Christmas / Graduation Wishlist

Hello all! Your faithful blogger lives, still with home internet. =P But it is that time of year again. There are a few things that would really make me grin this holiday season, and I should get all of them because I'm graduating too. =)

So, Santa, are you reading this?

1. Kirsten's Holiday Treat Set
2. Chrissa and Sonali Friends Collection
3. Pride and Prejudice (Colin Firth version)
4. Brady Bunch Season 1
5. Pushing Daisies Seasons 1 and 2
6. Jane Austen book collection
7. Benefit Celebutante collection (sold out online... available at Macy's)
8. MAC Sexpot Pigment Set
9. MAC Morning, Noon, and Knight Brush Set
10. B Spot Perfume

So that's my list... with helpful links. =) I would be happy to receive a couple or even one of these things for the holidays or my early graduation.

Watch film with commentary by blogger Buckingham Alice

So, as you’ll all recall, last time I posted on here, I mentioned the lack of cash at our house and how I may be losing my internet. Well, if my two month absence didn’t tell you, I did. And it’s still off… I’m at school for the moment. (Actually, I’m at school all day every day. I’m sitting idle in the tutoring center right now as my 11:00 class got cancelled… *sigh*.)

Well anyways, in the time I’ve been net-less, I’ve become the kind of person who devours DVD commentaries. I already was that way a bit, but I’ve gotten worse. I look forward to the commentary more than the show or movie in a lot of cases, and I hate to find that the filmmaker didn’t think to make me a commentary track. Due to this development, I’ve become the sort of person who knows the inside jokes that amuse the crap out of the guys who write, animate, and produce The Simpsons and a lot of the other shows I like. Kevin Smith movies have great commentary tracks because Kevin is a really funny guy… and Mosier is awesome.

The movie I’ve seen… now I need to know something about what happened behind the scenes. It makes me appreciate Mary Poppins more to know that Julie Andrews worked her ass off during the filming. I laugh a little harder at Mr. Burns jokes when I know that the writers purchased an entire dictionary of old-timey language to make him sound like that (and yes, sometimes I call people improvident lackwits when they don’t catch the aerogyros on time or give our car the proper amount of petroleum distolate).

Maybe this is me slipping farther into the nerdishness I’ve always suffered. Maybe that’s a good thing. It keeps me off the roof, anyways.

How we live.

So, I'm sure if we've talked at all in the last 8 or 9 months, you've heard me rant on about my aunt. This is a woman who lives in our home... and technically, she's my mother's sister. But this woman does not have a job. She lost her job at the end of this last October and has yet to find another one. It's not because of the horrible economy or anything... it's because she isn't looking. But this state of unemployment might be more acceptible (or easier to take) if she at least helped around the house. But she doesn't. Since October, she's cooked about three meals for the household, she hasn't done any cleaning around the house, hasn't raked any leaves in the front yard... doesn't do her own dishes. She seriously has a stack of about 11 dirty bowls and 4 or 5 plates in her room. She has glasses and cups on her dresser, and a few in the trunk of her car. And recently, when my mother and I went to get silverware to use with our dinner, we found very few. Yes, this woman has more silverware in her room than they have in the kitchen of the Olive Garden.

But she still thinks she has the right to complain and criticize. Our house is under a veil of poverty on account of her inability to get and hold a position. When given the choice of paying either the electricity and water bills or paying the cable and telephone, my mom had to go for the utilities. But my aunt still gets to complain about not being able to call her inbred friends while watching Showtime. But it isn't as bad for her... in my bedroom and the front room, the cable boxes have been disconnected, but because the cable is still technically connected to the house, she's able to plug the cablewires straight to her TV and get almost all the channels she got before... and that doesn't work in here. She thinks mostly of herself, while the rest of us (my mother and I) are left to think of Randy at Chase Visa and the miracle that is the fact that Brighthouse didn't disconnect my internet when they took the cable. So when I disappear for another extended period, don't worry (not that I fool myself into think anyone does). It just means the internet is gone too, and with it the only means I have of communicating with the few friends I have.

It's great when I can't sleep because I'm so hungry from not having eaten in a while (because groceries have become a luxury) and she's down the hall, belly full of food she ate at her rotten friends' houses, in the peaceful slumber of the unemployed. It's awesome when my mom, who works the night shift at a job she no longer enjoys, gets her pay check and has to give every cent of it away to bill collectors because she's now supporting nearly the whole household. And let me tell you... it's truly the highlight of my evening when my aunt returns home after a long, difficult day of loafing, and I get to bask in the glow of her happiness. Finally, at 50 years old, this woman has found her life's calling... she's meant to be a freeloader, and dammit, she's good at it.

Old Time Radio

This blog is brought to you by Jell-O brand gelatin dessert - look for the box with the beig red letters spelling J-E-L-L-O!- and Phillip Morris - America's most pleasurable cigarette!

