Don't Be a Jerk, Johnny

I might be suffering from a last bout of summer wistfulness, and have been struck by summer-sounding songs. What better than an album titled "Summertime!"? 


(It's that damn sun, I tell you. Why can't it just let me move on?! I'm with winter now...)






The Drums - "Down by the Water"
The Drums - "Let's Go Surfing"


Myspace | Band Website

Your Lows Will Have Their Complements of Highs

I noticed last night that Last.fm has just put up their Best of 2009 list, week one of three. I actually chequed it out, and trust me, unless you are mentally prepared for how ridiculous the list is, don't click on it. Of course, the list is based on how much people have listened to an artist that released an album between October 1st of 2008 or November 16th of 2009, excluding compilations, EPs, live albums and best of collections, giving information on which songs have been most popular, showing a graph of the amount of scrobbles on a time scale (also including your scrobbles of that particular artist, if you have any). Additional information includes where the majority of people have seen the artist live (festivals vs. gigs), and a "hype-o-meter" which measures how quickly an artist rose in popularity in 2009.


I may have taken AP Statistics, but I don't need it to see the obvious problems with this list.


First off, one thing you'll notice is that many of the musicians on the list are bands that have been around for a while, like U2 and Depeche Mode, where obviously they've had a very steady following for years that would probably listen to these bands in the bathroom if it was recorded on an album. Secondly, other artists, such as Eminem and All American Rejects, artists that obviously are very prevalent in mainstream media, rank highly not because they released an amazing album this year, but just because they're popular. My third problem is that the list doesn't actually have anything to do with the real quality of the album; musicians like Regina Spektor and Metric are on this list, though the albums they released this year are mediocre at best. Actual albums worth listening to, such as Passion Pit's Manners or Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest are ranked fairly lowly, and in some cases are beaten out by artists like A Day to Remember.


Am I the only one who has a problem with this? Because I better not be.


I don't mean to verbally beat up people who actually enjoy the music of All American Rejects and the like, but you have to be honest here, they did not release one of the top 40 best albums of the year.


And now, to end the abuse and show you something worth listening to:

Wild Beasts - "Hooting & Howling"

She Moves She

I guess that I'm suffering from some severe body aches and slow internet. Despite the inch thick frost that we had last night, I still felt like this morning was epicly beautiful, what with the pink tinged sky and the setting full moon. I don't really understand why so many people aren't morning people. Especially when you're living in Washington, what with the trees and the mountains and lakes.

Yesterday I went down to Pike Place Market in Seattle. It was a great experience, partly because I learned a lot more about the history of the place, and also because it was the first time I'd been brought to someplace new in a very long time. Pike Place Market is actually the world's largest public market that is still open, and apparently a lot of the businesses and alleys near the market used to be stables or places where people sent children infected with the Spanish Influenza to die. Fun factz. We also ended up checking out the Chewing Gum Wall, which I guess began because the movie theater there asked people to spit their gum out before they came into the theater, and so it sort of began in a very punk-rock way. The place has actually been pressure-washed twice, so what you see today isn't everything that was there. And of course, we should all be very proud that we have the world's second most unsanitary tourist attraction, just behind Ireland's Blarney Stone.

I have never been an overexcited Yeasayer fan (I honestly thought that All Hour Cymbals was overhyped), but I still cannot get over this song, "Ambling Alp". I find myself actually looking forward to their upcoming stuff, if it will be in the same general vein as this song.

And, just for your benefit, I'll include "Ambling Alp (Memory Tapes remix)" for you all.

I Think I Can

So I guess my prediction that yesterday would be one of the last sunny and crisp days was wrong; today was another beautiful clear sunny day. Maybe I'm the only one, but the only time I like sunlight is when it's freezing cold out. Probably because it makes me appreciate it more.

I suppose this is a bad thing, but I'll admit that I'm struggling here, to finish this post. Why? Because it's too dark out. I had a wonderful day exploring Seattle, partially because of the beautiful weather and the wonderful company, but also because it was the first time in a while where I went out for myself, without much expectations. Spontaneity is good for the soul (as Nietzsche would say, "You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star").

