Silverdocs - The Waiting Room

In honor of today's healthcare decision, I'll finish up my Silverdocs review with The Waiting Room, which was probably my favorite film of the festival (though I will admit it was really hard to pick a favorite this year).

I will admit I was a little reluctant to see this film - I thought it would just make me angry because of the pathetic state of our healthcare system in this country. But I went to see it with my coworker and I'm so glad I did.

The film follows several characters - both patients and medical staff - as they go through a public emergency room in Oakland, CA. The film makes it feel as if you are experiencing one day but in reality they filmed over a few months so the patients and doctors that were chosen may not have been there on the same day. But they did a really amazing job of choosing the characters - particularly the sassy nurse(?) who checks people in and takes their vitals. She is possibly one of the best caregivers I've ever seen: making people laugh, making them feel less anxious and even occasionally calling them on their bad behavior in such a way that makes them actually be nicer people. And they follow a few youngish doctors who are really doing their best to help people: from the dramatic traumas that come in via ambulance to the less exciting but pervasive problem of treating those who end up using the emergency room as their primary care because they don't have insurance and end up waiting until they run out of medicine. We see one doctor calling in personal favors to get a middle-aged guy who had a stroke an appointment at a private neurologist since the public hospital didn't have any appointments for several months (he still couldn't get him in sooner than one month in advance and the man could barely walk). "He's got his whole life ahead of him," the doctor pleads.

Throughout the film you also really get a feel for the diversity of the patients and their circumstances that have led them to be in the waiting room of a public hospital (lost jobs in many cases, substance abuse in a few, ambulatory care, and just plain poverty in other circumstances), as well as their feeling of helplessness as they wait and wait and then wait some more.  A father struggles to hold back tears as his little girl has a fever of 104, a couple has come in because the guy has a testicular tumor, a man suffers through severe back pain from back spurs, there were a couple of shooting victims in the film (one guy has come because he has a bullet in him from several days before).

And you get a sense for how the hospital works in general: how they prioritize people, how the waiting room gets so backed up (particularly when traumas come in by ambulance), why it often takes so long to get beds open for people (some of the pateints, particularly if there's substance abuse involved, have nowhere else to go and a public hospital can't release them without a discharge plan). Overall I thought the film did a great job of showing all sides of the experience, the problems that the hospital faces, etc. And the film was just really entertaining and heartwarming. It was everything a documentary should be.

Granted, I will say, just as my own side note: I unfortunately had to go through my own emergency room hospital situation with my boyfriend this week (hence the delay in reviews, sorry) and we were at what is generally considered a really good private hospital, yet I didn't feel like the situation was any better. It still took forever for me to figure out where to go in both the emergency room and then after his surgery, it took forever for him to get a bed once he was out of trauma (and he was literally in the hallway of the Emergency room with as many other people as they could fit along the hallway wall) and generally speaking everything took forever all the time. It also felt like, as we got closer to his release, the hospital's care got worse and worse - maybe because they knew they weren't going to be able to squeeze much more money out of him (just a guess). And there were plenty of people there without health insurance and with substance abuse problems. So I don't think being a public or private hospital necessarily makes much of a difference in service.

Apocalypse negative

Unfortunately you woke up in your bed on planet earth this morning. Chances are, your friends and family are here too. Rapture ... negative.

However in the rapture spirit, Return to Mono released an apocalypse-like mp3. The song is called "Song of the Beast" and can be listened to here: [mp3]

The song is off their album Framebreaker. Their songs create this fun atmosphere of electronic synth and just awesomeness. The kind of music you would associate with the rapture. So enjoy and rejoice that you are here and life continues.

http://www.myspace.com/returntomono

http://www.wix.com/returntomono/rtm-web-2

http://www.facebook.com/Return.to.mono.sf

Student Killed From "Loud Bass Music" At Concert

Tom Reid, 19, was taken ill in a crowded London club after standing close to the speakers and telling a friend: ‘The bass is affecting me.’
There was no trace of alcohol or drugs in his body and his heart was in good condition.
A coroner recorded a verdict of natural causes, saying the straight-As student was killed by sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), a heart disorder which kills 12 young people a week.

via The Metro

R.I.P. Gerhardt Fuchs

Gerhardt Fuchs, current drummer for Maserati who has also performed with acts ranging from MSTRKRFT to !!!, died last night in a freak accident in Williamsburg.