There's nothing better than laying in bed awake (as I usually am in bed) and listening to a little old time radio. Last night I listened to this great episode of "The Whistler" about this man who worked in accounting firm with his brother and their partner. The man was framed for juggling the books and went to prison for 15 years. While he was locked up, he realized that the partner had to be behind framing him, and when he was released he decided to take revenge. He found out that the partner had a heart condition, and he pursued him for almost the entire episode - scaring him death. His brother finally came in with a gun saying he'd kill either of them if they had evidence to pin that crime on him. So revenge was taken on the wrong man.

Another radio program I love is called "My Favorite Husband." It stars Lucille Ball as Liz Cooper and Richard Denning as her husband George. This show is a predecessor to "I Love Lucy", which is one of my all-time favorite shows. I have seasons 1 and 2 of Lucy on DVD and there are quite a few radio episodes among the special features, and I've been listening to them again here lately.

Some other radio shows I enjoy include: Superman, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve, The Life of Riley, Baby Snooks, Granby's Green Acre, Burns and Allen, Martin and Lewis, Milton Berle, Our Miss Brooks, CBS Mystery Theater, The Whisperer, and Dr. Ben Casey.

But my all-time favorite radio program is My Friend Irma. This is an under-appreciated sitcom about a smart, serious, straight laced girl named Jane Stacy and her roommate Irma Peterson. Irma and Jane are exact opposites... while Irma is very sweet and lovable, she isn't particularly bright and can be easily swindeled. Poor Jane is in love with her boss - Mr. Richard Rylander, and every time he comes around Irma embarrasses Jane. Irma's boyfriend Al is something of a con-artist... he always tricks her into getting involved in his latest plan to avoid getting a job by telling her that they'll get married as soon as he gets enough money. And his pet name for her is Chicken... she thinks it's cute.

So yes... I love old time radio. I like coming up with a mental image to go along with what I'm hearing. I love the extremely cheesy commericals within the program... I love all the 1940s lingo. I love hearing the characters telling you to save gas and use your ration stamps wisely. It's a wonderful way to waste time.



And remember to call for Phillip Morris and look for the box with the big red letters!

You know who I wish was real?

So, this will probably surprise no one, but I love Superman. He's just... wow. I mean, this is like the most virtuous man ever... caring, loyal, self-sacrificing. And he's hot. Seriously! Thick black hair, piercing blue eyes, muscles everywhere... but not to where it's creepy like all those steroid filled he-men *cough*Governator*cough*. He's loyal to a fault... he's only had eyes for one girl -- since 1938! He's just an all around wonderful guy.

If he does have one fault though, it's his taste in women. So... Lois Lane. Now, here's a woman who is being wooed by a totally charming and devoted guy (Clark Kent), but she couldn't be less interested. But then the unthinkable happened... he FINALLY told her his secret identity. (Let me tell ya... it's amazing what a pair of glasses can hide.) And Lois, fickle and silly woman she is, falls all over herself accepting his proposal. He was suddenly good enough... no longer just the geeky Clark Kent. But hey, I'll go on record... Clark Kent is cool! Sure he wears glasses, and he's practical and all. But come on... he's like the fastest typist to ever hit the Daily Planet. And he's an all around nice guy. This nice guy was never good enough for Lois... not until she knew his secret. (And then he died and came back as a robot and stuff... but he pulled through. And they got married *groan*)

So Lois Lane married Superman... or was it Clark Kent? Which one is more truly him? Is this a normal man with extraordinary powers, or an extraordinary man with the ability to appear normal? Maybe it depends on which movie or TV show you watch or comic book you read. I kinda like to think of him as really and truly being the lovable, bumbling Clark Kent... he just happens to feel more confidant in his Superman suit because then, and only then, can he stand out as something more than just ordinary. Maybe that's his personal paradox... the need to be ordinary but feel like something more all at once.

God, I love talking about him... and waxing philosophical about him... and thinking about him. And... is it weird to have a crush on a fictional character? I mean, he's not the first, but he's certainly got a pretty big portion of my alloted fictional character love. *sigh* To fill that famous girl reporter's shoes for even one day...

Quirky Black Girls

So, if you read my blog at all, you'd probably be well aware of the fact that I have been in what my mother would call "a mood" (said with a sigh). A while ago I was reading this sort of debate on a forum I'm on. It started out innocently enough but became about race, which is a fascinating subject to me. Someone posted a link to a (three year old) blog posting about racism. After reading that, I went to the main page of the blog and saw a link to a site called Quirky Black Girls, and another blog who had written about them. This site's manifesta literally had me smiling from ear to ear... it's just may as well be about me. This made my day, and I'm so glad I read it.

Quirky Black Girls - Embrace the Quirk!

Manifesta:
"Because Audre Lorde looks different in every picture ever taken of her. Because Octavia Butler didn't care. Because Erykah Badu is a patternmaster. Because Macy Gray pimped it and Janelle Monáe was ready.
Resolved. Quirky black girls wake up ready to wear a tattered society new on our bodies, to hold fragments of art, culture and trend in our hands like weapons against conformity, to walk on cracks instead of breaking our backs to fit in the mold.

