Grooveshark

So, there was a day when Jenn was a young Napstershark and followed the bouncing ball through Web 1.0 to find new music. Mixtapes recorded from radio, Donnie Fandango on prime time evenings playing Soul Coughing and Smashing Pumpkins and Candlebox on The Point, The Pit on the weekends..sounds pulled from TV shows, soundtracks and references from favourite fanfiction writers and boys I was trying to impress. (Try as I might, Usher and Nelly just never caught on and thus prevented me from wooing my red-headed sixth grade crush. /sigh) At some point, a personality was born, and it has pretty much been in a holding pattern since about..1997.

Give me grunge, or give me death.

Ashamedly, I went through a phase in my little Christian high school where a posse of us deemed “secular” music as a tool of the devil and, yes, actually disposed of most or all of our non-Christian CDs and digital files.

…That was a dark time. And unfortunately, a time that seems to have stunted exploration from being reborn for a long while. Now, my husband is an avid musician and music fanatic so I haven’t had to put much brain power into experiencing new music for almost 8 years, which is sort of becoming an imposition as I don’t know song names or lyrics or backgrounds because they float through my atmosphere like streaming audio, and I’m lucky if the man even tells me the band’s name!

It’s time to start the adventuring, again.

The desire came back to life when I became preoccupied with the song on the Vampire Diaries commercial they play every 3 seconds on the CW’s website’s full episodes. I took traditional measures and navigated to their “music” page to see if I could sleuth it out. Alas, only songs from within the episodes were listed, not the commercial song.

So I moped. What do I do next?

I would love to answer that question and at some point in my exploration I should be able to, because what HAPPENED was, lo and behold Donnie Fandango, God love him, played it on the Point the other day. I was typing a sentence in Gchat to the beloved husband about whatever when I suddenly became possessed and started typing ZOMG VAMPIRE DIARIES SONG ON TEH POINT! and then had to explain.

Turns out the song is “Hang You from the Heavens” by The Dead Weather. I told Cloud that the vocalist sounded like the female version of our favourite frontman from the band Operator 303 and I immediately realized that I might have, yet again, misdiagnosed a male singer for a female a la Weedis and Silversun Pickups..(a trend that has taken me a bit to warm up to, I generally gravitate to angry, masculine voices) but as it turns out, The Dead Weather is actually Jack White’s new band and the singer is indeed female: Alison Mosshart of The Kills and Discount.

Boy, this is weird territory for me..where’s all the flannel and koolaid dyed hair..?

Anyway, Cloud also introduced me to listen.grooveshark.com which is currently rocking my world a little bit..Silversun Pickups, Coheed & Cambria, The Raconteurs..I spliced in A Perfect Circle for a sense of familiarity in the same moody vein since I have a hard time just diving into a bunch of new sounds without reference points..everything we learn is through the filter of everything we know, right?

But srsly..Hang You from the Heavens = hotter than HELL, go get up in it right now!

Ja ne!

Soc Med Ops (or: OMG WTF BBQ?!)

So now begins the frenzied compilation of information for a presentation (did you like that alliteration?) I will be making next week at my Alma Mater, Missouri Baptist University. I have a ton of concepts and figures floating around in my head, but will it be enough to fill 30-45 minutes of speaking at the speed I do when nervous…? I really wish my sinuses and lungs didn’t feel like they were full of sand right now..

Anyway, I’d like to pose some questions, for both you passive and avid social media users.

1) For those passive, what do you feel social media is good for? What would you like to know more about?

2) For those active, what is some ESSENTIAL social media knowledge that n00bs should have imparted to them? What do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of some of the different media? Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, bookmarking sites? What are some successes you’ve had with social media?

Please comment!

Ja ne!

What Is IN the Air Right Now?!

Concluding day bajillion of obnoxious allergy symptoms that never actually turn into anything legitimate, just hang around in my sinuses and make me feel like stabbing things. I commemorated this event with a free Wolverine movie rental from the IGA Redbox. I guess I really DON’T want an Adamantium skeleton after all, you know, I think I’m good..

I have been struggling with the committed writing deal for a bit, here, and I’m trying to figure out where my verbose seventeen-year-old self went, still. Bear with me through some rambling entries while I look for my groove in the underbrush..

I am now watching Gilmore Girls on DVD instead of Gossip Girl on TV because, alas, I was duly, thoroughly, apocalyptically warned and alas, I still do not have a DTV converter box…

And mostly I’m stalling on the presentation for my Alma Mater next week because it feels too much like homework..what did I get myself into?!

Ja ne!

Gossip Girl & Grunge

I want something beautiful to say. But now Alien by Bush is playing and this song has never failed to put me into a sort of trance.

Why is it so easy to trust and to seek starting the same things over again that hurt us in the past…?

I guess I say that glibly, because continuing to seek it doesn’t imply ease in doing so.

I believe the spirit of man is capable of great things. I also believe it is capable of  horrible things.

But as I am sitting here, even now, more villains from history come to my mind than heroes do. And that nauseates me. What is this veil over our eyes..? Where does urgency come from when there is no sense of it in our immediate environment..? Where are our heroes, now..?

