Sleepyhead

I'm off to bed

I don't mean to seem like I care about material things like a social status

It's supposed to snow sometime tonight and I can't for the life of me understand why we've been getting such a shit ton of the white stuff lately. Yes I know I live in New York, but I've been here for three years and haven't seen this much snow. I guess I should be grateful that it's not a blizzard every time but still. It's kind of nuisance.

I'm thinking about getting a tripod for my camera. I want one so that I can take "What I Wore Today" pics like Nubby. And maybe even post them to Wardrobe Remix. I'm still debating. I might want to buy another pair of UNIQLO jeans instead.

When we were shopping with Micky on Sunday, we went into UNIQLO (he was looking for a blue vest or tie). When Pinky was in town last year, we went to UNIQLO and I remember her telling me that she really liked their stuff. I couldn't remember if she said that the sizes ran big or small, so when I found a pair of skinny jeans I really liked, I picked up the two sizes I teeter between. The smaller size fit incredibly well and I'm certain that I'm going to have to get this jean in every non offensive color they make it in (I got wine this time around).

UNIQLO is a Japanese company and the SoHo store in New York is actually the only one in the US (well at least according to their website anyway). The true test of the jeans will come when I finally wear them (which could be months, who knows) but if they look as good walking down the street after a long ass day as they did standing in that dressing room, I am sold.

I really tried to stay up and watch The Walkmen on Conan last night but I think I knocked out sometime around 12:30. No worries though! Thanks to the wonders of the technology, I was able to watch their performance on the NBC website. "In the New Year" was epic!

This is what was going on in the office two Fridays ago. It was awesome.

Why does EVERYONE have to do a cover of "Love Song"? I mean, I know it's like the best known Cure song, but it isn't the most romantic. Check out "Halo." Now that's some romantic shit.



Michael K is on a roll. EVERY post he made today had me dying on the floor. It's not unusual for me to chuckle at all of his celebrity commentary but for some reason today I found them especially funny. I really liked this one:

As some of you know, Fox is going to fuck with the legendary TV experience that is Absoultely Fabulous. Why, you ask? Because that's what we do in America. We take TV shows from other countries and try to find ways to get them canceled in record time. Although, Kath & Kim is still breathing and I'm not sure why. I'll have to ask Satan that during our weekly conference call

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In other news, Grace keeps playing the new Animal Collective in the office. And I can't get enough of this song.

This will be a better year

Long time no talk, huh? I've been busy doing everything and nothing. That's how it seems to go sometimes. This post will be full of randomness so hold on.

First off, Happy New Year! We all have a fresh new start. And if your 2008 was as shitty as mine, you need it! We've got a fantastic new president who will hopefully not only fix the problems we have but make us seem a little more human to people in other parts of the world. We care. We know. We see what's going on. And we want change too.


I spent New Years Eve in White Plains at the Lazy Boy Bar with my cousins, eating wings and listening to songs on the jukebox. A DJ played later on in the night, much to my disappointment. I made Jeazette look in her bag for a solid 5 minutes for 50 cents so that I could play "The Sound Of Settling." Sad to say that I never got the chance to sing "Bah Bah. Bah Bah."

I saw The Wrestler and Slumdog Millionaire in the past month. Both were great. I was happy to see Mickey Rourke take home the best actor trophy at the Golden Globes and very happy for Slumdog for taking home every award they were nominated for. A lot of great movies have come out lately and that's kind of rare.

Jeazette's birthday was this week so we went out for dinner on Saturday. She picked a Thai place in White Plains called Reka's. It was phenominal! I had spring rolls and the chicken pad thai (I usually go for the chicken pad thai if I've never been to the restaurant before. If you mess that up, everything else will taste like poo most likely.) Also had fried ice cream for dessert. When we got home that night, Jeazette and I watched Funny Games with Naomi Watts and Michael Pitt. I'd wanted to see it for a while. Totally twisted and a bit unsatisfying I have to admit. But totally creepy in the "this could totally happen in real life" way which isn't often the case with horror/thriller movies. So at the very least, I appreciate that. Also, I've had a crush on Michael Pitt since Murder by Numbers. Holla at ya girl Napoleon!

There seem to be a lot of birthdays this month. Why is that? Kind of weird. My aunt, uncle, and two of my cousins all have birthdays this month. Not to mention my grandmother and several friends. Anyone else been buying a bunch of birthday cards this month? My wallet is empty.

