the downside of anger

I'm so on edge right now it's unreal. I've been waiting all day for someone to pick up my car and ship it across the country. The pick-up was supposed to happen Monday-Wednesday, but then got pushed to today. Well, in the eleven o'clock hour I made some calls to make sure it was happening today since I was told it would be in the afternoon and I would receive "several hours" notice. I'm told it's definitely today, but the driver will call one hour in advance. It's almost 6:00 p.m. What the fuck is going on? This whole thing is a Type A's worst nightmare. I can't be productive and do the lingering school work I need to while I'm like this--and hence the blogging. Allie is really distraught about my car leaving, she has some sort of attachment to it. It's not like she'll never see it again--it's just not coming back to the east coast. We took some photos of us together in the car and of me driving and then her driving (mind you she is not legally permitted to do so). Then she took this great photo of us in our matching shoes:



Also in my anxious state I've been looking through CL housing. Okay, I do look at it incessantly everyday. But I noticed this listing apologizing to people who responded before (blah, blah, blah), but this is what really caught my eye: "Looking for this person that was moving from dc to continue school at usc." Uh, that would be me, could there be another one of us out there? Okay, maybe, but it's weird because it's in an area I had an interest in, but I had no recollection of this (it's for a living room, and please, only private bedrooms for me, thank you!). I even looked through my sent mail to see if there was anything close to this and couldn't find it. So is another D.C. area person doing what I am or is this one of those loopy people that changes pertinent facts on a whim with L.A. housing? Don't ask, you wouldn't believe the flakes I've dealt with.

music v. film

It's weird how lately nearly all my blogs have been about music. For so many years my interest in music had waned, and now it's resurged. You'd think I couldn't get enough. I actually need to spend more time ripping my CD collection and transferring it to my MP3 player (that was the whole reason I bought it so I wouldn't have to lug all my CDs across the country). But don't get me started on all the things I need to do in just over two weeks! At any rate, earlier this week I spent a long time sifting through Insound's MP3 selection. If I liked the band I looked them up on MySpace or googled them. You should check it out--you can even download a track from the newest Teenage Fanclub album there, if, god forbid, you don't own it. Also, at work I listen to online radio Live 365's Generation 80s Retro. God I love New Wave. "I just can't get it enough!"

But getting back to this whole focus on music...it's been at the expense of movie talk. I'm not in denial, I'm seriously a film fanatic. I consume film the way most people consume air. But lately I've even slacked off in visiting The Bible everyday (it probably has to do more with being exhausted from long days at work than lack of interest, but still). Hell, I haven't even seen that many new movies lately either. Part of the problem is that nothing worthwhile has hit mainstream theaters, and I managed to miss some French movies I had really wanted to see at Landmark. I did, however, fail to report that Allie and I won tickets to a free screening of The Beat That My Heart Skipped (sexy Romain Duris!) in which I was finally able to confirm who I had long suspected was Matt Cowal at the E Street Cinema. I can now remove the quotes around Matt when I speak about seeing him. It was funny because the next day I saw someone post an MC about the guy who took the tickets at the screening on CL (it was Matt). Yes he's very attractive, but he's also very taken according to his left ring finger (something I noticed ages ago).

And, by the way, Netflix pisses me off by being so damn slow.

But I'm off to the land of movies. We'll see what that's all about.

sweating to the beat at the iota

My last couple of posts have been sort of lame, haven't they? I mean, they're just about my reactions to the last few concerts I've been to. Well, tonight I trekked to Arlington (fucking Virginia, yeah, I got lost on my way home...I so totally wanted to screw up and end up near my birthplace in Georgetown...hell, may as well since who knows when I will be back). Okay, anyway, rather than just tell you how The Bonapartes rocked [as always], I'll put some things in context.

I haven't been to Claredon in such a long time. I can't believe how many attractive guys I saw walking around. What, is this the young indie place to be rather than the city? Sounds like yuppie loons to me. I thought it was odd. I have to say they have a beautiful Whole Foods. But can you believe I walked through the place and resisted the temptation to buy anything?! (European sandwich selection wasn't so great, clearly.)

