This song is super-appropriate because I'm going to see this band live and in person tonight! They're The Apples in Stereo, a light, energetic, and poppy indie group that's been around since the mid-90's. Enjoy!
The Apples in Stereo - Same Old Drag
Buy this album
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Mad Men
I just finished the first 4 episodes of AMC's critically acclaimed (worshiped is probably a better word) series Mad Men. So far, it's got me pretty conflicted. As a 1960's period piece, they simply could not be doing a better job. The actors, sets, music, smoking, drinking, and chauvinism all come together in a way that makes me have to remind myself that this was filmed in 2007. My problem with it is that I hate nearly every single one of the characters, and the situations they get themselves into are just plain depressing. Watching scum-bag after scum-bag fumble through lose-lose scenarios is not my idea of a good time. I'm really hoping that in the next few episodes they start to reveal these people to be tragically flawed well-meaners as opposed to sociopaths.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
SotD - Lose Big
I am absolutely loving the Americana revival that's happening right now. I knew I wanted to a put an Eef Barzelay track on SotD, but it was pretty tough to actually pick just one. The entire album is great, spanning the range from swaggering self-confidence to tortured melancholy in just 10 tracks. Also, if you like this, check out Fleet Foxes, M. Ward, or Horse Feathers.
Eef Barzelay - Lose Big
Buy this album
Eef Barzelay - Lose Big
Buy this album
"Peculiar Travel Suggestions...
...are dancing lessons from God." -Kurt Vonnegut
Last week, I was talking with Payton (of Top Five Records fame) about the Dark Knight premier and what our plans for seeing it were. He casually suggested "We should have made a weekend out of it" which immediately set my brain in motion. Neither of us had any pressing engagements over the weekend, so the next day I jumped in my car and drove the 9 bleak hours to Houston.
Being the incredible nerds that we are, Payton and I arrived at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight at about 9:30 (we were by no means the first people in line). I asked one of the employees how many people they were expecting to show up, and she told me that based on presale there would be at least 3000 people. As it got closer to midnight, none of us doubted that estimate. People wearing Joker-style facepaint, batman masks, or just a t-shirt emblazoned with the Bat-logo were swarming all over the enormous theater. I've been to a lot of midnight showings, but that buzzing energy we all felt while we were waiting for the lights to dim was something new and unique. Say what you will about the movie-going experience, complain about ticket or food prices, tell your stories about that one time with that one kid who wouldn't shut up, but I honestly believe that that experience is one of the greatest that our culture has to offer. Sitting in a dark room with six or seven hundred strangers and watching something you've all waited years for is simply incredible. You might think I'm being a bit melodramatic here, but I will truly miss this shared experience if and when the living room is the sole domain of film.
Regardless of whether it was a cultural touchstone or just another night at the movies, seeing The Dark Knight was a great way to kick off a fun and relaxing weekend with Payton and his friends. After a boring 2 months in searcy and a stressful 2 weeks with family, it was great to just go with the flow and hang out with some people my own age. I also really enjoyed Houston itself. The city just seems...inviting. Besides, who could complain about a city that has an amazing Mexican restaurant on every corner?
See? Doesn't it look inviting?
This is NOT the theater where we saw Batman
The highway was closed to clear a wreck, so I took a detour. Cue the banjo music.
Last week, I was talking with Payton (of Top Five Records fame) about the Dark Knight premier and what our plans for seeing it were. He casually suggested "We should have made a weekend out of it" which immediately set my brain in motion. Neither of us had any pressing engagements over the weekend, so the next day I jumped in my car and drove the 9 bleak hours to Houston.
Being the incredible nerds that we are, Payton and I arrived at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight at about 9:30 (we were by no means the first people in line). I asked one of the employees how many people they were expecting to show up, and she told me that based on presale there would be at least 3000 people. As it got closer to midnight, none of us doubted that estimate. People wearing Joker-style facepaint, batman masks, or just a t-shirt emblazoned with the Bat-logo were swarming all over the enormous theater. I've been to a lot of midnight showings, but that buzzing energy we all felt while we were waiting for the lights to dim was something new and unique. Say what you will about the movie-going experience, complain about ticket or food prices, tell your stories about that one time with that one kid who wouldn't shut up, but I honestly believe that that experience is one of the greatest that our culture has to offer. Sitting in a dark room with six or seven hundred strangers and watching something you've all waited years for is simply incredible. You might think I'm being a bit melodramatic here, but I will truly miss this shared experience if and when the living room is the sole domain of film.
