what you're talking about, right? Right?

Anyways, I made my friend Dan an epic dance mix -- not only did it include my favorite french dance song, "Je Veux Te Voir", but it included this song... amaymay:



"Like, uhhh -- I'm perfect; push it, push it; watch me work it!" So good. I think that if I stripped for a living, this would be my song. Too much? I dunno.

Oh, also, this fits with the theme of the night; we spent like 20 minutes screaming "JAGA BOMBS!!!" at anyone who would listen. This would explain:



And that would be about it. Good night!

Oy Vey.

This weekend was so freaking packed with ridiculous shit, I can't even believe it. I went down to Denver to chill -- Friday, we went to this amazing new bar. The best (and worst) part about it was that it was just like being in Fort Collins. It was so nice to walk into a place and feel comfortable instead of feeling like I needed 4 less layers of clothing. Saturday was shaping up to be amazing, but then, um, my friend Diana got hit by a car. The person that was driving was probably drunk, accelerated, couldn't brake, and she couldn't cross the street fast enough. The car hit her side, made her cartwheel in the air, and she landed on her face. She's alright now, had to go by ambulance to a hospital and we were there till 6am. She lost halves of a few teeth, and has a huge gash on her very broken nose, but she wasn't seriously hurt. Thank god.

Oh, on Thursday I randomly got my Tragus pierced. Don't know what that is? It's the flappy part of your ear that is attached to your head, by your cheek. I got it done for free in exchange for letting my step-sister's friend practice, because she's apprenticing at a tattoo/piercing place. It barely even hurt, and now I have a sweet little diamond stud there. Woot.

Who out of you knew that Quentin Tarantino got his start on the Golden Girls? Yep, sure enough, he was cast as an Elvis impersonator... just goes to show you that everyone has to start somewhere. Apparently he was able to be more choosy with his roles because of it; every month he would get a check for a few hundred dollars, which was a lot for an aspiring director in Hollywood. I've always liked Tarantino's movies, even though I always preface my approval with the judgement that they're mostly knockoffs, erm, homages to movies that have already been done. That's one thing that he does well; he takes something good and manipulates it into something even better. Kill Bill is still one of my favorite movies, because the dialogue, fight scenes, and general imagery are seriously awesome.



I got sweet black-rimmed glasses today; my hipster transformation is underway. I haven't decided yet if that's a good thing.

If you're a dedicated reader of Good Bloggie, you may be aware of my like and/or dislike of zombie movies. My obsession with them started as a reaction to these long, terrifying dreams I was having. In these dreams, I was being chased by the bloodthirsty undead, and was never able to get away -- all I could do was hide. Strangely enough, they got more and more sporadic when I finally fought back (with the help of George W. Bush and a pasta strainer). Anyways, I started watching as many zombie movies as I could bare in order to sort of flush my fear of them out of my head -- I figured I would numb myself to them and I wouldn't be afraid anymore. It didn't really work, but I gained a great appreciation for the genre, despite my general hated of all things "horror". I was reading something today and it referenced George Romero -- director of the original zombie movie Night of the Living Dead. Apparently, he's got a new movie in the works. From Wikipedia:

The film will be the fifth film in Romero's "dead series". However, in "an attempt to re-establish a lucrative franchise," the film will, technically and philosophically, be a reboot, "a rejigging of the myth [sic]" says Romero. Even though the fourth film, Land of the Dead, was studio-produced through Universal Studios, Diary of the Dead was produced by Romero-Grunwald Productions, formed by Romero and his producer friend Peter Grunwald, with Artfire Films.

The plot will be about " group of film students that are making an independent mummy horror film when they become trapped in a world being consumed by flesh-eating zombies. They then turn their attention toward making the film into a documentary on their real life horror experience."

I don't know how many of you saw 28 Weeks Later, or its predecessor, 28 Days Later. The sequel was absoloute shit. I mean that. It took away from the original "what the fuck is out there" feeling by sort of humanizing the "infected" individuals, thus making them something entirely different than what they are -- brainless, hungry creatures that are really fucking fast. Apparently a third movie is in the works, and is being directed by "Weeks" director Danny Boyle. This is not good news. The original directing was so good, and the concept was promising, putting a spin on an old idea. So yeah, in 2009, don't see it. Well, unless I tell you to.

I have been following a particularly maddening and depressing story lately, one that explores the relationships that people form with complete strangers over the internet. It is about a 13-year old girl named Megan Meier, who killed herself after being abruptly dismissed by a boy she met on MySpace. The boy, it turns out, didn't even exist, and ended up being the creation of an ex-friend's mother, who was trying to figure out why Megan was fighting with her daughter. There was nothing her parents could do -- laws that prosecute internet bullies barely exist. Here's a video from CNN if you want to watch it. This is the kind of thing that freaks me out; occasionally I wonder who, exactly, is reading this blog, and what they do with the information. So, um, if you're a creep, fuck off. Yeah.

There was a movie that was screened at Sundance this year, called Teeth. It's a film about a woman with "female dentata"... teeth, erm, down there. It's just being released in New York and L.A., and will see a wider release next month. Would you go see it? I mean, how bizarre is that concept? I guess it got its start as a "warning" for men not to have sex with strange women. But damn. Here's the trailer -- oh, and by the way, it's being billed as a horror/comedy movie. I don't like, hate men or anything.

Haha, god damnit YouTube:

Tochin (2 hours ago)
"so when she's douching...is she really brushin her teef at the same time?"

Side note, I was watching a documentary on The History Channel about Adolf Hitler and his secret diseases; apparently he was addicted to a medicine that contained (among other things) a form of Meth, and was suffering from the effects of Syphilis (which was shutting down his nervous sytem over time). Kind of interesting in hindsight.

