On My Mind

Holy hell, it's SUNNY today in Seattle! Surely, the world has been plunged into the depths of madness. I'm excited.

It's hard to be a Californian in this town for many reasons. One: Your skepticism of others/new people is seen as douchey or cold (even though native Seattleites can be some of the nicest or some of the cruelest people I've ever met, and I grew up in the Pasadena area). Two: The sunshine is ridiculously elusive. Three: You're torn because you know that L.A. is hella liberal, but it's the old folks at the traditional Catholics that make the state sway to the Red every time there's a vote. /rant

The point is, I'm stoked that it's sunny!!!!

I just finished reading Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly's graphic novel 'Local' for the third time. I bought the hardcover collection for myself for my birthday. It was a steal at $30 at this little place on 45th in the U-District.



It continues to inspire me to write about it, confound me, move me to almost tears, make me smile, and make me both love and hate the protagonist every time I read it. And every time I read it I get something new out of it. For example in the beginning I never really understood how "Two Brothers" was a necessary part of breaking Megan apart and helping her realize that she needs to start being decent to people. Sure she goes on a self-destructive, self-loathing bender of emotional breakups with peers for 3 years after, but that's called figuring it out and realizing that you really don't have all the answers. I hated Megan for what she does to Gloria and to her various suitors at first, but then I came to understand that it's all part of her larger growth as a person. Especially since I'm not the same person at 23 as I am now at 25.

Then there's chapter 3, "Theories and Defenses."



I almost always skimmed this chapter and never understood how it remotely relates to Megan's journey, seeing it as merely an indulgent chapter for the writer to get his thoughts about music and being in a band and being an outsider on to paper and not having an appropriate way to do it. But once I forced myself to read it, and to find a voice for the characters in my head, I came to realize that their struggle as a band and as people foreshadows Megan's struggle at the end of the book. Plus, is there a better metaphor for feeling like you're getting too old than being in a band that everyone loves yet nobody gives a damn about? You can't come home again; or maybe home was never meant to be your home in the first place?

P.S., if Theories and Defenses were a real band, I bet they'd sound like Thrushes.



Yaaaaay Baltimore. I love this band right now.

Josh and I saw The Raveonettes the other night. Yeah. It happened. I'll blog about it soooooon. Right now I need to go be out in that sunshine.


"I'm a dead man walking here,
But that's least of all my fears.
Ooh underneath the water.
It's not Alabama clay,
Gives my trembling hands away.
Ooh Please forgive me, father."

Mix Tape Fodder: March

Some gems from March that got me through the month! Namely the highlights of: St/ Patty's Day at Cha Cha, drunk boyfriends at house parties where 24 is an old age, romantic walks around Pike Market, drinks and apps with friends in the middle of the day, public transit woes, yearning for Summer, and new jobs!

"He Gets Me High" - Dum Dum Girls

"Cut Me Out" - MNDR

"Still Sound" - Toro y Moi

"Roni" - Chikita Violenta

"Merry-Make It With Me" - The Republic Tigers

"Small Black" - Despicable Dogs

"Celestica" - Crystal Castles

"Sunshine" - Rye Rye w/ M.I.A.

"Caffeinated Consciousness" - TV on the Radio

"DNA" - The Kills

"Darling Buds of May" - Brother

Go download 'em!

Wedding Things

Don't think that just because I haven't written much about it lately, it doesn't mean that my impending nups aren't taking up a good chunk of time/thoughts/energy. Quite the opposite: It's all we talk about lately. Which is fine. I mean, it's sort of a big deal.

Right now we're super close and have a lot of stuff done, but there's still a ton to do. We need to go buy our suits. We need to finish the decorations (we have amassed all of the materials, thankfully). We need to finish the wedding web site so that we can send the Invitations. We need to go scope hotels for our friends and family in the area to stay. We need to get Julie's backyard landscaped for the big day. We need to order tables and chairs and linens.

Biggest of all? We need to decide on structure.

Here's how the big day is planned thus far:

4pm to 5pm: People arrive and have some food and booze and hang out.
5pm to 6pm: ?????????
6pm to 7pm: Food, drinks, CAKE, and toasting.
7pm to Whenever: Dancing and getting hammered with friends and family.

Yeah, so, we don't know what we're going to do for a ceremony. The hard part about all of this is that there are very limited resources out there re: gay weddings, and those that exist really suck ass. If the suggestions and content aren't big and homo and flashy, they're absurdly trite or vice versa. Josh and I had a super-serio shower talk about it, and we came to the conclusion that we need to do what's best for us and what our ideal situation is.

The problem with that? My ideal scenario is just he and I, out in nature somewhere, totally alone, proclaiming our love to each other as the sun sets or rises or does whatever it wants to do. Then we make love and call it a day and we're married and everyone else can shut up.

His ideal scenario is a bit more . . . Grandiose. There are hundreds of people and cater waiters and hella stuff and a DJ and a dance floor.

Since we can't afford his ideal wedding scenario and mine seems like a scene from JD Salinger, we decided to try and find a happy medium. Which meant backyard wedding, less than 100 people, very simple food and drink, and very simple everything. But there's still the matter of ceremonial structure. Do we do the officiant/lines of people/super-duper structured vows thing? Or do we just go up there, say something quick and heartfelt with no one being "master of ceremonies" and then call it a night? Or do we opt out of it completely?

I don't know yet. I like the wedding in the film "Rachel Getting Married." The couple had an audience, but the audience stood in a circle around them. They had an officiant, but that person was their mutual friend. They had lines, but there were like 4 guys and 4 girls and all of them were only sort of wearing matching things. The ceremony was brief, and so were the vows, and at the end everyone cheered and threw glitter and confetti into the air. I love that scene.

What are your thoughts, gentle readers?


"Come on, let's talk about our feelings!
I don't care if what you say is needless."

Everything new is new again.