We're here, We're Quirky, Get used to it!

.... Quirky Black girls don't march to the beat of our own drum; we hop, skip, dance, and move to rhythms that are all our own. We make our own drums out of empty lunchboxes, full imaginations and number 3 pencils.

Quirky Black girls are not quirky because they like white shit; rather they understand that because they like it, it is not the sole province of whiteness.

Quirky black girls are the answer to the promise that black means everything, birthing and burning a new world every time.

Sound it out. Quirky, like queer and key, different and priceless, turning and open. Black, not be lack but black one word shot off the tongue like blap, bam, black. Girl, like the curl in a hand turning towards itself to snap, write, hold or emphasize. Quirky. Black. Girl. You see us. Act like you know.

We demand that our audiences say "yes-sir-eee" if they agree and we answer our own question "What good do your words do, if they don't understand you?" by speaking anyway, even if our words are "bruised and misunderstood."

Quirky black girls are hot!
Whether you're ready to see it or not.

Quirky means rejecting a particular type of "value," a certain unreadiness for consumption and subsumption in an economy of black heterocapital. This means that Quirky Black Girls act independently of dominant social norms or standards of beauty. So fierce that others may not be able to appreciate us just yet.

No matter what age we are, we hold onto that girlhood drive for adventure, love for friends, independent spirit, wacky sense of humor, and hope for the future.

Quirky Black Girls resist boxes in favor of over lapping circles with permeable membranes that allow them to ebb and flow through their multiple identities.

Quirky Black Girls- Embrace the quirky!"

I wonder...

Sometimes I wonder why I bother at all. With anything really. I'm strange, sad little person. I don't fit in well. My life is devoid of most aspects of socializing. I have two friends that I actually ever hang out with, and one of them only wants me when all her other friends are busy. I have no romantic prospects. It would curl your hair to know how long it's been since I was in a relationship. I don't have backbone... I see a guy and think he's cute, the last thing I'd do is talk to him. It's all bordering on pathetic.

I'm lonely. All the time. You have no idea.

Am I too old to experience another extended period of ennui?

Moody blues -- a collection of random, semi-related thoughts

I haven't been very happy lately. As a matter of fact, I've been downright unhappy for reasons I'm not fully aware of. I know, I know... I do try to be cheerful. Often I try to the point of hiding all my real feelings, and that isn't good. But lately, I haven't been hiding it very well.

I just feel completely blah. I guess something good is coming of this... I've been in a lifelong battle with insomnia, but I've been sleeping pretty okay the last couple of nights. A lot of the times I don't want to get out of bed though. Many days I can't remember what the point is.

I'm getting old... life is getting more difficult and trying. I know. I sound like a broken record. The kind with long bangs in front of it's face, thick black eyeliner, and skinny jeans (all of which I love *sigh*).

I can't remember the last time I was happy about something that wasn't completely material.

See, there was a long period of my life in which I was next to never happy. It was sad and difficult, and I couldn't put in to words what I was feeling or what was wrong. And it seemed like no one cared. I'm kinda negative like that though... I always feel like no one cares. I know that is most likely not the case, but it still feels that way sometimes. But the good thing is that the difference between me before and me now is that when I do get to feeling this way, I realize it's rather irrational. When I was that moody 17 year old, I wouldn't have.

iWant of the day: Essential Ellowyne Too, Redhead and this outfit for her to wear.

The voices in my head, and why it's my fault they're there.

If my constant long windedness on this blog hadn't tipped you off, this will shock you: I like to write. I write a lot... stories, plays, novellas... I've made a few brief forays into poetry too, but they all turn out a lot more emo than I hope so they usually end up hidden away forever. But this evening as I was living my full and exciting life (you know... playing video games of the karaoke nature), one of my abandoned stories popped into my head. This particular story has been 1/8 written and taking up space in my mind for a while now... probably since my senior year in high school or shortly thereafter. This story is inspired partly by something that did happen to me, and partly by something that I wish would happen to me. The rest of it is inspired by the worst case scenario if I did end up getting what I wanted. So this main character is loosely based on me... she's even more like me than Wendy (a doll/character from another story of mine) or Morgan (character from my first ff). But this character is a little different than me... she isn't nearly as insecure, but she's a lot more foolhardy. The crazy whims I get and talk myself out of plague her too, but she actually follows them, and that's a big source of that worse case scenario thing playing out for her.

But anyways, whenever something I've been writing pops into my head like that, there's nothing I can do to get it to go away. Except, of course, devote the rest of my time to writing it until I get another block. Then it'll go away for months and come back at some inconvenient time.

And in other news... I'm officially a nerd, as if I wasn't already. The song stuck in my head?

Why we care when the famous (or infamous) die.

Unless you live underground, you undoubtedly know that on Thursday June 25th, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson died. I think a lot of people were surprised and saddened by his death not so much because of his fame, talent, marred reputation, or relatively young age.... it was a combination of these things that's brought this reaction out of people.