Well, this has been a sufficiently random and bizarre post. I'm going to bed. Night!

Do Juno?

I've had this trailer patiently waiting in my drafts for a chance to be included on my blog. It's not because it fits with a particular theme, just that I kept forgetting to put it up here until I unfortunately began seeing it in the theatres. Damnit! I hate not being on top of things. The movie, Juno, seems promising. Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, pregnant chick, awesome. (On a side note, good old Mikey and I were friends on MySpace until Superbad came out, and then he mysteriously defriended me. Sad. I guess it's for the best -- 22 years old and I'm still stalking strangers via MySpace. Cut. It. Out.)



While searching for that trailer, I ran across this video -- Nascargot -- NASCAR with snails. Snails are so much creepier in fast forward!!!



I don't know how many of you spend hours in front of a computer, legs twitching, hands absent-mindedly typing " http://www.facebook.com/ " into the address bar of your browser over and over like I do (come to think of it, I don't know how many of you have raging undiagnosed ADD like I do, either), but I spend a good chunk of time on YouTube. I ran across this web series called "We Need Girlfriends". It's about three guys who recently graduated college and were dumped by their long-term girlfriends. It's really earnest and goofy without trying too hard, and very well acted, considering its audience is the type of person who randomly surfs YouTube. Ouch. Anyways, they're on hiatus right now, but I ran across an article stating that they had been picked up by CBS. I was so proud! CBS has actually done some really interesting stuff, like picking up the Clark and Michael web series. It's cool, because the rest of their shows seem to be really, erm, old-person-centered. Anyways, I hope it doesn't suck, so that in a year or so you can be like, "Oh, shoot, I saw that shit on Good Bloggie ages ago. Guurrrrlll" with or without the attitude. Here's an episode for you to check out.



Oh, there's a really good song at the end of one of the episodes (because, of course, I'm rewatching all of the epidsodes in lieu of trying to figure out what the hell "cationic paramagnetic beads" are and what they do) by a guy who calls himself Plushgun -- he's a pretty cool artist out of Brooklyn. Here's the song:

No...vember

I'm a bad child. No posts yet this month. I have no idea why I feel like I have to apologize for it, but I have been catching some flack lately, so I'm....sorry?

This week has not been fun. I've been stressed and a wee bit under the weather, which does not bode well for trolling the internet in search of entertainment.

I've realized that I put so much random information in my brain that never translates itself to my blog, perhaps because most of it is so random and irrelevant that no one but myself may actually care. However, I watch shows like "The Soup", and realize that most of the topics are rarely new to me. In an effort not to copy the style of individuals like Perez Hilton, and simply regurgitate gossip while drawing coke-noses on celebrities, I decided that I may just jump back on the constantly changing celebuturd machine. (Hopefully, if you are a long-standing reader of this blog, you may know that that was, in fact, the slightly embarassing way that Good Bloggie got its start.) I've realized that in attempting to reach whatever audience I may have, I've gotten almost too broad. My readership is mostly male, and I think in an effort to cater to that, I got a little off track. The fact that it is broad is something that I like about my blog (because that seems to be the way my brain works), but I miss being snarky and writing comments like this one from one of my first posts, about Sarah Jessica Parker's dress:




"You'd have to be pretty brave to wear this. Sarah Jessica Parker wore this tragic tartan over a beige strapless gown recently at The Costume Institute Gala. I'm not sure why, the dress itself is very pretty, although a bit too beige for my liking. Did she look at herself in the mirror before she left and think "jesus, this plaid blanket makes me ooze glamour!" or were the horrified screams of her stylist just muffled by the crinkling of all the material?! "









I crack me up. Anyways, I think I've set myself up for too much, and anything I say may be construed as trying too hard, so I'll just jot down a few bits and pieces.

• Paris Hilton, in a misguided effort to seem more worldly than she may be, has become consumed with the plight of elephants in northeast India. This, by itself, is kind of admirable -- however, Paris isn't focused on poaching or the encroachment of urban cities; she's concerned about drunk elephants. You heard me. A random occurrence of four elephants getting into some homemade wine on a farm, uprooting an electricity pole and subsequently electrocuting themselves has somehow worked its way into Paris' Blackberry, under "Shit I Really Need to be Concerned About". Never mind the overwhelming poverty level and the overcrowding of major cities -- dearest Paris wants to save the elephants. And not even the pink ones. You see those too, right?
  


• Remember Britney's VMA performance? How could you not? The wobbly heel, Barbie doll extensions and miniature shorts are probably burned into your mind forever. But, floating around the internet is a video of the way it was supposed to be. Someone taped the routine using a stand-in (presumably because Ms. Spears couldn't be bothered to look up from her trough-o-margaritas to show up) and released it, albeit a little belated after all the hooplah. Ah, what could have been.
  
  
  


• I'm terribly sorry to inform you that "Crank Dat" by our favorite 17-year-old rapper, Souldja Boy, has officially jumped the shark. See for yourself. (Unfortch, you're going to have to click the link. When I tried to embed the video, my internet explorer bombed out on me. Four times. ) http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1784347


• Advantages of working in a cubicle: none. Disadvantages: whenever you cough or sneeze, someone asks you to do something. I coughed like, 5 minutes ago and now I've got like 2 new things to do.
  
• Good Bloggie, in spite of my pirate mouth, seems to be made for children. I entered the URL into a "readability test engine", and came up with this:
  
  
  

Either that or it thinks you and I are stupid. We aren't, are we? No we're not! Nooo we're not!

• I've decided to quit Facebook for a few days. Sure, that sounds lame -- baby steps, my friends. Baby steps. I'm sick of wasting my time looking people I don't want to look at and people who are too drunk to see. I changed my password to something totally random and then hid a sticky note from myself, as I have no self-control. Should be interesting.

