Out of boredom I guess, this is "Getting to Know Me 101" (sort of)
(Following the rules, I opened my music browser, put it on shuffle, and answered the questions.)
IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Rag & Bone (White Stripes)
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Been Smoking Too Long (Nick Drake)
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Celia's Dream (Slowdive)
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Second Chance at First Place (Grade)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
The Comeback (Stars)
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
They Want Us to Make a Symphony Out of the Sound of Women Swallowing Their Own Tongues (Le Tigre)
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
My Slumbering Heart (Rilo Kiley)
WHAT DO YOU OFTEN THINK ABOUT?
New Man (French Kicks)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Just Be Simple (Songs: Ohia)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Spotlights in the House of the Late Scapegoat (Modest Mouse)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
The Things We Did and Didn't Do (Magnetic Fields)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
What We Fall for When We're Already Down (the Good Life)
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
I Guess I Planted (Billy Bragg & Wilco)
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Sky Starts Falling (Doves)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Blackout (British Sea Power)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Paper Crowns (Burning Airlines)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Topsy Turvy (the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir)
WHAT WILL YOU NAME THIS?
Lost in the Harbor (Tom Waits)
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Wanda Sykes
Sarah and I went to Chicago's anti-Prop 8 march today. And hopefully tomorrow when I'm less exhausted I will blog about it. Meanwhile, I'd just like to share this news snippet with you (thanks to Sarah for the heads-up).
Wanda Sykes says she's 'proud to be gay'
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Comedian Wanda Sykes says the passage of a same-sex marriage ban in California has led to her be more outspoken about being gay.
"You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn't feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life," Sykes told a crowd at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.
"Everybody that knows me personally they know I'm gay. But that's the way people should be able to live their lives," she said.
Sykes, who is known for her feisty and blunt style, said the passage of California's Proposition 8 made her feel like she was "attacked."
"Now, I gotta get in their face," she said. "I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to be gay."
I have liked Wanda Sykes's comedy for awhile now. I think she stole a lot of scenes in Evan Almighty, for example. I also like to watch her on Youtube, something I started doing after a summer of watching Last Comic Standing. She's just really funny. And I really admire her.
It takes a lot of courage to be yourself, especially in Hollywood where every move you make is scrutinized. So hooray, Wanda Sykes! You are AWESOME!
Wanda Sykes says she's 'proud to be gay'
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Comedian Wanda Sykes says the passage of a same-sex marriage ban in California has led to her be more outspoken about being gay.
"You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn't feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life," Sykes told a crowd at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.
"Everybody that knows me personally they know I'm gay. But that's the way people should be able to live their lives," she said.
Sykes, who is known for her feisty and blunt style, said the passage of California's Proposition 8 made her feel like she was "attacked."
"Now, I gotta get in their face," she said. "I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to be gay."
I have liked Wanda Sykes's comedy for awhile now. I think she stole a lot of scenes in Evan Almighty, for example. I also like to watch her on Youtube, something I started doing after a summer of watching Last Comic Standing. She's just really funny. And I really admire her.
It takes a lot of courage to be yourself, especially in Hollywood where every move you make is scrutinized. So hooray, Wanda Sykes! You are AWESOME!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
-Sonnet 116, William Shakespear
I wanted to write something eloquent and impassioned to argue against Proposition 8. But what could I contribute to the arguments I have heard this week? I know I only cast one ballot in the last election and didn't really volunteer or anything but I was really proud to help elect Barack Obama as president. I know the two issues are not really related; I don't live in California (for starters). But my new-found pride of being American was tempered when I heard about California's decision.
Briefly, this is what I believe:
1. Allowing two people to stand before each other and profess their love and union affects those two people, not anyone else.
2. Banning marriage based on something as arbitrary as the physical sex of the participants undermines EVERYONE'S marriage.
3. Allowing or banning gay marriage is not a religious issue. It's about civil rights. (And I will stand up for your civil rights when they are threatened too.)
Thus I am going to protest Prop. 8 on Saturday in Chicago. I hope that I will be joined by many, many people. And I hope that together we can make a difference.