In terms of music, all I can offer is Quarta 330's "Bleeps from Outer Space". Which reminds me of Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk, an album released in the seventies by this guy who called himself Meco. It's amusing to look at Meco's other albums, which include Meco Plays the Wizard of Oz and Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars' Christmas Album. To be honest I am hoping to get my hands on some of these albums, but I don't know where on earth I'll be able to find them.

Some Machines are Dropped From Great Heights Lovingly

Despite being horribly chilly (at least for me, since apparently hearing 42 degrees doesn't register in my mind as "cold"), today was probably one of the last sunny and crisp days of this entire year. And what better suits such weather than Joanna Newsom on The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)? Particularly pleasant was waking up to "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" and hearing "your skin is something I stir into my tea" for the first time again.

But in other news, we also have some magnificent covers to uncover.

Memoryhouse - Foreground

Grizzly Bear - Foreground

Solange - Stillness is the Move

Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move

Lykke Li - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

The Shirelles - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

JL Stiles - No More Runnin

Animal Collective - No More Runnin

Anya Marina - Whatever You Like

T.I. - Whatever You Like

Yes, we are ending on a classy note.

Blue Dreams

Hopefully everyone has come back from the Thanksgiving weekend a little fatter and a little happier. Unlike me, who only came out fatter and grumpier. (Much grumpier)

Okay, so I have decided that the official start of the end of the year music list will commence on December 15th, and that it will continue up until 2010. I might be the only person excited here, but I'm excited enough for all of us (the figurative "us". We promise we don't have split personalities.)

In the meantime, I felt like it might be suitable to talk a little about the movies that also came out this year. Call this a "best of 2009", if you will. May I first mention how alien-y we are this year? We have Monsters vs. Aliens, The Fourth Kind, District 9, Transformers (let's not forget that they are robots from another planet). Oh, and the trailer for Planet 51, and though it isn't a movie, the new TV series on ABC called V. So 2009: the year of the alien...movies. But other highlights for me this year were movies like Paper Heart, (500) Days of Summer, Mary and Max, Whip It, and Paranormal Activity.

*whispered: aaaand New Moon

Just kidding.

You're Not the Only

So I guess I'm kind of a lazy cheater, at least when it comes to finding new music. But really, Pitchfork makes it much too easy. Not to say that I buy every single thing that they say. But...I have to say that I am a reformed Pitchfork hater. And aside from that, I love their best new music section, especially best new tracks.

I may have jumped at Animal Collective, and overlooked Beach House's new song, "Norway". (Well who wouldn't, it's Animal fucking Collective).

Oh, and if I can expound on Animal Collective some more, the lyrics to "What Would I Want? Sky" are just too amazing.

What would I want... Sky!

Is everything alright?
You feeling lonely?
You feeling homely?
You're not the only
Is everything alright?
You feeling moany?
you feeling stoney?
You're not the only
Do you get up up up?
I stop and go above me
Too bad they can't help me
Here in the right way
Do I get up up up?
I stop and look around me
Green, where the color should be
What is the right way?
Old glasses clinking and a new board is blinking
and I -
I should be floating but I'm weighted by thinking
That I got on the river
Really can't make it change
And the sky got filled up too fast
and the taxi man's saying, "You betta
give him your money;
stop daydreaming, dude!"
When the point of horizon is hiding from you
What would you want? sky?

Are you taking it lightly?
Lost in the flurries
You start to worry
You will be buried
Taking it lightly
and so I hurry
I start to worry
Here come them flurries

Do you get up up up?
I stop and go above me
Too bad they can't help me
What is the right way?
Do I get up up up?
I stop and look around me
Green, where the color should be
What is the right way?
Old glasses clinking and a new board is blinking
and I -
I should be floating but I'm weighted by thinking
That I got on the river
Really can't make it change
And the sky got filled up too fast
and the taxi man's saying, "You betta
give him your money;
stop daydreaming, dude!"
When the point of horizon is hiding from you
What would you want? sky!
What would I want? sky!
What would I want? sky!