Well, I've been at work for a while and haven't done any real work. Off I go to save the elephants!

Werewolf Bar Mitzvah?

Happy Halloween folks! Are you in the spirit? Is there a spirit in you?

Oh man, that was terrible.

Anyways, I've got my black and orange on (thank you, card companies, for designating colors so that I don't have to), and I'm kind of in the spirit. Leaves flying everywhere and a chill in the air, it's finally the end of October... and I'm ready to party.

I found some Halloween-themed links for you to enjoy, the first being "House of 1000 Muppets" -- a mash up between Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" and the Muppets. It's really well done, expecially the beginning.



The second is something from 30 Rock -- a show that I absoloutely love, but haven't been watching this season because, well, it's on Thursdays, and that's when I get ma drink on. Anyways, I guess this season, there was a throwaway reference to "Tracy Jordan", aka Tracy Morgan's character having created a song called Werewolf Bar Mitzvah. Needless to say, the internets have served it up for us, so take a listen.



Anyways, have a good Halloween!!!

Know My Name

I know that I'm supposed to be all indie and shit, but there's this part of me that just cannot, cannot help but love pop culture. Pop music, terrible TV shows, movies that rot my brain -- I love them all. I feel that people who only listen to elitist indie rock or watch Donnie Darko on a loop are cheating themselves out of things that are manufactured... erm, made to get you feelin' happy.

Case in point -- I am completely in love with I Love New York 2. I have to admit that I didn't watch season 1; that Chance guy was far too much to handle. But dayum -- this girl is feisty. I love how she just tells it like it is, and does stuff like make the guys get beat up by chick kickboxers in order to show how (awesomely) domineering she is. She wakes up in the morning and will not leave her room without her 2 inch false eyelashes on, even if she is just going to smoke a cigarette. I wish I could get away with that kind of drag queen-esque behavior; if I wandered around with a giant weave and blue eyeshadow on all the time, I'm pretty sure none of you would hang out with me. However, the best part of the show has got to be Midget Mac. This guy is hilarious. Watch this clip and you'll see just how kick ass he is.



The best part came later when he was recapping the event, and talking about how his "mofuggin froggy popped."

I'm sure I recapped American Idol when it was on last year. I love that show. I've always been of the opinion that second place is where you need to be in order to be an AI success story. Hell, Clay Aiken sold more records than Ruben Studdard, even though the big guy was the winner. (Cheese and rice, Clay Aiken fans -- that's a post of its own.) But I read somewhere that the 1st place winners on that show only get something like $100,000 for their first contract, which may seem like a lot to you and me, but may not quite be enough for all the whoring out they will inevitably do of the winner. I'm pretty sure the artists can't write their own songs, and the ones they do are so over-processed and tweaked that they're probably not even close to the original. This brings me to my point -- Blake Lewis. Two of his songs leaked the other day, and I have to say that they aren't half bad. I mean, something has to be said about the fact that he feels the need to beatbox in every song, but still. They're no "Tattoo" (Jordiiiiiin), which is a good thing. I'm pretty sure he's going to experience moderate to great success, which is always nice to know when said person comes sputtering out of the ever-churning American music machine.
Blake Lewis -- Break Another
Blake Lewis-- Know My Name

This has been a really slow news week (aside from the devastating fires in Southern California, natch). I guess the biggest item has got to be that Madonna dated Tupac Shakur (TUPAC, glarrrghghg) in the mid-90's. Yes. I mean, she was wild, but Pac? Damn. That's hardcore. What would everyone have thought? It was going on just a year before he was shot -- do you think he would be remembered as the American gangster he is now? Or just "that guy who was dating Madonna who got shot"?

This is random, yes, but what is up with Zac Efron seemingly wearing caked on foundation like, all the time? Did anyone see him in High School Musical 2? (I guess I'm disclosing everything today, yeesh.) The sun literally reflected off his skin... he was like this jumping, skipping, singing bronze statue. Does this mean I have to start calling it "Mankup"? Kind of like "Guyliner"? I'm so confused.

And with that, I'm leaving you with this picture. God damnit, I love cats.

Bad Child

Once again, it's been a while since I've blogged. Last week was hellish. The weekend was pretty much the only thing getting me through the week. And what a weekend it was... I would post pictures, but I'm a bit lazy today, and if you're reading this you're probably friends with me on Facebook anyways.

The Rockwell lab is stealing my soul. I spend so much time there... everytime I walk in, someone will give me a glazed look that says, "I've been here for 5 hours. Save yourself". It's so weird -- I was writing a paper on maintaining customer equity (stimulating, I know) and I realized that I've just been writing basically the same paper for the past two years. Every time I write something, I drop the same phrases, like "market share" or "brand equity" or "target market" in there somewhere. Things like that are all important for the topics I'm writing, sure, but man. It's getting old.

I was sitting in my french class today, and we were watching a scene from "Paris, Je T'aime" (which is in my Netflix queue, so excited) and it made me miss that city so much. I realized that if I don't go again soon, I won't have time to go for a while. Since I've got no idea what I'm doing after school (typical), I am entertaining the idea of just going there for a while. Or somewhere. Anywhere but here.

Okay, I know that most of you won't listen, but this song by Yelle (who I am obsessed with) is awesome. So happy. It's in French, but I'm sure you can pick up what she's singing about.

I literally have nothing to post about today. Damnit. It's probably because I have studying to do, and am feeling lazy. Terribly sorry, I'll try to post something when I get my computer fixed on Tuesday. Happy Monday!

Hmm?

