So with this new template that I've been using, the hit counter goes directly to the top of the page instead of the bottom, and puts itself right in the middle of the title. I thought it would keep counting hits, but it doesn't, so you're just going to have to deal with seeing the damn thing. Ergh.
I know that most of you probably don't listen to most of the songs I put up, but if you'd just give them a chance, there's probably something on here that you'd like.
Try this one on for size:
Kaskade - "Steppin' Out"
This band is fantastic. Check out "Lazy Eye" from the Silversun Pickups.
I typically don't get super excited for the typical underdog-funnyguy movies, with their crotch shots and overreaching storylines, but I'm going to see this one. Why? Jason Bateman. Why else? Zach Braff. That's right.
Trailer:
I stumbled upon this incredibly interesting article on Wikipedia, about Isadora Duncan. I suggest reading it if you've got a few minutes -- the way she died in a freak accident is way, way weird.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan
Holy crap, this is actually really cool:
I'm sure you all know my weird obsession with zombies. Well...
Parasitc worms attack snails, create "Zombies"
Leucochloridium paradoxum are a parasitic flatworm that prey on birds.The worms begin their lives as eggs in bird droppings, and are consumed by snails along vegetation floors.Once consumed, the worms infect the snail's brains, take control of their mind, then "hypnotize" them into climbing just high enough to become bird food - where the cycle repeats.
Video:
Shit! Just when it had pulled me back in, just when I had started liking it again, the OC went and got itself cancelled.
"LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox has pulled the plug on "The O.C," which collapsed in the ratings this season.
The network said Wednesday the teen soap will end its four-season run next month. New episodes will air in the show's ultra-competitive 9-10 p.m. slot every Thursday through the series finale February 22.
So far this season, the show is averaging about 4.1 million total viewers, less than half of what it garnered during its debut season, according to Nielsen Media Research. Last season it averaged 5.7 million."
Damn you, OC. I shall see you in heaven.
People are crazy. And I'm not just talking about crazy people. People, in general, are extremely odd. Most of the time no one notices because they're too busy trying not to make eye contact with the person next to them. And then there's this:
"INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (AP) -- A mother was charged with neglect Wednesday after prosecutors said she allowed her 3-year-old son to wander away from home and play along a busy interstate.
Stunned motorists found Damon Dyer, barefoot and wearing only a diaper and T-shirt, early Saturday while his mother slept in a nearby apartment on Indianapolis' west side, police said.
At least half a dozen cars and a semitrailer swerved into other lanes on Interstate 465 to avoid the child, who was not hurt, authorities said."
That's nuts! Even though I know I'm not going to be Dr. Phil with my kids, I'm pretty sure I won't let them run around on a freeway. That's a little excessive.
"SYDNEY, Jan 4 (Reuters Life!) - An Australian bank has apologized for issuing a credit card to a cat after its owner decided to test the bank's identity security system.
The Bank of Queensland issued a credit card to Messiah the cat when his owner Katherine Campbell applied for a secondary card on her account under its name.
"I just couldn't believe it. People need to be aware of this and banks need to have better security," Campbell told local media on Thursday.
The bank said the cat's card had been canceled. "We apologize as this should not have happened," it said in a statement."
Isn't that like that Simpsons episode where Bart takes out a credit card in his dog's name?
Even though I've been taking french for like seven (!!!!) years now, (and am still in no way fluent) I haven't been to France. However, this article caught my eye:
"PARIS (Reuters) - You don't need to speak French to understand the Parisians. You just need to know how to gesture.
Or so claims a new guide issued by French tourism officials to help foreign tourists understand Parisians with a list of commonly used gestures with meanings like "shut up."
"Blend in by using them the next time you're in Paris. People will start mistaking you for a native in no time," says the online guide issued by the Ile-de-France regional committee of tourism at www.cestsoparis.com.
The city's famously rude inhabitants have long been a headache for tourism authorities who have made repeated attempts to persuade Parisians to be more friendly to foreign visitors.
The latest campaign appears to cede to the notion that if you can't beat them, join them.
Its part English-language website promises to show people "How to Cop the Parisian Attitude" with games to help them learn commonly employed gestures.
These range from the quintessential "Bof," a non-committal shrug used to deny knowledge or agreement, to "Camembert," when the thumb and forefinger are brought together into a circle to tell someone to shut up.
"You don't need to speak French to understand Parisians or to blend into the crowd," the website says.
"Stick out your lower lip. Raise your eyebrows and shoulders simultaneously."
The guide is linked to an advertising campaign in London that hopes "to show that Paris isn't a stuffy museum city."
And just in case it is taken too literally, it also includes a cautionary note suggesting that visitors may see some even ruder Parisian expressions if they use the gestures too freely."