Yesterday, Adhalia, Jeazette and I went into the city to hang out with Micky. We had lunch at this really nice cafe on 9th and 30th (or was it 29th?) in Chelsea. Can't for the life of me remember what it's called but the food was great (I had a burger with fries) and if you order something on the brunch menu, you get drinks to go with it (we all got mimosas). Then we hit up a few stores on Broadway before going back to Micky's and hanging out for a bit. We listened to his Santogold station on Pandora and I was surprised that I had most of the records that were being played (Lily Allen, The Cure, Metric, Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

Well, I think that's all I have for major updates in my little world.. So here's a little housekeeping.

The Walkmen are on Conan tonight. Watch it. Don't know what song they'll play, but it's sure to be awesome.

The Duke Spirit is playing Music Hall of Williamsburg on the 16th. I'm pretty sure I'll be going. I know that I'll have a good time and it's always fun going to a venue that I've never been to before. They're also playing at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Small venue and I'd love to see them there. But can you take the Path to Maxwell's? And how late does it run? I'll have to investigate. The band is holding a contest where the winner gets to go to a show of their choice and annouce them on stage. All you have to do is make a YouTube video. Get the deets here.

COYH have a new video for their song "Turn Cold." They're gonna be on tour with Ra Ra Riot soon. Tour dates here.



The Harlem Shakes record comes out in March. Listen to "Strictly Game" on their MySpace. It's my new anthem.

Ok, I think that's all I got for now. I'll try to be a better updater.

Come and join us in the trenches

The last couple of weeks have been busy but fun for me. Went to the Walkmen/Dodos show on the 16th which was EPIC! I'd never seen either band live and rarely do I go to a show where all the acts put on a great performance. Earfarm took some great photos which you can check out here and here. And if you don't have Visitor or You & Me you really should get them, like yesterday.

We had our work holiday party a couple of weeks ago and it was a blast. A lot of pictures were taken.

The rest you can find on my flickr.

My mom is in town for Christmas and so far I think she's having a good time. We saw the Rockerfeller tree the day after she got in town. Afterwards we rushed over to Katz's Deli to get pastrami sandwiches before they closed. It's a Christmas tradition!

Christmas morning we went to church. Afterwards, we drove around looking for Captain Morgan. Couldn't find any in the stores that were open so we settled for Rasberry and Strawberry Smirnoffs. Had breakfast at Aunt Angelas where I was forced to watch the Yule Log. What's the big woop about that thing anyway?

Headed back to Aunt Angelas for dinner later in that day. Ate lots and lots of food, watched "A Christmas Story," hung out with the cousins and had a wicked tissue paper fight!

On Saturday, we went to the annual Christmas dance that my Aunt's church puts on. It was fun as always. We got dressed up, took lots of pictures, ate a lot of food and sweat out our clothes and hair from jumping up and down to the Vision Band. Proof below.

For New Years, my cousins and are are going to White Plains to a bar and hanging out there until about 11:30. Then we'll head on out to see the ball drop. White Plains does their own ball drop. I would never go back into the craziness that is Times Square on New Years. The out of towners can have that. Anywho, I hope that you and yours have a fantastic New Years Eve and I wish everyone the best for '09. Make it count!

I couldn't speak except to say how gorgeous that I thought you were to me

Beth Ditto has new hair and it looks amazing!

What do you think I am or do you think at all?

I saw Snowden at Mercury Lounge on the 3rd. Photos here. Their new songs sound awesome and I'm looking forward to their next record.

Christmas is around the corner and we've yet to do the necessary shopping. I'm afraid we're gonna be at the Galleria at 8 pm on Christmas Eve. Oh yeah and covering everything in tissue paper and putting them in bags til 1 in the morning. When will we learn?

I'm looking forward to the Walkmen/Dodos show on Tuesday night. Should be pretty wicked, especially since EVERYONE is going.

When I was in Atlanta, I saw Milk with Will and it was phenomenal. Looks like Sean Penn will easily pick up Best Actor nominations for all the major awards. Global Globe nominations were recently announced and of course he's nominated in that category. Thankfully, Heath Ledger is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category so voters won't have to choose between him and Sean Penn. I definitely want to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road and The Wrestler in the near future. All of those movies are nominated. I finally saw Four Minutes the other night and it was as good as I thought it would be.

Randomness over.