If you'll look over to the right, you'll see that I added a poll... I cannot, for the life of me, decide what to be for halloween. My friends and I were all talking about being kid contestants from "Legends of the Hidden Temple", but we just aren't getting on the t-shirt ordering thing. I could very easily make stencils and make the shirts, but that seems like a hell of a lot of work. I figured I would go with a back-up plan. So, if you have like, 3 seconds to waste, pleeeeease, vote it up.

Also, Blogger has created a video uploader, so I'm going to try to upload a video just to see if it works. Oh, the possibilities!!!

It's kind of ridiculous, watching videos of us standing around in a kitchen after drinking for like 12 hours straight... But hey, that's my life. Plus, my friends have such awesome banter... we really do need our own show.

Manic & I

Instead of studying -- which is what I took off work to do -- I've decided to blog, because that's what I do best.

I read this article the other day about indie music blogs, and their constant quest to bring readers the newest music they can. It talked about how there was no filter on those types of posts, that they just tried to be the first to talk about a new band, or how one was better than the other for whatever reason. While reading the article, I realized that that was something I might be construed as doing -- which I really hope I'm not. I just try to let my readers know what I'm listening to at the moment, and sincerely hope that they will download at least a portion of it and take a listen. I guess I overestimate most people's hunger for music. I only know a handful of people who have as much of an insatiable drive to hear new stuff like I do.

Check out this map: it's a visual representation of the way that religion has spread across the globe. The most interesting part? Christianity has the largest portion. Groupthink anyone?



This guy is sitting behind me snickering at something on his laptop. At least I'm not alone in the whole "not studying" thing... textbooks aren't that awesome. On another note, do you actually know someone who has had sex in the library? I don't think I do. Do people actually do it?

I love Colorado, for the time being, but sometimes I really wish I lived in a bigger city. If I lived in NYC, I could audition to be an extra in Michael Cera's most current movie. Shiza. It actually seems indie as fuck, and if it has a wide release, expect me to be publicly condemning it while privately viewing it.

I'm absoloutely obsessed with this artist, Laura Marling. She's been opening up for The Maccabees, and this song is amaymay. Check it out:



Nope. I'm not moving on until you watch it.
Seriously.
Do it.


....

Okay.

I was reading the comments section of a Twilight Sad video on YouTube, and someone mentioned that they were "so incredibly shoegaze". I couldn't figure it out, so I went to Urban Dictionary... apparently it's when a band plays without moving much, and looks down at their shoes the whole time. Weird that there's even a word for that.

Oh, this bird = fucking awesome.


Here's The Hive's newest single, "Tick Tick Boom"... I have to say, I kind of like it.



Remember how last week I wrote about doing the Souldja Boy dance? Well, the song is a little bit nastier than you would think.

"Superman: When you are mad at your girl for not having sex with you. So when she falls asleep you masturbate and c*m on her back. After that, stick the bedsheet on to her back and when she wakes up it's stuck and she has a cape like Superman!!!
"Yo, dawg, Last night my bitch was being frothy so I gave her a Superman!" "

Ew. I can't believe I put that in my blog, but I figured you might want to know.

Ok, I really have to study now. Great. Ta ta!

Konichiwa, Bitches

I actually feel pretty terrible that I left such a downer post at the top of my blog for so long -- I'm better now, I promise. I've been so busy lately that I didn't even notice when I passed 3000 views! That's pretty awesome.

I have all sorts of random shit to write about today... I just cannot get my thoughts together because Daft Punk's "Technologic" is banging in my ears and Whitney + fast paced music = no pay attention.

This is probably going to be a post that's mainly geared towards music -- I've been spending a lot of time trying to find new stuff. It's strange, I don't feel like anything really, really good is coming out right now. Like, where are the Arcade Fires of the fall?! I'm not sure if it's because I've actually become some sort of jaded indie music blogger, but nothing is really impressing me right now. That said, give some of this stuff a try.

... Fuck. I'm such a hypocrite.

Matt Pond PA is one of my favorite bands -- their music is incredibly upbeat, and melodic. If I've ever made you a mix CD before, I've probably put them on there. They've come out with a new CD, one I haven't gotten ahold of because I'm a terrible person and don't like to pay for music, but the songs on their MySpace are really, really good. Here's a video of them playing one of the songs off of the new cd.



Zac, Chris and I saw Black Sheep on Tuesday. It. Was. Awesome. So campy... you have to see it. I'll never look at sheep the same again.

I can't find a good video for it, but the song "Walcott" by Vampire Weekend is really, really good. I'll link an mp3... save it, it's seriously awesome. {LINK}

I hate when the videos for good songs come out and I'm too lazy to post them. Case in point -- Feist's "1234" video, before Apple decided to use her to hawk iPod nanos. But, in more insane Feist news, a song came out this week that surprised the shit out of me. I'm not sure if it was a "good" surprised, but check this out -- Kanye West sampled "Time To Begin" for (gulp) Twista's new CD. Seriously. I mean, first he samples Peter, Bjorn and John's "Young Folks", and then Feist? Kind of weird. It's awesome that he would be progressive enough to sample artists that are much less famous than him, but I kind of feel like he's the kid in class that takes everyone else's ideas and passes them off as his own. Oh well. At least he's not Diddy.

Here's a link to the song if you want to take a listen {LINK}

Ingrid Michaelson is a fairly new artist, with a really relaxed acoustic style. You've heard her, I promise -- she's the one on the Old Navy sweater commercials. It's the sweetest song ever, and I just cannot help but like it. Here's a live performance:



So good. Head over to her myspace if you want to listen to more: www.myspace.com/ingridmichaelson

Yesterday, I was really intent on not working, so I spent a good chunk of time watching Soulja Boy videos. Seriously. I found an instructional video on how to do the dance to his single, and Ross and I learned it last night while we were drinking. The weirdest thing though is that not only are there a shit ton of young white girls who know the dance, but that people have made the strangest tribute videos for the song "Crank That". Here's the actual dance and song:



And here's a Spongebob one. Some people have way too much time on their hands.



