Who's Nailn' Paylin? DC-style

Readers of this blog are familiar with my love of DCist.com's Overheard in DC blog entries. This week offered some overheards from the annual DC High Heel Race. Thankfully, the editors were sure to remind us "don't google Who's Nailin' Paylin if you are at work".

From the makers of Who's Nailn' Paylin?

Overheard while waiting for the drag race to begin in Dupont:
Man: "I want to have a three way between Mayor Fenty and Governor O'Malley."

For those of you not familar with the DC High Heel Race, its a race of drag queens in Dupont always held the Tuesday before Halloween.

New Subpop Artist: Daniel Martin Moore

Subpop Records, the Seattle-based home of Iron and Wine, Wolf Parade, Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses, is streaming the debut album of its newest artist's Daniel Martin Moore. You can check it out here (you have to log in, but it wicked easy). Great music to supplement Kenny Kellogg's Friday Chill Music.

Reblog: MTV going back to its roots

A reblog from indiemuse.com, MTVMusic.com is going back to its roots--playing music videos!
Check out these videos!

Fleet Foxes's He Doesn't Know Why. I love this song, love the bridge in it and love that there are silly goats in the video!

Fleet Foxes |MTV Music

Here's She and Him's Why Do You Let Me Stay Here. I can't help think Zooey Deschanel (she went to Northwestern!) is channeling Nancy Sinatra.

She and Him |MTV Music

I might have to break up with Heroes

Dude, what is up with Heroes? I was a huge fan last season, but this season has been kind of lame. After watching Monday's episode, I have a sneaking suspicion the show is going the way of Dallas's Pam's "dream" cliffhanger.

NW-Delta Merger Goes Through

DOJ approves the merger between Northwest Airlines and Delta as not violating our lovely antitrust laws.

J. Tillman of Fleet Foxes

In keeping with my love of everything Fleet Foxes, please note that Josh Tillman of the Fleet Foxes (percussion, vocals) just released another solo album digitally yesterday (the album actually releases in January 09). I love his third album, Minor Works. Lovely rainy day sad bastard music. Thanks to Adam for the head's up.

Here's one of the new songs, James Blues.

Our Lady of the Flowers

Yesterday, I received a lovely bouquet of "thank you" flowers from an organization I work with, Build. Build's mission is to provide real-world entrepreneurial experience that empowers youth from under-resourced communities to excel in education, lead in their communities, and succeed professionally.

I have been helping Build recruit mentors and get established in the DC community for the past six months. My first mentoring experience, though, was last Tuesday with 12 freshman at the Shaw campus of the Maya Angelou Charter Schools. Not going to lie, I was completely overwhelmed and totally unprepared for the experience. Talk about fish out of water! My high school was pretty orderly and this was probably some sort of organized chaos. To me, it was just chaos! Ajuah, the DC East Coast Director, just laughed at my shocked face afterward and said the mentor orientation on Saturday would help.

Boy, was she right. Even after business school, I am always amazed at the differing techniques that you can learn to work with people, and kids are no exception. I am super excited about the opportunities to work with these young people. If you are looking for an organization that is doing good things for people that need help, look to work with Build. They need mentors in both their Bay Area schools and in the DC area!

ps. Sorry if you actually get the reference title to this blog entry. Totally inappropriate I know, but there's just been a lot of hookers in my neighborhood lately.

I miss the Olympics!

This morning, I was balancing my coffee on top of my oatmeal with cranberries (hooray Au Bon Pain!) in one hand, while trying to smooth my wind blown hair in the elevator door reflection with the other. Being the klutz that I am, I somehow manage to drop my coffee. Knowing that I had a long day ahead and no time to deal with spilled coffe, my little wunderkind cafe did a triple summersault and landed neatly in the corner of the elevator. I gave my coffee a 9.8 for difficulty and execution (I use the old scoring method). Alas, though, my coffee hurt itself a smidge and leaked out the bottom as I carried it in my arms back to my office. Yeah, Kerri Strug-esque coffee of joy!