After attending a benefit party early Sunday morning when the elevator he was in stalled, Newsday reports "as Fuchs attempted to jump out of the elevator and onto an adjacent floor, the hood of his sweatshirt got caught on a piece of the elevator, causing him to fall five stories to the bottom of the elevator shaft, according to the police report."

Tragically, Maserati is no stranger to band-member deaths involving the percussion player: in 2005, then-drummer Mike Gius was hit by a car and killed while riding a bicycle in Sacramento, leading Fuchs to join the band as his replacement.

My previous post for this blog was a show recap of Maserati's performance at the Mohawk on October 17th. It was the last show I attended in Austin before moving to Chicago, and with good reason: Maserati was my favorite act at SXSW2k9 that I knew nothing about previously. And Fuchs' insanely skilled progressive/post-rock drum patterns were not only the kinetic energy of the band, but literally the main feature of their pulsating live performances.

Didn't want this to be the first post from my new digs, but as a freshly-minted fan who had the privilege of watching him play with newfound awe and enthusiasm for his craft, my heart goes out to his family, friends, and bandmates that are missing him a whole lot right now.

Ringtones ruled NOT copyright infringement

Random piece of music-related news for you today: ASCAP apparently was trying to squeeze even more royalties from ringtones than they already receive by saying that a ringtone is a "public performance." Luckily the judge shot them down. I have to say, I think that was one of the dumbest lawsuits in music history because first off, we already pay for ringtones, and do they expect us to pay every time a ringtone is played? Because then nobody would purchase ringtones. Secondly, it HELPS the artist for their song to be played randomly in public like that where people who might not have heard it can hear it. Thank goodness the judge deemed that mobile phones are not portable concert halls and are therefore not subject to the same royalties. Freaking ASCAP man, the more I hear about them, the less I think they are actually helping the artists who they are supposed to be serving.

Mongolian Mixtape Marathon

Something you musically inclined readers might want to participate in:

On July 11th 2009 two drivers will depart on a 10,000 mile drive from London to Mongolia, raising money for Save The Children, in association with the Mongolian Charity Rally. Upon arrival, they will donate educational materials and clothing to the Mongolian people, as well as the vehicle they used to travel there.

They’re asking DJs from all over the world, be they big names or bedroom DJs, to upload mixes for them to listen to all the way to Mongolia (estimated 800+ hours driving time). They would like each DJ to submit a one hour mix of their favourite tunes and also make a small donation (of at least £1).

The mixes will be podcasted to the world as a lasting record of your mixing prowess. They’ll also be hosted on this site for at least a year after we return. So it’s a great place to keep your mixes for others to hear too! For more information on how to participate, check out the website.

Just sayin'...

This is bit of old news, but here's an excerpt from the Sun, about the findings of a study conducted by Virgil Griffiths, a PhD student, about music choices and intelligence:

Griffith compared students’ scores in SAT exams with their favourite music acts and genres by analysing data on social networking sites.

Those who prefer Indie music are most intelligent, while gospel, pop and rock fans were all ranked at the lower end of the scale.

Fans of legendary acts like Queen, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Sinatra and Bob Marley are all around average and above when it comes to brains, according to Griffith’s graph. And Radiohead, U2 and Bob Dylan count some of the more intelligent people among their fans.

Full data can be found here.

More Sundance Reviews

Happy inauguration day! I am certainly excited for the regime change, as are many Americans. Hopefully we can begin to put the last 8 years behind us and rebuild the country. I really thought Obama's speech was fantastic and I have to admit I got teary-eyed. I watched the inauguration in downtown Park City with many other Sundancers, and it was quite an emotional experience. I can't even imagine what it was like in Washington DC, but I think I'm glad that I was somewhere smaller. Anyway, on to the film reviews...

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
I was fortunate enough to get tickets to the world premiere of John Krusinski's directorial debut. The film is based off the book of the same title, a series of interviews. While I haven't read the book (though now I want to), the film presents it from the perspective of a female grad student interviewing men for her thesis about sexuality, power, gender, experiences, etc. It is edited in an extremely non-linear format - jumping around from scene to scene frequently and without warning - which sometimes works incredibly well and sometimes... doesn't. The acting is fantastic and John found interesting ways to make the interviews more compelling - so it wasn't just a man sitting at a table all the time. Sometimes through re-enactments that the storytellers participate in, for example. The film is a strong directorial debut for John, who couldn't have been much more humble during the Q&A, always heaping praise on everyone who worked on the project besides himself.

