Two Days Away From The Time Paradox

Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl book series is mostly popular with the pre-teen boy set, but it's without a doubt one of my favorite young adult book series. The mediocre fifth book The Lost Colony was released two years ago, and it's finally time for the latest installment: The Time Paradox, which will be released on July 15.

Borders has the prologue and first chapter online, though I haven't been able to bring myself to read past the prologue. Colfer has stated there won't be another Artemis Fowl book for at least three years (though he hasn't sworn off the series), and so I'm savoring the sweet feel of total anticipation. Consider the entire link a major spoiler alert and go merrily about your business.

If you're in or near Fairfax, Virginia, the Borders there will be simulcasting Colfer's "Faeries, Fiends and Flatulence" performance at 8:00 p.m. on July 15. A large handful of other stores are broadcasting it as well, so check the full list on the slow-loading ArtemisFowl.com. Here's the promotional video:



If there's no good celebratory bash near you, just order the book through Amazon. For $12.00, it's a fairly cheap hardback that will likely beat your local prices. Definitely check out the series if you haven't before; the paperback copy of the original book sells for about three dollars.

Free Printed Photos Are Always Nice

So I tend to avoid having my digital photographs printed, using the eternally appropriate excuse of, "I'm not done editing them yet." The other half of that excuse is that printing photographs takes money, and poor college students might as well save their dollars for good concerts and admire their photos on flickr and nowhere else.

Today, though, I got an envelope full of basically free photographs in the mail, courtesy of Shutterfly. They're a pretty nice website, but when I signed up I wasn't expecting anything more than the usual online image printing service.

Every week or so, they send you an e-mail with some sweet deal in it. Honestly nice things, like free shipping or 25% off anything if you order in the next three days. The best offers, though, are free prints. Today's mail came as a result of a 15 free print order... all I had to do was pay for shipping. Since I had photographs from the Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo already edited and ready to print, I ran a few quick crops, paid the $2.04 for shipping and taxes, and placed my order.

The photographs arrived today nicely packaged and looking pretty good. I'd forgotten the honest feel of printed photographs; all of the yellows in my shots really stood out in a way they hadn't on a computer screen. I have no complaints about the prints and hadn't expected them to arrive until next week (I ordered on July 8), so bonus points to them.

I would definitely recommend signing up for a Shutterfly account, even if you don't plan on purchasing many photo prints. Their regular prices are usually 19 cents for a 4x6 (only 15 cents for the summer), but the real draw here are the weekly offers which make it well worth your while. These guys seriously love to give away free prints... almost anything you do on their site can earn you more freebies. Right now you can get free prints just by adding one of your photos to a map. Isn't free stuff awesome?

I'm not sure if other digital photo companies do this, but I intend to find out. When I have time, I'll run a full comparison -- probably in September. Most companies have enticing sign-up gifts, so I've waited to sign up for new accounts until I have cleanly edited photographs ready and waiting. I'll keep careful records of all the offers I receive from now until then and look at prices and everything. It'll be grand.

If you have a digital image printing service to recommend, or thoughts on ones you've tried, let me know in the comments! I look forward to seeing which ones fight for their customers the most.

A Weekend of Stand-Up Comedy

Television stations often use holiday weekends to run marathon-style programming, and Comedy Central is taking full advantage of the Fourth of July as an excuse to show nothing but stand-up comedy specials. Seriously, all weekend long -- the programming started this morning and ends Sunday night.

Saturday's schedule can be found here and Sunday's schedule is less exciting but here.

Now, as great as the marathon is, chances are you don't plan to spend your entire day in front of the television (and I hope that's the case). But that's why God invented TiVo, right?

Most of the good stuff is on Saturday. And by good stuff, I mean stuff that I've seen and laughed at. Sunday's specials might be just as good, but I've only seen Lewis Black's and Dat Phan's. So here are my recommendations for tomorrow:

Maria Bamford @ 11 a.m.
A very funny lady with a wealth of character voices and priceless stories.

Jim Gaffigan @ 2 p.m.
I'm not sure what material this special will cover, but he's definitely a laugh.

Nick Swardson @ 3:30 p.m.
You probably don't realize that you've seen him in movies -- often as a raving fanboy. His first special was hysterical, and I imagine this will be as well.

Mike Birbiglia @ 5 p.m.
I haven't seen his hour long special, but his Comedy Central Presents was good stuff.