Think about it. This is a man that's been famous since the late 1960s... since he was a small boy. He was one of the artists I grew up listening to, and I grew up in the 90s during a time when he was pretty darn famous. At that time, Thriller and Bad were behind him, but he was still a huge star that made waves wherever he went. Yes, I grew up in the days when MJ's skin was still lightening... he wasn't black anymore, but he wasn't the ghostly color we observed in his last years. His hair at this time was curly, and he was still known by the "gloved one" moniker. And if you want to know the truth, he was one of my favorites as a kid. I remember one time, my cousin and I had an argument over who was a bigger MJ fan. And in maybe '93 or '94, when I was 5 or 6, he had this HUGE pay-per-view concert come on TV and my mom let me watch it. That was the concert that they often show clips of... the one where a fan got so excited she passed out.

He may not have still been one of my favorites, but I was and am still a pretty big fan. Some of his songs are very high on my unwritten list of amazingly good songs. And I would say listening to his album Thriller is just as spiritual an experience as listening to The Beatles' Rubber Soul, The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Billy Joel's The Stranger, or any of Elvis' early genre classification defying records.

There are a lot of people right now making this man out to be a saint. There are a lot of people that refuse to let the accusations against him (that I won't mention now - because I know you all know) die. Are either of these reactions appropriate? Hardly. But as someone who has only lived in a world without Michael Jackson for a day and a half out of the nearly 21 years I've been alive, I can understand this death rattling people. Music is forever changed because of him, and in my opinion, so is pop culture. I wasn't alive in 1977 when Elvis died, but I've seen pictures and video, and it's all SO familiar now. I think right now, the thing to do is to hope that his family (the many siblings, both of his parents, and his three children) will be okay. And I also personally hope that his friends (such as Elizabeth Taylor - who's admitted she's personally devastated by this loss) will be okay as well. Friday morning, journalist Maureen Orth said this about Michael: "As big a genius he was with music he was also that big a failure as a human being, in my opinion." The man had not yet been dead 24 hours when she said that. She's entitled to her opinion, but I fail to see how her assessment could have helped anything now. I know if someone close to me died, and someone had said something like that about them it would be hard for me to hear. I'd hate to be the relative of someone famous. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for MJ's brother Jermaine to have give that press conference just a couple of hours after the death to confirm his passing.

And sadder still, the same day Michael Jackson died, TV icon Farrah Fawcett died of cancer. This death was no where as shocking as MJ's but it was still sad. But to me, the saddest part was that her death made news for a few hours (as she died in the morning, and he in the afternoon), and then he passed away and completely overshadowed her. He was as much of a supernova in death as he was in life. The rest of the day, the news talked at length of him, showing clips of all his awesome music videos and less awesome public appearances, then they'd quickly mention that she had "also passed away," and show that one iconic image of her. (If you don't know what image I'm talking about... do a google image search for her and I bet a dollar it'll be the first thing that pops up.) Farrah was beautiful and talented, and really rather cool. And you know what amazes me about her? She's always remembered as being one of Charlie's Angels. People say the show sucked after she left. The amazing part? The fact that the show ran for several years, and she made that huge of an impression during her one year starring on the show. One season. Amazing.

Now, after rambling on for paragraph after paragraph on the deaths of these two people, I still haven't addressed my topic at hand for this blogging - why we care when the famous (or infamous) die. Honestly, why do we private citizens care when celebrities pass away? Why did I cry when I heard the news of Heath Ledger's death? Why did I stay in shock all Thursday afternoon over MJ? And the truth is we care when they die because even though they aren't people we personally know, they're people who have in some small way touched our lives. The people that are mourning MJ now - his fans - care that he is gone, because he was someone that touched their lives by making great music. The people that are not sad that he is gone obvious had strong opinions of him, and there's no denying then that he also somehow affected their lives. Even if someone I was no fan of died tomorrow, it would affect me because they obviously affected me in some small way by raising my ire. And this applies to anyone, not just MJ. I mean, I'm still saddened by the death of Walt Disney and Elvis Presley because they've certainly affected my life and I admired them, even though they were long gone before I was even alive. People die everyday... even famous people, believe it or not. And our deaths affect more people than we'd even realize. A facebook friend of mine set her status to something about how you should tell people TODAY how much they mean to you... send your flowers now, not when the person can't enjoy them. Isn't that a beautiful sentiment?

PS - thanks to anyone who was trooper enough to read this whole thing, lol. When I wax philosophical, I get long winded.

Musings on Music.

It's after midnight and it's now June 16th. For those of you that don't know, the Jonas Brothers' fourth album Lines, Vines, and Trying Times will be coming out. I'm quite the JB fan... that's no secret. But what is something of a secret... something I haven't said to anyone... I'm not all that excited about this new album. Why? Possibly because it seems so soon after their last album. Possibly because Ashley's album (which I was VERY excited about) was also supposed to come out today but it got pushed back. Possibly because I want to keep listening to all my 60s music and not have to bother with learning new music (lol).

But if you know me, you know that I also adore the All-American Rejects. I took delight in the fact that I found a lot of similarities between these two bands.