I started my new job yesterday. I'm training at the Northgate Mall (just 10ish minutes north from our place) to be the Full-Time Assistant Manager of a brand-new, currently under construction Forever 21 store in downtown Seattle, on the corner of Sixth and Pine in the crazy-ass shopping district of downtown.

Now say what you will about the company (the weird "John 3:16" thing comes to mind, as does the scandal from a few years ago re: child labour used to manufacture some of the merchandise), but it truly is one of the largest and fastest growing retailers in the States right now. They're even expanding to Europe in 2012, and the recession has pretty much left them unphased (much like the last company I worked for, Hot Topic). The new Seattle store is going to be one of their "anchor stores" and is expected to have huuuuuge volume and figures.

Is it intimidating? Hell yes. Is it what I ever pictured myself doing? Not really, no. But retail is something I'm good at. There's something about my personality that makes me a good seller. It's probably the writer in me that causes me to casually b.s. my way through life when really I have no idea what I'm doing; or the part of me that genuinely wants to please people and just make it so that they're happy with me.

In any event, this job is solid, it pays well, and it's going to allow me to have more free time to work on personal projects like this here blog and some of my (nerdy snort) fan fiction I've been neglecting for over a year. Not only that, but I can now categorically say that the collection of short stories inspired by modern music is officially underway! I began a notes/outline/crazy ass scribbling of ideas prospective for a story inspired by M83's "Kim & Jessie" last night. The idea is to tell the story of a suicide pact between two social outcast teenagers in the late 1980s that goes awry. See also: The movie "Heathers" and the fact that I've been listening to The Cure a lot lately.

So when I start the new job officially and training is over, I'll become a true Seattlite and start riding the damned bus to and from work every day. I need to find a good messenger bag or shoulder bag to carry all my crap in. Any good suggestions?



"Dreams dressed in blue,
It's all they need now and forever.
Chased by the moon;
They shatter their presence with their singing."

Mix Tape Fodder: February

A new feature where I'll share songs that I downloaded in the previous month that I think you should probably go download as well. Why? AWESOME, that's why.

"Where I'm Going," by Cut Copy

"Confirmation," by Wild Nothing

"Sta Upp," by Little Dragon

"Weekend," by Smith Westerns

"What Can I Do?" by The Black Belles

"Please Ask for Help," by Telekinesis

Go get some!!!!!

Quitting Time

Oh, Ke-Dollar Sign-Ha; of COURSE unicorns bleed rainbows! Why wouldn't they?

But on to the more important stuff--I turned in my letter of resignation to work last week. I know it's utterly absurd and perhaps not the most intelligent thing to do considering half of this blog is me whining about not being able to have a career in writing, but I have felt like I needed to do this for months. I'm tired of being chained ot the job; I haven't had a day off in 3 weeks. Sure the money is decent, but I end up pissing most of it away in cell phone calls from work and gas to drive there (seriously--according to my bank account's stats I spend over $200/month in gas to go to work, and when your checks average $800 that's quite a bit less all of the other bills that I've got). Essentially, this job has made me its bitch, and I'm not going to take it like a a whore anymore. I refuse to be anyone's catch-all/work horse any longer. After a year there I still don't have health insurance, or sick pay, or vacation time, or a damned raise. And for how much time I spend there I find it unacceptable.

I know that there are those out there who would just love to have income--They don't care about the benefits or the respect. But I'm the kind of person who will go work at Dick's Drive-In right now if it means that I can actually enjoy what I'm doing. The unique and perhaps freeing thing about being 24 years old with a one-year old undergraduate degree is that I don't have that dream career yet, so everything else is just filler. And if that's the case, I may as well find a job that doesn't make me want to vomit.

/rant

So, masses of the unemployed, I join you starting March 14. I've got copies of my resume' printed on fancy paper, a slew of acceptable interview attire, and 30 or so applications/resume' s submitted already via online resources like craigslist and WA State work source. Now it's just time to hit the pavement.

Side-Bar: Speaking of hitting the pavement, a very Happy 26 Birthday to my friend Ellen today! I'm sorry I can't be there with you, ninja-girl, but said mentally abusive job keeps me from doing so (another side-effect of working 6 to 7 days a week at 10 hours a day on a very regular basis).

Last night we stayed in and got some food from Thai of Wedgwood, which despite having been literally 2 blocks walking distance from our place all this time we've never actually eaten at. While I'm not a big fan of spicy, my garlic chicken was delicious and all I can say is that that was the best damned peanut sauce I've ever had, bar-none. We only spent about 30 bucks and got two main dishes, some satay, brown rice sides, and extra peanut sauce. Great value! I have like an entire freaking tub of brown rice and an entire jug of the sauce in our fridge at the moment and so now we're trying to decide how we want to combine these two delicious leftovers for a meal this evening. Suggestions, people of the Internet?


"Wiped out--
They could see me;
That's what I want.
A casualty, but, I am upfront,
And I know what it's about."

Ticket Stub: White Lies @ Neumos 1/22/11

Photo courtesy of gigsport.net official White Lies concert page.

We had the pleasure of seeing UK band White Lies perform a ton of stuff, both old and new, this past Saturday at Neumos. What I like about that venue is that it's a)centrally located to a ton of other things to do, which made it easy to have drinks at Lobby Bar beforehand and b)it actually has a great layout for the over 21 crowd where they can still see the action of the show yet maintain a safe distance and enjoy a beverage or some snacks. There's a balcony that overlooks the first floor, all-ages/main stage area so we got to enjoy big ol' bottles of Red Stripe while seeing opening band SHiPS perform.

SHiPS are a delightful local indie-pop group that remind me a lot of acts like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Yellowwolf. The drummer used to do his thing in Gatsby's American Dream and Acceptance, so there's tremendous talent backing them. They were warm and friendly to the crowd and had the perfect match up of silly and energetic. While the mostly underage crowd down below were doing the whole Arcade Fire "kids are still standin' with their arms folded tight" thing, the big kids upstairs seemed to really enjoy it. I saw plenty of head bobbing and foot tapping rather than shoe gazing and texting in the over 21 crowd.

