Dance or Die

 As it turns out, excercising isn't a complete waste of time. Apparently if you work out, it makes it easier to physically exert yourself down the line, when it's actually fun. Tonight after about 10 minutes of accidental excercise at Ladies 80's dance night, I started feeling that I may accidentally have a heart attack if I didn't change my slacker ways. After panting and tripping my way through the first 3 songs, I generously volunteered to be "that" girl for the night ie: the person who is dancing with such incoherent intensity you're not sure if they're a lunatic or iniebriated. Since we went early and only a few other dancers were there, I felt obliged to really put on a good show for the bystanding bar patrons. This was somewhat embarrassing, since it was just a few years ago that I could jump like a jack rabbit for at least 2 hours straight without breaking a sweat. And thanks to my tri-color, stolen from my mother's closet, fluorescent leggings and Wonderwoman belt, I was not only the most delirious dancer but the most conspicuous as well. And yet it was awesome. Next time I'll be wearing an even more obnoxious outfit, and workout even less beforehand (if that's possible) to better pay my respects to the 80's.

*The pics are a throwback to sophomore year at BYU, Cami and me at "80's club", and yes I wore the same pants.

I'm the Star of the Keytar

So my new favorite band is fictional. Yesterday, I rented the movie "Yes Man" only to watch the following segments with Zooey Deschanel's fictional band Munchausen By Proxy. I love the songs, and the over the top cheesiness of the performance, crazy costumes, and silly song lyrics ("I'm the star of the keytar", "I'm not your late night booty call") all make me laugh. Also I love how they have only 5 fans who she greets by name in song (Hello Jake, Penelope, Rodrigo, Phillip, Zachary!).  I almost like these songs better than the ones performed by Zooey's real band She & Him, mainly because there is a lot more synth and a DANCE beat. Yesss!
Watch this one too, it's amazing

Holey Moley Me Oh My

I'm obsessed with this song. The lyrics are so cool and campy,they tell such a sweet love story. Plus-there's whistling, and it's a male/female duet! What could be better?



Alabama, Arkansas,
I do love my ma and pa,
Not the way that I do love you.

Holy, Moley, me, oh my,
You're the apple of my eye,
Girl I've never loved one like you.

Man oh man you're my best friend,
I scream it to the nothingness,
There ain't nothing that I need.

Well, hot and heavy, pumpkin pie,
Chocolate candy, Jesus Christ,
Ain't nothing please me more than you.

Ahh Home. Let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you.
Ahh Home. Let me go ho-oh-ome.
Home is wherever I'm with you.

La, la, la, la, take me home.
Mother, I'm coming home.

I'll follow you into the park,
Through the jungle through the dark,
Girl I never loved one like you.

Moats and boats and waterfalls,
Alley-ways and pay phone calls,
I've been everywhere with you.

We laugh until we think we'll die,
Barefoot on a summer night
Nothin' new is sweeter than with you

And in the streets you run afree,
Like it's only you and me,
Geez, you're something to see.

Hearing Damage

"My life has been full of terrible misfortunes; most of which never happened."
-Michel de Montaigne

This quote runs through my mind when I start the needless cycle of worry. For some time I thought it was by Mark Twain, and you can see why. Witty one liner, rhyming name, Montaigne... Mark Twain. Funny, cause I was just bragging about my super human hearing powers. So much for that.

The Runaways; A.k.a Women's Lib Diatribe 2.0

Saw the Runaway's biopic last Friday and I have mixed emotions about it. Firstly, Dakota Fanning should not age any further. Can she just stay 8? It was pretty disturbing to watch such young girls being subjected to all the exploitation and debauchery of the 70's music scene. On the flip side it was legit. Fairly accurate storytelling and (appropriately) the music rocked, not to mention it brought attention to one of the few commercially and critically successful female rock bands of the time. It seems that an instrument playing all girl "rock"  band is practically myth in the music industry. It just seems there is a shortage of truly legitimized all girl groups. There are a few I can think of but it seems that while the rock genre hosts a plethora of female solo acts (hoorah), a handful of frontwomen, and an even fewer number of female instrumentalists in bands. This equates to an overall shortage of all girl rock get ups, which means it's even less likely there will be stand outs I suppose. It's sort of dissappointing and I guess I could blame some sort of misogynistic agenda, but I'm not sure sexism is entirely to blame since most people don't favor musicians because of shared chromosome composition.

By the way

I have heard the phrase "by the way" twice today and ever since "BTW", I kind of forgot it existed.

Call Me Crazy

Sometimes I walk around my apartment laughing to myself about a previous joke. My sister always asks "What's so funny?" But when I have to explain whatever joke I heard or remembered, (and we all know what happens to jokes when you explain them) there's that acutely felt lameness, a quizzical look and a "Good story...". I prefer to appear crazy.

24 has not been kind

To reiterate my last post, 24 has been rough so far. It's only February and I've managed to lose my phone and crash my car. Not to mention the Blizzard of 2010, (which caused the loss of my phone, along with other inconveniences-mainly shoveling snow, and trying to unstuck cars from the snow). Hopefully this the end of the catastrophes and we can round off the next 10 months with pleasant weather and conscientiousness.