Anyways, that's pretty much all I've got, so until next time, kiddies.

Mreh.

Today has been terrible already. It's Matt's (my friend who passed away earlier this summer) birthday today. It's just really hard thinking that he wasn't able to see his 24th birthday like he should have.

I also may have fucked up my credits in order to get my French minor. I may not have enough credits. This is bad. Very, very bad. It just sucks that I spent so much time on it, and having all of those classes bring down my GPA, when I could have been doing something else.

Hrmph.

I've been so grumpy this week. It's just been dragging by. I'm going down to Denver this weekend for a change of pace. What do you wanna bet we'll go to Sports Column? I know it's trite, and Fort Collins is an awesome place, but I can't wait to get up outta here.

Annnddd.... the bitching stops here.

Here's a video for an artist I've been listening to for a while, just not in depth -- Siobhan Donaghy. She's got a style that's probably most akin to Frou Frou, without Imogen Heap's distincive voice. I try as much as I can to put female artists on my page, because they're mostly always badass, but also because I don't think that they get enough credit.




Here's Imogen Heap's video for Headlock. Because I'm lazy. And it's good. And you'll like it.




Alright, here's a news item that I found interesting. A little british boy had to have emergency brain surgery because of a rare form of meningitis, and when he woke up, his accent had completely changed. He used to speak with a Yorkshire accent, but now speaks the Queen's English. Crazy. {LINK}

In the same vein, here's an article about a Czech kid who got in a motorcycle accident, and woke up speaking perfect, unaccented english:

"It was in a really clear English accent, no dialect or anything. Whatever happened in the crash must have rearranged things in his head. "Before his crash Matej's use of the English language was broken, to put it mildly.
"He was only just making a start on improving it and struggled to be understood, but was keen to learn.
"Yet here we were at the ambulance door listening to Matej talking to the medical staff in perfect English. "Matej didn't have a clue who or where he was when he came round. He didn't even know he was Czech.
"It was unbelievable to hear him talk in unbroken English.">

Crazy. Also, did you know that Bridget from "The Girls Next Door" is actually married? She's apparently separated from her husband, but they are "still friends". Way to go, Bridge -- girl's got a backup plan after the old guy kicks the bucket. Word is that her inheritance is fairly small for being the live-in girlfriend of a millionare -- she and Kendra get $500,000. Hugh Hefner is also still married to his wife of like, 15 years. That's interesting. They try to make it seem like it's all fun and laughs, but there's actually a lot still going on behind the scenes.

The computer I'm working on just closed all of my windows down, so I have no idea what I was going to write about next. It's actually more interesting at this point watching the kid next to me sleepily bob his head while reading for finance. I've actually got to go to class now, so, erm, try and have a better day than me!

The Infamous Taco Incident

I read this blurb today about Britney Spears:

"According to a report in The London Sun, the fallen pop princess has been
banned from LA’s exclusive Chateau Marmont hotel after guests repeatedly
complained about her "weird" behavior.
Which allegedly included smearing a
plate of high-priced cuisine all over her face and grossing out the other
patrons."

which reminded me of the time when Diana and I got so drunk that I rubbed a taco on my face. Get your mind out of the gutter! It makes me fear for my sanity -- if that's a step on the way to crazy-ville, Britney and I have more in common than you'd think. That's a frightening sentence.

I downloaded the new Kanye CD. Before you judge, hear me out; he's definitely got his own style (if you overlook the obvious sampling) and can make some really good beats. I had been enjoying the whole thing... that is, when my iTunes is working, which it currently isn't. Feck.

I'm getting a new camera tomorrow! It's this little red 7.2 megapixel camera that is specially made to easily take and upload YouTube videos. Expect to see me live --and drunk -- in person very soon here.

I know I've raved a lot about Calvin Harris, and deservedly so. Here's a song he made for the Mitchell Brothers. It sounds a lot like his other songs, which is kind of disappointing... no one likes to be a one-trick pony.



Here's a video (a bit older, but it's still good) by Sylvie Lewis. I heard her on... ach, I have no idea, KRFC maybe? But the song she was singing was really good. This song is pretty good, but a little mellow -- quite a departure from the video I posted above.



I really don't have a lot to post about today; I didn't look really hard. I'm going to bed -- it's my favorite place to be now that the weather has turned bad lately. Bonne nuit!

I'm Your Latest Mistake

I'm finding it hard to blog today -- writing is usually one of those things that puts me in a good mood, however, after the weekend I had, it's been harder than normal to stay positive. I dunno. I try really hard to keep my blog upbeat and happy (with the exception of a few minor rants) but sometimes its a bit difficult. The last thing I want is for this to turn into some emo-ass livejournal. I guess I've just got to accept the fact that things change, and so do people. The best I can do is hold on and ride it out, because I can't do anything to stop it from happening.

There's this tiny bug that keeps floating in front of my computer screen that keeps distracting me. It's very annoying. Anyways, this post is chock-full of awesome videos, so stick around.

My roomate Matt (who actually purchased the T.I. vs. T.P. album, if that gives you a bearing to which his music tastes adhere) uncharacteristically introduced me to quite possibly the most awesome song to come out of France. Wait, wait, before you scroll down, give it a chance. This song singlehandedly inspired an hour-long dance party on Saturday night at about 3:00am. Close your eyes and enjoy the ride... and don't have a seizure from the colors.

Yelle -- Je Veux Te Voir



So fucking kickass.