Comfy Cosey

Helena Bonham Carter must be so comfortable all the time. I'm jealous.

I can't help it

I saw my last Duke Spirit show of the year (at least I think it will be the last one) last night at the 40 Watt in Athens. They were brilliant as always. And for it being a rainy Saturday night during Thanksgiving weekend, there was a pretty good turn out. In addition to all of the gems they usually play, they also played "Echo Song" which is a b-side from Neptune (only way us US kids can get it is on import). You can listen to it on their MySpace page.

Besides putting out great records, The Duke Spirit also put on a great live show. Liela's voice is flawless and their sound is solid. I admire their endurance. They've been touring practically non stop since February and I've yet to see a mediocre performance out of them. They give 100% every time.

I also appreciate that they're so grateful to crazy fans like me who have seen them loads of times. They're such sweet people and I hope the rest of this year and next are extremely good to them. They deserve it.




More photos here.

I also took a few pictures of Eulogies, one of the opening bands. Check them out, they were really good.

The Duke Spirit is playing Matt Pinfield's Holiday Extravaganza show for 101.9 RXP on the 9th (a few other bands are playing including the Ting Tings) but it's sold out so I can't go. Bummers :( The station is giving away tickets to the show so maybe I'll try my luck there. If you'd like to enter the contest sign up here. The band is also playing David Letterman Letterman on December 8th

For those of you who don't live in NY, 101.9 RXP is a relatively new station. I believe that 101.9 was previously a smooth jazz station. It became The New York Rock Experience in February of this year.

Being from Atlanta, I grew up listening to 99x. Sitting in my room on Saturday mornings and listening to the countdown; laughing uncontroably to "The Morning X with Barnes, Leslie and Jimmy"; "The House of Retro Pleasure" (aka "Duplex of Retro Pleasure" aka "The Retroplex") with Steve Craig where I heard Echo and the Bunnymen for the first time. Thanks to 99x, my friend Stephanie won front row seats to see The Smashing Pumpkins at the Fox Theater, which was pretty major for a pair of 16 year old girls that were in love with them. I loved their Live X CDs, how they'd throw out shirts into the crowd during local shows and all the rad stuff that I got with my Freeloaders card.

As we all know, people don't listen to radio as much as they used to, thanks to internet radio, satellite radio, downloading, mp3 blogs, and a whole heap of other things. And unfortunately, 99x suffered from that. On January 25, 2008 99x stopped broadcasting on 99.7. They last song that was played was Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". While 99x now exist solely on the internet, it's not the same. When I came home in April and realized that I could no longer hear Steve Craig's voice at 1 in the afternoon talking about a great Altered Images song, I was crushed. Listening to The Retroplex was always one of my favorite things about coming home.

Former 99x DJ Sean Demery wrote an amazing post about the history of the station in his blog back in January. It was really interesting reading about how the station came to be and how it evolved, becoming probably the best rock station in the south.

In June of this year, Leslie Fram became the Program Director at 101.9 RXP. She also co-hosts the Morning Drive with Matt Pinfield. Leslie is kind of a legend in Atlanta and a lot of people credit her with giving them their start in music, whether it be supporting their band when others wouldn't or giving them a shot in radio. RXP has the potential to be a great station and it will certainly grow and prosper under Leslie's guidance. Steve Craig, another 99x alum also accepted a position at RXP. He's currently the midday host.

RXP promises not to rely on corporate playlists. I often wonder if bands I listen to would break out and become huge if they were only getting airplay on major radio stations. It's really hard to say. But if RXP truly does intend on playing good, new music, things may just change. I guess only time will tell. But it seems as though they're intent on doing things differently. And hopefully, that will make all the difference.

There's a world outside your window

They've been playing Holiday music on most stations for the past two weeks now, which is kind of annoying considering it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But there's one song that I don't mind hearing at this time of year.

Blue star, shine your light

When I was in college, I met a really cool girl named Melina. Melina and I shared a mutual friend, Elena. Elena and I went to the same high school and Melina had gone to school with Elena's sister. Elena was a year ahead of me in school but it just so happened that we ended up at the same college and living in the same dorm. Even though Melina and I both knew Elena, we probably wouldn't have become good friends had I not taped pictures of one of my favorite bands to my dormroom door. That band was the Deftones. Turned out Melina was a big Deftones fan as well and after meeting her, I had someone to share my 'tones obsession with.