I went to the show alone and got there a little early, but since this show didn't start too late it wasn't a pathetic waiting time. The point is that going to shows alone is supposed to help me hone my socializing skills, make friends, etc. (I'm going to need to do this in L.A.), but what do I do? I pick up and read The Washington Blade (the gay newspaper, for the uniformed). Yeah, great way to pick up all those skinny rock 'n' roll boys I love--reading a queer paper. And yes, I was very aware of what I was doing the whole fucking time and laughed at myself.

Greenland opened. I dug it. They are clearly into geography, which is very cool.

The Bonapartes were fabulous in my last attendance of their shows for quite some time. I can't say I'll never see them again unless they disband before I return for a visit, but who knows when that will be (depends how homesick I will get). Damn Eamonn ruined the concept by forgetting his shirt and tie. Sweet Ben looked wrecked afterwards, performing so soon after some sort of surgery. Still in top form, though! Au revoir, Bonapartes!

P.S. That has got to be the ugliest poster they've commissioned!

kaiser chiefs, baby

Last night was my second trip to the 9:30 Club this week to see the sold-out Kaiser Chiefs show (good thing we bought the tickets on our way into Teenage Fanclub!). I think the only other sold-out show I've ever been to was Ben Folds Five years and years ago at the same damn club. Really. What made the Kaiser Chiefs so fucking trendy? Yeah, so what, I discovered them while watching The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson one night. Anyway...

The Cribs opened, and I quite enjoyed them but Allie didn't. You have to give them credit for putting on a lively show. That's what an opening band is supposed to do! The guitarist was quite chatty. The drummer was impressive as the least stationary drummer I've ever seen--he stood on his stool to pound the drums a few times (and this was one tall man). It was also fun to watch The Cribs watch the Kaiser Chiefs perform from their backstage balcony (we were perched on the opposing balcony).

Ricky, Kaiser Chiefs frontman, was certainly born to be a dancer. At first I thought his boxing shoes with cropped jeans were a bit ridiculous, but then I realized they're kind of aesthetically cool and insanely practical for the movements this guy makes! He was all over the place. He even hopped off stage and stood on the barricade, letting the teeny boppers touch him but also inciting more audience participation by handing off the mike. Such an energetic show from all members of the band! They played for only an hour including the encore. That seemed short after Teenage Fanclub, but then again, this band only had one record to play from!

TFC in DC: ain't that enough?

Last night was the long-awaited Teenage Fanclub concert at the 9:30 Club. It was incredible. They played for nearly an hour and forty-five minutes! Can you imagine that? There were multiple encores, supposedly making up for not being in D.C. for quite a long time (the last show scheduled for a couple of years ago was cancelled). I was pressed up against the stage near the dead center. Yeah that means the sound wasn't the best, but the view was! Aside from a little pissy word exchange early in the evening with an inconsiderate ogre (though he was short, like a head taller than my barely 5'2") that first blocked our view and then encroached on my personal space limits, the night was perfect until I got to my car and saw someone had smashed my driver's side rear-view mirror. But even that couldn't put down my high on TFC. So they didn't play "Speed of Light" even though Allie and I requested it, but I couldn't have asked for a better set. Songs From Northern Britain--my favorite album--was very well represented. It was interesting to see the band dynamics and get a better sense of things. Listening to the albums you'd get the impression that the singing/leading duties are nearly equally split, but in performance, Norman is the clear frontman. The turn-out for the show was pretty low, but it's better when the place isn't packed to the hilt. The crowd was familiar with the older songs--"The Concept" (which I've dubbed "Freebird" for its seemingly never-ending guitar solo at the end) got the loudest sing-a-long of the night.