This next video is something Zac made me watch with him the night that he and I did RamRide. There's really no explanation, you'll just have to watch it.



Alright, this one is something I thought I had seen before -- turns out it was even more hilarious and awesome than I previously thought. "For more information on the crack spider's bitch..." Lol.




This is a video set to Daft Punk's Stronger... It takes a while, but when it gets going, it's super crazy. (Thanks Mark.)



This next video is from my roomate Ross. After doing the "Chernobyl Child" dance on Saturday, Zac looked at me like I was the devil incarnate. However, after he watched it, he had no problem doing the dance at Lucky Joe's. It's that good.



Oh, and this one is a true internet gem. What happens when you drift race...into the past?! It came from David, so you know it's amazing.



Alright kittens, I'm going to go to bed. But not without posting the best (video of a cat sleeping) thing on the net.

I'll Start to Wonder If This Was the Thing to Do

I'm so sorry for not writing in so long. I'm so busy -- it's insane. I have so much homework, and I go to school and work until at least 5 every day. I shouldn't complain -- I like most of my classes and work isn't terrible.

So I've been biting my tongue a lot lately whenever I've been on Facebook. I posted a bitchy status the other day that went something like, "Whitney is going to punch the next person who spells 'you're' 'your' ". But seriously. It is unbelievable to me that some people were able to get through college without basic grammar skills. It may be because I'm a huge writing nerd, but it irks me. I also hate it when people wRiTe LiKe ThIs -- I mean, come on. You look like you're 14. I dunno, this was a completely pointless rant, but it pisses me off.

I haven't got a ton of things to write about... Oh, there's this video of some mascot just owning other players on a football field. I have no idea what it was for, but it's pretty entertaining to watch.



And here's another video that I was watching today (working. I meant "working".) on YouTube -- the worlds fastest talker. Best part? The heinous East Coast accent.



My roomate Ross actually bought me a website for my birthday (weird, I know) and I figure it will be the new home of Good Bloggie. However, I have to use Publisher or Front Page, and I'm pretty bad at both of those, so it will be an adventure.

This weekend was a doozy. Saturday was a shitshow. When I told my mom I started drinking at like, 8am, I think she was a little taken aback. I also think she thinks I have a drinking problem, which I don't... my friends do. Peer pressure, you see. Anyways, we started drinking early, watched the poor Rammies lose to the asshole Buffs, slept, and then went out to Sports Column. There were probably like 20 of my close friends there, so it was super fun (for the most part). The next day Melissa and I went to Pott's, which was more fun than I would have thought.

I'm not sure if you've heard of Amy Macdonald, a 17-year-old singer from Glasgow, (fun fact: people from Glasgow are called "Glasweigans") but her songs are good. Good and Scottish. I also really like her hair. I wonder why.



Oh, and this morning, I heard a great local band on KCSU -- The Piggies. (Super awesome name.) I was actually impressed with how good they were. They're playing a show on the 14th. Anyone wanna go? Here's their MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/thepiggies

Alright, well I have like 3 hours worth of French homework that I'll probably put off until 8am tomorrow, but I'd like you to think that's what I'm going to do. So I'm uh, gonna go do homework, because I'm super smart and love school. (Dicks around on internet for 2 more hours)...

So the school year has started. I'm trying really hard to get excited for my last seemester, but going for 4 years and 2 summers straight, I'm not too happy about it. I've got a break before my next class, so I figured I'd post some stuff I found yesterday. The worst part about being in school is that I have less time to dick around on the internet and find stuff to write about, seeing as when I get to work, I actually have to, well, work. Which really sucks, lemme tell ya.

Anyhoozle, enough of my bitching. I don't know how many of you watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FX, but if you don't, you should. It's insanely hilarious... it's this over the top, obscure humor that will make you laugh and then feel terrible for laughing at something so horrible. Here's a clip:


But, back to my point, they've put the whole first episode on MySpace, so here's a link:
http://www.myspace.com/sunnyfx

Sometimes the comments at the end of blog entries are the best part... there are the most awesome ones on YouTube all the time. Well, the guys at CollegeHumor took it to a whole new level... a whole new hilarious level... What would happen if commenters were put in the same room together?!






Flight of the Conchords is yet another totally random-ass ridiculous show. It's on HBO, which my guy roomates insisted on getting, so I'm able to enjoy the exploits of Bret and Jemaine whenever I want. If you haven't heard of FOTC, it's a show about two guys from New Zealand who are trying to make in in NYC as musicians. They break into song randomly, and all of the songs they sing are completely ridiculous. I would post a clip, but everything is completely absurd out of context (I thought the show was really stupid until I sat down and watched a whole episode), so I won't. Come to my house and watch it with me. I promise not to laugh too hard. Oh, but my point, (and this will probably only make people who have actually seen the show giggle) is that Bret McKenzie actually had a small role as an elf in Lord of the Rings, and became this random internet-nerdfuck-sensation. There's even a wikipedia page, in which Bret's role, nicknamed "Figwit" is explained in detail. What does Figwit stand for, you ask? Why, "Frodo Is Great, Who Is That?" of course. I'm serious. My opinion of LOTR fandom has really reached a new level after reading some of this shit. Just check out this picture:

Bahahahaha...

I'm so in love with Calvin Harris' CD, I Created Disco. I listened to it excessively in Europe and am still listening to it obsessively here. I try not to kill things too quickly, but it looks like I won't be able to hold off playing the CD over and over and over. This track, "The Girls", is my absoloute favorite. Oh, and this YouTube commenter post is my favorite, too:

"lozizirrabjat (1 week ago)

CALVIN HARRIS IZ SEX ON LEGS"

Sex on legs, indeed.