I have so many great Deftones memories from over the years including the first time I saw them at Ozzfest in 1999; the time I caught Abe's drum stick when he threw them up into the air at their Tabernacle show in 2000; the time Melina and I bought tickets off a classmate for the sold out Big Day Out concert, praying that we'd get to hear "Back to School" live for the first time (which we did); the time we FINALLY heard "The Chauffeur" live after begging them forever to play it live; and the time we got to hang out with them one awesome night in Fort Mill South Carolina, making us the happiest girls ever in life.

While the Deftones are an incredibly talented band, one of the best things about them has always been their bass player Chi Cheng. I was fortunate to meet Chi on a few different occasions and he was always humble, incredibly kind and really appreciatve of the opportunity to play music for his fans. I remember one particular day in November of 2000 when Melina and I went up to Atlanta for a Deftones show at International Ballroom. Because we were super fans, we arrived at the venue really early (11 am to be exact) so that we could be one of the first people inside when the doors opened later that night. To our surprise, we weren't even the first ones there. A 16 year old kid from Alabama had made it there first. We thought, "Wow, how early did this kid have to get up to drive to Georgia from Alabama to make it there before 11 am?" We knew he had to be a big fan.

The weather was terrible that day. It was cold and rained on and off all day. While Melina and I had hoodies that kept us pretty warm, this 16 year old kid didn't have a jacket or anything and we felt really bad for him.

As the day went on we spotted a few members from the opening bands walking around and chatted and talked with them. But the highlight was definitely when members of the Deftones came out to talk to fans. Now Melina and I used to ask Chi questions on the Deftones messageboard pretty frequently. And somehow, with the hundreds of questions people would ask him, he would always answer ours. When we met him, he remembered the questions that we asked and we thought, "Wow, here's this big rockstar who actually knows who we are." And that felt really cool. Talking to Chi about music, politics and Buddhism, you could tell that he was really well informed about so many things and topics. But what came across the most about Chi that day was his kindness. When he saw that the 16 year old kid who had been waiting there all day was shivering because he didn't have a jacket on, he went onto the bus and gave the kid HIS jacket. I was truly amazed. Most regular people wouldn't have done that much less a rockstar. If we didn't know before, we definitely knew then that Chi wasn't just a rockstar. He was a good person too.

I mention all of this because a few weeks ago on November 3, Chi was involved in a really terrible car accident. His mother, Jeanne, has been updating the Deftones blog with Chi's condition. He's in a coma. While he's stable, his condition is obviously very serious. I pray for him every night. It's so funny how you can feel so connected to a band because of all of the times you've listened to their CD or how many times you've seen them in concert or all of the posters you have of them hanging in your room (I still have a little Deftones corner in my room in Atlanta). However, when you've met them and see what good people they are, it makes it even more difficult to hear when something horrible happens to them.

Luckily for Chi, he has a lot of people pulling for him between his band mates, his family & friends and his millions of fans. I also know that his will is strong and that he will fight to get better. So I ask you, if you pray, pray for Chi. And if you don't pray, send some good thoughts his way. If anyone else were in his position, I know that Chi would gladly do the same.

Melina and Chi in 2000

So caught up in my lone communion

I'm so glad that I decided to get a ticket to see The Duke Spirit at Center Stage last night. As always they put on an incredible show and left me anxiously awaiting their headlining show in Athens next week.

I arrived at the venue probably 5 minutes before 8. The doors opened about 10 minutes later. Once I was inside I remembered that I'd been there before (when it was called Earthlink Live) back in 2002. I saw Kittie, Chimaira, Ill Nino and No One there. Now if you know me, you'll know that every time I've seen Kittie play live, something has happened to me. I always get hurt. This show was no exception. While some kid was crowd surfing, I tried to push him away from me as he was coming and my arm buckled and came out of its socket. Worst. Pain. Ever. It popped back into place after hanging there for a while, but it hurt like hell. Thankfully, I sustained no injuries at last night's show for which I am extremely grateful.

I talked to a very nice security guard while waiting for the show to start. Maybe he felt bad because I was by myself. As it got closer to 9, I got more and more excited of course. The band finally came out a little after 9 to "I Do Believe" and then plunged into "Send A Little Love Token". They're sticking to a set for this tour with Eagles of Death Metal so they played the same songs they played at Music Hall of Williamsburg last Sunday (I saw the setlist). Liela was in great form, very energetic and chatting with the crowd and being her usual charming self. I loved that they played to such an enthusiastic crowd. Sometimes, the crowds in New York just seem so over everything. But Atlanta crowds rarely act like they're too cool to have a good time and I really appreciate that. I'm sure the bands do as well.