Push (UPDATE: Theatrically released as "Precious")

An incredibly dark story about an illiterate Harlem 16-year old girl, raped multiple times, pregnant by her father, pregnant with his second child and abused by her mother, I honestly wasn't sure I wanted to see this movie because it sounded so depressing. Another film adaptation of a novel, it turned out to be somewhat uplifting, and at times even funny. It's a powerful story about a girl who won't let the worst of the worst get her down and features some truly amazing performances. It will make you feel like you don't have any problems and that anyone can overcome anything.

Burma VJ
A documentary in which the violent footage was filmed by secret videographers and literally smuggled out of the country, this film paints a grim picture of Burma's current regime. But it's a story that needs to be seen. Something needs to be done about the authoritarian regime and the only way that will happen is if people know about it. And you have to admire the courage of the videographers and the protestors, many of whom are Buddhist monks, literally risking their lives to tell this story and attempt bring about change to their country.

Prom Night In Mississippi

It's hard to imagine that in this day and age, with an African American president being inaugurated today, there are still high schools in this country that have segregated proms. Well, in Charleston, Mississippi, they did. Until 2008, that is, when Morgan Freeman offered to pay for their prom if it was integrated. They took him up on the offer (which they declined when he offered in 1997) and had their first integrated prom. The teens make interesting characters. I'm very impressed at how forward some of them think when they've been raised by racist parents. Of course, none of the racist parents (or kids) agreed to be interviewed. But in a way, it was almost more powerful that way - their silence was proof of their shame. The film is disturbing, enlightening, funny and heartwarming all at the same time. It was great to see the kids socializing and warming up to each other. I hope that Charleston will continue to have integrated proms, but only time will tell.

Be The Change

I know this isn't a political blog, so I try not to get into to politics too much here, despite my passion for it. But this is something I couldn't refrain from sharing because it combines my love of politics and music and supports a good cause, "Be the Change," which is an initiative to get out the vote in swing states. It's a private event with special guests David Crosby and Graham Nash. Tickets available here.

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A Few Ways To Celebrate July 4th

For those of you in the New York City area for the 4th of July, here are a few music-related ways for you to celebrate throughout the day:

Sonic Youth is playing in Battery Park at 3:30pm.

There's this event from 1pm-9pm that involves free PBR and Southern Comfort (and ice cream?), plus live music. RSVP to go and still make it out in time for the fireworks.

After the fireworks, head over to Rehab on the Lower East Side where my friends Aloud will be playing at 10pm. They always put on a high energy show, so it's a great way to celebrate the 4th.

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Sally Shapiro Remix & An Awesome Weekend in NYC

A few days ago Sally Shapiro released "Remix Romance, Vol. 2," the first digital-only album to be released on Paper Bag Records' brand new digital label. Sally Shapiro's music is sweet, light and airy Swedish electronica/pop. The album is made up of remixes by other artists of her 2007 album, "Disco Romance." You can purchase the album online here. But in celebration of the album release, here is an mp3 for your listening pleasure:

Time To Let Go (CFCF Remix) [mp3]

In other news, this weekend I'm going to Boston to see Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls play with the Boston Pops Symphony. Should be great, but I have to say I'm kind of sad about all of the great stuff I'll be missing here in NYC. But for those of you still around, here are some of the things you might want to take advantage of:

Friday night:
~The Metropolitan Opera is performing for free in Prospect Park as part of Celebrate Brooklyn
~Ingrid Michaelson playing at Terminal 5
~Jukebox The Ghost at Union Hall (with openers Via Audio, whom I love too)

Saturday:
~The Mermaid Parade at Coney Island (possibly the last Mermaid Parade since this may be Coney Island's last season)
~The After The Jump Festival at Music Hall of Williamsburg, a great indie music festival (and the afternoon portion is free!). This year it's a lot earlier than last year, as last year it wasn't until August. Bummer for me.

Unfortunately, even if I was in New York, a lot of those events overlap, so I'd have to pick between them anyway. But hopefully some of you New York readers can get out and enjoy.