White Lies put on a damn fine show. It was one of those rare moments where the live version sounded 97% like the recorded version, which really is saying something in the age of digital refinement and auto-tune. Plenty of tracks old and new were covered (including their most well-known track "Death") and they did a signing of the new album afterward. Harry McVeigh was like a more exciting Brandon Flowers; he engaged the crowd often and really concentrated on giving the most stellar vocal performance he could. Tommy Bowen's keyboards and synths are a HUGE part of the band's sound, and they didn't disappoint, either. He even got to go all wall-of-sound for a bit at the end, with only rhythmic bass to accompany his playing. The venue wasn't over-crowded but wasn't empty, so it definitely felt like a more intimate setting despite the high energy music, which was a good thing. The band really made the experience worth more than the cheap-ass ticket price.

And luckily there were veggie dogs shortly thereafter, as I was ready to maim for something to maw on after all that beer and good tunes.

Hey! Come to this show! #2

Sure, you could save your pennies and go see Ra Ra Riot in 3 days, OR you could go see a band with a bit more talent . . .

*cough*


Photo courtesy of the band's official Shockhound.com page.

White Lies will be performing TONIGHT at Neumos! Doors open at 7ish, show starts at 8! $10 in advance (which you can actually buy up until 5pm today or until they sell out, which ever comes first), $12 at the door, and I myself will be there. How could you NOT enjoy yourself?

I don't know who the opener is because I can't find it anywhere online, but I'm sure it'll be semi-rad at the very least. Neumos has a pretty good rep. at picking diverse lineups for shows and covering a wide range of music (Twista and Deerhoof in the same month, even!).

Never heard of White Lies? The quick stats are that they're British and sometimes sound a bit like The Cure, but dancier. So I guess then that makes them sound like an early The Killers; before the self indulgence kicked in but witht he same hip swinging alt-pop dance moves!

Go Download: "Death," "Is Love"

Music I've Listened To: "From Light to Dark," by Oriya

One of the funniest/awesomest things about googling a band you know is seeing their Internet personas when you do a Google search and getting to know that said personas are about 60% true. Yes, my buddy Ryan is a great drummer whose musical sensitivities and talent are, in a word, epic--But then there's the fact that this is a guy who I get sloshed with on a regular basis, so it's hard to take the super-cool-rockstar-guy Google Image Search Results of he and the other guys in Oriya seriously. When we've fallen down in front of each other and he's seen me puke out of a cab on 6th, it's hard for either of us to still be the super-cool-rockstar-guy in the room without giggling like little girls.

Before we begin, I want to put out there that I'm going to be as objective as possible given that I know this band and have been drunk/stoned/hanging out and being all domestic with them in the past. And given that the lead singer's girlfriend might be making one of my wedding cakes.

I know the dangerous place that objectivity can go to when you review something a friend creates, be it music or writing or art or whatever. So I do ask, gentle and mostly anonymous readers, that if it feels as though my objectivity has strayed form the path and is somewhere over in Narnia with Mint Berry Crunch where it's being silly and nonexistently fictional, that you leave me a comment and let me know that I'm totally full of shit.

Now, on to the music at hand.




With roots firmly planted in mid-to-late nineties prog. rock, Oriya's first full-length release feels a bit like the soundtrack to an indie action flick from said era. There are intense highs, mellow lows, and a steady pulsing theme of struggle beneath every song. Maena's voice is strained on some tracks, and not because he's vocally at a loss, but because the mood is one of fighting to be heard. The ominous bass, slowly building drums, and melodic synth effects add to this sense of faith through hopelessness. Think of some of the Smahsing Pumpkin's earlier, more intense tracks like "Rhino" and you'll find an apt comparison.

Musically it's nothing that we haven't heard before, but it doesn't feel tired or played out in the slightest. Even though these are emotions that have been discussed musically and lyrically before, it's the pairing of matching vocals and instrumentals creating that moody effect that give you the sense that the band is one hundred percent sincere in their efforts. Tracks begin slowly with tortured sounding vocals and build and build until a tremendous crescendo where the drum lines sort of take over and smash everything to bits. In this way it's reminiscent of some of the bro rock that we were all subjected to in the early 2000s, where usually stoic and serious guys just wanted to be mad about stuff and sometimes scream their feelings. This, however, is much more enjoyable to listen to for the simple fact that the tracks have actually been composed musically first, lyrically second. There's a real caring touch to each verse in each song; you can tell that nothing has been thrown together for the sake of filling the record.

Standout tracks on the album are most definitely "Never" and "For a Day," which is interesting as they represent two opposing sides of the same idea. "Never" is an anger-laden, volatile, throw-yourself-against-the-guy-standing-next-to-you track that showcases some impressive guitar skills on Aris and Maena's part as well as the length and breadth of the band's vocals. That sense of struggle is no more so evident than on this track. There's a sense of giving in; or perhaps wanting to give in and let your troubles turn you into that emotional wreck if only so that you can have that sense of release.

"For a Day" is the polar opposite. It's the optimistic version of this idea; the whole "it's always darkest before dawn" thing. The drums are muted, the melody is softer, and the sense of anguish is replaced by a sense of peace. "I still believe we've been through it all/but it hurts to breathe/it never seems so small," is the repetitive, stand-out line in the chorus. That sense of struggle ever present in all of the band's lyrics is still there, but this track is the pick-yourself-up moment on the album. It fades out beautifully, releasing the listener with some truly harmonious string plucking and synth.

What Oriya has done with their full-length shows remarkable skill and promise. Some of the content feels old-hat, but the way the album in its entirety has been put together shows a band really trying to give its all and show that while some of the music might seem moshy, it's moshy with a conscience, damn it! Either way, it's a refreshing take on a genre filled with a lot of repeats and do-overs.