Highlights for me were of course "Hello to the Floor," "Dog Roses," "Red Weather" and "Love Is an Unfamiliar Name." It's so good to hear older stuff as you tend to hear less and less of it with the more albums that a band puts out. Of course my favorite song from Neptune, This Ship Was Built to Last, sounded epic and Liela glanced over at me and smiled as I sang along. They closed with "Cuts Across the Land" which is another good oldie and you could tell that they left everyone who hadn't heard them before impressed.

I sat out in the lobby for awhile afterward and watched some of Eagles of Death Metal on the TV screens behind the bar. Then I decided to take off since unlike New York, the trains here stop running around midnight. As I was walking to the train station who should be coming from the other side of the street but Olly Bets, the Duke's drummer. When he crossed over to my side I told him how awesome they were and that this was my 6th time seeing them this year. For those of you keeping score at home I saw them twice in February at Mercury Lounge and Union Hall, twice in April at Bowery Ballroom and the 40 Watt (when they opened for Black Rebel), and once over the summer when they did that instore at the Apple Soho store (see picture)

Anywho, Olly couldn't believe that I'd see them so many times this year but he seemed genuinely appreciative so that was cool. I told him that I was going to their show at 40 Watt next week and I'm so looking forward to it. If you're not doing anything on the 29th, you should definitely go up to Athens and check out the show. It's a headling gig for them so I'm hoping that they'll pull out some gems that I haven't heard live before, like "Scratching Around," "This Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," or "A Wild Hope."

I took a few pictures at the show and I'm happy to say that a loto f them came out looking great. I think I finally found the perfect "show" setting on my camera, so that's cool.




More photos here.

Don't you think that you'd like to stay with me too

While I got off to a not so great start this morning (I woke up an hour late but still managed to make it to work earlier than most days, go figure!) today was pretty good. Work was fun, I got home around 9, had dinner, watched some tv and imported some CDs into my iTunes. Still need to pick up a few records that have come out in recent weeks and will probably do that on Friday when I'm back home in Atlanta.

So I wish I was one of those girls that could just wear something fabulous every day. But I just don't have the energy. Or don't know how to make it seem effortless. Or just don't try. Usually I can have a cool outfit or good hair. But not both at the same time. There's a girl who post in Newest Wrinkle that can do both. Zana posts pictures of her outfits every now and then and I'm AMAZED at how put together she looks in every single photo. She posted some photos today and everything she's wearing looks fantastic. I'm never sure of when to wear a necklace or not. Or what shoes are best. I've bought a TON of shoes this year (including Jeffery Campbell oxfords, Steve Madden boots (tall and short) and Nine West 4 inch oxfords (in black and brown). But so far I've only worn the tall Steve Madden boots once and the Nine West black oxfords once. What am I saving the rest for?

I know a lot of it has to do with comfort. It's SOO easy to slip on a pair of sneakers and go. But most new shoes hurt, especially if there's a heel or you have wide feet like me. However, I have to remember that my favorite pair of boots (which now have holes in them and need to be taken to the shoe repair shop next to work pronto - they apparently work miracles there) were really uncomfortable at first, too. As were the Urban boots that I've been wearing a lot lately. It's important to break them in first and then you can practically live in them.

Nubby and Gala are two other girls whose styles I admire. Gala actually wrote a post called "What Should I Wear" today which is kind of a funny coincidence. Perhaps it would help me if I took a picture of my outfit every day. Then I'd be forced to put together something worth taking a picture of. Is that the trick? I've gotta find a balance of comfort and style. I'll work on it and get back to you.

In other news, I am SO in love with this song by Cut Off Your Hands called "Oh Girl". This band is from New Zealand and they remind me a lot of The Smiths. Yeah, I said it. They're THAT good. I'm sad that I missed them during CMJ but I'm sure they'll be back in NYC next year

Georgia, take me to the seeeeeaaaaaaaaaa

My room is a mess. I'm trying to start packing for my trip to Atlanta but I can't really find the motivation. I'm just exhausted. I've been tired all day (maybe not enough sleep last night) and never did catch my second or even first wind. Hoping that I'll get a nice nights rest tonight.