We used "bof" in our class last semester a lot -- it's like "bam" or something, like a hitting noise. I dunno. Anyhoo, I guess the only way to fit in en Paris is to be an asshole. I can do that.
Hi kids!
If you haven't noticed, Good Bloggie got an overhaul. There are still some things that I need to tweak, and the blog still isn't 100% "Whitneyfied," but I think it looks pretty snappy.
I'm trying out a new format, too. I'm not sure if it's going to last, because it's harder to organize, but I realized that the reason why I wouldn't post for long periods of time was because I didn't think I had enough things to write about. I decided to break my posts up into seperate subjects, so that if I only had one or two things to write about that day, you guys as readers wouldn't get pissed when I didn't update for five days in a row. It's harder for me because I can't be as rambling and self-centered as I (and, well, face it -- the rest of the blogging community) want to. It also makes it easier for me to blog at work. Which I don't do. Ever. Muah ha haaa.
I was reading an article about how Microsoft decided to give away sick $1,500 computers to tech bloggers, in hopes of getting favorable reviews about their new operating system. This, to me, is super clever, but that's only because my mind has begun to think that way. I mean, if they bag on Vista, they're ungrateful, and so they therefore have to give it good reviews. Plus, who doesn't like something they got for free? I still have a Smokey the Bear snap bracelet from X-Games last year. What the hell am I going to do with that?!
Speaking of, we're going again, and I think that instead of staying in Shitbondale again, we might be able to crash at the Burton house in Aspen. Nothing's for sure yet, and I'm sure I'd probably end up having to sleep under the kitchen sink or something, but still, not having to get on a 45-minute bus ride out of Aspen at 2am sounds mighty appealing to me.
Well, my roomates are watching Wedding Crashers, which I've seen probably five times, but I'll probably wander out there. Anyone up for a CSI: Miami marathon? Just me? Ok, see you in 52 hours.
Well, darlings, if you're reading this it means that you didn't die while attempting to ring in the new year. Congrats. I tried, trust me, but I was yet again thwarted by my liver's insistance in not imbibing in excessive quantities of alcohol. Damn you liver... I don't care if you hate me.
Have you heard of Camera Obscura or Devotchka? No? Well shoot. You should leave. I'm only kidding... but you're on my shit list.
Anyhoo, if you've seen Little Miss Sunshine, you might recognize Devotchka. They did a few songs for the movie and for the soundtrack. The best part? They're from Denver. This gives me hope for the Denver music scene, what with the Fray blowing up big and all. I was reading that they had like, the number 5 selling album in the country in 2006. That's nuts. Since I lost the page that was supposed to tell me how to embed a mp3 player into my blog, you'll have to settle for YouTube (like usual.)
Devotchka:
Askajsdkj..... soo good.
Here's a video for Camera Obscura, a band out of Scotland. They have a really grainy, classic sound. This first video sounds so fifties, I love it.
This second one seems to be everyone's favorite (I can't remember how I heard about this band, I think through Pitchfork...)
I seriously recommend you check them out. They're both two of my new favorite bands.
I'm sure that everyone has seen this video by now, but the song is just so much fun -- it's one of those that the only dance you can do to it is to bop up and down.
HelloGoodbye - Here (In Your Arms)
When I was little, my dad used to give me old circuit boards from his computer. I would imagine they were tiny little cities with tiny little people inside them, and that only I knew. What if it were really true -- what if, one day, your iPod started clamoring for your attention? What would you do?
Vanessa Manillo hosted the New Years Eve countdown show on MTV --who knew? I guess they're trying to appeal to the lonely people who can stand 3 hours watching people wearing sequined everything who are obviously more tanked than they are. Case in point: the word "fuck" on national tv. This would undoubtedly be me... "blah blah blah fucking shit blah blah fuckity fuck fuck....wait, what? Why are you staring at me? Oh... Fuck."
I watched it and my cheeks turned red. Oops. At least she can go back to her cushy Entertainment Tonight job, right? Right?
So, kiddies, sorry I haven’t been writing lately. I have been kind of boring, doing a lot of school stuff, and my computer is just insanely broken. It takes at least a hundred years for it to do anything, which is not very condusive to blogging. Anyhoo, my friend Brandon has been overseas for like, a year now, and asked me to compile a list of the bars in Fort Collins for him… so, here we go:
Whit Dizzle’s Guide to the Fort Collins Bar Scene... for Shizzle
I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the bar scene here, because I’ve been 21 for about four months now, and had been going to the bars for about 4 months before that. Don’t tell my mom. I usually find myself drawn to bars that have good drink prices, or a good atmosphere.
