coachella 09

did you know? if you can't afford to pay for a 3 day Coachella pass, you can pay for your tickets in installments! layaway systems are back! here's how it works:

After the indie-rock fest lineup is unveiled this week, fans will have two options besides money up front when buying a $269 three-day pass: pay half down and the rest April 1, or pay 10% followed by equal installments on March 1 and April 1 without interest or additional fees. The plans are sold only online and aren't available for $99 single-day admission.

that's right. Coachella somehow managed to become cooler. also note (and this info was published on their website today) the lineup will be "unveiled THIS WEEK" 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

here is a collection of all past Coachella posters (courtesy of coachella.com). it's kinda funny

hope/hype = wtf

i'm not a very political person. i don't claim to understand everything going on in the country right now. but i'm gonna vent. but please keep in mind that i have complete respect for republicans and what they believe, but i don't respect disrespect.

a girl's facebook status is "where you see hope, i see hype."

an old person's bumper sticker says "obama: not my president."

from what i've heard, many (not all) republicans don't want Obama as president because they don't think we need change, don't need to fix anything, except the economy of course because they need their money. but when i see stupid statements like the two above i get very angry. not only is it showing a lack of respect for our country, it is showing a lack of maturity.

Obama won the presidency for a reason. he is everything the country needs right now. if someone would like to be so pessimistic as to say that the hope the country feels is just hype, so be it. but please don't push that fucked up point of view on the rest of us. why promote negativity? 

on this same girl's profile, in her about me thing nonetheless, she has this quote:

"In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president."

way to be an american. now you believe in equality, right?

if you were a true american, you wouldn't spew bullshit like that. Obama has done nothing to ruin america. bush, on the other hand, did a lot to put america in a bad place. the reason he isn't respected is because he said a lot of dumb things, didn't seem to connect with americans very well and made quite a few bad decisions. the economy is what it is because he did something wrong. problems CAN be prevented. 

(ps: don't you see that the reason bush wasn't respected was because of HIM, not his political party? don't hate on Obama just because he's a democrat. )

did you not see the news on Jan. 20? the happiness that day was nearly tangible. finally the youth was excited. hope is what this country needs. can you imagine the country without it right now? with all of the issues slowly bringing america down, we need someone like Obama to take control. i'm excited for what the future holds and for the history i was able to be a part of, and you, facebook girl, should show respect for the country you claim to love so much.

fashionably late

packing clothes.

there is no task more daunting.

but i'm excited/nervous/terrified to drive to san diego on my own on saturday. i'm hoping all my boxes fit and i'm hoping the comet makes it alive. fingers crossed.

also, doesn't the US feel different? it feels much more positive, hopeful and happy, despite the recession, which looms over me and my every move every fucking day.

what a pleasure it is to say President Barack Obama. 

LOST nicknames

i am a big fan of LOST because, like many of the things i like, it exercises my brain. and i love this link because i love sawyer and his silly nicknames

my online shopping life is complete

thanks to O magazine, things have been simplified.

shoppingnotes.com is the website from heaven. paste the link of an item you'd like to purchase in the provided space. then place your e-mail address in the other provided space. then click "get alerts."

voila. you just signed up for a price alert. when the price of the item drops, you will be notified. you will stop worrying about missing a sale and are guaranteed to save money. now there is hope that i will get this hooded leather bomber by Silence & Noise for much less than $128, without torturing myself by checking the price daily. shoppingnotes.com does all the work for me. it's one step towards working on being a little less impulsive and indulgent. 

space

i'm so happy The Office is back. 

i miss having a scheduled week and i miss my San Diego friends.

i'm going to miss my mom and walking my dogs.

i'm looking forward to getting a kitten this spring. 

i'm also looking forward to cigarette breaks with matatat, and life with a car at USD.

"i don't trust children when they laugh at my  jokes" John Steinbeck

yum

i'm currently watching the Golden Globes red carpet thing on E! and i'm realizing how much i miss dressing up. while i still indulge in big jewelry on a day to day basis, i've yet to have a legitimate reason to wear a gorgeous dress. maybe i should have joined a sorority after all...

i've also realized how much i truly hate Anne Hathaway. she better not fucking win.

i saw a movie called Baghead the other night and reallllly liked it. it's about these 4 friends who go to a cabin to make a movie and they come up with the idea of a creeper wearing a bag on his head doing creepy things to terrorize a group of friends stuck in a cabin. the film seems to be pretty low-budget camera wise though i don't really know anything about cameras. the acting was good and believable, the film was scary and funny and the plot twist is a good one. highly recommended.

i found an AMAZING website called Fuck You, Penguin. it's a blog that takes a cute animal picture and rips it to shreds. it's a way of expressing that feeling you get when something is too cute. check it out.

finally, what do you think of these sunglasses? i'm newly obsessed and 90% positive that i will be spending my first paycheck on them. 

simplicity

i had a simple day today, and i valued it a lot. my mom is on a health kick so i had some simple food but i swear to god it was the best meal of my life. there's much to be said for rosemary and garlic and health. and there's also a lot to be said about rediscovering the truth that is Rilo Kiley on a simple drive through ojai. 

Rilo Kiley has some of the most honest lyrics i've ever been exposed to (and i'm sure many of you can agree). i had a therapeutic 40 minute drive amongst the mountains singing really loud along to jenny's voice to cover up the whistling noise that was coming through my mom's broken passenger window. anyways, no need to blog about Rilo Kiley as if they were a new band. i just like to bring back the "classics" every once in a while.