I've said before that I'm not a hugely rabid Michel Gondry fan (even though I wrote an entire paper on him in my french film class), but all of the movies he's been doing lately have totally piqued my interest. Maybe it's because I'm a huge Francophile, but I really like some of the stuff he has done, although The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind didn't really do it for me. This is a trailer for his new movie, Be Kind, Rewind. It stars Jack Black and Mos Def in more, erm, refreshing roles than I'm used to.

Alright, boys and girls, I'm off to better myself. Cheers!

Happy Blogday To Me (Almost)

Like I said yesterday, this has been a slow news week. No one's managed to fuck up majorly -- except the guy who wrapped his own face in duct tape and tried to rob a convenience store, but got laughed at instead. Awesome. Only in America.

Oh! Yeah! My birthday is tomorrow... woo hoo! The big double-deuce. I'm way excited, but really, really scared I'm going to get too drunk and snap an ankle, or worse, fall down in front of 100 people. Oh, wait. I've already done that -- twice. I'm going to be partying pretty much the entire weekend, which isn't far from the norm, except this weekend, I can yell "It's ma freakin' birthday!!!" to passers-by.

I don't know how many of you watch My Boys on TBS -- probably not a lot of you, seeing as I seem to have a mostly male readership. However, it is practically the perfect show. It's about a female sports writer, so it's full of all sorts of sports analogies, and chick analogies, and sports-chick analogies (too far?). There's just something so laid back and cool about the show, and it's incredibly hilarious. Oh, and it has Jim Gaffigan ("Hooottttt Pocketsss") in it, so you know it's good. You should watch it.

This whole "not having a really tight friend base" thing is really weird.

I had two articles to post, and I really don't feel like talking about them anymore, but they were cool to me this morning, so maybe you'll find them cool too. And I'm sure you really want to keep reading, seeing as that transition was just soooo enthralling. Anyhoo, here's an article about these crazy ass squirrels that know how to scare away rattlesnakes, and also how they attack them too. Squirrels are neat.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070814/ap_on_sc/hot_tail;_ylt=AqF.pb7u9EJKThUnZiCaGTus0NUE
And here's an article following the grown-up kids of 90's album covers. Now with missing baby genetalia!!!
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1567107/20070814/index.jhtml?rsspartner=rssBloglines

Here's an interview with Seth Rogan on Letterman, with the most classic line -- "You do not hug cops! And I thought to myself, 'what a sad rule'."

Whoops

I'm sure everyone's lost their faith in Good Bloggie by now -- I haven't blogged in like, 2 weeks. It's not that I've forgotten how, it's that I've been gone. In Europe. Because I'm ballin. I'm feeling the pain though at work -- there was loads of stuff waiting for me when I got back, so I haven't been able to blog there. I'll try to post pics, but there are literally like, 400, so it's hard to sort through them.

Umm... this has actually been a slow week -- good thing I left when I did, I didn't really miss anything, news-wise. I guess Britney Spears got half naked and made out with some random college dude, but hooking up with a drugged up, half-bald mother of two doesn't exactly ring my bell and make me want to blog from across the ocean.

Oh, yeah! So many blogs have posted this video (I can't remember if I've posted it before, I'm pretty sure I haven't) of this 25-year-old guy who looks like he's 14, singing the most insane song ever, "Chocolate Rain". It's just one of those things that I didn't post because I felt terrible making fun of this guy -- however, he alleviated my guilt when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, making fun of himself. I think. Here's the performance. Oh, and let me say that I think Kimmel is a huge twat. The whole Sarah Silverman thing is bad enough (eugh, the woman gives me the shivers), but if you happened to catch the whole "Kimmel hosting Larry King Live and arguing with one of Gawker.com's editors over the GawkerStalker map" thing, then you'll know what I'm talking about. It might be on YouTube... if it is, you'll see what I'm talking about. Huge assbag. Anyways, here's the video I was talking about.

Tay Zonday - "Chocolate Rain"... god yes. I just love the incredulous stares of all the audience members thinking, "this is on television?!"


And then there are these random-ass Skittles commercials... that have been on TV. They're just so, so awesome. If I ever make commercials, I'm going to make them as obscure and ridiculous as these. The first is one where everything a man touches turns to Skittles... with disasterous consequences (!!!lolzrofl)


And the second is a man with a "Skittles leak" in his ceiling. (lolzrofllmao)


Alright, this one is really funny, too. Which would you rather have, a singing bunny or Skittles?


And while I was browsing for those, I found this gem. Oh god, the hilarity.


I know it was a huge copout to post a lot of videos, but I'm sleepy. So there.

The new Rogue Wave CD's out soon, and the first track is floating around in the interweb. It's really good, but also worth waiting for a higher-quality version. My whole trip, I listened to some really stellar albums, one of the best (surprisingly) being Tegan and Sara's "The Con". The whole thing (if you can get over their singing voices) is really, really stellar and offbeat. I also listened to Calvin Harris' "I Created Disco", which is awesome in a dancey way. Oh, then I had Simian Mobile Disco, The Maccabees (duh), and the new Interpol CD. And, of course, I listened to "Panama" by Van Halen like 8 times. Gotta love train rides.

I'll post pics soon. Woo!

Uhhh...

Alright kiddies, I've got some good stuff for you today.

This news piece kind of freaked me out -- apparently, there's a cat that is living at a nursing home, and can somehow predict the deaths of the patients who live there.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live. "He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine."Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University. The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.

I think I had a dream that someone told me they didn't like my blog layout. That's just too nerdy.

David sent me this video earlier today -- at first, I was like, alright Kanye, enough with the videos... and then I watched it. Zach Galifinakis is apparently really, really good at lip-synching other people's songs. You have to watch this video, it's hilarious. (Click on the picture to watch.)