Demetri Martin @ 8 p.m.
His one liners remind me of Mitch Hedberg, plus he plays guitar and makes drawings. His hour long special has a lot of good moments.

I realize now that I am utterly unqualified to describe comedy. I couldn't come up with descriptions for most of these performers -- rather like how I started out writing vague music reviews. So just trust me on these, okay? They'll make you laugh. Even if I can't tell you why.

If you have a better description for any of those comedians, leave it in the comments. Go on, show me up. I won't mind.

Happy fourth of July!

Our Enthusiasm Was, In Fact, Unlimited

It's not every Monday night one finds oneself surrounded by bodies and balloons, dancing with abandon to a strong drum beat. Less than a foot in front of me, Paul DeGeorge of Harry and the Potters has one arm wrapped around a sweaty, grinning college girl and the other arm holding a microphone between his face and another's, both mouths belting out the word "love" and spraying spit everywhere. I'm singing along at the top of my lungs and dancing as though I'm in the Peanuts Christmas special, pausing when I feel a hand tousle my hair. I turn around in time to see Joe DeGeorge's Gryffindor tie fly over his shoulder as he reaches out to connect with more members of the crowd. Above all of us, several inflatable lobsters are circulating amongst a sea of balloons.

That was the end of the Unlimited Enthusiasm show at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., and all members of Camp Jump and Yell were feeling both the energy and the love.

I've seen Harry and the Potters five times now, and though last night's performance doesn't beat out last summer's show at the Starlight Ballroom in Philadelphia as my personal favorite, it was still absolutely epic. The night began with a few camp announcements and two raps from Dumbledore, which were hysterical and set the tone for the rest of the event.



The crowd was definitely more wizarding nerds than any other type, and I felt a bit bad that Uncle Monsterface (who really kicked off the night) didn't get a better reception. The videos they played throughout their set were amusing, and my friend Nicole and I agreed that our faces hurt from grinning by the time their performance had ended. "Lobster Building" was particularly fun, and the ten seconds of "In My Room Of Requirement {It's Always Christmas)" got a lot of cheers (at least from me).

Math the Band played next, and their manic performance energy and frantic instrumental attacks had the crowd writhing almost instantly. Their enthusiasm is positively infectious, as is their music, and the epic finale of "Four Square Or Square Ball" and its ultimate patriotic breakdown was brilliant.

Harry and the Potters were as fun as ever, singing their oldest songs at triple the album speed and bringing new improv stories to the table. Joe rocked a Gryffindor-colored sax during "Save Ginny Weasley From Dean Thomas," and there was fun crowd interaction during "The Human Hosepipe" (Oh no you didn't!). Plus we sang "Hagrid's Beard" at least five times. It was everything I expected, and just short of everything I had hoped for.



All in all, I must say it did feel more like a regular show than I had expected. The video screen was nice and the commercials/sketches gave the audience something to watch while the bands switched equipment, but the 'camp activities' were limited to face painting, voter registration, a photobooth and the post office (which I do think is a brilliant idea). Some of the comments on the CJY forum make it seem like other venues are getting different activities, so I suppose it's just luck of the draw.

Still, I'm not complaining. The bands were great, the crowd was fun, and the enthusiasm was unlimited. I hope to see more imaginative tours like the Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo in the future, because last night was a lot of fun.

And for the record, I think band members should personally distribute nametags before all shows. It was the perfect way to set the tone for the night.

Find my full photo collection from the show in color HERE or HERE in black and white.

Go, Speed Racer! Go!

My taste in movies seems to be evolving -- I've grown from only watching animated children's movies to action-adventure films for pre-teens! And so it is that I can proclaim without shame: Speed Racer is freaking amazing.

It's not a good movie, in the way most people judge movies. The plot is weak, it all takes way too long, the special effects are overkill and the dialogue is pretty lame. So why do I love Speed Racer?

Simple: It is a damn good time.



I've been embracing the idea of fun for the sake of fun lately (Avril Lavigne is the shining example). There really is nothing wrong with just enjoying yourself. Speed Racer was full of bright colors and unbelievable moments that are absolutely a laugh. One of my favorite scenes is after a ninja attack - yes, you read that right - meant to take out our heroes before day two of the big cross-country race. After the Racer family has forcibly taken down the villian in question, Trixie goes, "Oh my god... was that a ninja?" To which Pops responds, "More like a non-ja. Terrible what passes for a ninja these days."