The World is Lazy

My favorite part of today was probably walking home and shout-singing the lyrics to "When I'm With You" by Best Coast. I have a feeling the people who live in the homes that I pass by most likely hate me, because I'm either screaming, groaning "ughhhhhh", crying, or singing. They probably think I am crazy. But really, how can you resist these lyrics?

The world is lazy

But you and me, we're just crazy

So when I'm with you I have fun

Yeah when I'm with you, I have fun

Ever since I was a little girl

My mama always told me there'd be boys like you

So when I'm with you I have fun

Yeah when I'm with you, I have fun

I hate sleeping alone

I hate sleeping alone

I hate sleeping alone

I hate sleeping alone

Alone, alone, alone, alone...

Alone.

In other news, I checked out Shel Silverstein's book, Where the Sidewalk Ends from the library. Though they are kid poems, I feel like I missed out on a lot of the meaning in them at that age, and aside from that my teachers sort of emphasized the humor in his poetry rather than the poetry itself. But to top it all, it brings back memories. Memories of poems I studiously memorized, to be recited when I was scared of the dark, or my dad calling me a yipiyuk because I would grab his ankles and make him drag me across the floor.

What Would I Want? Sky

I am well aware that I am extremely biased, but the new Animal Collective track, "What Would I Want? Sky" is just too awesome.

But, if you don't trust someone who has loved Animal Collective since Feels (and also loved everything retroactively since Feels), check it out. They got a tennnnnn!

You Do You

So some astute people might notice that I've decided to "monetize" my blog. I'm well aware that the "pay out" from this will be very negligible, but I figure, why not? Maybe by some freak accident this blog will actually become popular someday (highly unlikely, I know) and it might actually come in handy. Until then, it will just be a tiny little box in the corner of the screen. I'm really not expecting any money to actually come out of it, but it would be really cool to get a check in the mail.

As for the major music playlist?

Anamanaguchi - Black Out City

Andrew Bird - Simple X

Animal Collective - Bluish

Bat for Lashes - What's a Girl To Do

Bear in Heaven - You Do You

Bibio - Sugarette

Camera Obscura - French Navy

Cat Power - Naked If I Want To

Chromeo - Needy Girl

Delorean - Seasun

Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move

Discovery - Can You Tell?

El Perro Del Mar - Jubilee

Elliott Smith - Twilight

Empire in the Sun - Walking on a Dream

Fleet Foxes - Mykonos

Myyyy internet totally crashed so here concludes the playlist!

Reprise

Sadly I am still not able to make a huge playlist tonight, since I have chosen to go on my sister's laptop.

So I have this terrible urge to be baking and cooking. Thus far I've made some chocolate chip cookies and tonight I made tortillas from scratch. To be honest? The tortillas were both simpler and harder than I thought it would be. And unfortunately they didn't taste as great as I had hoped. Buuuuut...they were still delicious.

And, just in case anyone else wants to make tortillas:

Just mix 3 cups of flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt. Then, mix in 4-6 tablespoons of butter (though I think it would be better to use less) and 1 and 1/4 cups of warm water (mix the water in little by little). Then pull pieces off and roll into around 12-16 balls of dough and let them sit for about ten minutes, and warm a pan on medium heat. Then roll the balls into flat circular pieces and cook in the pan. They should be cooked fairly quickly. And you're finished!

Yaaaaay...

Freaking Internettt

Unfortunately today my internet has been a total bitch this entire day. Frustrating, really. I had hoped to do a very long music playlist today, but due to the late hour I will probably not do it.

So I actually have to figure out some movies to get for Thanksgiving weekend. It's been a tradition for us to sit together and eat pretty much all day and watch movies (typically westerns). I don't know what kind of movies we'll find from the library this year, so the responsibility of finding good movies to watch falls on me. In the quest to find a lot of movies to watch, I happened upon Mary and Max, which is an amazing animated film. It is definitely one of my top favorite films of this year.