1. Both of them have (had) three albums.
2. For both bands, I got their second albums first (at Target) then got their first online.
3. I saw both of them live for the first time in 2008.
4. I saw both of them live at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA.
5. I rushed to get both bands' third albums as soon as they were out because I had waited impatiently for both albums.
6. Both of those third albums came out in 2008, both were delayed past their original release date. And because of my obsessiveness, I ended up with two copies of both.
7. The first time I heard these bands (so long ago) I didn't much care for them, but they grew on me.
8. Both of them had songs on the soundtrack to the movie Meet The Robinsons.

...And clearly you can see this is something I thought a lot about, because I do have much too much time on my hands. Maybe I'm not quite as excited about LVATT as I was about the last JB record because this was screw up my list of JB and AAR similarities.

But don't get me wrong. I will be getting this new JB album, and I'm sure I'll like it as much I liked the previous ones. The excitement will probably hit me in the morning when I'm out buying it.


Just to compare... this is how excited I was while buying their album last year:


Well, on a completely unrelated note, I mentioned 60s music earlier, didn't I? That's what I've been listening to a lot lately. I recently got the Beatles Rubber Soul album... it's so good. I thought they could never have a better album than Sgt. Pepper's, but that one is giving it a run for it's money, in my opinion. I also downloaded John Lennon's 1964 demo of the song "Free As A Bird." He sounded so young and uncomplicated. I also picked up the 1994 version with John's demo and the (then) three surviving Beatles voices added on. That song is so much better than I would have expected.

I also got a couple more Bob Dylan songs. My God, that man is amazing. I just... wow. I wish I had been around in the 60s. I would have been the cheapest groupie in town. The musicians then were such artists to a level that no one really is now. I'm not saying there aren't some great acts around right now, but the craftsmanship of those old albums is startling.

I would go on about random different artists I like, but I've babbled enough. See you rock fans later. =)

iWant of the day: to get this freaking song out of my head!

Not having internetz sucked.

So my internet was down for like a week. It was awful! And the cable was off too (what with them coming from the same company) so I had no internet or DVR. Luckily I have lots of DVDs to watch. I watched, over these last couple of days, season 7 of The Simpsons both with and without commentary. That's how nerdish I am... I love audio commentary on DVDs.

So here's what's been happening in my life:

1. I got a job. I know, I know... you're all shocked and whatnot. I am... selling knives. Seriously. But it's cool. And actually kinda fun. I do demonstrations in people's houses. But since I don't have a car and I have to be schlepped around to do it, I feel like a huge burden, so I haven't been doing as many appointments as I could/should.

2. I just did three days of jury duty. My first time, and of course I was put on the jury. The whole thing imploded on the last day. There was an emotional family, a conflicted lawyer, and 12 people (me included) who convicted a victim of police brutality. And we weren't allowed to know about this alleged brutality until... after. Since the trial is over, I'm technically not disallowed to talk about it, but since I'm still getting over it (the aftermath really), I'd prefer not discuss it much.

3. My cat took her collar off and hid it a few days ago. It's literally driving me crazy... I hate seeing her run around here naked. She looks like some little homeless raggamuffin. =/



And yeah. I guess that's about it. I missed venting my insignificant little feelings in this very public sphere. Blog at ya soon. =)

iWant of the day: MAC eyeshadow in Mythology (and about a million other colors, lol)

Long awaited list of musicians (Part 3 and 4)

Trudging on and finally finishing this off! Go here for part 1 and here for part 2.

Day 3:
Amy Winehouse - "Now You Know." I have mixed feelings about her. Her voice is unique, but it's rather deep for my personal taste. That being said, she does have one or two songs I rather like, and this one (which I had never heard before) wasn't bad.

Oasis - "Champagne Supernova." They're a great band, but I haven't listened to them much. I should remedy that soon.

Andy Mckee - "Drifting." He's apparently a solo acoustic guitarist that kinda got his start on Youtube. I actually really rather liked this song.

Blink-182 - "Online Songs." Okay, I love these guys. Their album Enema of The State is so fun and still one of my favorite albums period.

Kid Rock - "American Badass." Okay, this presentation was generally awkward. I'm not a huge fan, and you could read on our teacher's face that he isn't either. And I think the girl may have picked this one because it was less profanity riddled than some others.

Perfect Circle - "Blue." I don't know a lot of their stuff, but this sounded pretty good. The girl who presented though kinda seemed to be stoned. I'm not sure if that's how she always talks (since I hadn't ever talked to her) or if she was under the influence of something, lol.

Ice Cube - "Godfather of Rap." When I think of Ice Cube, I think of him as an actor in movies like Friday, Are We There Yet?, and that kinda recent one with Katt Williams where he and his friend like robbed a church or something... what was that one called, and was it even him? I tend to forget he ever even rapped. So yeah. Lol. My opinion is of no consequence here.

Mariah Carey - "Emotions." Okay, this chick is crazy. But at least she was still sane when she made this song, so I was okay.