You can't call that brilliant screenwriting or fantastic acting. But the whole situation is so ridiculous that if you step back from the sneering, judgemental film-critic you wish you were, you'll have a big laugh and simply shake your head. It's a fun moment, and that's what the movie is good for.

To be fair, I was a Speed Racer fan before the movie and so some of the little things thrilled me; the sound effects of the Mach 5 and the theme music kicking in every now and again had me grinning. But the movie is not the cartoon, and I judge it quite separately. Both are completely ridiculous, but in their own awesome ways.

So while yes, the film does go on longer than it needs - you feel like it should be over after the cross-country race, but it wouldn't be Speed Racer without the Grand Prix! - it has enough fun in it to keep the thing alive. The colors are vibrant, the races are fairly fast paced, and there are enough bizarre moments to make it worth your while.

Whenever the DVD is released, I'll buy it without hesitation. I'm extremely interested in hearing commentary throughout the movie; I'm a commentary whore to begin with, but it will be interesting to hear thoughts on the film from the creators.

Plus, I'll be able to hear Speed shout, "Get that weak shit off my track!" until I die of laughter. That alone is worth $20.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, it's still showing at some theatres. Catch it in IMAX if you can!

Unrelated: I seem to have this pattern of posting blogs for one month, then taking two months off. This will have changed by September. I'm back for now!

A Dulcimer Genius

I no longer keep it a secret that I casually attempt to play the hammered dulcimer, an old folk instrument of questionable origin. Looking like a harp laid on its side, the dulcimer is played with two wooden hammers which are padded differently depending on desired sound. It creates the most amazing sounds, and its an instrument with incredible resonance.

While it's fairly easy for beginners to pick up, it takes time and practice to play properly and with any speed. The hammered dulcimer has brilliant potential to be used as an original and innovative instrument - here I'm thinking Chris Thile's incredible command and use of the mandolin - but I've rarely encountered instrumentalists who seem to bring the dulcimer to a new level.

That is why Max ZT is my hero.

He plays with speed, precision, grace and originality... not a bad combination, and as a result his original compositions are amazing to both listen to and watch. "Juice" is one of the few dulcimer pieces that really digs deep into my soul and makes me want to create music that sounds even half as good; this video is his senior performance at Bard College.



There's a reason Max was the 2005 National Hammered Dulcimer Champion, and that's it.

I only say "Juice" is my favorite because I haven't had the chance to hear much more of his music. But that will change soon: he has The Duo Project: Two Roofs (with Luke Notary on percussion) releasing on April 29. I'm very excited to hear what fresh sounds it brings, because I'm sure it will be a treat to listen to. It's only $10 -- definitely a deal.

I'm such a sucker for unique instruments, and I feel like I've barely explored the world of the hammered dulcimer. I'm sure Max ZT isn't the only creative player out there, he's just the only one I've seen (thanks to the Internet for that).

Instruments are amazing. More people should experience them.

Metro Station

I have few guily pleasures, but the pop-rock band Metro Station definitely counts as one of them. Chock full of underage-sex-obsessed lyrics and catchy, danceable beats and melodies, the band plays the kind of music nobody should like but everyone does.

Okay, not everyone; Metro Station is very juvenile and oftentimes very cliche ("California" is a song written by every high school band in the history of time; ironically, they live there). But that doesn't take away from the fact that their songs are absolutely catchy and have more than the potential to be stuck in your head for hours. They have a usually well-produced sound, mixing guitarist Trace Cyrus's spoken vocals with the sweeter melodies of lead vocalist Mason Musso. Fun trivia: the two met on the set of Hannah Montana, that obnoxiously popular show in which their younger siblings both star.

Rounding out the band lineup are the equally skilled Blake Healy on keys and Anthony Improgo on drums. The band isn't amazing, but their debut self-titled album is a great choice for long road trips that need some danceable beats. So as long as you don't mind singing along to lyrics about wishing you were older so your sexual acts wouldn't be illegal, it's a fair addition to your iTunes collection.

Five Things - Office Edition

Five things you need to have in your office:

1. Abusive stamps. Because life isn't complete until you can stamp envelopes with "This is F**CKING URGENT" in bright red ink.

2. Metal business cards. Nothing is more badass than a card with all of your vital info engraved in stainless steel. Though it may be a pain to carry them around.

3. Strange tape dispensers. With bold primary colors that a four year old would cherish, this how-it-works-esque tape dispenser will add color to any desk.