I'd like to make a sign for the protest. Possibly like the one in the middle. Possibly the one on the right.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Feel the Rhythm in Your Bones
So I've been a bit MIA recently. Sorry? I've been occupied elsewhere. I saw Conor Oberst on Halloween (review to come, promise) and spent election night at Grant Park. Also having company this weekend which required some cleaning. Additionally, some things on the internet that have intrigued me recently (and will help distract you when I cannot):
1. Cute Boys Make Me Nervous
(Exhibit A)
I don't remember how I found this blog. Maybe on Bust's website. Basically this anonymous lady travels around and takes pictures of cute guys under the guise of running a fashion blog. This gives her an excuse to talk to hipsters who might otherwise intimidate her. I respect and admire that initiative.
2. I Can Has Cheez Burger
Basically the best LOLcat blog ever. So much awesomeness. Sometimes I read it in the living room and Sarah-Sarah gets le mad at me. But it's worth it. If you want to submit your own, there's also an online translator.
3. Yes We Carve
Sarah-Sarah and I carved pumpkins for Halloween. Mine is on the left. I think it turned out well given the knives we had at our disposal. And my lack of art skills.
4. the Election
I know it's all over (hooray America!) but the video is still sort of funny. Especially if you're a Gossip Girl fan. Which I am. It's the new Degrassi.
5. Devendra Banhart
I think his music* speaks for itself.
*by "music" I also mean "facial hair"
1. Cute Boys Make Me Nervous
(Exhibit A)
I don't remember how I found this blog. Maybe on Bust's website. Basically this anonymous lady travels around and takes pictures of cute guys under the guise of running a fashion blog. This gives her an excuse to talk to hipsters who might otherwise intimidate her. I respect and admire that initiative.
2. I Can Has Cheez Burger
Basically the best LOLcat blog ever. So much awesomeness. Sometimes I read it in the living room and Sarah-Sarah gets le mad at me. But it's worth it. If you want to submit your own, there's also an online translator.
3. Yes We Carve
Sarah-Sarah and I carved pumpkins for Halloween. Mine is on the left. I think it turned out well given the knives we had at our disposal. And my lack of art skills.
4. the Election
I know it's all over (hooray America!) but the video is still sort of funny. Especially if you're a Gossip Girl fan. Which I am. It's the new Degrassi.
5. Devendra Banhart
I think his music* speaks for itself.
*by "music" I also mean "facial hair"
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
LoveLetterTypewriter
I have a cold and new earrings. I'm only excited about one of those things.
In addition to working a new internship, I also signed on with a company that does retail marketing for major label artists. On the plus side, I'll be paid to hang up posters (until this point, postering was its own reward). On the minus side, my first artist to promote is Katy Perry. I now have 20 of her CDs and a billion posters in my apartment. Tomorrow (today, when I wake up) I have the honor of traipsing around Chicago looking for stores willing to host displays. How did this become my life?
I feel like little J from Gossip Girl circa mid-summer when she was just a lowly little intern. "Anything to make it," that's my new motto. "No job too small."
Speaking of which, I heart Gossip Girl. Have I mentioned that? Not only because they are doing a ridiculously awesome job with the Vitamin Water product placement (sadly scaled way back this week) but also because of the drama. Oh my, so much drama. It's the new Degrassi.
Oh, and they've added a new character: Aaron Rose.
Tres hipster fabulous, no? Sometimes he wears huge Elvis Costello glasses and it's even more awesome. Mondays are the best.
In real life, which nobody cares about, his name is John Patrick Amedori. Finding out that he's the kid from "Stick It" made me feel really dirty. Like maybe I should be on profiled on Hipster or Pedophile. I'm obviously not a hipster though, so...
Speaking of Gossip Girl, I'm on Twitter and we should be friends. You should join Twitter. You can be friends with me AND(/or) with Rufus_Humphrey. Win-win-win.
And on that note, gentle reader, I will bid adieu.
p.s. I played two awesome new artists on my show this past week. Saint Milkweed and Daniel Martin Moore. Both are rather mellow.
p.p.s. Speaking of Myspace, why do some people take it as a challenge to be as tacky as possible? And not in a kitchy, ironic way. I'm promoting some artists on Myspace for my internship and it's killing me. Here are just a few examples of the nightmares that make my eyes bleed and my brain melt.