Rilo Kiley - New Music - More Music Videos

movies

whenever i'm home for any reason, whether it be a weekend to get away from idiots or month long breaks, i watch movie after movie and read book after book. had i been reading more recent books i would write mini reviews of those. but i've been catching up on the classics, and i highly recommend "The Winter of Our Discontent" by John Steinbeck. it's AMAZING. i think it's my new favorite book.

after i finished that book i read a few magazines, including Filter, whose offices are in L.A., which means i'm looking into a summer internship. after i finished the magazines i settled in and watched a movie called "Towelhead."

"Towelhead" is a movie about a 13 year old girl's sexual experimentations with her army reservist neighbor (played by Aaron Eckhart), a classmate and herself. it was graphic and uncomfortable and sometimes went a bit too far and included some unnecessary plot twists, but overall it held my interest and gave my insomniac mind something to do. 

the other night i watched a movie called "Reprise." it's a french new wave film described as a "postmodern Norwegian coming-of-age story," starring some unknowns (in america at least). it starts off like "Amelie" with a narrator describing little stories of things that we could assume might happen in the lives of the two protagonists. the two protagonists are aspiring novelists. one has a few mental breakdowns and the other is kind of an observer. as an aspiring novelist myself i found the film to be interesting and thought-provoking. it inspired me to start the novel i've been planning on writing for the last year. so we'll see what happens. overall i would recommend it if you don't mind subtitles. 

but my favorite movie of the week is "Marley and Me," of course. 1. it was about a dog. 2. it had owen wilson. 3. owen wilson and jennifer aniston's characters are a cute married couple that both write for newspapers. it was cute all around, made me laugh and made me cry. it was inspirational (because of the writing aspect) and it was different than the other movies in that it was based on a book/true story and wasn't trying to be super artsy. it had a great flow and a great story and didn't have to try very hard to get it's main point across. see it.

a birthday blog

a friend of mine is celebrating his birthday in a giant cast, and that sucks. since it's not the safest thing to get shitfaced while popping prescribed vicodin pills i have decided to provide him with an equally satisfying form of entertainment, one that i would compare to the effects of ecstasy - cuteoverload.com.

cuteoverload is my website of choice when i am in severe need of a break from thinking or am just bored and missing my my cat. for my friend stuck in his room in a cast on this special day, cuteoverload will distract him from his pain and provide him with some much needed laughs. and i'm not speaking crazy, there was an article about how doctors "prescribe" the website to patients suffering from depression and other things that make you feel shitty. so, evan, check it out!

i remember when i met evan. he was in a cast then too. i don't remember the whole night but i do remember bonding over cigarettes and the dinner he provided me with (which was a bowl of special k, sans milk). and then there was that night where i was drunk off my ass and ended up being stranded at mission beach after a party turned sour and my friend got an MIP. he limped alongside me as we traveled down the boardwalk to his place where i sat on his couch and waited for my ride. so thanks, evan, for not leaving me alone and lost in mission beach that night and for helping me watch my weight with that special k. have a wonderful birthday! and look at cuteoverload, you'll feel much better.

winter house show

i ventured out of my house today to attend Alexa's winter house show. it felt amazing to drive the Comet, listen to some Jenny and Band of Horses and wear a coat and boots; all of my favorite things at once. her backyard was set up very cutely, i had some of the best guacamole ever made and got to watch Dan and Stanley (wearing a wizard hat) jam, and they were really good! it was so nice to actually have some fresh air within my lungs and to be around some pretty genuine people. the air was intensely crisp, like the breaths of crunchy leaves swirling all over (seriously, that's what i envisioned while i tucked my hands into my coat). the combination of fruit trees, palm trees and trees with fall leaves was intriguing, as were the variety of people attending at the time that i left. had i not been sick i would have stayed the whole time. man...i miss going to live shows. i miss the troubadour and the bowl, even Mai's. and i miss being healthy. and i miss having money. i miss writing my column, i miss editing my A&C section. but i'm adapting to life at home with parents pretty nicely. me and my dad have been watching the sopranos again. i guess you could say it's a different kind of bonding experience. i lovvvve mafia shiz. i remember that show, The Black Donnellys. i don't know what happened to it, but it was really good, and the oldest brother was really hot. but i never did get to see the finale. 

here's another weird dream i had: i was on a grassy hill next to a crowded auditorium. i saw a friend riding a horse while wearing a Daft Punk helmet. it fell off and he started to ride away but i was trying to have someone take a pic of him. so i put down the helmet next to my friend's cd and then a wave rolled over everything. but we were on a grassy hill...where did the wave come from? i wish i could look up Daft Punk helmets in my dream dictionary.

this pic is from way back when on the first day i got to drive the Comet to school, before the 3 accidents and subsequent repairs. gooood day. 

let me see

after having a tough few days, being home by myself feeling delirious and sick (yet again) has not been the perfect cure. i've felt lonely, bored, restless and lightheaded, and all i've been able to do is watch TV. yeah, i watched One Life to Live, General Hospital and Lifetime movies. but i also had way too much time to think. as i said to a good friend, being an insomniac and having a cold is the worst combination. all i had left was music, so i downloaded tons. i now have some more Panda Bear and PJ Harvey, as well as some more Grizzly Bear and the newly leaked Animal Collective. between my gigantic sneezes were interspersed songs and a few kitty attacks courtesy of my cat, Scout. i wish i could figure out how to put songs on my blog, but since i can't all i can do is provide titles:

Grizzly Bear "Colorado"

Animal Collective "Daily Routine"

Panda Bear "I'm Not"

PJ Harvey "When Under Ether"

BONUS! team9 vs. stereogum Ratatat vs. PJ Harvey "Ratatat Under Ether"

* it's a mashup of "Wildcat" and "When Under Ether" sooo good (thank you Mitch)

and a bonus picture of my crazy cat (this is how he likes to sleep)