Go Download: "Intruder," "Never," "For a Day"

3.5/5 starxx

Nerdy Things I'm Stoked About: 'Age of X'

So for most of my childhood/adolescence, I was enamored with all things X-Men. Hell, I can still rattle off trivia about the universe and the characters like you wouldn't believe, and have to often suppress myself from going all Comic Book Guy when one of the movies or cartoons gets some aspect of their canon incorrect.

Like most kids, though, my passions were fleeting or sporadic. I was really into archaeology once. And rocks. And baseball. And dinosaurs. And marine biology. And . . .

. . . But the X-Men comic books were something that I would keep coming back to. Maybe it was the characters, or their long history, or the stories, or just the fact that cool people beating people up and looking cool while doing it appeals to 12 year olds.

At one point, the line of books sporting an X decided to boost sales and gain more interest/readers by doing a whitewash. of everything. They started this ad campaign that would totally not work in the digital age that "Hey, by the way you guys, in like a month we're just not going to publish these anymore. It's done. We're done. Everything you love is done."

So that happened. And what did they do? They let it sit for about half a month and then republished every book with a new title, new creative team, new look, and in an entirely different universe!A universe where villains were heroes, heroes were villains, the human race was damn near extinct, and Wolverine had one hand. They called it 'Age of Apocalypse.'


Sweet facial tattoos and shoulder pads, you guys! Yeah . . .

It's ballsy as hell from a publishing standpoint. From a writing standpoint, it toes the line between creative and cop-out. Of course in about 5 months everything was back to normal, and the alternate universe they'd created had the big ol' Reset Button hit on it. At the time, though, I as a 13 year old was freaking floored. I mean, Cyclops had one eye. One eye! And he was a total badass working for the villains of the story. Magneto and Rogue had gotten married and had a kid. And Kitty Pryde chain smoked! Actually Gambit, Dazzler, and Banshee all chain smoked, too. Life was hard in that universe and pretty much everyone was homeless, but luckily cigarettes were still available somehow.

Anyway, my inner child is stoked because this month the current line of X-Men books is sort of pseudo-revisiting this concept with a story line tagged 'Age of X.'



I'm not sure how they're going to get to it or steer the story universe of the titles in that direction or what the inciting event for moving everything to a new universe is. In 'Age of Apocalypse,' a time traveling baddie named Legion went back in time to off Magneto seeing him as a "major threat" to the X-Men's goals (he thought he was doing them a favor, I suppose) and accidentally murdered Professor X, which altered reality and made everything go to shit, genocide, and tattoos on your face.

Most things about the story other than concept art and random back-story tid-bits that the writers are calling "communiques" over at ComicBookResources are being kept very hush-hush. Like a fool, I've fallen for the hype. It's Cloverfield, the re-opening of Seattle's club The Pony, and new Facebook Privacy Settings all over again.

We'll see if the story lives up to the hype, and if my inner child/outer nerd is satiated!


"Danger inside;
Nowhere to hide.
Why don't you build,
A temple tonight?"

Quick Hits

A few things I'm really digging right now:

1) My new gray cotton pullover hoody from H&M. It's simple, it's comfy, and it's become a staple layering piece.

2) The Raveonettes' cover of "I Wanna Be Adored." Yes yes, I know that it's been out since August-ish, but I've just now had a chance to formally add it to my collection of their music. Sharon's voice is haunting and seductive, as always.

3) This lovely blog called It's My Darlin, which is the home of Ms. Dana London's inspiring street fashion, musings, and bitchin' recipes. If you're into all things Seattle, this is a great place to start! Plus she updates often, which is nice (and something I should aspire to a bit more).

4) This posting on blog Squarehippies, which made me die inside out of sheer joy. NSFW, but it's got disturbingly sexy, scruffy Australian dudes. And sheep! How could you not take a peak?

Review of Oriya's new album is on the way!

Ticket Stub: Oriya CD Release Party @ Studio 7 1/7/11

Photo courtesy of the Seattle Weekly's online archives.

Last night a bunch of us went to see our friends in Oriya and support them for the release of their new CD, "Light to Dark."


Photo courtesy of the Oriya official Facebook page.

It was a really great show. Studio 7 is a funny venue; it reminds me of Fuel in terms of the crowd, but in a much better space with a much better bar. That, and for once there wasn't anyone trying to sell me Malibu Rum or Jameson by way of trivia. I really like that there's plenty of room for a good-sized crowd yet the 21+ area is both separated and opened up over the general space. Because sometimes I just want a beer and don't want to mosh, you know? 17 year old me is laughing right now.

Great turnout, and all of the bands played beautifully. Big props to Orison for putting on a damn fine show despite the crowd at that moment being sort of "in and out" in terms of traffic. Their surging guitars and swift drum lines compliment Oriya's sound nicely, so good on whomever added them to the bill. And damn if that lead singer Jacob isn't a total cutie!


Photo courtesy of Orison's official Myspace page.

I missed Burning of I play because we got there too late (a long story involving a shitty Spanish restaurant in the U District), but I'm sure they were fine. I'd seen Vibrant Society before so I knew what to expect, and what I expected was epicness--Which was what they delivered with their signature brand of hair metal meets prog. Head banging ensued, and you know that the crowd is digging it when everyone's heads seem to bobble in exact motion.

Lots of people showed up including the guys from Future Fossils and a ton of people I hadn't seen in forever because, simply put, the holidays become a time of joy yet social obligation as we get older, so there's little time for the usual skullduggery. The general feeling amongst everyone I caught up with was that we were all relieved and exhausted, and excited to get back to the normal work-and-play routine.