I have a feeling that this entire blog post is not very well written. I feel that the best thing would be for me to stop here. And also I'd like to publish this while it's still today and not tomorrow.

Timid Little Teether

TV on the Radio - "Love Dog"

It's amazingly poetic. One of my favorite lyrics, "Patience is a virtue until its silence burns you".

Hoping to Have a Hoot

I'm relieved that we're slowly transitioning from early fall with its crisp morning air and flurries of tree debris to the dark depression of late November. You can already feel the holiday grumbles in the air.

I really want to go to Seattle soon and go antiquing. Sadly it's something I really enjoy. At the very least I'm sure that Pioneer Square is impressive this time of year, with the autumn leaves (though I strongly suspect that at this point they are only skeletons now).

Right now I am questing for a truly good jacket that I really connect with, and also a way to keep the Shel Silverstein poem Where the Sidewalk Ends in my pocket. I kind of want to learn how to stitch letterings so that I can sew it into my pockets. I would go so far as to keep it close to my skin, though I have a feeling that that would just be exceedingly corny (I feel as though I rarely have the lucidity of mind to think things through and realize how stupid I really am). But really, sometimes when things are so beautiful you don't want to let them go, I wish that it were possible to just keep it close to my skin.

Not exactly going along with the general depressing theme of this post, I recently started listening to Wild Beast's latest album, Two Dancers. I feel fairly unfortunate for getting their album so late in the game, but no matter what it's definitely better having it in my ipod now. Their opening track, "The Fun Powder Plot", with its booty calls (my boot, my boot, my boot!) and its Freudian slips is definitely one of my favorite songs at the moment. And not to mention "Hooting and Hollering", with its memorable music video. The album as a whole is really strong, with each song capable of standing alone, and working together as a whole to make one of this year's most enjoyable albums. Other favorites from the album include "All the King's Men" and "This is our Lot".

Shel Silverstein - Where the Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,

And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rests from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow

We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go

To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know

The place where the sidewalk ends.

700...

It's our seven hundredth post, and there really isn't much to show for it. I was planning on doing a 100-post rewind just for fun, but somehow I feel like that would just be embarrassing for everyone involved.

Suffice it to say that I'm glad we all survived this week.

I got the Monsters of Folk album a while ago, but wasn't able to put anything up until now. Probably because of the label of "super group" I might have had too high expectations, and also because I usually don't like anything I listen to right away (which is usually cured through repetition or time), Monsters of Folk didn't really excite me. There are plenty of pleasant tracks, but they're really just pleasant, and not really exciting. After the first couple of listens, I feel pretty safe to condense the album to just the opening track, "Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)".

Minus the Bear - Throwin' Shapes

Major Lazer - Keep It Goin' Louder

Tragic Little Teacup

Okay, one midterm and a three hour nap later and I think the Midterm Zombie has been successfully vanquished. Back to the living!

So I'm supposed to be doing this gigantic end of year music playlist, of basically every album released this year and every album I've listened to this year. I have yet to set the exact date for when this playlist will appear, but I have a hunch it will be sometime at the end of this year...har har. Oh, and there is only three blog posts remaining until we reach the 700th! I'm still not sure exactly how I plan on celebrating that. I'm thinking I'll rewind every one hundred posts and quote them again, just for the fun of it.

And I am currently listening to Bishop Allen's newest album, Grrr..., which, despite being less than amazing, is an easy album to bob your head to. Simple pop songs with simple lyrics and lots of jangly sounds. (Really. That's about all you can say about this album. Not the best, but jangly and head-bobbing)

Bishop Allen - Don't Hideaway

Ughhhh

Beware of the Midterm Zombie!

Midterm zombie: two midterms + halloween + lack of sleep

Sugarette

Okay, it's official -- there WILL be a end-of-year music list with LOTS of things to download.

My Punishment for Fighting

Maybe this is because I failed to believe that money makes the world go 'round, as a child.

