Now that summer is officially over, it means the start of a few new beginnings.
BACK 2 SCHOOL KIDZ In my case, I'm back at my home away from home, East Lansing, MI. Hopefully I'll have better luck with my new bike. My previous one broke down at the most unfortunate circumstances (on my way to class to turn in an assignment, late for a volunteer gig, etc.) and it was a tad too big for my stature so maneuvering it in general became an issue. So far, so good.
It feels great being back with familiar faces and meeting new faces. Already off to an unbelievably fun start, but we'll see how this semester ends up.
THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE
Top fashion magazines have been conjuring up the biggest and baddest issue for the month of September. Apparently, quantity was key this year. At least with Vogue. With some quality, the massive amount of advertisements (which sometimes are the best parts) dispersed throughout the 726 pages, yes, SEVENHUNDREDANDTWENTYSIX pages. The advertisements are the backbone to the magazine industry, but damn, I couldn't focus on the articles or pictures with the clusterf*#k of ads. Don't get me wrong, they had some stunning photos with the guests from Fashion's Night Out and a play-by-play on FNO as well, but it was hard to focus when every other page was a different advertisement.
Fashion Week is quite soon too! I'll be posting favorites once the festivities commence.
Well, now that Autumn seems to be in full force, my impetus to attempt a studious lifestyle is revving, but I'm still in need of a big push.
ATTENTION PEOPLE CURRENTLY IN THE EAST LANSING/LANSING AREA: Go celebrate the wonders of tea at Wanderers Teahouse. It's a brand new addition to Grand River's row of shops, and I hope it's one that lasts for a very long time. Keep local businesses thriving! Wanderers is a gem and the owners are a wonderful couple who are both MSU Alumni. Let me just say, they REALLY know their tea.
After much consideration, I decided to create my very own Tumblr. Seems to be what the "cool" kids are doing these daze (haha get it? You will after looking at my Tumblr page :D).
My initial hesitation for making a Tumblr was merely the fact that I didn't want to navigate through 3 different social networking/communication sites (Facebook, Blogspot, and Tumblr). Twitter I probably won't get into, ever, but I viewed Tumblr as the expanded version of 'status updates' and 'wall posts' on facebook. Instead of bombarding my wall and other's newsfeeds with random nonsense, why not just put it all in a Tumblr! That way I can keep tabs on what I'm posting and when, and if people are interested in what I'm posting, they can just go on my Tumblr. I thought that might be more courteous than me shoving it in their faces on Facebook. It seemed selfish on my part.
I like sharing, but only if you'll accept it! If you would like to see quotes, videos, songs, etc. I like, take a gander!
p.s. You'll probably notice that a lot of the postings on Tumblr overlap with this blog. Not everything though, Tumblr will be more random stuff that doesn't need as much explaining/gushing.
I've been quite the worst movie-goer as of late. Due to a slew of excuses (lack of funds, time, good movies, etc), I haven't seen too many of the blockbusters (Avatar...I know, I'm ashamed) or even the gut-busters (Get Him To The Greek). Even with my missed chances with movies, I made it a point to watch Inception though, and Christopher Nolan strikes gold. Ensemble was perfection, especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt (always been a childhood crush of mine and still is). Besides Inception, I managed to go and watch Despicable Me, which I Adored with a capital A. With the cutest minions I've ever laid my eyes on to the oh so hilarious Steve Carell, it made for an almost tear-jerker, but feel-good movie. As my old butt (compared to the children around me) was guffawing at the low comedy jokes, it seemed that the other kids in the theater were not as amused. Oh well, to each his own.
That's all I can really do for a movie review considering I haven't seen many lately, BUT there are some movies coming out/have recently come out that I do want to see and hopefully my granny self will get there.
1.Somewhere(Sofia Coppola)
2. The Extra Man (Berman and Pulcini)
3. Welcome to the Rileys (Jake Scott)
4. Get Low(Aaron Schneider)
5. Never Let Me Go (Marc Romanek)
So many more wonderful films coming out, but for now, these are a must!
Simplistic beauty and a personal message. Watching videos like this makes me want to make videos myself! With all of the bad shit in the world, for whatever reason, this video makes you forget it and remember that one secret that's worth holding onto to keep it your own.
As a Lollapalooza first-timer, I felt unprepared but over-prepared. Underprepared in what I should expect and my choice in festival clothing. Over-prepared in the sense that I knew exactly who I wanted to see and when. Timing was everything. All the magical stories I heard about Lollapalooza were unraveling before me and I made unbelievable memories of my own. My very own Lolla story.
Let's start with my almost encounter with The XX. Although my friends did not believe me at the time, there was no doubt that Romy, Oliver, and Jamie walked past me. In a sea of just-released Lolla goers, 3 figures all dressed in black with similar hair cuts, sauntered by. At the time I didn't know their names first hand, but yelling "THE XX!!!" seemed uncouth and way uncool. So the opportunity to meet them literally passed by.
All was okay though because the 3rd day as I was walking out with my friend Cole, I recognized Curt from Flosstradamus! Thanks to Cole's encouragement to run up to him, we stopped him for a quick chat and took some GREAT pictures. Two pictures to be exact: 1) try to look happy! 2) now think "after school special." The second pose puzzled all of us, as shown clearly by our expressions. Such a perfect encounter filled with conversation, laughs, and great pictures. He is after all a Michiganian! Reppin Kalamazoo in Chicago baby.