The new CD is pretty damn good, incidentally. The tracks are polished up nicely and put together in a way that feels natural. Nothing feels out of place, and Maena's voice sounds crisp as hell in a way I hadn't heard on the demo tracks (sorry that Josh and I didn't get to say goodbye to you and Pearl, by the way!). Everyone in the band was just on, and that came from a mix of the crowd's positive energy and the general feeling of accomplishment you could tell that they all feel. Julie's design for the album art and the banner looks classy as always. By the by, since I'm always hyping up her work, you can see some of her commerical samplings right ovah myeh.

I hope you'll all seek out "Light to Dark" to bulk up your Seattleite Winter to Spring music collection! My review of the whole thing is pending, but rest assured I'll be posting it later this week after I've had time to listen to it obsessively.


"I walk among the ghosts
Of all my former loves,
And all my future selves.
This is the final straw:
I'll take you by the throat,
I'll shake you like a doll;
Just feed my starving heart."

Two Mixes That I Promised I'd Post But Then Never Did

Shut up.

From April/May 2010: "Country Noir"
Inspired by all that 'True Blood' I was watching and some new pearl-button flannel shirts at the time, not to mention some unseasonably warm Seattle weather.

"Dirty Boots" - Sonic Youth
"Killing Him" - Amy LaVere
"Son of a Preacher Man" - Dusty Springfield
"Be Gone" - Brand New
"The Heavens" - The Raveonettes
"Jack Killed Mom" - Jenny Lewis
"Bad Things" - Jace Everett
"Strong Enough" - Sheryl Crow
"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" - Nancy Sinatra
"Hurt [cover]" - Johnny Cash
"Fallin'" - Connie Francis
"Come Undone" - Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan
"Acid Tongue" - Jenny Lewis
"Lust" - The Raveonettes
"Chick Habit" - April March
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" - The Pierces
"Time is a Train" - Amy LaVere


From Novemeber 2010: Rainy City @ Night
Inspired by partying way too much on weeknights and in the rain.
"Cities in Dust" - Junkie XL
"Kids" - Sleigh Bells
"Bitch" - The Plasticines
"Oh, Cherie" - New Young Pony Club
"You Can Count on Me" - Panda Bear
"Crystalized" - The XX
"Suicide Blonde" - The Weepies
"Checkered Floor" - Silversun Pickups
"Star Power [acoustic 2009 version]" - Sonic Youth
"Very Loud" - Shout Out Louds
"Month of May" - Arcade Fire
"Fashion Party" - Das Racist
"Call Your Girlfriend" - Robyn
"Hoeing Weeds Sowing Seeds" - The Russian Futurists
"We End up Together" - The New Pornographers
"At the Indie Disco" - The Divine Comedy
"Elephant Shell" - Tokyo Police Club
"Body" - The Servant
"Gonna Be Sick!" - The Do
"Come on, let's talk about our feelings" - Fight Like Apes
"Height of Summer" - The Knife

What's this aboot?

Josh and I just got back last night from an amazing 2-day trip to Victoria up in Canada. His grandmother (an amazing, nurturing, kind and classically classy broad by the name of Janice) surprised us with the trip on Christmas day. She truly is a remarkable woman. Her husband passed away this past year, and Josh took it really hard as the man was a very important father-figure in his life and present right from the start. You couldn't tell much that it's effected how she lives, though. She's active in her church, in her neighborhood, and she walks everywhere. She has an amazing perspective on life that's contagious when you're around her. It was so nice to just not worry about schedules, or fitting in life with work, or pace when she was with on this trip with us.

We took the ferry from Port Angeles, WA up to Victoria at 7am in the bitter cold, but just the ferry ride alone was spectacular. Having never been on any sort of water craft other than a little speedboat on a lake, I was blown away by the experience. I've always been fascinated and petrified of the ocean in equal parts; looking out at the gray vastness between WA and the city of Victoria I was struck by how small one could easily feel. I do think that experiences like that are needed to gain perspective. It's very easy to be very "me" focused in today's update-my-current-status culture, so being pitted against nature if only for the briefest of times does wonders for the mind and soul. I found myself very calm on that boat, holding on to Josh and staring out at the churning waters.

Victoria as a city reminds me a lot of San Francisco; they know that tourists drive their economy. The architecture is beautiful and is well maintained, the streets are clean, and there is little evidence of crime or major city-centric issues even when you walk a dozen blocks from all the major tourist attractions. We stayed at a hotel on Johnson just a few blocks walking distance from the major shopping districts and were a 5 minute drive from the water front, the famous Empress Hotel, and that bitchin' looking Parliament building.

Side-Bar: What is it with Canadians and their shoes?! We must've seen fifty shoe stores in the area right around the hotel. The "mall" was mostly shoe stores as well. It became a joke for our little group that maybe there is a massive, nation-wide shoe fetish? I've also noticed that when Cnaadians come down here to stay at the hotel it's always to shop no matter what time of the year it is and it's almost always for shoes. WTFrak? Anybody have any insight into this?




On Day One we walked around the downtown parts of the city, relaxed, and then went up to Buchart Gardens for a few hours. That place was incredible. I'm now at the age where I can appreciate walking around for long hours looking at trees and flowers, despite the fact that the ten year old whom lives deep inside my psyche was mocking me the whole time and wanting to watch re-runs of the 90s X-Men cartoon instead. Janice treated us to dinner at their amazing restaurant where I had salmon that didn't suck, which is hard to do when not cooking it myself. The service was great and the wine was awesome. We took several-thousand pictures there so when she gets them off her camera and on to the internets I may post some here.

Day Two was spent at the BC Museum of Natural History and wandering around the Empress pretending we were guests and going in places we weren't supposed to (why yes, the tea room does look quite nice and I do feel under-dressed for it with my 4-day unshaven look and my ratty-ass Cons...). The Museum was neat; they had a really great display that was sort of a "behind the scenes into science" thing but I'll describe mostly as dead shit in jars--Which is amazing and a little Lovecraftian.