4. Baby ladybug staplers. These sort of have beaver teeth, but that adds to the odd charm. Your grandma would love a pair of these.

5. An affirmation ball. Similar to the magic 8 ball, this will provide much-needed positivity to boost your self-esteem after shitty meetings or depressing coversations with your boss. Yes, your breath is minty! And don't you forget it.

Note: funofficesupplies.com is not a good source of fun office supplies, just for the record.

Camp Jump & Yell

Harry and the Potters, Math the Band and Uncle Monsterface are three nerd-rock bands from Massachusetts and New York. This summer, they'll be hosting the Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo 08, something they've billed as "the DIY traveling summer camp circus."

Tour details haven't been announced yet, but the group will be stopping in Washington, D.C. on Monday, June 30.

The Bands
Based on what I've seen of the bands, it should be a good time for dorks who enjoy live music and dancing like idiots.

Harry and the Potters dress up like the famous boy wizard and perform as though Harry has traveled through time to form a band with himself. They rock out on guitars and keyboard (with the occasional saxaphone addition) and throw out a ton of nerd references to both the HP books and the real world.

Math the Band has amazing energy on stage and their music is exceptionally fun to dance to -- my favorite song from them is called the Water Cycle, with the ace lyrics: "Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, that's the water cycle / evaporation, condensation, precipitation and motorcycles!"

I'm less familiar with Uncle Monsterface, but they seem pretty interesting -- they're sock puppet rock. Way cool.

The Website
It's easy to tell from the number of exlamation points in their news post that the UE folks are really, really excited for this tour. I mean, they're filled with UNLIMITED ENTHUSIASM! And so are the fans of the bands, many of whom who have converged on the Camp Jump and Yell For Boys and Girls Forum.

The bands formed the Unlimited Enthusiasm website in February 2008 with a secretive intro of bizarre drawings and quotes. After a series of puzzles and clues, the site grew to become the Camp Jump and Yell hub it is now, without much purpose but a whole lot of enthusiasm.

The site has also recently added a Wiki, which offers a history of the clue-based website (used to drum up excitement building up to these tour date announcements and, presumably, future announcements for UE), a who's-who of the site, and some other weird stuff.

The Bottom Line
If you're into anti-corporate nerd-rock, live summer shows, lots of dancing and more geek references than you can shake a wand at, the Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo 08 is definitely an event to add to your calendar.

An indie rock summer day camp might be the perfect addition to your lonely corporate summer -- honestly, who could resist a chance to put on your glasses, take off your shoes and shout the quadratic formula to the high heavens while dancing to some sweet beats alongside a hundred strangers? Sounds like a good time to me.

Thoughts on Juno

The DVD for Juno (that teen-has-a-baby smash hit starring Ellen Page) released on April 15, and the promotional efforts were enough to remind me that I'd been meaning to see it. Conveniently enough, the film is currently showing at the University Mall Theatre in Fairfax (though why it's still out, I can't be certain). So I decided to watch the movie last night - way to be the last one on the bandwagon, right? - and I must say, I was pretty disappointed. It's not that Juno was bad -- it's just that the media hype had me expecting so much more.

The dialogue was fast and realistically unique, which was one of the biggest praises of the film from critics and casual fans alike. But I missed the outstanding wit that was supposedly there... Cody Diablo's script coaxed a few out-loud laughs from me, but as a whole it wasn't a particularly witty movie. In fact, I was more sad than amused -- where it didn't get laughs, the film earned a few tears. I think it works as an interesting look at people, but not as the fast-paced teenage-pregnancy charmer everyone seems to be claiming it is.



One of the other great praises for the film was the soundtrack, which featured a lot of Kimya Dawson. The music was passable; at times it felt cute and indie-appropriate, but occasionally I wanted a little more pitch and polish (for shame!). The soundtrack is probably a better buy than the DVD, though.

All in all, I think the praise for the movie ruined it for me. It's amazing how sometimes media attention can lessen the greatness of a work in some cases, and absolutely benefit it in others (and here I'm thinking of the slow-burning popularity of Across the Universe and Once, both of which I adore).

I guess I'll have to head to the Cinema Arts theatre for some off-the-beaten-path movies in the future. But then, isn't how this whole mess got started anyway?

The mainstream critics really know how to ruin a good thing.

Farewell, Skins

I don't watch much television these days, because I don't have the time and I get grossed out very easily. When I'm home I catch up on The Daily Show, Best Week Ever, and whatever season of Survivor is on. While I'm at school, though, the only show I've bothered to keep up with is the British drama Skins.