Growing up, I used to be extremely superstitious, basically after I discovered "bad luck" I lost the entire idea of responsibility for mistakes or the shame of failure. My dad liked to take my sister and I to the library, which, though usually considered a great place of knowledge, is actually equal parts nonsense and fact (I personally believe the scales are tipped towards nonsense, considering the immense collection of fictions, children's books, and not to mention biased books; if you need further proof, consider the fact that any book that has even a modicum of fact is most likely in the reference section and therefore not allowed to be checked out). That library is actually when I first came upon a big book of superstition, mainly folksy little rhymes that meant nothing but something I mistook for overlooked fact. Which is where I came upon a little tidbit of superstition that has unfortunately stuck with me for the rest of my life:

One crow unlucky, two crows lucky

Three crows healthy, four crows wealthy

Five crows sickness, Six crows death

This is mainly from memory, since I was probably six when I read it. Unfortunately I recited it in my mind religiously and when my parents drove me to my afterschool math class (they wanted me to be smart) I'd scan the skies for two crows so I'd know I'd pass my daily quiz.

This, as I've said, has stuck with me my entire life. I even shared it with my great grandmother, which caused my dad to think that I might be mentally ill (okay, I am a fan of the hyperbole, but he honestly thought there was something wrong with me). This morning I kept spotting single crows as I went to my bus stop and all the bus ride to the school. Of course I involuntarily remembered the little rhyme, but since I turned fourteen I stopped putting much stock in it.

But unfortunately today really was shitty. Studying did not go as planned, and many excruciating hours later, I ended up on the bus home. And it only took me half an hour to realize I had completely forgot my expensive architecture book at the bus stop, and already had to plan the lie to cover that up. The entire walk home was pretty much the only highlight of the entire day, in which I put my scarf over half of my face, turned up Dirty Projector's "Stillness is the Move" and screamed "UGHHHH" all the way home.

Getting home, and my mom sits me down and informs me that I am $110 over on my phone bill and that I have to pay the difference, which basically constitutes half of all the money I've saved up this year.

To top this all off, through a series of mistakes I've made the past year, my academic records are on hold and I am on academic probation. My financial aid was completely lost and I still have no idea the first step in changing this around. I currently owe over $7000 to the University of Washington, which I know I can find a way to fix, if only the weight of it all wasn't crushing me.

And the only thing that made sense at that point was to just walk outside and cry. Originally planning on walking to Robinswood park, I turned into the cul-de-sack by my house, which used to be my favorite place to bicycle. I walked the whole way, looking at how much things have changed since I was a child. My favorite trees, my favorite neighbors, my favorite blackberry bush, everything was different, dark and unhappy, and blurred by tears.

Here is the awful truth: the majority of my life I have spent believing that fairytales come true. I believed in soulmates, hearts tied together like anchors. I believed in families, in the sanctity of marriage, that money doesn't actually make the world go around. It wasn't until I was 18 that I actually gave up on that classic Disney storyline that something amazing was supposed to happen. I mean, there are the major moments early in life, like your sweet 16, turning 18, turning 21. And all I see is an incomprehensible mass of life moving through time and space. That we're all just faceless beings on an impersonal world. Yes, it's true we're all worm food in the end, but even that can't unite us.

It doesn't matter what I do for the rest of my life. That childish innocence that LIFE is ACTUALLY GOOD is gone forever.

So Bored

I have no idea why I'm up so early either. I woke up at 6:30 and instead of letting myself go back to sleep I just woke up and am now here, doing nothing. Oh wait, I'm not doing nothing. I am being slowly frozen to death.

I think that it is about time this moved away from boring web blog and transitioned to boring web blog that talks about music.