Weird shit I noticed about Canada that fits the stereotype(s):

1)They apologize. A LOT.
I don't think I've ever heard that many parents apologizing to their kids as they discipline them before. "No, Hannah, it's too cold and I already told you you can't take your coat off. Sorry." I personally think adding on that little "sorry" all the time would sound so condescending that I'd want to murder everyone in Canada after about a week...

"No, I'M soh-ry."

2)Bryan Adams is a big fucking deal.
So are Alanis and Michael Buble. Seriously, I heard Alanis three separate times on various radio/shopping mall areas. And not new Alanis; classic Alanis. I was also convinced that if I herd Michael Buble's new single again I could successfully karaoke it.

3)Canadian men are either very outdoorsy/masculine or very foppish and waxed.
Thus my slender, tight jeans yet quite bearded look drew looks of confusion (amusement?) from the various ladies working at coffee shops and gay dudes hanging out around the gay bar down the street. "Who is this amalgamation of twink and straight-acting guy?! My SENSES ARE SHATTERED!!!!!"



All in all it was a silly, fun trip and a got to go on a boat. Great success! Now it's back to America so I can work my ass off and eat cheese and watch Sarah Palin be a dummy on television. God love this country.



"You'll make me work; so we can work to work it out.
And I promise you, kid, I give so much more than I get.
I just haven't met you, yet!"

Unwrapped.

Okay, so, really quick; I have to say something about the film "Exit through the Gift Shop."

I don't think a lot of people (by which I mean the handful of critical reviews I read by Googling it and reading the first 3 pages of user reviews on Netflix after I had watched the film) "got" that it was poking fun at and questioning the way one person could take someone else's art--Especially someone else's art which was already using someone else's art--And make it their own (or try to). Street artist/counter-culture tee profiteer Banksy put it best: "He (the artist known as Mr. Brain Wash) took Warhol's concept of making images in pop culture useless through reproduction and then he made them even more useless."

Essentially the film is about this fellow who sees something counter-cultural and says "Hey, I can mass-produce that and sell it!" much in the way we see Che Guevara or Audrey Hepburn on tee shirts that can be seen everywhere from Value Village to Wal-Mart. He is definitely an artist, but the film begs us to ask ourselves if he's made art for the right reasons (and if there are reasons); at what point is it not "using your own lens to make commentary using someone else's work" and instead complete and utter bullshit? I really feel like that is what the film is about.

Best moment: When L.A. proves itself to be as vapid, lame, and completely head-up-the-ass as everyone thinks that it is right there on film. I miss my home town :)

Anywho, Christmas was pretty great.

Spent a day that was 80% neat, 20% awkward with Josh's extended family. It was nice to be around people with his last name that don't think our love is one-way ticket to hell (or at least aren't so obvious about it). I could go on and on about the people there, the stuff we ate (Jello with 3 distinct layers and an "ancient family secret ingredient" being the third layer), and my thoughts on how the whole family dynamic of his clan and their feelings about us is totally fucked up, but I will respect his wishes and keep my mouth shut and my fingers in my pockets instead of typing about it here. I've probably already said too much.

I got some very cool items, including this interesting piece of art by James Jean entitled "Rift" which you can get an idea of here or by watching this video . . .

As you can see, it's pretty fucking sweet.

We also got a Nintendo Wii! I could gush, but you'd get bored, so all that I'll say is that it's candy apple red and celebrates the birth of our Mushroom Kingdom's Lord and Saviour, Mario. Like my relatives in Rhode Island would say, it's gaaaaaaaaaawjus!

I don't have any regrets about this Christmas, other than that as always I wish I could've gotten more for more people. The thing is, I feel pretty damn good about what I was able to get and that everyone I value in my life received some form of my appreciation for their kindness and friendship. Whether it was in presents or drinking my booze, I'm truly one of those rich men with the friends and not so much the moneys that we're supposed to emulate because of that parable; which is nice.

Speaking of James Jean, I finished the fourteenth TPB of Fables entitled 'Witches' the other night. Overall I enjoyed it (I think Mr. Willingham is at his best when setting up arcs and laying the ground structure or when writing shorter, prose-y tales and charming vignettes), even if I didn't care for the baseball two-parter at the end. I've so many questions because of my trade-waiting! Will Rose Red ever get out of bed? Will the Blue Fairy kick some ass? Whom will stand up to Mr. Dark? Will Ozma and Stinky the Badger face off for control of Nu-Fabletown?! If you've never read the series, I'm sure I sound balls-out crazy. But then that's your loss, I suppose.

Some other things of note: DADT has been repealed which is awesome. Men and women with much more intelligent and much more eloquent thoughts on the matter have already said much, so I'll simply say "thank you" to those whom helped rid our country of this backwards-thinking law and given us one more step towards true equality.

And my friend Ally's mother passed away last week just before the holidays. She's in a much better place, and I'm glad that Alli O and I got to see her before all of this happened, but there are some definite, ah, issues that I've been dealing with ever since all of this began. I know it's not my place to speak about what her death means to me right now, so I'll wait to post my feelings and thoughts about the whole thing for another day.

Right now, I have my cat and I have my coffee with Bailey's. And the world feels sort of peaceful.

"What could I do? What could I do?
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view."

Stuffed

Yeah, 3 days later and I'm still feeling the Turkey Day. My gut has expanded quite nicely, my bank account is diminished, and my sleep cycle is all sorts of jacked up. Not to mention the crap I came back to after not working for 4 days(!) . . .

. . . But the good should come first. We did the whole Black Friday thing and actually did score some great deals. Waited in line like a madman with my mom and Josh at Target from around 2am to 4am, but luckily a steady supply of coffee and liquor in the coffee kept us warm and alert. We scored my dad a new TV as an early Christmas gift along with a few other items at super cheap cheapness. All things considered, I really did manage to knock out a few people on my list without spending too much, so that was nice. Kudos to the brave folks working at Target that morning who put up with I and the other retail zombies who were out to devour bargains.

