Food and Fear- Sounds like America

Finally, after a lifetime of anticipation, Mrs. Butterworth has a first name! It's Joy and I'm not remotely surprised.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/syrup-offers-joy-to-the-world/

In other news, my townhouse is totally haunted. I can hear footsteps though I know I'm the only one home and I swear I just heard the water running. CREEPY. My room mates and I have been telling ghost stories all week (in light of October and all) and one of them insists we have one. Apparently she swears she heard someone come into her room one night and sit down on the other bed but no one was there. I don't know but I always thought ghosts lived in old buildings. Maybe not???

Hitting Olney Ave Running

Moving back into school is always nice. It's filled with struggle (lifting stuff just sucks), excitement (new digs, new roommates, new year, optimism ensues), and each move-in just seems different in its own right. This one, unsurprisingly, kept with the theme....but was more extreme in every way. I had to lift a HOUSEFUL of stuff and my single is on the THIRD FLOOR so that was a definite struggle. And the excitement of living with my amazing friends and cooking and having my own room and being in the much anticipated townhouse was...well, the stuff dreams are made of, really. And this time around was probably the most different because it lasted for a whole week.

Yes, this week of getting settled and preparing for the year was special. There's no better way to get back into the swing of things than with meetings to prep for club stuff and shopping for final clothing, living, and food touches. OH wait! There was a point to this post (at least one that went beyond restfully reminiscing on a week done good). I did something really, really cool this week! As part of early move-in training for students leading service programs the powers that be scheduled us with meetings, a clean up, and (GASP!) a ropes course.

Now, most people hear ropes course and go "Pish posh, no biggie." But I thought, "Well shit. I have legitimate anxiety about being out of control of the situation. And I don't especially like heights. And I don't like being at the mercy of others (even if they're future Saints). And....I don't know that I can do this." But I had to do it. It was important and I wanted to and Goddammit it's not that big of a deal! So I climbed the poles (heh) and I walked across wooden discs 30 feet in the air and I reached the top of the rock wall. And I pwned. So go me for letting go of control and being all free and unfettered and shit.

Other news:
-Michael Vick sucks
-Drake is Jimmy from Degrassi and I'm still laughing at that
-The New Radicals are cool
-True Blood is amazing
-Project Runway's models don't matter at all...and don't deserve their own show

Yeah, I Cried and So Would You

Today was an epic one. I got a free meal at work since they kind of wasted my time, I completed another day as a truly domestic person, and (most importantly) I finally saw Dear Zachary, the documentary I've been dying to see since January. Now, I knew that it would be sad, I knew that I would likely cry, but I didn't know that it would be....pretty much devastating. The hour and a half I spent in my friend's living room, bleary-eyed over the HD Netflix rental, was likely the saddest experience I can recall in a very long time.
But the thing that gets me most about the film is that it hits you with sad news, angering news, and then it just blows you out of the water in shock. I was seething, depressed, and baffled by the end and I didn't even ever know the people involved. All day I've persistently reverted back to the ever-nagging, film encapsulating question: Why? Now, I don't want to give anything else away, but all I really need to leave off saying is that everyone should see this movie. I wish I could make it a requirement. If nothing else, people need to know that this story happened and some people persisted through it with resilience and strength unparalleled. (Or people need to watch it so I have someone to talk to about it. Either way, I expect to be moved for quite some time because it truly left its mark.)

I Heart Kings of Leon and I Don't Care!

Let me set a scene for you:

My friends, Logan and Maida, and I are driving to Connecticut in the last weekend of April to visit another dear friend, see Santigold, and join in a weekend of debauchery at Conn College. I'm in shottie, rummaging through Logan's CDs and I notice two by Kings of Leon, Aha Shake Heartbreak and Only By the Night. I remark that I somehow completely missed the whole Kings of Leon craze but I liked what I'd heard and "lets hear 'em out, shall we?" What results is an amazing drive largely brought on by what I happen to think is some great music. Only By the Night isn't anything to scoff at but Aha Shake Heartbreak is kind of incredible.

A couple of months went by and I never got my hands on those albums....until a few days ago. After finally loading Logan's CDs onto my itunes I can now say I am obsessed. Late, albeit, but obsessed. I have listened to Aha Shake Hearbreak on repeat more or less for the last week and I can't get enough! It's offbeat and quirky while still maintaining an upbeat, classic sound. It's the kind of album you wish every song was longer on, and that is actually a tougher feat than you'd expect (at least for me). I just want to include King of the Rodeo, Taper Jean Girl, and Soft in every playlist I make for the next couple of months. It's just sooooo goooooood, ugh!

Other than that, I promise to make my music discovery posts more current in the future, I just couldn't help but express my enthusiasm.

Things I Planned Today

-Class drop/add stuff for the fall
-Potential Study Abroad programs, applications, and meetings related to said programs
-The unyielding resolution to find caller 9, who lost service the second she won a Tim Mcgraw book
-A plan to reclaim my makeup from my friend, Maida's dorm
-A gas-gaining Ponzi scheme that resulted in me forgetting and desperately needing a tank filling
-Final touch arrangements (like ensuring shift coverings) for what should be a great weekend in Philly
-An intricate plot to kill the many-legged bug that decided to share my shower with me (and several re-rinses in the attempt to shake the gross feeling)
-A "Frita" switched to a "Strawberry Rita" including drink samples for the woman who ended up tipping just over 10%
-A complex and sneaky arrangement to get a comped sirloin meal at Outback and eat it at table 23 the minute I was off the clock
-A brainstorming series to determine which plans were worth even typing

Meh, this was probably pointless, but at least I feel like I was productive.