LET'S TALK MUSIC: Matt & Kim- Pretty great. No, really great. Scratch that, they were magical. They did some kickass renditions of songs like "Better Off Alone." Ya just had to be there. Quote (or at least something close to it) of the weekend for me:
KIM- Last time we were here for Lollapalooza, I got to see my rack on the jumbo-tron, and if a cameraman will, I would love to see my boobs fucking huge! MATT- Sorry, but not even a jumbo-tron can make those look huge
Yeasayer - Speechless. Awesome, AWESOME, show. Permanent goosebumps after hearing O.N.E. & Ampling Alp live. Almost everyone especially knew Ampling Alp, so the sing-a-long was epic and I've never had such insane goosebumps.
Phoenix - even though I tried to be as close as possible, I was stuck way back and the jumbo-tron was my only true hope at seeing them well. Phoenix was definitely top of the list and hearing/seeing them was everything I hoped it would be. Mars sang as dreamy as could be, finishing the performance by making his way through the first row and serenading all those around him. Mad chills snuck up on me during "Armistice." I can't wait to go to their next show where it will hopefully be a little more intimate than thousands of bodies flooding around the stage.
The XX - not even a headliner and they pulled in a crowd I could NOT believe. Most of Grant Park was faced towards the stage they were playing at and seeing them was not a viable option. Even though I couldn't see the trio, hearing them was enough. I kept thinking, "if only I would have gone up to them, we could have become best buds and I could be backstage watching!" Oh, I know. A girl can only dream.
Flosstradamus - illest of the ill. Str8 Chicago rhythm with Detroit beats. At least that's what I like to think; collaboration of the two cities. Their stage presence was so explosive, that tiny stage, Perry's, could not contain them. During their "Lion King" set, the crowd all started belting the inaudible sounds and although you can't see it in the video, a guy on stage behind Flossy held a baby up to perfect the moment. Since Josh Young a.k.a. J2K is Kid Sister's brother, they spun some sick tracks by her. When I met Curt later, I confessed that I was hoping Kid Sis would make an appearance. He admitted that she was in town and was planning to, but couldn't last minute. Bummer, but then again, if Kid Sister would have emerged, I would have seized.
Lady Gaga - missed her, but I was in the way nose-bleeders section anyway. Judging from what I heard from the streets filled with people scream-singing Gaga songs, I say it was probably a spectacular performance. Not to mention her outrageous stage diving earlier that day at Semi Precious Weapons!
This post would be never-ending if I raved about every performance, I saw, but here are some honorable mentions: -My Dear Disco (awesome female vocals) -Devo (rocked it like it was 1980) -Empire of the Sun (the craziest performers Australia has ever produced) -Rusko (just about as hype as you can get) -Chromeo (from Dave 1's funky singing to P-Thugg smooth autotune, it was a flawless show) -MSTRKRFT (surprise appearance due to Dirty South dropping out last minute) -The Big Pink (only caught 'Dominos', but damn glad I did since it's the only song I know well) -Grizzly Bear (chilling vocals. My dream of hearing 'Knife' live came true) -Blitzen Trapper (after hearing them live, they've been on nonstop) - & sooo many more. I wish I could have caught more shows!
My stay in Chicago was extended and I sure am happy it was. We got to conquer some stores (I bought me a killer jacket), saw my darling best friend Chase and a couple other great friends while meeting new friends too! From the music festivities to my star-struck encounters with "famous people," my 6 days in Chicago were surreal.
The hilarious men of the anticipated film, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, went full-frontal for a spread in GQ. As much as I love Jason Schwartzman, Michael Cera, and Chris Evans, I'd be okay with not seeing their man-parts while I'm out trying to grab some coffee.
Witness the exposure for yourself!
Nice legs boys. Definitely diggin' the comradery between Schwartzman and Cera while they're taking a fun boys shopping trip. Evans' lack of bottoms while casually standing in the subway isn't too bad either. Fashion shmashion. Sometimes, pants and underwear are just unnecessary!
I have to say, as type-cast as Michael Cera is, he's doing well for himself. Who says every actor has to be versatile. Cera found his niche and is excelling at basically playing himself...over and over again. The meek, shy, and witty characters he plays are a crowd favorite and entertaining to watch. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World looks promising with comic book-esque graphics incorporated with real life. The animated nature of the characters and the "sound-effects" itself is a nice change of pace lately with the serious, realistic CGI that seems to be the center for every movie. Boy meets girl, and hopefully boy gets girl. That is, if he defeats the "7 evil exes!"
Top fashion magazines have been conjuring up the biggest and baddest issue for the month of September. Apparently, quantity was key this year. At least with Vogue. With some quality, the massive amount of advertisements (which sometimes are the best parts) dispersed throughout the 726 pages, yes, SEVENHUNDREDANDTWENTYSIX pages. The advertisements are the backbone to the magazine industry, but damn, I couldn't focus on the articles or pictures with the clusterf*#k of ads. Don't get me wrong, they had some stunning photos with the guests from Fashion's Night Out and a play-by-play on FNO as well, but it was hard to focus when every other page was a different advertisement.