Regardless of whether it was a cultural touchstone or just another night at the movies, seeing The Dark Knight was a great way to kick off a fun and relaxing weekend with Payton and his friends. After a boring 2 months in searcy and a stressful 2 weeks with family, it was great to just go with the flow and hang out with some people my own age. I also really enjoyed Houston itself. The city just seems...inviting. Besides, who could complain about a city that has an amazing Mexican restaurant on every corner?
See? Doesn't it look inviting?
This is NOT the theater where we saw Batman
The highway was closed to clear a wreck, so I took a detour. Cue the banjo music.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Fourth of July, etc
Hello again! It feels like so long since we've talked! I spent the last two weeks traveling, visiting various relatives in Texas and Oklahoma, and was without internet access for a lot of that time.
First, I flew to scenic Lubbock, Texas, home of Buddy Holly, to stay with my immediate family for a few days. The four of us then drove to bustling Shawnee, Oklahoma, home of Brad Pitt, to visit my grandparents. My dad's dad loves to make a huge deal out of The Fourth, inviting lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins over, then spending enough money on fireworks to make them all very nervous. After staying there a couple days, we were off yet again, this time to booming Tulsa, Oklahoma, home of nothing, to spend time with yet another set of aunts/uncles/cousins. I didn't take any pictures here, since my young cousin kept us so busy with swimming, volleyball, tennis, ping-pong, laser-tag, board games, and even more fireworks that I didn't have time to pick it up. Then it was back to Lubbock for 4 more days of non-stop excitement before finally flying back.
I generally don't enjoy going home for visits. I dread school breaks, when they kick us all out of the dorms and I have to go back to Lubbock for a week or a month. I've never actually lived in Lubbock (my family moved there after I came to school), so the number of people I know there can be counted on one hand. That said, I actually had a pretty good time these past two weeks. Maybe you can chalk that up to the fact that I wasn't stuck in one place the entire time, but I actually enjoyed most of the trip. I didn't really feel that need to isolate myself from the people around me after spending too much time being social. That introverted tug was still there, sure, but it wasn't quite so debilitating this time around.
Here's a few pictures I took while I was away, click for the giant version.
Lubbock: The Giant Side of Texas (they really call it that)
First, I flew to scenic Lubbock, Texas, home of Buddy Holly, to stay with my immediate family for a few days. The four of us then drove to bustling Shawnee, Oklahoma, home of Brad Pitt, to visit my grandparents. My dad's dad loves to make a huge deal out of The Fourth, inviting lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins over, then spending enough money on fireworks to make them all very nervous. After staying there a couple days, we were off yet again, this time to booming Tulsa, Oklahoma, home of nothing, to spend time with yet another set of aunts/uncles/cousins. I didn't take any pictures here, since my young cousin kept us so busy with swimming, volleyball, tennis, ping-pong, laser-tag, board games, and even more fireworks that I didn't have time to pick it up. Then it was back to Lubbock for 4 more days of non-stop excitement before finally flying back.
I generally don't enjoy going home for visits. I dread school breaks, when they kick us all out of the dorms and I have to go back to Lubbock for a week or a month. I've never actually lived in Lubbock (my family moved there after I came to school), so the number of people I know there can be counted on one hand. That said, I actually had a pretty good time these past two weeks. Maybe you can chalk that up to the fact that I wasn't stuck in one place the entire time, but I actually enjoyed most of the trip. I didn't really feel that need to isolate myself from the people around me after spending too much time being social. That introverted tug was still there, sure, but it wasn't quite so debilitating this time around.
Here's a few pictures I took while I was away, click for the giant version.
Lubbock: The Giant Side of Texas (they really call it that)
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