I should note that one of my biggest fears was that they would totally suck live. Let's face it, they aren't young anymore, and after seeing The Gin Blossoms bomb out as old men, I feared Teenage Fanclub would follow suit. Thank god they didn't! They were clearly having a great time, there was energy, and they aren't ready to retire yet. They aren't the best live band, but that was one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

The Rosebuds, who opened, have a great sound. However, they are an awful live band. No one (on stage) moved a stitch. They didn't say anything in between songs except make a reference or two to Teenage Fanclub, and they didn't even introduce themselves until the end! That was a really long forty-five minute set!

fox empire to fold myspace into its evil plans

As if the blatant advertising (sometimes even coming from Tom) isn't stomach-turning enough, I didn't just find out that Rupert Murdoch already owns most of MySpace's parent company, but now has acquired the rest of it and will fold it into portions of his evil empire. I think I can see a "free" forum for "freedom of expression" (as if such things really exist in this country, but you know what I mean) of young liberal types turned into some sort of conservative money and faux-celebrity-making machine.

From The Bible's Industry News:

Murdoch Widens His Space on the Internet
Stepping up its presence on the Internet and grabbing a young demo to boot, News Corp has announced that it will acquire the 47-percent stake in Intermix Media that it does not already own for about $580 million. Intermix is the parent company of the popular socializing website MySpace.com and the entertainment portal Grab.com as well as some 28 other websites. The properties are expected to be folded into Fox Interactive Media (FIM), the new News Corp division announced only days ago by company chairman Rupert Murdoch. Noting that MySpace.com attracts a huge crowd of young users, News Corp President Peter Chernin told the Los Angeles Times: "We thought there was a real opportunity to jump-start our entertainment efforts on those demographics." In a separate interview with the online edition of Red Herring magazine, FIM president Ross Levinsohn said that the acquisition "scales us up in a big way. They bring assets and complementary technology that we don't have." He also appeared to underline Murdoch's recent forecast that the news, TV, and Internet media will eventually achieve convergence, saying, "In the future, there may be opportunities for people who have sites on MySpace.com to become Fox TV personalities, American Idol contenders, or even Fox News bloggers."

i found something

Lately I've noticed I've gotten a lot of paper cuts--something I didn't quite understand since I really don't handle paper all that much. So this morning as I was mucking around with an old iMac hard drive, I noticed I cut myself on the plastic (so, yeah, they're probably plastic cuts rather than paper cuts). The damn thing stung and I still needed to stick my hands in some tight places, so I went on a search for a bandaid. There are lots of first aid kits in the architecture building's studio space (you know, architectural design can be very dangerous). I looked in a few of them and couldn't find a damn bandaid (some had big pieces of gauze that wouldn't work), but I did find a condom. At least if I ever find myself in need of one and empty-handed--in that building--I can be safe as well as impulsively kinky. Ever done it on a drafting table?

at a lounge called velvet

Last night's visit to the Velvet Lounge kicked off a pretty intense concert-going session for me (considering there are whole years I didn't step foot in some of my favorite clubs): four concerts in ten days. You already know about my love for The Bonapartes. They were on fire last night! Best performance [I've seen] yet. Totally full of energy (they usually are) and there was actually plenty of witty banter! Have they been reading my blog? As my pal Pablo--newly converted to The Bonapartes religion--put it, they "were the star of the night." The third in a line of four bands, they certainly had the biggest crowd with the most movement. Do I really have to leave this behind? Two if by Sea closed the night with some fabulous New Wave-inspired tunes, definitely a recommendation. Soraia was a solid opener, but Run Silent Run Deep's screaming metal was sorely misplaced.

i ♥ macs?

Working at aforementioned job has perhaps made me fall in love with Macs. A life-long PC user who hadn't used a Mac in nearly a decade before last year, I'm nearly completely converted. Apple certainly wins on aesthetics. They've force PCs to get a little spiffier, but PCs still really lag behind (I was excited my Toshiba laptop was blue rather than all black). But since I've learned to take them apart and put them together (okay, partly take them apart) and learned a lot more about the finer details of Apple computers, I'm sold. So I've decided my next computer will be a Mac.

But I refuse to pay the insanely high price for an iPod. I just bought myself a 30GB Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra for less than $200.