In addition to working a new internship, I also signed on with a company that does retail marketing for major label artists. On the plus side, I'll be paid to hang up posters (until this point, postering was its own reward). On the minus side, my first artist to promote is Katy Perry. I now have 20 of her CDs and a billion posters in my apartment. Tomorrow (today, when I wake up) I have the honor of traipsing around Chicago looking for stores willing to host displays. How did this become my life?
I feel like little J from Gossip Girl circa mid-summer when she was just a lowly little intern. "Anything to make it," that's my new motto. "No job too small."
Speaking of which, I heart Gossip Girl. Have I mentioned that? Not only because they are doing a ridiculously awesome job with the Vitamin Water product placement (sadly scaled way back this week) but also because of the drama. Oh my, so much drama. It's the new Degrassi.
Oh, and they've added a new character: Aaron Rose.
Tres hipster fabulous, no? Sometimes he wears huge Elvis Costello glasses and it's even more awesome. Mondays are the best.
In real life, which nobody cares about, his name is John Patrick Amedori. Finding out that he's the kid from "Stick It" made me feel really dirty. Like maybe I should be on profiled on Hipster or Pedophile. I'm obviously not a hipster though, so...
Speaking of Gossip Girl, I'm on Twitter and we should be friends. You should join Twitter. You can be friends with me AND(/or) with Rufus_Humphrey. Win-win-win.
And on that note, gentle reader, I will bid adieu.
p.s. I played two awesome new artists on my show this past week. Saint Milkweed and Daniel Martin Moore. Both are rather mellow.
p.p.s. Speaking of Myspace, why do some people take it as a challenge to be as tacky as possible? And not in a kitchy, ironic way. I'm promoting some artists on Myspace for my internship and it's killing me. Here are just a few examples of the nightmares that make my eyes bleed and my brain melt.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
World Inside the World
So. Big Changes in the past month. None of them documented yet and at this rate I'm bound to forget stuff. Feel free to remind me.
1. I have joined the ranks of the unemployed.
2a. I'm sort of not exactly unemployed. I'm just unpaid. Shortly after being laid off I found a new internship which will (hopefully) turn into a real job in the next couple of months.
I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING! "But Ashley," you say, "haven't we heard that line before?" Yes. Yes, you have. But I really, REALLY mean it this time. Just like every other time. But for real.
Here's the thing. I can't NOT try. There are some horrible cliches I could employ but I think Okkervil River's "A Stone" sums it up best somehow. And in the meantime, I'm getting some valuable hands-on experience doing radio and internet marketing so win-win-win.
2b. There's a kid at "work" (seriously, he's like, 12 or something) who's really into the Chicago punk scene (Alkaline Trio, Lawrence Arms, etc). It's kind of neat being able to discuss that genre with someone again. It also makes me feel old and ridiculous. Like Liz Lemon going to the night club with the coffee guy on 30 Rock but without any romantic overtones whatsoever. So maybe not really like that at all. Maybe like someone's parent trying to be "cool" and "hip" in front of the child's friends. Except I can't think of a pop culture reference for that.
3. Along those lines (i.e. music) I am still doing my quasi-new radio show. It's on WLUW in Chicago. Monday mornings from 2-4am CST.
4. Guitar lessons are almost over. Next Thursday is our big recital. It involves getting up on stage at the Old Town School of Folk Music with the whole class and playing REM's "The One I Love." The ending of the song is awesome because it's an exaggerated up-strum on the E minor chord. Basically, it's a lot of fun to play, very rock star. I sneer a little when I do it and then promptly laugh myself silly. Sadly I'm going to have to wait until my financial situation is more secure to continue on but it'll work out.
5. New blog layout! Briefly, I spend 6-8 hours in a room with people working on web development at my new internship and I've been slightly inspired to try some stuff out. So...hopefully you like it. If the middle bar isn't centered you may need to re-size your browser (make it narrower!). I'm still learning. But I think it's neat looking...
6. Speaking of being unemployed (like four points ago, whatever) I applied for a job at our local record store. And was rejected. I'm not bitter. Really. I would totally still shop there if I had any disposable income right now. Which I don't (see point #1 above).