So I've had this cover of Wavves' "So Bored" by Anamanaguchi. I just learned that Anamanaguchi uses "thick, electronic tones of a hacked Nintendo Entertainment system". Haha whaaat? It's actually not as tacky as it sounds. (Or it is as awesome as it sounds, if that was your initial reaction)

Anamanaguchi - So Bored

My Misery Is So Addictive

Ever since I read The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, I've secretly kind of wished that my name was Alma. For one thing, Amanda is an extremely common name, especially among Asian Americans such as myself. Second, I've always kind of felt that my name was chosen as merely the complement to a pair, as if my sister and I were meant to be matching salt and pepper shakers. I can't be so cynical though, since the meaning of the name "Amanda" is translated to "she who must be loved", which has been an image of myself my entire life. My Chinese zodiac, the Horse, is described as needing people. In the words of Chromeo, I'm a needy girl. Alma, on the other hand, translates to "nurturer", which is a fitting name for a character in a book that basically inspires the discovery of love.

I dreamt that two recent acquaintances of mine were the main characters of the book, and that I kept them apart.

Tegan and Sara - Arrow

Some links to short stories by Nicole Krauss:

- Future Emergencies

- The Last Words on Earth

- From the desk of Daniel Varsky

Pg 144

I just realized I'm only 10 posts shy of 700 blog posts. Which is horrifying to me considering the major bulk of this blog was written by my friends and I, when we all sounded like hyperactive children. I promise, we're much cooler now (except for Laura. I have no idea what happened to her (just kidding Laura, in case you ever stumble on this, which you probably won't since you're not cool now...but if you are reading this, it probably means you got cool again, so the previous insults are now void)). Reflecting back on how most people see me today and how I acted the majority of my life and I think I'm doing a pretty good job at deceiving everyone. It's just a little embarrassing when showing people this blog and having them read through some of the older stuff that was written.

It kind of sucks to realize that this blog is like a relic of a period of time in my life when I had friends, and now it's largely a solo project.

Note to anyone reading this blog: being on your computer all the time so you can instant message your "friends" does not make you popular. Get off the computer and interact with people. Also, sunshine is healthy for you.

Woods - Military Madness

Beware of the Maniacs

Ohhh two posts in one day?! I am just ambitious aren't I...

(The answer is no, no I'm not. I am just procrastinating.)

Just recently started reading Toothpaste for Dinner. It's late, I know, but at least I'm reading it.

Morning Light

So I am finally making good on my promise to come in every week to volunteer for Nancy...next week. (Haha!) I feel bad for being completely unreliable, but considering the little benefit I'm getting from the majority of the work I do there, it should be understandable. General responsibilities in the foreseeable future: tutoring middle school children (which, as far as the creepy child stereotype goes, a lot of them still fall under...it's not very fun to hang out with a kid when the only thing they'll do is stare blankly at your face), and volunteering for Carry5 and Water1st, as well as working on the youth advisory board.

The only thing that I'm really looking forward to is the holidays. Not because it's a fantastic cheery time of year and full of good will and all that other bullcrap they try to package in a card. But because it's the one time of the year that the majority of people actually sincerely try to pretend like their life could possibly be a model for a Hallmark card. Normally I dislike seeing all these fake people but sometimes it's nice to take a break and pretend with everyone else that it really is the most wonderful time of the year.

Other than that life is basically the same. The only other highlight is the possible ownership of an actual high quality camera. I don't pretend to be a good photographer or even an amateur. I will admit that I love beautiful looking cameras, as well as the wonderful pictures that come from them. I am tempted to figure out a way to buy an antique camera.

And I keep telling myself that I'm going to go see that famed Chewing Gum wall, or go to a park, or just basically go anywhere at all, but I'm a liar.

Elliott Smith - King's Crossing

Ughhhh

I hate being busy. Maybe it has to do with Milan Kundera's book, Slowness. Which basically discusses the relation between speed and forgetting. Then again, I could be honest and just admit that I hate being busy because I'm pretty lazy and would much rather be curled up at home with a cup of hot cocoa.

Which reminds me, I need to lay off the hot cocoa. It isn't even December yet but I've made a serious cut into my cocoa rations.

There is one overarching sound in my life, which is this: Ughhhhhhhhhhh.

I would like to play it all off, like life isn't corny and dramatic when you don't want it to be and painfully boring, despite the fact that you imagine you're the center of the universe.