U2 - "One." The guy that presented them was one of these returning students. A little older than the rest of us, but not one of those old returning students that have more in common with the near retiring professors than they do with the students. So while he was presenting, he went to explain why he chose U2, and he said it was because when you get a little older, you cherish these oppurtunities to go back to things like music that reminds you of good times.

Death Cab For Cutie - "We Laugh Indoors." They're wonderful. Wonderful indeed.

Billy Joel - "The Stranger." This was me! I talked about how he mixes styles in his music and about how The Stranger is an amazing record. I talked a bit about the song... overall it was fun. Easy and not stressful.

Depeche Mode - "People Are People." This was a little on the weird side for me. I mean, they're certainly not bad, but they've never been my cup of tea.

Rick James - "Fired Up." Best presentation of all. The guy was so funny... he did a lot of dancing and singing along, and editorializing. I think he may have been on something too, but it was funny none the less, lol.

Tupac - "Ambitions of a Rider" and "Keep Your Head Up." She played a clip of both songs. While she was speaking, my mind kept wandering to Dave Chappelle's skit about Tupac songs. That was funny.

Jack Johnson - "Angel." I love him! His music is so beautiful and relaxing. I was happy to hear that she was presenting him.

Dream Theater - "Blind Faith." They're this fairly indie metal band. No offense to any metal heads, but a lot of metal sounds alike to me, and I was kinda tuned out anyways because their name reminded me of the song "Dream Police" (by Cheap Trick) and that started playing in my head.

Day 4:
Elton John - "Rocket Man." I was happy to hear him. He is, after all, Billy Joel's tour partner.

No Doubt - "Underneath It All." I love them, I really do. But I rather prefer their older, pre Rock Steady stuff, so I was disappointed in her song choice.

Kenny Chesney - "I Go Back." I like him... and he's quite handsome too. =) I didn't know this song though. It really wasn't bad.

Prince - "When Doves Cry." This was a good way to end things. Prince is an odd little man, but his in the 80s was pretty great. And this is one of my favorites from him. "Maybe I'm just like my father - too bold." Good lyric. =)

Long awaited list of musicians (Part 2)

And here we go with part two! For part 1, go here.

Day 2:
Brand New - "Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't." They were okay. I'd never heard them before... kinda a mix of genres. Not too shabby.

Linkin Park - "In The End." I've never been a fan. This particular song is... okay I guess. (They certainly have worse songs, IMO.)

Boyz II Men - "Motownphilly." One of the bands I used to hear a lot when I was a kid. This is my favorite song of their's (so '90s!), so it was pretty nifty.

System of A Down - "Sugar." What can you say? A lot of their songs sound alike to me. I dunno.

Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven." Uh, duh. This song is pretty legendary. What else can you say?

Sublime - "Burritos." The chick that presented them really seemed as though she was trying to get it all over with quickly. She didn't say a lot. I dunno. The sound always reminds me a bit of Reel Big Fish.

Eminem - "When I'm Gone." You know, when I was younger I rather liked him. Now not so much, lol. This particular song is pretty... deep, I guess. I muist commend him though -- on many of his songs he talks about stuff a lot of other rappers don't. Kudos for that. Nega-kudos for his attitude though...

Alan Jackson - "Who's Cheatin' Who." The girl who presented him was so cute. She was obviously a big fan.

Michael Jackson - "Thriller." I don't care what anyone says about this man... he's kinda amazing. And Thriller is from the height of his amazingness. I have the album (I'm black... it's a requirement), and just wow.

Brad Paisley - "Alcohol." I love him! I have for a while. Cool song... very country, very him. Good times.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - "Californication." Another amazing song. Great band. I was glad this was the song the person played.

Run-DMC - "King of Rock." I knew this song from Guitar Hero Aerosmith, and you know what? It's awesome. Lol. It was cool because there's a lyric in the song that says "I'm not Michael Jackson and this is not Thriller." I almost laughed because just a few minutes ago we had heard Michael Jackson's Thriller. Maybe it was just me though, lol.

50 Cent - "In Da Club." Okay, I'm not a fan. Even remotely. So I heard his name and groaned inwardly. Then I see the person presenting is this adorable petite girl who I would have pegged for a Britney or Christina fan. It was so trippy. But then her CD wouldn't work so she didn't get to play the song. I was happy because I didn't want to hear it, but then I felt sorta guilty... it was almost like I willed the CD player to malfunction! Are my powers of wishful thinking that strong? At first I hoped not, then I hoped so. Now I laugh at myself.

Happy birthday, Bob Dylan! (And other unrelated thoughts)

So, today was, apparently, Bob Dylan's birthday! Well, yesterday was, since it's past midnight. I just read this fact on a certain person's Twitter. I feel bad that I didn't know. Happy birthday, Mr. Dylan! Your music has revolutionized my life in this short amount of time. I know you won't read this, but man, I want you to know it.