I’m going to start on College Avenue, and work my way down. The first bar of note is Tony’s. Tony’s is an interesting bar… It’s pretty big, with a bunch of tables, and about 3 or 4 pool tables. There’s an outdoor patio, which isn’t much use when the weather is like, 30 degrees like it has been. They have really good shot specials -- $2.00 for Rumplemintz, Cuervo, and Jager shots all the time. On Wednesdays, they have incredible beer specials -- $1.00 for all domestics and Fort Collins Micros. However, if you are a guy, you’re going to find yourself at a 5-to-1 guy to girl ratio. If you’re a girl, this is fantastic, and seeing as beers are only one dollar, you can usually get most of your drinks bought for you. On all other nights, however, the scene kind of changes and you begin to realize what Tony’s is all about – being creepy. I swear to god, they let homeless people in -- it’s not a regular night at Tony’s unless you’re completely grossed out by someone in the bar. Although if you can look past that, it’s a pretty fun bar… you’ll always hear “Don’t Stop Believin,’” which pretty much excuses everything else.
Continuing down College, cross the street and you come upon The Drunken Monkey. This bar is unlike most of the others in town. They don’t seem to realize that college students are poor, and charge an outrageous price for their drinks. Their selling point is that they have these swings that hang right in front of the bar. They are cool, yes, but they kick you off if you’re too drunk or you’ve ordered more than three drinks. There’s some sort of weird cage that you can get your drunken friends thrown into… I dunno, I’ve only been there 3 or 4 times. It’s fun, but only if someone else is buying your drinks.
Almost next door is Old Chicago – the best place to grab a beer and pizza with your friends. They have a pretty big bar with a ton of TV’s, so if you get there early enough, you can get a seat and watch the Broncos or the Avs games. They have insane happy hour specials, and since my roommate Michelle works there, we usually get an additional discount, which is sweet. They usually have good beer specials, because they have like 30 beers on tap, including a lot of locals that you can’t find anywhere else.
Down College, taking a left on Mountain, you will find yourself at the Rio Grande. I’m sure everyone knows about their ridiculous margaritas and their not-so-good food, so I won’t spend a long time on them. Let’s just say they cut you off at three margaritas, which have about three shots of tequila in them each. The margs there are a bit pricey – about $5.50 for the regular ones and $3.50 for the smaller ones.
Across the street, you have Stakeout and Trailhead. Most people think that these two bars are interchangeable, but I don’t really think so. I love Stakeout, and don’t really care for Trailhead. Stakeout is a totally chill bar, with two pool tables upstairs and shuffleboard and dartboards downstairs. On Fridays, you can get Blue Moon and Major Tom’s for $2.00. Don’t get the Major Tom’s – after about three of them you feel like you’ve been drinking syrup. The basement of Stakeout is awesome because it’s this tiny room with a tiny bar and terrible wallpaper with fish on it. It is literally like you’re partying in someone’s grandma’s basement. It’s really cozy though, and you can hang out with your friends without having to yell at the top of your lungs. Trailhead is (sorry, Trailhead fans) a big time hippy bar. It’s really, really relaxed. I was waiting for the bathroom once and some hippy girl came in and stuck her face under the faucet and just started drinking water straight from it. So, if you’re into that, you’ll fit right in.
Leaving Trailhead and walking down Mountain, and turning right back onto College, you’ll find yourself at the Town Pump. This bar is awesome because the bar area is probably 20 feet by 20 feet. There are about 15-20 stools in the whole bar – it’s literally a hole in the wall. The specialty there are these maraschino cherries that are soaked in everclear – something other bars don’t have that will surely get you drunk. (That is, if you can fit all of your friends into the damn place.)
A few doors down from the Town Pump is the Vault. It’s called “the Vault” because it is in an old building that used to house a bank. It’s one of those places that has a really authentic “Fort Collins” feel. It’s pretty small, but it has a fireplace, and sometimes they have a DJ in the front. It’s a really relaxed, chill place, with a small bar.
Close to the Vault, you’ll see Surfside 7. I’ve only been there once, and it’s a bar with a definite scene – when I went there, they were blasting Alkaline Trio and I was instantly excited. It’s usually filled with people in their mid-20’s, all with tattoos and piercings and black shirts. I want to go back; I just can’t get any of my damn friends to go with me.
Going up college, and taking a left is Washington’s (more affectionately known as “Wash Bar”) I’ve actually never been to Wash Bar on any other night than Thursdays, which is college night. Before 10:00, they have a $4.00 cover, where you can drink all you want. After 10:00, there is a $3.00 cover, and ridiculous drink specials. It’s like, $2.00 for beers and singles, and $3.00 for doubles and long islands. They also have these monster beers (I’m talking like, 40 something ounces) for $4.00. It’s a huge place, so a lot of people always go.