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Record Store Day and more

Tomorrow is Record Store Day around the country, where artists will be performing (for FREE)/DJing/selling stuff to support smaller, independent record stores. I'm hitting up SoundFix Records in Williamsburg to see Regina Spektor. And if there's anyone in Lexington, KY reading this, go out to CD Central to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Duke Spirit. I'm a little bit jealous of that one since the closes BRMC seems to be getting to New York during their tour is rural Pennsylvania and they have spent very little time on the Eastern side of the country in general. Check out the website for the full list of participating artists and stores so go show your support for your local record store (although I have to say their website is really crappily put together - it's not that easy to figure out who's playing where).

On a rather unrelated note, Matt Pond PA is performing a free concert in Central Park tomorrow at 3pm. I'm going to try to get there too after things die down at SoundFix.

One Minnesota band - Tapes 'N' Tapes - that is participating in Record Store day here in New York (at Other Music) is also performing a show tonight at Irving Plaza and a show tomorrow night at Music Hall of Williamsburg with White Denim (from Texas) and Vampire Hands (also from Minneapolis).

Apparently there's a silent rave in Union Square tonight? Bring your headphones and get your groove thing on to the music of your choice. It starts at 6:17pm (not sure why they chose that time). It's on my way home from work so I think I will at least stop by and check it out. I read a (fictional) book where one of the characters tried to do this as an "art installation." In the book it failed miserably. But 6000 some people have RSVPed on facebook, so this event may actually turn out.

One last little side note - I'm sorry I've been rather neglectful in updating as of late. I had to play catch up when I got back from London, and work is getting busier and busier. I'm thinking of adding another writer or two to this blog though, so that I don't have the sole responsibility of updating. More on that later.

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No Longer Will We Shake It Like A Polaroid Picture

Bad news for Hipsters everywhere: Polaroid has announced that it is no longer going to produce the instant film that has become synonymous with the name of the company. It has already stopped making instant film cameras and while the film is being phased out a little more gradually, it is likely that it will be gone by 2009.

I don't even own a Polaroid camera, but it still seems rather tragic to me that they are just one more casualty in the digital revolution. They declared bankruptcy in 2005, at which time they were bought by Petters Group Worldwide (read more on that here). They have expanded their efforts in the digital market. And now it seems that is where they are shifting their entire focus, as they leave their history behind.

But besides the trendy hipsters who bring a Polaroid camera to every event, there will always be practical uses for Polaroids in certain industries, like the film industry for example (casting calls, make up tests, etc), so I am surprised that they are halting production altogether. I would say they should simply lessen it. But I guess it's rather costly to produce and so they've decided not worth it to them. Polaroids look pretty cool - with their slightly washed out colors and their convenient white border to write captions on. I am tempted to buy a camera and some film just to have a little piece of the history. It's strange to think that when I have kids, they probably won't really know what Polaroids are, unless maybe they take a photography course or something.

Here are a few more articles, in case you are in the same state of disbelief that I was when my friend told me last night:

Yahoo! news
ABC News

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Blah

I know I haven't updated in a while. I have been ill. I have also been working a lot (for example, I would've worked all weekend had I not been sick, but since I was sick I only worked Sunday instead). And I'm still not feeling all that well so I'm just going to post a few songs quick.

In light of my increasingly busy work schedule, I may not be able to update every day as I used to (I did start this blog while I was unemployed/temping in order to ease my boredom at places where I had nothing to do after all). I will do my best to update at least 3-4 times a week, though, which is more than lots of bloggers like me who aren't doing this for a living. And it's not like many of you probably read this blog more than that anyway.

Oh, and I feel like I should acknowledge the death of Heath Ledger. How very sad. So young and so talented.

VI [mp3] - The Decemberists - "The Tain" (iTunes)

Put Us Back Together Right [mp3] - Headlights - "Kill Them With Kindness" (iTunes)

Failsafe [mp3] - The New Pornographers - "Challengers" (iTunes)

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Mish Mash

So, instead of doing Theme Thursday this week, I'm going to just write about a few miscellaneous things that I think you guys will enjoy. And let me just add before I get started, that I would LOVE suggestions for future themes, so please leave them in comments or email them to me. Blogging is way more fun when people participate.