Anyways, this past Friday my awesome music teacher and his band were in concert at this place downtown. And I, your faithful blogger, did not get to go. I know... how unfair is that? But I did get a pretty nifty present... The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll. (And please don't ask who that is... my heart will stop.) It's filled with such beautiful Aliceness. If you've never read the Alice books (yes, as in Wonderland, lol), there is a poem at the end of each of them. Every time I read them, they mean something new to me. And as I was browsing this beautiful book in Barnes and Noble, I decided to read those poems again. This time, for some reason, they just about choked me up. If you never read the books (which you should), you must at least read those poems. You won't be sorry.

So, I know you're wondering what I've been doing since school ended. Well... I've been watching lots of stuff on the DVR. TLC has been having a marathon of Jon and Kate Plus Eight. That's been my weekend. This is the fast paced life of a college girl.

iWant of the day: First Maximum Ride book, for I've heard good things from a few people

Long awaited list of musicians (Part 1)

I metioned that project from my music class where I had to write about and present Billy Joel, right? Well I remember promising to discuss all the artists we heard from and how the presentations went. And why? Because I dearly loved that class, and even though I'm glad school has ended, I dealy miss it.

Day 1:
Jay-Z - "Change Clothes." I'm not really a fan, but the guy who presented was pretty cool.

Michael Buble - "Kissing a Fool." The song is a George Michael cover. Causes me to want to saw ftw.

Bone Thugs N Harmony - "Crossroads." This song I had heard before. Apparently it had tied some chart record with the Beatles. You learn something everyday.

Faith Hill - "There You'll Be." I like this song. Our teacher asked the girl presenting if she thought Faith Hill was country... then he pretty much said she sold out. It was pretty funny.

Pearl Jam - "Jeremy." I couldn't hear the song very well because the guy played it on his phone. I did get that it was about a kid that committed suicide.

Twisted Sister - "I Wanna Rock." That was just... awesome. God, I miss the 80s.

The Coup - "My Favorite Mutiny." An underground rap group that's like totally political. This wasn't bad.

Band of Horses - "No One's Gonna Love You." Great song. This is the only song of their's I know, but it's a good one.

The Strokes - "New York City Cops." Eh. I'm not a big Strokes fan. They're alright.

Cursive - "The Game of Who Needs Who Worse." I had never heard them, but they sound okay. Pretty rock.

Garth Brooks - "Friends in Low Places." The dude presenting Garth was obviously a big fan. Called him "the God of music." Big wow.

Next time, soon, we'll come to day two. It only gets better.

iWant of the day: Samantha's Table and Chairs

So it's over then.

I completed all my finals and it is now officially my summer vacation. Can I have a collective "WOOOOOOOH!" from all of my readers (if there are any... which I doubt but don't mind)?

I've been looking forward to having more leisure time. I can make more stupid youtube videos and take pictures of my dolls. That may be all I do though, since I don't have a life, lol. I'll also listen to music and OTR podcasts, talk to my cats, and write my every little thought on this blog and wonder why no one is interested. (I mean, I find me fascinating, lol.)

What was my point with this post? Oh yeah... summer. Well, I'm very happy the semester has ended, but there's at least one class that I wish had not ended. I kinda wish there was some way my music class could continue but the semester could still end. Pretty crazy, huh? There's a reason behind why I would want something like that, but I'm not really at liberty to discuss it right now.

iWant of the day: Aurora-Borealis Skirt

Devil Fangs.

So I've had this recurring toothache for a while now. You know, about four years. It'll bother me for a few days or a week, go away for several months, then start all over. Well, it's bothering the crap out of me at the moment. Last night it was so bad I could hardly sleep or think straight or even lay still. Wanna hear the really fun thing? If this isn't cleared up by Wednesday (and it won't be) I get to take THREE final exams while in agony. OMG, I can't wait! And if you're getting ready to suggest I visit my dentist, thank you for the fantastically original idea, but we can't afford it right now, so I get to tough it out.

And yesterday, I got outbid on eBay for a 1962 Barbie Dream House by a quarter. Twenty-five cents! Life is terribly unfair to me. *sigh* And it isn't just that, obviously. I have so much ARGH worthy stuff going on in my life I wouldn't even know where to start.

My finals schedule -
Wednesday: Anth 1 - 8:00 AM
>>>>>>>>>Latin American History - 10:00 AM
>>>>>>>>>Math D - 12:00 PM
Thursday: Hist. of American Popular Music (AKA best class ever) - 10:00 AM

iWant of the day: Sparkling Pink Barbie Repro Gift Set

The Stranger

I've chosen to use Billy Joel's song "The Stranger" in my brief presentation on him for my music class. I don't think I've yet blogged about the assignment or the presentations, but trust me readers (*cough*just me*cough*) all will be discussed and revealed when the time is right.

For now, just listen to the amazingness that is "The Stranger." If you're getting interested in Billy Joel and wanting to start off with an album of his, I wholeheartedly recommend The Stranger. Some amazing tracks are on that record. =)



iWant of the day: Lauren Luke Vintage Glam palette

Let's away to the Renaissance Faire!