It was good to see the family again, and with little event or angst, which is a relief. My brother's girlfriend continues to be a source of amusement because, well, they're 17 and ever so in love. I mean who am I to judge, right? It's actually adorable. But it's also hilarious because thewholeworldisgonnanedrightthisverysecondZOMG if they don't text each other every two minutes.

My mom and Josh and I went and saw Burlesque, which was an okay movie. Everyone was great, the costumes were great, the music was great, but the script was only okay. A lot of the lines were trite and pretty run-of-the-mill, with the exception of everything that Stanley Tucci said. Cher was awesome. Christina did a decent job with what was written for her. Still, Alan Cumming was totally under-utilized and pretty much any hot guy with scruff could've played Cam Gigandet's part. Also, Eric Dane was completely useless and not even the slightest bit menacing or believable as the "millionaire with a cold heart" figure. Kristen Bell was hot as hell, though. I mean come on, the voice of Gossip Girl in leather and feathers telling me to show her what I've got? I'll take two. Lastly, big ups for David Walton, who plays a very sexy and very funny DJ. A super small role that gets one of the best quips in the whole film.

Driving was fine--It was definitely one of those "worry about the other drivers on the road, not the road itself" experiences. You shouldn't go down the Interstate when it's snowing and visibility is like 7 feet at 70mph, bigass truck guy. That's why you ended up spun out. We got back to Seattle Saturday evening and it was like the "snowpocalypse" had never happened. Everyone was speeding and being cocky and not using their signals. Oh, city. You're a funny guy.

Hey, so, is anyone else reading the current arc of that new X-Men title? 'Curse of the Mutants' started off pretty weak (and pretty much undid Dracula's current continuity from the brilliant 'Vampire State' story) and pretty lame, but I really think the arc has hit its stride now. I'm still not crazy about the idea of vampire Jubilee or the idea that Dracula has some douche bag kid with an exxxxtreme name that we're just now hearing about (seriously, why hasn't his daughter Lilith come in and taken this punk out?), but the scene where Cyclops organizes the "tough skin" powers group of X-Men as the first line of defense was pretty darn cool. I loves me some Husk, especially when she's doing something as rad as staking vamps.

This week should be full of work and worky-type fun, but hopefully it'll get capped off by some fun times on Friday evening. I really want to try this not-really-all-that-new bar on the hill called Hunter + Gatherer, and we almost went 2 weekends ago but got too hammered and ended up somewhat accidentally going to The Unicorn instead. Which was pretty much what I expected it to be: With too much kitsch, good service, and a whole lot of hype. We'll see what this weekend brings!

"Love me cancerously,

Like a salt sore soaked in the sea.

Bitter and dumb,

You're my sugar plumb.

You're awful, and I love you . . ."

Seattle drivers fail at Winter . . .

. . . As evidenced by the following:

. . . Yeah, we can't really handle it over here. It's funny how many people drive like assholes when it's normal driving conditions and are very unforgiving when you make a mistake, miss a turn, etc. but a little bit of ice and snow and suddenly we're all nut-bags on the road. There's got to be a point where a logical person says "maybe I should just park my car and hope for the best, and contest any tickets that I get" instead of thinking they can go up the Queen Anne or First or Broadview.

And another thing, WHY isn't anyone helping out the vehicles in these videos? Seriously. Get people out of vehicles, help push the sliders tot he side of the road so they aren't just sitting there, and if you're the dude filming it maybe ask your neighbors who has cat litter so you can toss some out on the roads?

I dunno, man. In Wedgwood, people were helping people when I was out on the roads--I don't know why it's not more evident in the metro areas. It's just another reason I don't want to live right in the middle of the city and prefer the peripherals. I mean, I'm sure there are some do-gooders out there who were assisting their fellow incompetent man. Yet while I do find these videos AWESOME and hilarious at times, I don't think I could ever sit there and film such events without wanting to go help somehow.

Call me Clark Kent, I guess.

I had my studded tires put on today, so I had no probs on the Interstate or up here in my 'hood. I will forever advocate their use. This is the last season that mine will have any effect, but I had them for a solid 4 years; brand new when purchased. That's a four year investment and a solid effort in the not dying department.

So yeah. Drive safe out there, folks!

"This thing was built in a day,

knowing that Romans took longer than that.

We bought a bass player;

a cold, old soul

and he's a first class welcome mat."

Do you dare believe your eyes?!

Yeah, so I went ahead and changed a few things on the blog. The main one was the template. I'm going to play around a bit until I find something that suits the tone of what I have to say. Right now I like the blue bits, but we'll see.

Some secondary things include the ability to share my words on Facebook and Twitter, an Adult Content warning (which yes, narrows my readership but also warns the children that there will be times when I gush over David Beckham and post pictures or links to pictures that back up said gushing, like this little number), and some tweaked functions like what I feel is an easier archiving system.

So if you fear change, best to turn back now and quit following my corner of the universe.

But if you're unafraid or mostly cautious until you see how it pans out of change, read on!

Internet Crushes, pt.1

A slight follow up on yesterday's post re: adorable people on the Internets. I'd like to take the opportunity to list some random people I've been crushing on either because they're a) adorable or b) awesome bloggers/writers/etc. or c)a combination of options "a" and "b."

Please note that I've never once met any of these people, but still find their internet-personas fantastic enough to gush about each and every thing that they do to all of my cohorts and pals.

Spreading the love to the following 5 People of Interest!

1. Caleb Goellner: A writer for various comic/word nerd/pop culture sites out there including Comic Book Resources and ComicsAlliance, Mr. Goellner is an Internet crush of mine because he's not only witty and hilarious, but because he's freaking adorable. Also, he loves pugs. Which means I loves he and his postings.