And to top it off, my usual anchors, the people in my life that you can generally just drop a couple words by and feel like you're someplace safe, are scattered around the world, literally. I lost one to Uzbekistan, one to RISD, and one to time.

(Ughhhhhhh)

Oh, and if I may interrupt myself, I highly recommend Milan Kundera's works. Particularly Unbearable Lightness of Being, mainly because of the whole "lightness" concept which I find interesting. But also because it's a fairly interesting book with a very good plot and interesting writing technique. The majority of his stories follow the same style, in which a few characters' lives interweave and single events are seen at many different vantage points, with added philosophical meandering and just general poetry.

My favorite place right now is the UW libraries, among the book stacks. Unfortunately, I had a mishap and walked through section after section of books describing wars all around the globe spanning human history. It was a little disturbing, yet still satisfying to walk through and read some of the funniest book titles I've ever seen. And the Middle Eastern section of the library is full of beautiful hard cover books that look amazing. I like them even though I can't read any.

Funny eh?

I quite possibly had the best autumn morning of my life today. During the long walk to the bus stop I was accompanied by hundreds of maple seeds, looking like frantically flying moths. It was the most beautiful thing I've seen, one of the many reasons why early fall is one of my favorite times of the year.

I'm waiting for dinner.

No music today, not because there isn't things worth sharing but because I'm not in the mood.

Is Just It?

Rilo Kiley - It Just Is

Right now I like the imagery of roots and branches and veins.

A little sick of fighting? With everyone...

Friends that disappear. It's like losing a finger. The phantom limb?

People that expect too much.

Distance that grows with time.

It all sickens and tires me. I have no motivation to even smile.

The perfect day would be a day with close friends, with photography props and crazy themes and costumes, in a field and creating something with someone. That it might be possible, for just one day, to create a world, transpose the utopia in my mind to reality, and the evidence locked in pixels. That would be a wonderful day.

Weather vanes.

It's getting harder and harder to move.

OMG IT'S A NEW POST

Have I ever mentioned just how much I hate blogger templates? Choosing them out and all that. No matter which one you get, after a while they either seem too over the top or just subtly annoying. And the fact that it probably reflects something about the writer? I figuratively throw my hands up in the air with it all.

I do not understand what's so great about walnuts. Why are they all over my muffins and shit? Peanuts, almonds, walnuts, and pecans can all kiss my ass and stay the hell out of my food.

Here is what I hate the most about blogging. It's so pointless. What am I supposed to say here, what words will jump out in google search and make you read what I have to say. I could probably write the most disgusting racist bigotry and no one would notice. What if I was like Keiko Lynn and I just took pictures and wore wonderful clothes until people believed that they can find happiness in a vintage dress?

When I look into the future and try to decide what I want, what I'm working towards, all I can think is how wonderful it would be to live inside Andrew Bird's guitar, or in Zach Condon's french horn. I want to live inside the Flying Club Cup and then procreate with Armchair Apocrypha. Is that what other people feel too?

And I would love to hear what those albums sound like during sex. Amiright?

Blind

Am I allowed to admit here that I love torrents? And it's really hard for me to believe how easy it has made my life. I used to download song by song, scouring blogs to find everything I could. Or going on terrible websites like Multiply (I'm not trying to insult people who use Multiply) and searching music posts just to download random music, simply because it was all that was available to me. I feel like someone who used to rummage through garbage and has just been introduced to grocery stores. Even years after its introduction, I'm still surprised at how easy it is, and am overcome with this feeling of utter bliss.

So I guess one benefit of not being in the dorms is this whole torrenting business. If I had to buy all 804 albums I own, I don't think I'd have any money for tuition or space in my dorm.

I think I'm going to have to stop taking naps on the couch because they are seriously messing up my dreams. I've had two of the strangest dreams of my life. I won't even go into them because they're TMI, and I don't think anyone wants that imagery in their head.