Meandering back to College, and then taking a left onto Linden, you’ll find a few places. First, I’ll mention Suhiro, which isn’t a bar, but they have amazing sushi (and really great lunch specials) and sake bombs. It’s a little expensive to drink sake, but it is such a fun thing to do every so often.
Across the street is Elliot’s Martini Bar. This place is sweet. It’s pretty small, and kind of swanky, but the martinis are fabulous. They have long, comfy booths and brick walls. Their drinks run a little bit expensive, but if you want to, you can get them to make any of their martinis into shots.
Walking down Linden and across the street, you’ll find yourself in the square. On your left is Zydeco’s, a place that my friends and I have found ourselves at a lot lately. They play a lot of hip-hop music that you can dance to, and they let you dance on the bar there, which is so much fun. The only downside is that the bartenders are raging bitches. Seriously. I’ve never had a positive experience with any of them there, I have no idea why. I consider myself a really good tipper and haven’t ever said anything bitchy, so it’s a damn mystery. I never have cash on me and always use my debit card when I go out, and they have this damn $10.00 minimum rule. I bought two shots of tequila once, which was $6.00, and the bartender refused to run my card for less than $10.00, even after I asked her like, 4 times to just run the damn thing. She ended up running the my card for $10.00, essentially giving herself like, a 65% tip. Bitch. That’s why I always bring cash when I go there now. Across the square, there is Suite 152, which is totally overpriced and filled with weird people, so I’m not going to even get into it.
Finally, we have Lucky Joe’s. This is far and above my favorite bar. They have such a fun and relaxed atmosphere, pretty good drink prices, and on weekends, they usually have a live band. The best part about Lucky Joes? Peanuts. They have a huge barrel of them that you can eat and throw and balance on your nose if you want to. I actually have a saying about Lucky’s: “It’s not a good night unless you come home with peanuts in your purse.” More often than not, I’ll find like, three crushed peanuts in my pocket or purse the next day.
Whoo. So there you have it, the bars in Foco. I’m sure I left some out, but I think this list is comprehensive enough. Hopefully those of you who are familiar with the scene will try some new bars out, and those of you who were completely unfamiliar with them feel more acquainted.
Also, below are the drink specials for most of the bars here. You're welcome.
Wait. Aren’t I supposed to be studying?! Damnit.
Oh god. I'm sorry. Will you ever forgive me?I know we haven't spoken in a while, and I swear, darling, you're my one and only. You know my eyes drift once and a while, I can't help that. I love you, baby. I love you like the sun loves the clouds, or the moon loves the... whoa! Shiny! Oh. Sorry darling.
No, really, I'm terribly appalled at how long it's been since I've written in my blog. It's not like I've had a shortage of things to write about, (I'll lay awake nights thinking of things to put in here) it's that I have had some terrible computer problems. The thing runs like someone dumped honey into the motherboard. It's really, really, frustrating, so much so, that I can't even stand to be around the thing. Worst part about it? I just got my hands on a super huge, beautiful 19-inch monitor that I can't even use because I just want to punch it. Which is bad. Very bad.
The past few weeks have been fairly stressful... I started my internship and was still working my other job, all while going to school. Well, happily enough, I've quit my sandwich job and will be working through the week and then will be done with it. Yes! It's going to be so nice not to have to deal with customers or work on the weekends or until 1am, as I am most likely going to have to do on Wednesday. Guh.
Halloween was last week, and it was reeeeeeeeediculous. It was just a huge shitshow... I dressed up in a different costume each night. I had like, one million ideas but we only ended up going out Friday, Saturday and Tuesday.
Friday: 80's Girls
Saturday: Army girl, Superwoman, Nurse, and Pocahontas
Et, finallement, Tuesday... Firefighters!
*image unavailable*
So yeah, school is stressful, and work is stressful, and I'm not going to my finance class because I've been up since 7:15, and need to study for my Marketing class.... and my eyes look all weird. I swear, they're rimmed in red. I look like I've been doing meth. Do you think teachers will pass you if they think you've become addicted to meth? Or is that, like a personal choice, not one of will? Yeah, that might not fly.
I love how my blog is such a source for hypocrisy. I will literally bash something one day, and then like, a month later, I'll be like, "Eh.... eets not so bad." Case in point: leggings. So shoot me. Case in point (part deux): The Hold Steady. Every time I hear this one song of theirs on KCSU, I'll turn it up and silently curse my blog for making it easier to point out when I'm wrong. I hate being wrong.
Well, shit. I just realized that I left my car in the student center lot and my meter is going to run out in approximately 22 minutes. Gotta go!