The deal is that they have a music quiz for potential employees. And I'm pretty sure I failed it. Here's the thing, I can wax poetic for hours about post-emo indie rock and the evolution of punk (with an emphasis on the Dischord scene and early Epitaph bands). I can discuss current buzz bands, alt-country, riot girl, twee, dancey-dancey indie rock and outlaw music. I even have a faint understanding of modern pop. But I have limited interest in so-called "classic rock" bands. And that seemed to be the emphasis of the quiz.
I understand that knowing the basics is important. But I think in an independent store you'd have more opportunities to discuss, say, Cocorosie or Park Ave than the Beatles. I mean, suggestinga patron check out The Who is all well and good but if I owned a record store I'd recommend Mousetrap* instead.
C'est la guerre.
*Disclaimer, Mousetrap was originally recommended to me by an employee at the Antiquarium. I'm sure I've mentioned it to you before. It's the best store ever, seriously. The Antiquarium is in Omaha and it is an art gallery/used bookstore/record store. The video doesn't show the record store in the basement but it does show the books. Oh man, the books. Simply put, the Antiquarium is my idea of heaven.
1. I have joined the ranks of the unemployed.
2a. I'm sort of not exactly unemployed. I'm just unpaid. Shortly after being laid off I found a new internship which will (hopefully) turn into a real job in the next couple of months.
I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING! "But Ashley," you say, "haven't we heard that line before?" Yes. Yes, you have. But I really, REALLY mean it this time. Just like every other time. But for real.
Here's the thing. I can't NOT try. There are some horrible cliches I could employ but I think Okkervil River's "A Stone" sums it up best somehow. And in the meantime, I'm getting some valuable hands-on experience doing radio and internet marketing so win-win-win.
2b. There's a kid at "work" (seriously, he's like, 12 or something) who's really into the Chicago punk scene (Alkaline Trio, Lawrence Arms, etc). It's kind of neat being able to discuss that genre with someone again. It also makes me feel old and ridiculous. Like Liz Lemon going to the night club with the coffee guy on 30 Rock but without any romantic overtones whatsoever. So maybe not really like that at all. Maybe like someone's parent trying to be "cool" and "hip" in front of the child's friends. Except I can't think of a pop culture reference for that.
3. Along those lines (i.e. music) I am still doing my quasi-new radio show. It's on WLUW in Chicago. Monday mornings from 2-4am CST.
4. Guitar lessons are almost over. Next Thursday is our big recital. It involves getting up on stage at the Old Town School of Folk Music with the whole class and playing REM's "The One I Love." The ending of the song is awesome because it's an exaggerated up-strum on the E minor chord. Basically, it's a lot of fun to play, very rock star. I sneer a little when I do it and then promptly laugh myself silly. Sadly I'm going to have to wait until my financial situation is more secure to continue on but it'll work out.
5. New blog layout! Briefly, I spend 6-8 hours in a room with people working on web development at my new internship and I've been slightly inspired to try some stuff out. So...hopefully you like it. If the middle bar isn't centered you may need to re-size your browser (make it narrower!). I'm still learning. But I think it's neat looking...
6. Speaking of being unemployed (like four points ago, whatever) I applied for a job at our local record store. And was rejected. I'm not bitter. Really. I would totally still shop there if I had any disposable income right now. Which I don't (see point #1 above).
The deal is that they have a music quiz for potential employees. And I'm pretty sure I failed it. Here's the thing, I can wax poetic for hours about post-emo indie rock and the evolution of punk (with an emphasis on the Dischord scene and early Epitaph bands). I can discuss current buzz bands, alt-country, riot girl, twee, dancey-dancey indie rock and outlaw music. I even have a faint understanding of modern pop. But I have limited interest in so-called "classic rock" bands. And that seemed to be the emphasis of the quiz.
I understand that knowing the basics is important. But I think in an independent store you'd have more opportunities to discuss, say, Cocorosie or Park Ave than the Beatles. I mean, suggestinga patron check out The Who is all well and good but if I owned a record store I'd recommend Mousetrap* instead.
C'est la guerre.
*Disclaimer, Mousetrap was originally recommended to me by an employee at the Antiquarium. I'm sure I've mentioned it to you before. It's the best store ever, seriously. The Antiquarium is in Omaha and it is an art gallery/used bookstore/record store. The video doesn't show the record store in the basement but it does show the books. Oh man, the books. Simply put, the Antiquarium is my idea of heaven.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
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