I'm missing The Duke Spirit tonight and it's killing me a little inside. They opened for Eagles of Death Metal tonight at Bowery but the show sold out before I could get tickets. While I'll be seeing them twice when I'm back home in Georgia, I always feel odd not seeing them when they play in the city. Like I'm a bad fan or something. They played MHOW last night but as most of you know Brooklyn shows are rough for me unless I have a place nearby to crash afterwards. With as far uptown as I am, train rides too late at night can take FOREVER.

On Friday, I'm seeing Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson at Drunken Unicorn which I'm looking forward to. Seeing The Duke Spirit and Eagles of Death Metal on Saturday at Center Stage. Feel kind of bad that I'm missing Snowden on the 29th at The Earl (The Duke Spirit is headlining a show in Athens at the 40 Watt on that night and I just can't miss a Duke Spirit headlining show as I haven't seen one of those since February) but I will most likely be seeing them on the 3rd at Mercury Lounge anyway, even if I have to go alone.

I finally got to see Rival Schools in the last few weeks. Saw them at the Knitting Factory at the Brooklyn Vegan Showcase during CMJ and then at Mercury Lounge on the 6th. Both shows were amazing and they sound phenominal. I can't wait for the new record. The King Left was one of the openers at the Mercury Lounge show and they were great to watch. They totally rock out and sounded like 1000 times more amazing than when I saw them open for Snowden last year at Maxwell's.


To check out the pictures I took at Knitting Factory, visit my flickr.

I also saw Jaguar Love on Halloween at Mercury Lounge. It was pretty cool seeing J on stage again and he is a maniac on the drums. Also Johnny Whitney's voice is remarkable. I mean, how does he do it? The crowd loved Johnny and the rest of the boys and I was glad that I got to see them play.

Now that it's well past my bedtime, I think I'll hit the sack. I leave you with this fantastic interview with President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle from 60 minutes last night.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Change

Stop photoshopping my head on sexy bikini pictures

If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out.

I'm better for it

I came across this video as I was listening to my last.fm library this afternoon. This is one of my favorite songs from the 90s. I loved Juliana Hatfield when I was a kid. Literally, like a 14 year old kid. Too young to ever see her play, I didn't get a chance to catch her live until I was in college. She played Caledonia Lounge and after her show I got to tell her that "Make It Home" was one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar. And of course I still remember how to play it. "Universal Heartbeat" is a track from her record Only Everything. Great video, great song.

Nothing will happen to me

When we were at Barnes & Noble on Sunday (killing some time before seeing Mirrors) I bought the novel Towelhead by Alicia Erian. It was so good that I've already finished reading it. The film version comes out tomorrow and stars the fantastically talented Toni Collette and the very suave Aaron Eckhart. While I haven't seen it, I hear that Summer Bishil, who plays 13 year old Jasira (the main character) does a phenomenal job. I read a profile of her in I think Paper magazine a while back and it made me really want to read the book.

Without giving too much away, Towelhead really made me think about how we see ourselves, how we see others and what makes people do the things they do. While Jasira could be considered a very lost little girl who often does things when she knows she shouldn't, you can't help but feel sorry for her. A lot of her actions are just reactions to things in her life that no child should have to deal with. And who says any of us wouldn't have done the same things at her age, especially if we were confused, scared or just lonely. While there are times where you just want to shake some sense in to her, at others you just want to give her a hug because you realize that's what she really needs. I think a lot of people will empathize with her.

The title Towelhead will surely shock some people as well. But I'm sure that is its intent. Racism is definitely a strong theme in the book, especially since it takes place in 1990 when the US is involved in the Gulf War. When Jasira's Irish mother sends her to Texas to live with her Lebanese father, she encounters racism from kids at school, the 10 year old boy she babysits next door, and even her own father, who, although he claims not to be a racist, does not want Jasira to hang out with Thomas, a black boy who she likes at school. Is he really only concerned that Jasira will have to face the same rough time he and her mother did when they were married? Or is it his own underlying prejudices?

I was only nine years old in 1990 and so I can't really recall the racial sentiments in the country at that time. But in the grand view of the history of the world, it wasn't that long ago. And it always saddens me that people, even 18 years ago, could hold such prejudices against others just because of their ethnic background. It still goes on today. But just maybe, this book will make people realize that racism is something that should be left in the past.