Skins is, at the core, The O.C. gone British, younger, and more amazing. It features a cast of very unique individuals and the characters they portray are beautifully realistic. What's even better is that, over the course of the two series [seasons], those characters develop like real people!



Unfortunately, Skins had its series finale two nights ago, and those characters won't be coming back. For series three, the creators of the show have decided to start over with almost a completely new cast. What a disappointment! My love for Skins was a love for the characters and the story. With a new cast - focused on Tony's younger sister Effy, who was mostly used as a rarely-speaking plot device - I'm just worried that the magic is going to be gone.

It's funny, because if the people behind the show had decided to end Skins and create a new show following a similar set of characters and their lives (basically, what they're doing for series three), I would have had no problem with it. But by calling it Skins, I feel like I'm being lied to. How often will they change casts, and therefore change stories? I don't like the unpredictability factor.

So I won't be watching series three of Skins, but I do highly recommend hunting down series one and two and enjoying the original story. It feels fresh and enthralling, and it's a nice escape from reality. The DVDs don't offer special features you can't already find online, which is a shame, but the show itself is definitely worth owning if your DVD player is the proper region.

The Best Damn Thing

Avril Lavigne has a new video for her latest single, the title track from her most recent album "The Best Damn Thing." Full of pink glitter, faux cheerleader-punk attitudes and glitzy twelve-year-old glam stylings, it's a real keeper of a video.



I'm actually - dare I say it - disappointed with the video? I feel like it's missing some of the fun that the the over-the-top song features (I mean, seriously: "I hate it when a guy doesn't understand / Why a certain time a month, I don't wanna hold his hand!").

When the album first dropped, the assistant style editor for Broadside (GMU's school newspaper) and I wrote a fabulously scathing review full of brilliant turns of phrase -- I only wish their website would properly archive content so I could link to it here. Ah well. Suffice it to say that I was not a fan, but it's definitely grown on me. The ridiculous factor totally won me over.

Anyway, the video could be better. My fingers are crossed for getting to see her on tour; while I ridiculed her latest musical efforts for a while, I understand now that it's all just meant as fun music. That works for me -- I know every word.

Supply and Demand: I Hate You

In January, it was announced that the Broadway play RENT was going to close on June 1, 2008. At the end of March, that final run was extended until September 7, 2008.

That should be a good thing; I mean, the musical is amazing and I'm glad so many people will have the chance to experience it. But my best friend and I purposefully bought tickets for May 27, which we thought would be in the final week of the play.

It's not that I regret buying the tickets, but we spent a lot of money with the expectation that we would be seeing one of the last performances of the show on Broadway. I guarantee that we would have bought the tickets for three months later had we known -- the problem is that they only extended the run due to huge sellout rates for the supposed 'final' shows. While this makes many people happy, it's like giving the middle finger to all of those ticket buyers.

The next blow was when it was announced that Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp will be reprising their original roles in the national touring production of RENT in January 2009. I would definitely rather have put my dollars towards seeing that.

It's unfortunate, really, because the problem feels inescapable. If I hadn't bought the tickets, and neither had anyone else, the run wouldn't have been extended and I would never have gotten to see RENT. But by buying the tickets and ensuring the extended run, I've stuck myself in a situation I'd rather not be in. And in the end, I'd rather travel less and see original cast members on tour.

Lesson learned: you will always be screwed by the mythical forces of supply and demand.

Take That, April Fool

Last week was home to one of my least favorite holidays: April Fool's Day. People seem to have decided that jokes about being in car accidents qualify as pranks, and the holiday has lost its elementary school appeal.

To me, it's basically just a chance for everyone to lie, and nothing makes me more mad than when businesses invent fake products in honor of the 'holiday.' ThinkGeek, one of my favorite companies, had a brilliant product included in their e-mail newsletter: the Personal Soundtrack T-Shirt. Imagine a shirt that could, with the press of a button, add background music as the soundtrack to your life! It sounded believable to me, seeing as they have shirts that display available Wi-Fi and that move in time to ambient sound.

After sending them an e-mail praising the shirt, I went off to Tennessee for a few days and thought little of it. When I went back to examine it more carefully, I discovered it was never real -- April Fool's Day had struck again.