Yes, it is time for the long awaited post about the Renaissance Faire. YAAAY to all 2 or 3 of you reading this for sticking it out to post 4! =)



Listen to that as you read this. It sets a mood. =)

So, last sunday (err... a week before yesterday) I went to the Renaissance faire for the first time since last year! It was wonderful. I got to wear my costume, which I love. First, a lady such as myself (ehm... a peasanty wench XD) must put on her chemise. Most girls wear them off the shoulder. Mine is a shirt length unbleached cotton. I want a full length one, but I can make do. Then comes the skirt. Most gals back then would have been stuck with wool, but that's simply too hot for wimpy little me. Mine is floor length cotton. And it's burgundy! To finish off, you simply must wear a bodice. This term is not synonymous with the term "corset." They're not the same thing. A bodice laces up the front and fits over your chemise like a vest. Your chemise sleeves should come out. I usually wear stockings, if for no other reason than the fact that a lot of dirt gets in your shoes and that is not fun to have on your feet. A proper lady should also have her head covered with a hat. Most people go with the muffin caps, which are quite fun, I think.

So, after we got all dressed, we drove (well, I rode) for a couple of hours to Irwindale. And finally we got there. We got there in time to see the opening for the day, which was about their new lady mayor and the fact that her majesty the queen would probably be around to take in the festivities. God save the queen!!!

During the day we got to see cheeky men, funny shows (starring cheeky men), lots of wonderful stuff to buy that I can't afford, and so much more. How often do you get very nearly hooked by a man and second row seats at a joust all in the same day? It's wonderful! And the food... so many things to choose from! I've had a different meal everytime I've been there.

My biggest purchase that day was, as usual, soap from Blythe Spirits. Check them out... I can vouch for the wonderful-ness of their products. =)

Then, this last Saturday, because I'm the sort of person (and I associate with the sort of people) that greatly enjoys days filled with renaissance spirit, we all got dressed in our costumes and watched Shakespeare movies (Much Ado and Hamlet -- my absolute favorites) while eating period appropriate food. My dear friend Diana (the An Cailin Deas Rua to my Buckingham Alice) got all the recipes from Gode Cookery. And my God, it was a feast. =)

And, for the iWant of the day: Adventures of Superman book

S.A.D.

S.A.D. - seasonal affective disorder

Today it's awfully gross and rainy out. I was going to actually go to my friend's house, but the weather prevented it. I was going to be going to a the LA Zoo tomorrow, but financial difficulties prevented it. The semester is coming to an end... I'm glad all of the awful parts of school (homework, waking up early, changing out of my pajamas LOL) will be coming to an end, but there are things I will miss. I'll miss seeing my friends and associates around class, campus, and tutoring center. I'll miss getting lunch from the cafeteria. (Seriously... my school has good food. My house occasionally has food of any nature.) I'm going to miss my small little tutoring pay check (lol). And, most of all, I'm going to miss my wonderful and amazing music class with my awesome music teacher. *sigh* But no, I am not sad. I'm suffering S.A.D.

I never did write that promised post about Ren Faire, did I? Well, perhaps tomorrow. Some Ren Faire-ish activity will be going on around here. I give the whole story. =)

iWant of the day: MAC Dazzle Lash mascara in black

So, I see.

It has occured to me that, over 24 hours after the inception of my blog, I still have no readers. Not that I expected a bunch, but whatever. The fact that no one is reading this almost makes me think I can say whatever I want. So I will.

Pasta sauce!

(And that pasta has a short 'a' sound, just like my Canadian buddies say it.)


Oh well. So, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I think I'll make up a survey of my own insane design. You can take it if you want. (Assuming there is a "you" reading this.)

1. What's your name?
Bre

2. How do you feel about chicken noodle soup?
I like it!

3. Do you have Swine Flu?
Not that I know of.

4. Do you know how to play the banjo? If not, would you like to?
No I don't, and yes I would!

5. Favorite primate?
Orangutan!

6. Is it your birthday?
Actually, it's my un-birthday.

7. As you are writing this, is the sun out?
No. It's almost midnight.

8. Do you enjoy reading magazines?
Certain ones, yes.

9. How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind...

10. Do you care if no one reads this?
No. I had fun writing it. =P


And for the iWant of the day, a Pretty Pinup Dress.

Home.

Yes, it's me. The one and only REAL Buckingham Alice. (Don't be fooled by sad imitations.) As I have an excrutiatingly boring life, I have decided to share it with the world. I shouldn't be the only one to suffer, now should I?

I had this post all planned out. There were a few things I wanted to tell you (whoever YOU are that's reading this), but they seem subsequently unimportant. Right now, all I want to do is go watch Rachel Maddow on my iPod and then listen to Bob Dylan. In my next post, hopefully I'll tell you about the Ren Faire, as well as a few other things. If you read this and fell asleep, come back again... I might get more entertaining. =)

And, as this is my blog, I need to do something that really only I would do. I'm gonna list something I want to buy in every post.

And now, for the iWant of The Day:
Liberty Jane Layered Top and Cords Outfit