La Roux - Quicksand

(Not) Fine For Now

Waiting for the next class to start. I keep forgetting that my bus is really full and that we have to take a detour due to construction. It's completely bananas. I ended up missing my class, though it wasn't on purpose.

I feel like I should just hibernate all winter.

VCR

The best part of my morning thus far is the anticipation of a cup of nice, warm, chai green tea. I originally bought it for my dad, but for subversive reasons; I've been aching to try it every since I caught a smell of its tantalizing aroma. And now I sit waiting for it to be ready for consumption.

I feel like I love Octobers. The certainty of the end of summer, and the quiet, muting presence of gray clouds. The memory of warmth that you can get from a cup of tea or a warm blanket, and the whole thing is nostalgia.

I'm missing the feel of an espresso machine under my fingertips. I miss the hiss of steam, the rising foam of the steamed milk. I miss the sound of the grinder and the smell of the espresso beans, and the creamy espresso shots filling the shot glasses. I've been contemplating applying for a job again in another cafe. Not that I need the extra responsibility; I just miss making coffee.

I am looking forward to really start working on the Water 1st Youth Advisory Board (W1YAB), however. It's the start of a new school year. It doesn't matter that little over a month ago I was still doing summer quarter, or that the bulk of my summer rest and relaxation lasted for a week, or that it came after summer had ended and fall had officially begun.

Anyways, Happy Birthday Ghandi! and here's to hoping everyone else can enjoy this wonderfully bleary day.

The xx - "Heart Skipped a Beat"

Getting it Wrong Almost Every Time

I've only just finished the first week of the new school year at UW (it's actually only been two days). A recent $10 bonus to my already scanty monthly allowance, and the apprehension of an 18 credit quarter (yes, I know I'm crazy) and somehow I already look like I haven't had a day of sleep for the last four months. And maybe there is some validity to that claim, as every night I spend whispering into my cell phone, imagining the electrical cords that keep my phone from dying mid-four-hour-conversations, is somehow magically winding it's way to my recipient, like an electrical futuristic version of strings and cans. Unfortunately, that's only a guess on my part, since I never had a friend to play strings and cans with, and besides that I highly doubt my mom would want to tempt fate by allowing me to get tetanus from rusty cans to the ear.

The revamping of Hipsteradio is hardly a permanent one, nor is it much awaited for and to be honest (and I have no reason to fear honesty here, since no one is reading) this is just a purely random revival of a long-dead blog. As the quarter drags on I highly doubt I'll be able to keep this up. But I will try.

So far I haven't yet worked out how to link music here. I forgot how to login to yousendit (and am too lazy to make a new account) and Google recently changed their sites application, so everything is tentative.

What classes are these, that they take all of my time? Introduction to Microeconomics, Introduction to Globalization, Appreciation of Architecture, and Language Policy. The only good thing about this quarter is that I now have my Fridays completely free. You would think with a perpetual three-day weekend this would be a piece of cake, but add on an internship, volunteering for a youth advisory board and possibly heading an organization at UW, and I think we can all agree that my time will be going by very quickly.

Hopefully this will just be enough to keep me on track and from slipping. I'm seriously contemplating jumping on the ADD bandwagon and getting myself a prescription for "student-enhancing drugs" (aka Ritalin), but I'm hoping I have enough determination and discipline that I won't need it. So far that hasn't held true; yesterday my mom caught me making origami stars, and today I've spent the majority of my time chatting, going on Facebook, reading Pitchfork, webcomics, and now this. I am certainly off to a great start.

And though I'm not deathly behind, and I have all THREE days of my weekend (I'm sorry, but I can't stop gloating over this), I went to buy my last textbook today and found out that it won't be in stock until probably next week, though that's not even a certainty. What does that mean for my studies? I'm going to be at least a week behind in readings. Hopefully I can just leech notes off of someone else, but I'm still not comfortable with the idea of it.

And so here concludes the first of probably very few blogs at the start of the quarter when I still have time to do things.

A little blurb: Jessie, I miss you! I hope you're doing great at RISD and it's hard having you on the other coast.