Reblog: This is Thriller

Dude I am moving to Portland, which according to Monitor Mix was the place to be this weekend. This Zombie Walk thing sounds awesome!

Reblog: Gmail Mobile Faster

From the Official Gmail Blog: For those of you on Blackberry, download Gmail mobile 2.0, designed to work better in low to no signal locations.

Obama on Fiscal/Monetary Policy

Many of you who much much smarter than me are ardent Obama supporters. I, meanwhile, remain on my comfortable resting position -- on the fence. Without mentioning Palin or global warming, can someone show me how and why Obama's tax and economic policies make sense given the current economic crisis? Maybe I have been reading too many WSJ editorials, but I just don't see it. Thoughts or reading suggestions?

Reblog: Fairness

Loose Lips Sink Ships and your very own Gonzo Gal have been discussing what should be fair--an outcome or an opportunity? Check out our comments. What do you think?

Reblog Apple is the Oprah of Indie Music

I was reading this blog item from the NY Times. I had no idea how top secret these commercials were. Bands don't even know if their songs will be played in an Apple commercial until the commercial is aired! My favorite story is how the commercial came on while one of the Chairlift band members (from the new nano commercial below) was in an Apple store picking up his computer.

Toetapping Tunes to get you over Humpday!

These songs never fail to put me in a good mood. Hope they work for you!

Oxford Comma, Vampire Weekend. Its a song about a comma. That makes me happy. What do you expect? I am a lawyer.

Speaking of bands singing about ridiculousness! There only thing better this song is the Sesame Street episode featuring it. They Might Be Giants, Istanbul (Not Constantinople)


The Ting Tings, Great DJ

You are probably a step ahead of me . . .

. . . but I just got wind of Adele, a Brit pop star in the way of Amy Winehouse and Duffy. I am not a huge fan of either, but something in this girl's voice (she's 20!!) caught my attention. A female version of my favorite rainy day sad bastard music.

ps. NPR is awesome. You should give them some money or or your time if you have some of that laying around.

Intervention

I feel that I need to have an online intervention with you, reader. I must ask you to stop making excuses for not watching How I Met Your Mother. This show, besides starring Doogie Howser, MD and Willow, is ridiculously hilarious and a fair representation of my life and my friends. Okay, maybe an exaggerated representation providing 22 minutes of delicious hilarity but vaguely similar representation nonetheless.

Touched by his noodly appendage

Before I start getting hate mail, I wanted to clarify a statement I made in an earlier post regarding the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM). Bobby Henderson runs the website of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and was responsible for the Open Letter to the Kansas School Board regarding the school board's decision to teach intelligent design along with evolution.

Henderson, in elegant parody, points out what happens when our public schools are beholden to a majority group of intolerant religious fanatics. No matter how Christian our founding fathers were, they had the foresight to recognize the inherent danger in mixing theology and government. We should heed their lesson and recognize that all folks have the right to their own viewpoint no matter how much the mob disagrees. Let's keep religion out of the schools, unless its Sunday School.

Reblog: Overheard in DC

I am a huge fan of dcist.com, especially their Overheard in DC entries. Although it seems every week is my favorite, this particular excerpt passed along by the Ricker made me laugh out loud:

Why do drivers dislike bikers again?

On Bradley Blvd in Bethesda, morning rush hour:

Early 30s male bicyclist commuter yelling at a Prius that just cut him off: "Gas Guzzler!"

I am a Fitz Fan!

Yesterday's trouncing of the Purdue Boilermakers was a sweet gift from heaven. I like to think that God (aka the FSM) is rewarding me for all my patience during the bad years of NU football.

For all you NU fans, hit 'em hard, hit 'em low, Go Northwestern Go!

Its maven not maverick

With so many friends in different cities, I find myself connecting folks I like with other folks I like. For example, my friend Rachel just moved to Seattle and didn't know anyone there. Presto-chango, one short email later, she had 10 new friends from my b-school graduating class. In b-school speak, I think that makes me a "maven."