I just felt like I needed to say something, although I didn’t, really. If you read this, thanks for that, and my apologies for the cryptic nature, I am just musing. Take care.

Ja ne.

Mad Love

OH BOY it’s been about a week and a half since I’ve written and GOLLY what a week and a half it’s been! It started off with quite an escapade with Bank of America, a really stupid indescretion of mine that cost me $100 because my efforts to rectify, within 18 hours, mind you, were not good enough — and ended with me currently back @ my mom’s, doing laundry since we do not yet have a washer n’ dryer in our NEW HOUSE!

..well, new to us.

But it is glorious and wonderful and I feel SO much better being out of the basement apartment that is now riddled with self-esteem crushing angst…and Brown Recluses and Wolf Spiders.. O_o*

I am taking a small gift to our friends Heather and Justin today for their really incredible efforts in helping us with the last leg of our move. They deserve some MAD love for what they did, yesterday. Friday night, Heather had grievously underestimated her threshold for alcohol after being on an antibiotic for 3 days and basically not eating, so she had a bad case of THE SATURDAYS going on, yesterday; and Justin basically hadn’t slept at all for taking care of her. They were both walking dead and really came through for us in ways that we REALLY needed to see to boost our faith in people right now.

We don’t see it every day, but that’s perhaps what makes those beautiful moments of human experience all the more awesome when we do. I’m thoroughly impressed and reminded that I also need to continually seek to be there for others, like they were. We never have an excuse to stop that effort!

I’m also currently setting up a Flickr account so that I can maybe post pictures and move them around more easily on my FB and blog and Twitter and…and…

So yes, my towels are currently finishing up their drying cycle so I must attend to them and then steal away to O’Fallon to give Heather and Justin their TY card (which I somehow made into an excuse to buy them a HALLOWEEN card with a CAT on it?) and gift. I intend to do some power-organizing later today and hopefully get some pics posted of the new crib all (or mostly) set up sometime soon!

Be well!

Ja ne!

GAH

So I’m surfin’ along, and I find this and I am wracked with guilt that I haven’t written in like, two days.

But dangit, kids! It’s been two more days of epic twentysomething toil! I am not accustomed to like, working and caring and stuff, ya know?! And now, EVERY DAY, I have to work and care and stuff! I am looking for a house and another job and my faaaace in this wooooorld and I really just want a bottle of Patron and my waning youth to return with more high heels and less Christian schools..

Speaking of, my company is actually doing demolition on my highschool. I work for a disaster restoration company and in the gym that my highschool completed maybe a WEEK before my class (of 48 kids!) graduated got flooded and quite roughed up. I really want to go with the team to take a hammer to it…but then, equally, I also never ever ever want to go to that school ever again. Such a duality, it strains..

Okay, so, now I’ve worked and cared and stuff about my blog which I REALLY was not inclined to do, tonight (YES! Point for self discipline!) and get back to reading Dooce.

Ja ne!

The LOT

The LOT Music Festival

We just couldn’t resist free t-shirts and beer and thus found ourselves involved in this crazeh event this weekend called the LOT..and now, as promised, I am indeed going to blog about the wee bit o’ behind the scenes action we encountered at the LOT festival! A small tribute to a really big deal!

But really, the LOT was nuts. Friends Abby and Mike began working on this event at the beginning of this year and did it purely as volunteers. They put an insane amount of effort into cutting the budget and getting this thing publicized and man, I wish I had REALLY known what we were in for! There was live music, live art, games that included a dunking booth, great local food and craft vendors, the best beer in St. Louis (after all, it WAS on the Schlafly Taproom’s front LOT, get it?? Ha!), FIRE-JUGGLING BELLY DANCERS. I mean, really?? And the weather was PERFECT on Saturday to boot! It just doesn’t get better than this event and I really wanted to thank these guys for the work they did on this year’s LOT. It was a pleasure hauling around picnic tables, barrels, beers, and gigantic 300 lb tent crates with y’all, I hope you guys recovered well yesterday by succumbing to a coma like I did!

Check out the album on my FB page. We were there early and very late in the day and I’m just getting into this “let’s take pictures of stuff!” thing so we’ll see how that evolves..

Also, here are some links for some of my fav vendors and bands that were there, check ‘em out!

Schlafly

Atomic Cowboy

Twisted Handmade

Luca Brasi

And of course, the planners themselves on twitter: @abigail184 & @michaeltomko, hit them up!

Ja ne!

Suburban House Hunters

Well, apparently, searching for a rental house in St. Charles has even more uncharted territory than shopping for a foreclosed home to purchase. I have neglected to update due to our frantic, nightly search and bizarre encounters with all SORTS of folk as we raze the countryside for a suitable abode.

We have acquired a roommate, and we have 4 specifications: 3 bedrooms, must be able to keep teh kitteh, must have a dry basement for musical equipment, and must be below a certain price point.

Home #1: Downtown St. Chas. RAD. 3 bed, 1 bath, fully updated kitchen and bath, hardwood floors, massive back yard and equally massive basement. Somehow, the realtor added the security deposit + rent to = about, oh, $1,000 more than they actually added up to. Decided we would prefer to tangle with a landlord who could actually add and perhaps gave a crap about not ripping off his tenants.