I was watching a video the other day of an interview with two of the members of The Maccabees, and they name-checked another Brighton-area band, The Cribs. At first, I wasn't super excited for many of their songs, until I saw the video for "Hey Scenesters" -- if you YouTube it, you may recognize it, however, I have no idea where it's from. Anyways, this is their newest single, "Moving Pictures". The lead singer's voice kind of reminds me of the singer for Interpol, with less of a monotone.



I don't know if I've talked about Simian Mobile Disco yet (I write about so many different bands that I forget things, silly me) but this is the video for their latest single, "I Believe". Most of their songs are more upbeat, but if you're into electronic music, check them out.



Does anyone want to buy me the Johnny Five robot from Short Circuit?! Please? I'll totally pay you the $100,000 back. I promise.

{LINK}














Now for an awesome "trailer"... Lindsay Lohan in "I Know Who Killed... My Career"....



It's hilarious, because her people are saying that the pants she was wearing "weren't hers" and that "there were more than 2 people in the car"... but still. She's crashed her car into a tree before. Plus, who randomly switches pants with people in the middle of the night?!

Here's the trailer for the new Wes Anderson movie, The Darjeeling Limited. Blah blah blah, indie movie, blah blah blah... It's been a long day. But hey, am I the only one who's sick of Owen Wilson?



I posted a video yesterday of Architecture in Helsinki's song, "Heart It Races" ... well here's another crazy ass music video... trampolines and ponchos, oh my!



I move out of my house tomorrow. It's going to be so insane -- I have so much stuff. I'm not looking forward to it. Whoooo wants to help me move?! I'll buy you beer!

Keg Race

Oops. I forgot to write about one of the more epic things that happened to me this weekend -- The Keg Race of 2007. It was insane -- there were 26 people to a team, and the goal was to finish your team's keg first. It was probably the most flimsy excuse to binge drink, but I was alright with it. Beer is beer. There were two teams -- the white team and the black team. We were on the white team, and... well, we kicked some ass. Here are some pictures to prove it:

The scene in the yard before... and everyone gathering to drink their faces off...

The first pour...Two cups each -- the better to drink with, my dear...Amy doing a keg stand with a cup and a straw... And part of the victorious white team...

I woke up covered in bruises, with only a slight recollection of what had happened... speaking french? Climbing fences? Laying down in the middle of the front entryway of the house? Anyways, it only made me come to the conclusion that...

I love my life.

Potato Salad?

This was waiting for me in my Facebook inbox today...
"If you only watch one YouTube movie today featuring dancing country farmer's daughters contortionists singing about potato salad, it should be this one."



Hahaha awesome. Thanks David!

Achoo!

Alright, alright, I admit this post is long overdue. My boss came back this week and all of the internet-grazing freedom that I had last week is gone. However, I still managed to pull some stuff together, altough it's mostly music.










Pretty much the only non-music thing I have to write about is this funny article, entitled "Planning Sensibly for When the Zombies Come". Leather pants? Didn't think about it, but sweet. I always thought the most important thing to have would be good running shoes, just in case they're speedy mothers like the ones in 28 Days Later.
http://www.yourmomsbasement.com/archives/2007/07/post_2.html

I stumbled upon Kate Nash the other day and was immediately awestruck by her simple, melodic sound. She sounds kind of like a cross between Regina Spektor and Lily Allen... This song is awesome. Seriously, check it out.

Here's a link to the mp3 if you want it.

And, since I get a bit obsessed with things, check out this live performance in Edinburgh... you might just end up watching the whole thing.


Alright, if you don't know who Architecture in Helsinki is, then... well, you should. Their video for the song, "Heart It Races" was featured on YouTube for a while because it was so randomly crazy and good. However, I think it's the kind of video that detracts from the song. Here it is, and make sure not to get distracted by the crazy puppets, and listen to the song, too


The reason I got turned on to the song is because of the blog La Blogoteque, that makes "les concerts a emporter", or "take-away concerts" -- gigs that are totally off the cuff and done in one shot. The one with AIH is amazing, because they get a bunch of people to sing parts of it... it takes a while to get going, but once it does, it's incredibly cool to watch.
http://www.blogotheque.net/article.php3?id_article=3275

Another band that did one of these concerts was Guillemots, who I wrote about sometime last summer. One of them starts out with just the lead singer, singing and playing the guitar in a courtyard, and then the rest of the band starts up and he joins them. Even if you don't know much about them, just seeing these two performances will make you a fan.
http://www.blogotheque.net/article.php3?id_article=2448

And, just in case you're too lazy to click through to La Blogoteque, (shame on you!) here's a video for "Made Up Love Song #43".


And for some new music, The Thrills are back, and this is their first single, "Nothing Changes Around Here". The video has a really cool look and feel, and it's a totally cool, mellow song.


Alright, I know it seemed half-assed to put up a bunch of videos, but if you just take like, 15 minutes to listen to them, you'll be a happy camper. Oh, and save this mp3, "Merrymaking at My Place" by Calvin Harris. It's an addicting song.

Computer Down

I figured this video deserved its own post -- it's just so awesome... It's "Thriller", performed by inmates at some random prison.

If going to jail means learning sweet dances, then who wants to rob a bank?!



Speaking of the undead, (I know, worst transition ever) who has seen the trailer for the new Nicole Kidman zombie movie? (I never thought I'd say those words in the same sentence.) It looks alright, if not kind of predictable... it's probably the most mainstream zombie movie I've seen so far.



I've got a lot to do today, and won't be able to post much. I'm terribly sorry, dear readers. Check back soon.

Impossible is the Opposite of Possible

Michael Cera is one of the best deadpan actors -- he can do something completely outrageous without cracking a smile. Kind of like this video here.