2. Monica Guzman: You know how sometimes you read those blogs out there, and the person's "voice" and sensibilities are so similar to yours that it's awesome yet completely eerie? Monica Guzman is my "holy crap it's like she's ME!!!!!11" person. She writes for The Big Blog, an aspect of the Seattle PI (which went totally online and totally tossed its print edition right when I moved out there, thus crushing my dreams . . . No hard feelings though, dudes!). She was recently featured in the Seattle Weekly, and also in my heart.

3. Kate Beaton: Writer/artist/genius behind the web-comic/blog "Hark, a vagrant," milady Beaton never ceases to amaze me with her charming drawerings and insight into pop culture and literature. When she combines the two, if I could quote my college roomie Derrick for a second when describing beer, "it's like heaven on a pink and fluffy cloud." Damn right, D-Rock. Damn right.

4. This freaking cutie on Threadless.com and his puppy!: He's hot, and that dog looks like a Pokemon. Melt!

5. Dan Savage: The one, the only, the amazing sexpert himself has written for dozens of publications both print and web-based, contributes to various radio and television programs, and is the star of many an "OMG I super-duper-for-realsies wanna meet that celebrity!" day-dreams of mine. I met him once for all of a minute about 2 years ago when he was doing one of his infamous sex talks at U of Idaho, and got him to sign his books "The Kid" and "The Commitment" for Josh. He was pretty chill, and I thought about offering to buy him a cocktail, but decided this would probably come off as nutty. Then again, so does this blog post . . . Ah well, six to one; half a dozen of the other; he's hot and damn it he can write.


"Eyes lit:
I want short breaths.
I've got dark eye lids.
I need the sun in to repent."

Brrrrrrrrrrr

It's HELLA cold in Seattle. You know I mean it because I used the word "hella" in a sentence without a hint of snark.

Although, since you can't sense snark on the Internets you'll have to trust me when I say that the use of the word "hella" is part of a snark-free zone.

Side-Bar: "Hella" is recognized by my Mac as a real world, but "snark" is not. When did this happen, of computer of mine?

But yeah, it's hella cold and I love how this city freaks out about it. The snow makes Seattle piss its pants and forget itself, which is hilar and terrifying all at once. I'm going to have to be a cautious driver again, and you all know how I hate being the bigger person.

I'm working on an "It's Hella Cold" mix. So far all I've got is a track by New Young Pony Club (that super-duper-awesome-one-you-guys that was played on Gossip Girl like a month ago), "Secrets" by OneRepublic, and "Crystalized" by The XX. A hunt for new tunes is definitely in order! Short order, you might say.

Today we went with Brian and Gabby to the Sunday Market in Fremont and saw lots of cool things. Things like a turn-of-the-century type writer that I fucking had a massive want-boner for, and this guy was selling it for $20. A disturbingly good deal, and here I had no cash.

But alas, I'm sort of waiting for some of my moneys to get dispersed back to me. I, like several hundred other Seattleites, recently had my identity stolen. Apparently anyone living in or boozing it up in or eating foods in the Capitol Hill area was a target. I personally had around $200 stolen from me, but luckily my bank kicks ass and flagged the phony charges. I'm waiting on $90 of that bunch to still be returned--right now it's just a provincial credit, but I'd rather not tempt fate, you know? I'll wait until it's real dollars in there and not imaginary pseudo-dollars.

Anyway, it was really cool to see everyone out and about despite the cold supporting local vendors and crafters. I will be back with moneys for you, kick-ass type writer! After we browsed, we had pho. It was really nice for this cold I'm starting to get (yes, it's time for my annual "cold of perpetuity" whereupon I'll have a cough and the sniffles for about 2 months). Alli says that during this time I'm a lot like a Dickensian orphan struggling with the black lung, guv'nor.

Speaking of Alli, last week Ellen and Alli and I had a "ninja photo shoot" in the arboretum. Details/photos will hit this blog as soon as Ellen is done editing them. It's for a calendar for their friends in Korea. I played a bank robber. Juuuuuuudge.

Un-Related: This is the most adorable thing I've scene on the Internet all month. A cute scruffy and tatted boy holding a corgi puppy like his own personal piratey parrot? WHERE DO I SIGN. Note that it's not even a question as to where.

Today I watched the first 20 minisodes of that new Avengers cartoon on Comics Alliance. It's actually not half bad, for having very "kid friendly" animation. It views a lot like the first run of the Justice League cartoon that Timm and Dini did in the late 90s/2000s. Lots of epic moments and cool cameos, new-to-universe accessibility in stories, and nods to fans. If you can get past some of the cheesy dialog clearly aimed at the childrens, it's totally worth it. And kudos/balls for including The Mandrill. Here's hoping that it gets a few good seasons and segues into a more badass version of itself, much like the JL cartoon did when it turned into "Justice League Unlimited." Would I love to see a similarly plotted series featuring a rotating cast of Avengers characters? Oh you bet your ass I would. Especially if it would mean animated Kate Bishop or animated O'Grady Ant-Man.

This week we'll be hitting the road and heading back to Idaho to be with my family for Thanksgiving. I'll be skipping entires for a day or two while we enjoy family time, but I might need to therapy-rant on here while we visit, so be on the look out for that . . .

. . . Also, be on the look-out for THIS!

That's right kids, my piece for Mutineer on the fine folks at Coffee Strong was published in the annual Holiday issue (Nov/Dec for the layman among you)!

Because I love you, loyal readers, I'll link you to the Internet-only version found right here.

However, you'd be doing me and my pals at Mutineer a huge favor by getting out there and buying yourself a copy. How else will you see the AMAZING photography work done by Josh Mackey and Mike Bowen? You could Google it, I guess, but you would probably fail in an epic sort of way. So go grab yourself an ish, yeah?

If I don't see you before then, Happy Thanksgiving, folks!

"I like the bad boys,

In the big towns.

I like the bad bands

And their big sounds."