And while the sexual awakening of a young girl will surely make some people very uncomfortable, I think its important to show how necessary it is for young people, especially girls, to feel comfortable with their bodies and who they are. They should also feel comfortable enough to go to the adults in their life who they trust, respect, and look up to and have them give them honest and straight forward answers to the questions they have, without making them feel ashamed for asking them. Too many bad things can happen when there's a lack of communication, and I think that is shown quite well in the book.

Over the past few years, I've tried to read books before I see the movie. The book is better 99.9% of the time. But I have a good feeling like this movie will most certainly due justice to the book. I believe in Toni, Aaron and especially in Summer.

Gina Gershon as Sarah Palin

Funny stuff

See more Gina Gershon videos at Funny or Die

If you say so, I'll leave home

The weather was terrible yesterday but it's a lot nicer today. Fall is approaching and I'm very much looking forward to it. It was a hot summer. I've just gotten over being sick (I had tonsillitis and spent Labor Day in the ER). My mom says that I need to start taking my vitamins regularly. I'm really bad about taking my vitamins. Perhaps I need one of those trusty pill boxes with the days of the week on them? Maybe not.

I met Rachel Zoe in Bryant Park on Monday. I saw a sneak peak of her new show on Bravo, The Rachel Zoe Project, a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it. I've seen a few famous people here and there since I moved to NY, but I've never actually gone up to any of them. It's almost as if they don't live in the same world as the rest of us, so when you see them outside in the "real world" it's a little strange. But I was just sitting there talking on the phone to my aunt and I saw Rachel and her assistant walk up the stairs and into the park. Rachel sat down as her assistant called somoene on the phone. When I got up to leave, I decided to say hello. She was very nice, shook my hand and said thanks when I wished her good luck with the show. I think most people's apprenhsion of going up to famous people is the fear that they'll be complete assholes. I'm happy to say that Rachel was as nice as can be.

If you don't have the Does It Offend You, Yeah CD, You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into, you should really get it because it's all kinds of awesome. "With a Heavy Heart" and "Dawn of the Dead" are personal favorites. I feel so out of the loop with music these days (as I've spent most of the year listening to The Duke Spirit and The Cure). However, with CMJ coming up soon, I hope to get back into the swing of things. Lots of great bands will be coming into town in the next few months and I look forward to seeing a few of them.

I recently purchased tickets to two shows that I'm VERY excited about. The first is Jaguar Love who will be performing at Mercury Lounge on Halloween. Yes, it's very cool that members of Pretty Girls Make Graves and Blood Brothers got together to form a band. I think everyone should like them on principal alone. However, their music is actually quite fantastic.

The other post Pretty Girls Make Graves Bands for those of you interested include:

Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death (Andrea)
Night Canopy (Nick)
The Moonrats (Nathan)
The Cave Singers (Derek)

I also purchased tickets to see the one and only RIVAL SCHOOLS at Mercury Lounge November 6th. It's already sold out (as is their show at Maxwell's in NJ) so I'm SOO happy that I didn't wait to get tickets. I never got the chance to see them live and United By Fate is such an important album for me. It's SOO my sophomore year in college. Rival Schools played a show in Athens once and all of my friends went. I couldn't make it since I was out of town. They all gushed about how great the show was and I've always regretted missing it. But now I get to see them in my favorite NYC venue. Once it starts getting colder, I'll have to start rocking my Rival Schools hoodie again. If you'd like some Rival Schools merch, there's a great sale going on over at their Merch Direct store. Perhaps their making room for new merch? Rival Schools' wikipedia page says that they've been writing new material, so maybe a new album is on its way as well.

As a side note, Merch Direct is owned by Justin Beck (of Glassjaw) who is married to the beautiful Melissa Beck (formally Howard -- She was in the New Orleans season of Real World and on Girls Behaving Badly). Melissa just annouced yesterday on her blog that she's pregnant! Congratulations to Melissa and Justin. That baby is going to be all kinds of gorgeous.

Happy Fourth!

Consindering that several past 4th of July days involved me sitting in a hot park at one of my mom's craft fairs, I feel like today will be a good day. Don't know if there's gonna be any cookout or picnic involved in my day today, but to be honest, doesn't matter either way.

Adhalia brought over some Robutssin for me last night and I actually had a pretty good nights rest. Thank GOD! I think I've gotten over the hump at least.

Hope everyone enjoys their day off. And as a little gift, check out this adorable kid from America's Got Talent.