SCUBA man took a dive

For the last two weeks, I've been working at the Architecture Computer Resource Center at the University of Maryland's School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. While I was never formally a student in the school, I've spent lots of time in the Architecture building during my five years there (three undergrad, two grad), especially the last two. On my first or second day of work I noticed that a tiny SCUBA man action-figure was hanging from a nearly invisible string from the ceiling over what is known as The Great Space (the large center opening of the building which is two stories tall and serves as studio space during busy fall and spring semesters). I thought it was the cutest thing so I tried to take a photo (see the example above), but the combination of my small stature, the high ceiling, and the tiny subject, it really doesn't make sense if you haven't been there. Anyway, earlier this week he disappeared. Dave, the building services guy, took him down! When asked why, he said, "He'd been there for two years!" And I never noticed. Me, the self-described highly observant person didn't notice. Okay, I'll blame it on poor eyesight and the fact that I'd never really seen that space empty (with the exception of SCUBA man) before.

P.S. Click the photo and you can see what I'm talking about more clearly.

so you wish you went to DC9 with me?

Last night was my first visit to DC9. I nearly typed last, but then I remembered that Brian Jonestown Massacre is going to be there the first week of August. After seeing DiG!, I figure it's worth the price of admission to see just what might happen (and the music is quite good). So this time it was to see The Bonapartes, of course, but I was really interested in hearing the other bands: The Pawns, The Hint, and Hello Tokyo. I'm going to be brief, because really, do you need all the details? If you do, you should have been there!

The Pawns were first, and I really dug their sound. You know I'm a sucker for alternating leads (i.e. Teenage Fanclub, Splitsville, The Beatles, etc.). But I couldn't understand for the life of me why the bassist (standing front and center and smoking quite a bit) took off his shoes (sturdy flip-flops really) to perform. Didn't he step in all that ash he created? And his cigarette butts were quite fond of another band's frontman's Chuck Taylors later in the evening.

Hello Tokyo was good--even minus the drummer who is apparently on tour as a professional rollerblader. Instead a laptop replaced her.

The Bonapartes were fabulous as usual. I think they've improved (one member who previously didn't move much did--I won't name names, that's not my style). But I think they could use some witty banter. They're quite clever online and in promoting themselves, but then don't use it on stage. Seeing their live show also reminds me they are better than their MySpace streams. Some of the best songs aren't there (or presumably available to the public yet).

The Hint were lame. They had a sort of hair metal look without the music, but yet I don't know that they quite fit in with the rest of the bands. I was tired, bored, and so I left a few songs in.

I give DC9 my thumps up for a cool place to see music. It's like the Velvet Lounge only less cramped. It ain't perfect, but nothing is, and I still prefer that tiny hole-in-the-wall over the 9:30 Club anyday!

flyi: IAD to LAX

I have such an odd feeling. It's final, it's happening, I'm definitely moving. I've purchased my ticket to depart on the evening of August 13. Even though, for years, I've used the cheap airlines that sell tickets only as one-way deals, this is the first time I've actually bought a one-way ticket. Will you be there to send me off at Dulles? How appropriate is it that I have leave from fucking Virginia?

how do i ♥ whole foods? let me count the ways...

1. Its European sandwiches (French ham with Brie & asparagus is my favorite)
2. Its fresh fruit tart (okay, you got me, all the desserts minus cheesecake)
3. Its prepared food & sushi with brown rice (it's the best grocery-store sushi I've ever had)
4. I never have to wait in line to check out (they quite often wait for me even though the place is full of shoppers)
5. The atmosphere: it's modern, it feels urban even if I'm shopping in the suburbs & for some reason I never get frazzled or annoyed by other customers
6. The attractive men who shop there (most prevalent at the P St. location*)
7. The paper bags are very cool & the rubber bands are very high quality

It's also apparently a good company to work for. And it shows, because the employees are always so pleasant. I should emphasize that I hate cooking, grocery shopping, and anything else domestic. Thank you, Whole Foods, for making it a little more bearable.


* so what if a good chunk of them are gay!