Home #2: 3 bed, 2 bath, fireplace, large backyard, being updated, smelled damp throughout. Dialogue with landlord resulted in repeated statements of “we can’t guarantee a leak-free basement” and negligence to address how the rest of the house smelled like a wet cat. Finally conceded to shave $25/month off of the rent to compensate the odor removal, but bluntly stated that no other inspections or sealing would be done on the basement. Awesome, because ANY tenant will love soggy storage items!

Home #3: 3 (TINY) rooms, 1 bath, partially finished basement, hardwood laminate in living room & kitchen that was converted from the old garage, rad backyard with a swing set and a shed! Nothing was really wrong with this situation except for it’s location in the bowels of 63304 and the ridiculously closet-like bedrooms.

Home #4: coolest of the cool old farmhouse just up highway 94 from our usual stomping grounds! I didn’t know a house this charming existed in St. Chas! 2 acres of land, tucked back just a bit from 94 itself, OLD, REAL hardwood throughout, a ridiculous amount of space, and a basement that was irrigated around the edges because it leaked so bad..but the system works! Keep your items in the middle and they will stay dry! And we found a renegade bunny in the gravel that must have decided it was a good idea to fall in from the duct-taped window at ceiling level..the charm of this house was exactly what freaked us out, however. Old houses didn’t have closets, but armoire things? We have to get a propane tank refilled to heat our water…? Will I see DEAD PEOPLE? …and there’s no dishwasher?!

House #5: perfect. 4 bed, 3 bath off Jungs Station near 94, finished basement, random sink to the left of the staircase, updated kitchen! So we filled out an application…

…right after the other two families that were doing so.

And these are just the ones that we’ve seen, not counting the volume of phone calls made just to find these gems. Shopping for home ownership was actually less burdensome than this because financed potential homeowners seem to have a lot of additional rights and opportunities to engage the system in the beginning stages. Looking for a rental home, while less rigorous in finding THE PERFECT TEN YEAR HOME OMG, is a bizarre parade of sometimes haphazardly managed properties sifted out from the total scams, and with the economy in its current condition, the competition as as fierce for great properties as it is for that great marketing job…

So needless to say, if anyone has an ear to the ground in St. Charles county basically down highway 70 between Wentzville and the Ameristar, let me know if you hear of anything that could be super-neat!

Ja ne!

Handfull of Zygotes Hiatus

OKAY, yes, hello. I have not updated in a wee bit due to much goings-on so I have about three seconds, now, where I wanted to post. Amidst a general hurricane of looking for a home, a job and a bit of self-esteem, a few good things have happened this week 1) I got a column at examiner.com as the St. Louis Twentysomething Relationships Examiner, so we’ll see where that goes and 2) Handfull of Zygotes had their last show before their hiatus until Cloud n’ I find a ballin’ house where basement practices may continue. They played last night at Lemmons off of Gravois which may just be the most awesome venue for artists in the city…they take amazing care of their performers! This was their second show (ever) there and even with some technical difficulties, they were pretty much the highlight of the evening. While drinking Schlafly and Budweiser and eating some of the greatest pizza EVAH, here are a few pics, courtesy of sister-in-law Brittany’s Facebook, from their evening of elegance:

Handfull of Zygotes

Mostly Cloud, 'cause he's gangsta.

Push it out, man.

SCORE.

Later in the evening there were compliments, cash, random panties, beer races, Bartender Kris’ Delicious Shots, and all the good things life generally has to offer. In the downtime, give these guys much love @ myspace.com/handfullofzygotes and encourage them to get some studio recordings up!!

Ja ne!

National Novel Writing Month

TOTALLY stalling on a project that is due tomorrow. I’ve have read about 6 blog updates, sent a few emails, obsessed over some websites and in the last half hour I have been very dedicated to daydreaming about chardonnay and pizza .

So, in lieu of ACTUALLY being ready to do ACTUAL work, yet, I have decided that it is time to blog!

One of the sites I was obsessing about has invoked an obsession that will not be squelched until December 1. That website is http://www.nanowrimo.org/, and it details the goin’s-on of National Novel Writing Month, which is November. The challenge is to word-vomit a 50,000 word (c. 175 page) novel in 30 days and I am AMPED to have something to externally motivate me to just get ‘er done! My perfectionism and distractability often deter me from starting anything because I have a hard time letting myself, you know, LEARN some stuff in it’s sloppy, developmental progression. This event puts out there up front, though, that this novel WILL be pretty terrible but also…that’s okay! Many writers get caught up in the tedium of the page-by-page and this challenge allows you to get a big picture concept established, beginning to end. You can fine-tune it in December and make copies to satisfy gifting for all your friends and family! …and maybe even use it as an excuse to cop-out of awkward Thanksgiving festivites, too?

I’m trying not to cheat but I have to admit that I’ve already got  my concept and I am rarin’ to go..(how will I distract myself from this distraction for 2 1/2 more months?!)

So check it out, sign up, and come panic at Crooked Tree with me all through November!

Ja ne!