Since Kenny Kellogg gave me a shout out on his blog, I feel like I should introduce you, dear reader (all three of you), to mollycoddled mutterings, the blog of my high school friend. Molly has some funny stuff, including this post about Obama Os and Cap'n McCain's. Be sure to click through and listen to the jingles!

Savin' You Time

For those of you who upload photos to multiple sites, check out Pixelpipe. It allows you to upload photos and captions once, and then sends them off to Picasa, Snapfish, Facebook and any blogs all at the same time.

Palin as President

Thanks to the Ricker and the Burrito for sending this website along! Its hysterical and be sure to keep opening the door until the deer is there.

Captains Log, Stardate 48959.1

Wonder how many Trekkies' requests for captain's logs it took for the Naval Historical Center to post this in their official FAQs:

Deck logs are not "Captain's Logs"

A deck log is not a daily diary written by the ship's captain. The "captain's log" was a dramatic device used by the creators of the television series Star Trek to introduce each episode, and does not exist in the U.S. Navy.

Another spoonful of sugar, please.

I enjoy a love-hate relationship with Harry Potter. I love the books, love the anticipation of getting the latest book the mail, love racing to read just to find out what happens, and then reading it second time to savor the story. I hate when the books are over, hate when the series ended, hate that the movies keep getting delayed, and hate that Alfonso Cuarón didn't direct any other HP movies, besides the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Now that the series is complete, I have had to turn to adult literature. As if I don't get enough reality on a daily basis. What's a girl to do? Why, find another children's book series that includes dwarves, magic, and the British Isles, of course! My friend H. Tammy turned me onto the Artemis Fowl series. Don't be fooled by the suggested age target. Eoin Colfer is an incredibly gifted writer, with CS Lewis and Lewis Carroll's remarkable ability to avoid condescension to children. I was enthralled and can't wait for the next installment.

Really, America, really?

Forget poor credit habits, the Jonas Brothers, and Sarah Palin. The real indicator of the decline of modern American society is the fact that Beverly Hills Chihuahua is number 1 in the movie box office this past weekend.

Doggone it, America, can't ya just keep your shameful viewing habits private? That's why Netflix is so awesome . . .no one needs to know you watched Princess Diaries 5: Anne Hathaway-lookalike Finds Prince-Consort #4.

Umm . . . 'cause he's an old white dude?

I always enjoy reading the NYT's Science Q&A, partially because I am nerdy (go U! NU!). But honestly, the most recent question asked seems a little obvious to me.

Yeah Google Labs!

Check out this little gem from Google Labs (although I did stop and check to make sure it wasn't April 1st). I think I will stick to turning my computer off before going out as I have, on occasion, been know to help write cover letters when (ahem) indisposed.

Solo Works

Right after great concerts, I can't seem to stop listening to the band--albums, boot-legs, the band's pet projects, and recorded concerts on NPR. The past two weeks have been no exception. The latest Fleet Foxes concert at DC's Black Cat was an amazing, soul-inspiring show, just like their show in August.

This week, I gave another listen to the band members' albums prior to joining Fleet Foxes in a desperate attempt to expand my Fleet Foxes listening options. You can check Josh Tillman's solo work and Casey Wescott and Christian Wargo's band Crystal Skulls below.

J. Tillman - Crooked Roof

Crystal Skulls - Baby Boy

While I don't hate either solo project, I haven't embraced these sounds the same way I did when I heard the Fleet Foxes on indiemuse.com for the first time. The nagging question I can't seem to answer is does the Fleet Foxes's magic emanate from the genius of Robin Pecknold's songwriting? Is it from that undefinable and mystic combination resulting from a collaborative exploration of sound? For now, my only answer is to put Fleet Foxes and Sun Giant on repeat and wait for them to release their new song, Silver City.

Welcome to my blog!

At the suggestion of Kenny Kellogg, I decided to give this blog thing a try, a recording of my own thoughts and life as it happens. As the late great Hunter S. Thompson said, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."