But this story has a happy ending for all the prank-holiday haters like myself: the t-shirt received such an "overwhemling popular demand," according to the website, that they're working on turning it into a real product. Here's the blurb from their site:

"Looks like we're the fools here. The Personal Soundtrack T-Shirt was originally an April Fool's Prank... but due to overwhelming positive response and hundreds of e-mails screaming to "make the damn shirt already" we're putting this item in to production ASAP. Keep in mind our army of robotic factory monkeys are a bit slow, and it might take them some time to make the real version of this nifty product. Also although we'll try to keep the Personal Soundtrack T-Shirt as close as possible to what you see here, the final version might deviate slightly in appearance, features or price. Capiche?"

You may have fooled me, ThinkGeek, but I'll have the last laugh. Power to the [geek] people!

We Are Wizards

So, this weekend I took a trip with Delma from the Northern Virginia Harry Potter Meetup Group [DADA] and her children to see the East Coast premiere of 'We Are Wizards' at the New York Underground Film Festival.

As a quick note: this is the final year for the festival, which has taken place for a decade and a half. Be sure to keep an eye on Migrating Forms, the next step for two of the NYUFF directors (Nellie Killian and Kevin McGarry).

'We Are Wizards' was nicely shot, though it didn't have a very cohesive storyline. It began telling the story of several Harry Potter bands - full disclaimer, I am a wizard rocker and friends with the Horntail family - and they were entertaining and served as a good introduction to wizard rock for the uninitiated. The story then gets a bit lost, delving slightly into fan culture and then focusing on the Warner Brothers controveries. While I loved the archival footage illustrating 'the man,' I wanted a bit more resolution on how the battles were settled; it felt like quite a lot of buildup for not a lot of answers.

Seeing the film was a great experience, though, because I fall along the line of the film's subject matter and so did a great deal of the audience. For those of us who were familiar with the story, it was an amazing chance to watch our history documented and see hidden glimpses of the stories behind the people we know and love. It was almost like watching Rocky Horror at times - audience members calling the Christian woman a witch when she motioned towards her 'crystal ball' and singing along with various wizard rock lryics. The moments focused on Brad Neely (creator of an audio commentary track for the first HP film titled 'Wizard People, Dear Readers') brought some of the biggest laughs of our showing, with his high-pitched warble retelling the story of Harry P.



All in all, it was a great weekend - though I was too young for the after party, for shame - and I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Bonus: We stayed at the Hotel Le Bleu, which is a nice hotel stuck with little consideration to location in Brooklyn. It had a very sleek, modern design and classy color scheme, but failed to differentiate between bedrooms and bathrooms. Open showers and frosted glass doors make it much more appropriate for those with close relationships than for near strangers.

HIATUS

Hey -- okay, so this blog has no point. And by blog I mean Obsessive Blonde in its current incarnation, not this post. So! I am going to take a few steps back, reconsider my plans and then come back in the Spring with a new vision and a real purpose.

Until then -- stay awesome!

Looking over January... thumbs up!

Wow. Okay, wow.

I feel like I should check -- am I the same person? Am I still Grace K? I mean, I know I am... but damn, it's amazing what a difference a few weeks of really living can do for a person.

January has been freaking amazing.

I spent the first week and a half driving up and down the East Coast, visiting new states and staying at random people's houses and playing music and stressing and pissing people off and holy shit was that cool. And then I came back home and wasted a few days before going west to plan a big music festival with a friend. We had a meeting with professionals -- I'm calling it our Administrative Council. It went really, really well. We're dreaming even bigger now. And I'm being a super feminist and planning super feminist plans as well, which is WAY SO SUPERCORE COOL.

I started reading a book [The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler] last night and finished it this morning. Today I made my first little podcast, about that book. I also cooked dinner tonight, for my family. It was simple stuff to do, but I never cook. It felt good to do something for my mom, even though it sucks that we're in this weird situation that we have to take care of her. Not in a I-don't-want-to-take-care-of-my-mom sort of way, but in an I-didn't-think-we'd-reach-this-stage-so-soon. She was crying tonight. I hope they get things sorted soon.

So yeah, I've been full of positive, active energy lately. I have, however, a few epic fails to record. They're like sins against my new life, and I confess them to you now:

1. I spent three days between travels laying on my bed, watching Degrassi marathons. I watched well over 15 episodes. Forgive me.

2. I haven't finished my EP yet. I don't know why. I'm such a slacker sometimes.

3. I was way supercore frustrated on the hour-long Car Ride To Nowhere and let my frustration out more than I should have. I'm sorry.