Now It's On

Not that I feel the need to always be on the cutting edge of music, but I'm starting to notice I'm behind the times. My friends keep telling me about bands I've never heard of, and I'm realizing I've been out of touch with new artists for kind of a while. I cling hard to my favorites. It's so hard to "learn" a new album, it just sounds strange and it's hard to connect to for the first few listens, even if the singles are good. So in keeping with my new year's resolution to listen to new music, I was listening to Grandaddy's album "Sumday" tonight. The first and second tracks remind me of Grizzly Bear with their ambient sound, but the 3rd or 4th track are a more upbeat and relatable and the vocals remind me of Belle and Sebastian. Also currently listening to Crystal Stilts which also have sort of garbled lyrics and ambient melodies. Typically I like a more dancey beat, but apparently at 1 am I prefer a slow jam. As I said, 24 has not been kind, I fell asleep at 8 pm...what?

Watched Ray. Bought Ray Charles "Best Of" album. Finding it ironic that Ray Charles did not sport Ray-Ban sunglasses.

Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up

Did anyone else think it was weird how the theme song of the superbowl this year was Arcade Fire's "Wake Up"? It just seemed more appropriate in the Where the Wild Things Are trailer, since it's about children growing up and facing the cold world and not so much about football glory, ya know? I'm glad they're getting recognized, but it just seems like an odd choice, sort of like the idea of chocolate skittles, respectively good but a strange combination.

Tribute to J.D.

It's only right that I post a brief tribute to the great J.D. Salinger on this blog. I just found out today he passed away on Wednesday. He is probably my favorite author, and a writer whose style I would like to emulate even to the smallest degree. It's interesting to me that this summer I finally bought a copy of Catcher in the Rye with the original cover art and also read Nine Stories for the first time. It may seem like this is the only book I've read in the last year, since I so often mention it, but I adore Catcher In the Rye.  I can often hear the voice of Holden Caulfield in my head calling someone "phony" or "crumby". I love the flawed characters and Holden's sardonic voice, which Salinger mastered. I'm not sure why so many teenagers identify with this book but I can certainly identify with the way Holden views people. Salinger pinpointed what was so unnerving about human nature when he decided to use the word "phony". There are about a million different ways people are phony in the book and in reality, and I appreciate Salinger calling them out on it. Phoebe, Holden's little sister is the only person who is completely genuine and the best thing about this book for me is that it inspires me to want to be genuine like Phoebe, and throw away all the phoniness I've acquired in the adult world. I would like to read more of his work. I think I'm going to go purchase Franny and Zooey right now.

I love the cover art of this book, even the title font is great. The graphic looks like a Merry-Go-Round on fire and could be considered a metaphor for the book.  

Audible Dwelling

So I did a little research and apparently the space pods are speakers that can record and transmit sound. I like the idea that these structures were made with the intent of disrupting everyday life. When I first saw these in the parking lot I was thrilled and baffled. Not only do they look like 1960's toasters, but they are lime green.

They will be in Columbus through March, and then they'll be transported either to California or their eventual destination back in Copenhagen. This article says a little more about them.

I'm fascinated with the dual space pods outside of CCAD. I'm not sure what they're for but they make me feel like it's the future, or the 60's. Either way time travel is cool.

Le Petit Prince

The Little Prince was not on my reading list, but I bought it while ago and had been wanting to read it. It's a beautiful book. Somehow I missed all its depth when I read it as a kid.

" I shouldn't have listened to her,' he confided to me one day. 'You must never listen to flowers. You must look at them and smell them. Mine perfumed my planet, but I didn't know how to enjoy that. The business about the tiger claws, instead of annoying me, ought to have moved me...'"

"And he confided further, 'In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contradictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.'"

Twenty-Ten

I've never been good at New Year's Resolutions but since I'm particularly excited about 2010, maybe I'll give it another go.

1. Try not to get pepper in eyes. (Harder than it sounds).

2. Wake up before noon...everyday...

3. Go to bed before 4...everyday...

4. Read 5 books from my "To Read" List. War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Bell Jar, Wuthering Heights, Love in The Time of Cholera, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, A Cat's Cradle, Atlas Shrugged, Franny and Zooey, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Catch 22, The History of Love. Ok so that's 13, but 1 book a month and 2 after a shorter book. Aim high...?

5. Excercise. Sometimes.

6. Listen to all the music I've accumulated on my Ipod over the last few years. There are about 50 albums on it which I've never listened to and would like to. I tend to stick to my favorites, so it will be an effort to branch out.

7. Graduate.

8. Find a (sweet) job. (Thought I should specify)

#'s 2 and 3 may contribute to goals 7 and 8 , while 4 and 6 may impede them.

Sometimes...

Sometimes when I cook I pretend I'm on a cooking show. Delusions of grandeur. What can I say.

So this is the new year...

"And I don't feel any different..."

To contradict these Death Cab lyrics, for once this year does feel entirely different. On New Year's those lyrics always cross my mind, and in the past they rang so true. This is one reason I love Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Gibbard always seems to touch on some obscurity that I really identify with. The difference of a year is usually felt not when the clock strikes twelve but over the course of a year. The new year is often anticlimatic because instead of a new year, it's merely tomorrow. This January 1st I was in the middle of quoting these lyrics when I realized this year they were not true. As those lyrics crossed my mind I felt immediately that something is different, even from yesterday. There's been a motion in time greater than the flip from Tuesday to Wednesday. For no reason I can think of I feel rashly optimistic about 2010.  I'm not sure why. I harbor no bad feelings toward 2009. It was mostly pleasant and I have no need to discard it.  I have no reason to think 2010 will be some magical year and yet I feel anticipation for the future. For no reason at all I'm excited beyond belief.