BONNAROO!! The Closest I'll Ever Come to Being a True Hippie

So....I've told pretty much everyone I know that I was going to, was at, or came back from Bonnaroo throughout various stages of my experience, and I'm sure it comes to no one's surprise that it was absolutely amazing. It was great to be part of something so unrealistically perfect surrounded by 70,000 of the world's most laid back and happy hippies. It's hard to say that it was great because of the shows because (while it was) there was so much more that made it everything that it was. Maybe it was laughing at highly stimulated people on lots of drugs, maybe it was all of the interesting tents filled with art, knick nacks, food, and entertainment. Maybe it was withstanding extremes in weather with little but a smile or meeting people from all parts of the country and realizing we have similar interests and concerns. I'm guessing it was a rich combination of everything, but whatever "it" was, it was beautiful.

Alright, sap pause; here is a list of some of the bands I saw and a quick synopsis of what I thought (in no particular order):
-Ani DiFranco: Surprisingly Good
I didn't know her at all pre-Bonnaroo but my friend wanted to see her so she could pick up chicks (apparently an Ani DiFranco show is the best way to do that). I usually don't get that into a show if I haven't heard the music before, but this was a surprising change.
-Snoop Dogg: Ha. That's all I can say. I had fun
He was extremely out of place and repped the West Side a lot, but it was definitely a lot of fun
-MGMT: Good Show, huge turn out, big hype
It was fun, I danced a lot and got pretty excited about a few songs. They played some new stuff they are working on and that was cool (plus it dispelled rumors that they're breaking up)
-Gomez: chill, calm, good to rest to
I hadn't heard them before either but they were perfect to lay in the grass and listen to
-Bon Iver: a tad slow for my mood at the time, but harmonies were amazing.
-Of Montreal: out of this world.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I think that if Rocky Horror Picture Show were a concert, it would be something similar. The set list was solid, the crowd was fully equipped with beach balls, balloons, cow bells, and water, and the stage hosted people in near drag (the lead singer changed costumes 3 times, the bassist wore a feather shoulder covering, and the keyboardist donned a princess costume). Stage performers detailed some kind of warped story line throughout the show ranging from people in bunny, eagle, and dinosaur masks, a psychopathic killer in church robes, people in gas masks, and much more. At one point, the bassist played WHILE crowd surfing, the lead singer followed suit, and to tie off the show, they broke everything. Nuts, huh?
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs: The show I was most excited for, and it delivered
Karen O is my hero. She was really energetic and a little warped (but in the best way possible). Equipped with a kimono and yellow zebra print leggings, she danced, she laid on the floor, she ate the microphone (and broke it later on). She dawned a leather jacket when they played Zero in honor of the line "get your leather on" and when the tuning was weird on the guitar they decided to play Maps acoustically. Insert gushing here.
-Girltalk: Stellar, of course
He was fun and really genuinely nice, smiling over how he used to only get a 20 minute set and now he gets an hour and a half (which he went over, bless his heart)
-Animal Collective: Could have been better.
The sound was pretty crappy (which wasn't their fault) and I have a feeling the show would have been better suited for the night time, so I want to see them again in different circumstances.
-Andrew Bird: PHENOMENAL.
This guy has more talent than I can even handle seeing, let alone hearing. He played the violin with both the band thing and plucked the strings for 2 different sounds, which he recorded on stage and repeated over each other. He also incorporated his genius whistling skills and played over it all with the guitar. I want to be Mrs. Andrew Bird.

I'd love to continue, but this is getting pretty dense.....I guess I'll just end with a quote that actually almost made me cry over its sheer beauty. After helping a dehydrated guy, a hippie woman (who was likely on Ecstasy) said as matter-of-factly as anything I've ever heard by Bill Nye: "we're all one."
Harp on those words for a couple of seconds, please because I thought they were awesome.

A Minor Observance

About 30 minutes ago I saw a beer commercial (can't seem to remember which brand) with unmemorable footage displayed to the tune of The Kooks' Shine On and all I could think was "really?" A month or so back I saw a Bud Lite Lime commercial to a Santigold song (Lights Out) and thought "Ok....I guess they're trying a different sound?" and a couple weeks ago I saw the Miller Lite Lime commercial featuring The Dodos' Fools and thought "I guess they're going for edgy?" After this most recent indie music, ergo young hipster attraction, attempt I guess they're just trying to be young, funky and hip (like us?) and, frankly, I don't like it one bit. I have very little reason to resent it, and probably don't even care much deep down, but (in the words of the unforgivables youtube video guy) "Ion'tlikeit."

That's pretty much it......OH! I leave for Bonnaroo roughly tomorrow night and can't wait!!! To my likely 2.5 readers, expect a detailed account!