4. I still have not e-mailed Janice photo numbers. It is mostly because I hate math and a little because I am lazy. I'm very sorry.

5. I haven't called Jason back, and I still have started working on his story. I am a horrible person.

So, five epic fails right now. I'm acknowledging them and moving forward! It is the only direction worth going.

In very good news, I just bought tickets for RENT for myself and one of my true loves to go see the week it closes, and that makes me a very happy camper indeed. Way poor, but way happy.

That's where things stand with me right now. School starts on Tuesday, and I'm going to try to not let my energy take a hit. It could be a good thing. It could. That's as positive as I can get about it right now.

Oh, and I wrote a song about Ginny Weasley as part of my super feminist plans. I love it. It reads as though her relationship with Tom Riddle was like a relationship with an abusive boyfriend. It's amazing. It sings like an Avril Lavigne song. Here's the chorus:

I am stronger now
I have overcome my past
I am no longer the girl with the diary
I will stand up and fight for me
I won't let you push me down
'Cause I know who I am

:)

Stay happy! Stay strong!

Bookcasting!

Okay, so one of my goals for the year is to read at least 50 books.

I've decided to make a little podcast for each book, to talk a bit about what I thought of it. That gives me a chance not only to talk about books (which I love) but to improve my audio recording and editing skills a bit. That could come in handy one day.

My first podcast is 7.22 minutes long and is about the brilliance of Daniel Handler's amazing novel, The Basic Eight. Listen to it here.

Comments are very welcome, as are book suggestions!

Lovelove.

The Year of Doing Big, Fun, Scary Things Together

The kids on the NaNoWriMo forums are rocking the year crazy hard with the YoDBFSCT. I'm taking part, because I like stating goals and I love community and feelings of accomplishment.

This is the list I've submitted:

1. Learn to curl (the sport!) by attending workshop(s) at the nearest club.
2. (a) Attend a weekend-long hammered dulcimer event and
(b) practice at least three times each week.
3. Collaborate with at least one other person on a song.
4. Create a personal website.
5. Build the Mirrormask-inspired cabinet that I've put off for a year.
6. Sort through all of my photographs and properly organize and archive them all.
7. Get involved again with Odyssey of the Mind.
8. Read at least 50 books I haven't read before.

Take that, 2008. I'm ready to kick your ass.

New year, new blog

It's 2008 now. It feels good to be in a new year. 2007 was... long.

Some really good things happened. I started dulcimer lessons and have since played a dozen shows in six different states. I got my first real job, learned a lot, and then quit. I saw some of my heroes perform: Eisley, Regina Spektor, The Police, and Nickel Creek in one of their last shows. I was blown away by my hero of all time, M.T. Anderson, after interviewing him and hearing him speak at the National Book Festival. I learned that I could be a good photojournalist or a good entertainment journalist if I choose to go either of those routes.

In the moments, 2007 sounds like it was pretty good. But in truth, it was a really lonely year for me. I don't take well to loneliness, so I'm not sure why I gave it a try. This year will be different. It will be better.

I just spent a week on the road, hanging out with new and old friends. I was myself the entire time: a bit moody, easily frustrated, ridiculous, and quieter. I'm still trying to find my place in the wizard rock world; I mean, I love everybody out there but I hardly know anyone because I'm still getting over myself. But it was nice to be able to crowd into a small kitchen, not feel bad for being sober, say what was on my mind even when it absolutely offended people, and just exist. Not having a set schedule, not living the same life each day, just going out and seeing what happened in so many different places with so many different people... I could live like that forever, I really could. It was such a nice contrast to the parts of my life I really dislike right now (and by that, I mean every minute spent at college).

So, I'm coming into this blog fresh from the adventure I've been on since the year started. I don't want the adventure to stop this time. I'm going to get over myself and care less about how you feel about me. I'm going to take more risks. I'm going to be the person that I am and I'm not going to worry anymore about whether that scares you or pisses you off or whatever. I have no reason to be ashamed of who I am, so that's over. I am taking this year and making it what I want it to be. I'm going to be stronger.

This blog will follow me through that journey, for as long as it takes. It won't be a straight traditional blog; I plan on using photos and music and videos (when I get a camera) as well to keep this as sort of a digital scrapbook. Adventure alongside me -- I made some truly brilliant friends through LJ, and I hope to make more through here.

I'm going to attack life this year. I'm going to suck the marrow out of it. And it's going to be beautiful and epic, I can just tell.