I hate self-promoting on this blog, but this could theoretically benefit some of you reading this so let me just quick throw out that I am co-hosting a networking event for performing-arts people here in Manhattan - particularly actors, filmmakers and writers (but hey, if you dance and music people want to come too, it never hurts to make connections with people in other mediums). Particularly for you music people, I know I am going to need original songs for my TV pilot. Anyway, here's the event info:

Time: Thursday, November 29th (tonight) from 7-10pm
Place: Triple Crown (330 7th Avenue between 28th and 29th Streets)

It should be a really great time. There will be drink specials, and you can drop off your headshots/business cards with various film companies that will be there. We're also collecting coats for the homeless. Admission is $15 but only $10 if you bring a coat. The money goes to my production company for our TV pilot, as well as the other company that's hosting the event. And the coats obviously go to the homeless. So come, support your fellow artists, give to charity and have fun meeting other local artists.

The other thing I want to write about is a t-shirt I ordered last night. Random, I know. But I don't shove annoying American Apparel ads in your faces in between my blog posts, so I think it's ok that I promote this company this one time. As if the t-shirt itself wasn't awesome enough (pictured right), once I placed my order, I got this awesome message:

"Thank You for your order with PalmerCash.com
Right now your order is being printed out in the center of our warehouse on paper made of gold. We are all standing around waiting for it to finish and then we will place your order on a pillow as we wait for Palmer Cash to announce what you have ordered. Standing from his podium he will ring the bell 3 times and everyone will stop what they are doing as he reads your order to us. Then we will all burst into song and dance with such religious fervor to your wise and excellent choices. Next your order will be packed with care by 3 virgin and one very advanced monkey wearing white gloves into a specially designed package that resists water, dirt, air and radiation in case of a nuclear explosion. Then your order will be sent out Priority Mail and make its long journey to it's new home avoiding thieves and hoodlums to land softly in your caring hands."

It made my day. Hopefully it will make yours too. So go order t-shirts from PalmerCash because they're awesome.

And since this is a music blog, here's a song to close the day with:

Silver Lining [mp3] - Rilo Kiley - "Under the Blacklight" (iTunes)

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Theme Thursday - Minnesota

"Our State Fair is a great State Fair. Don't miss it! Don't even be late..." Just got back from the Minnesota State Fair. I know you NYC people are probably thinking "state fair? how quaint." But it's the 2nd biggest state fair in the country, which is pretty impressive considering we're definitely not anywhere near the 2nd biggest state. And it's definitely not a small town kind of thing. It takes place in St. Paul and seriously like everyone goes. You can get tons of different fried foods on a stick, lots of free junk, art and music, local radio/tv/politics, etc. But the main reason to go is the food. All the greasy goodness. mmmmmm...

So this is what I ate: french fries, a sno cone, mini-donuts, Dippin' Dots, ice cream, waffle fries, a hot dog, corn on the cob (so good!), lefsa (I realize most of you non-Minnesotans probably don't know what that is) with brown sugar, a milkshake, and a literal bucket-full of Sweet Martha's cookies (I didn't eat the whole bucket. I brought most of it home). Yikes. That's kind of gross. But it was so good. And keep in mind, these things were shared amongst 4-5 people usually.

Anyway, I wanted to still do Theme Thursday, so in the spirit of the Minnesota State Fair, our theme for the day is, well, Minnesota:

Minnesoter [mp3] - The Dandy Warhols - "The Dandy Warhols Come Down" (iTunes)

Secretly Minnesotan [mp3] - Tullycraft - "Disenchanted Hearts Unite" (iTunes)

Minneapolis [mp3] - That Dog (iTunes unavailable)

And we'll end the day with some pictures:

A classic Scandinavian desert. I have had this at many a family holiday.

Not that crowded since it was a Wednesday, but still look at all the people!

Biggest pig in MN. Gross.

Baby pigs! aaaawwww...

The Mounties. I like the lighting in this picture.

The midway at night

The view from the Ferris Wheel

Funky Town

Hello from Minneapolis, MN, where I am on vacation until September 5th. This means I may be a little flaky about updating until September 6th or so, although hopefully you'll forgive me since I've faithfully posted 48 out of the 51 days that this blog has existed. But to make it up to you guys, I'm going to do one super-duper Minneapolis-themed post - well, that and because I never like to miss an opportunity to promote Minneapolis.

Minneapolis is, in my opinion, the most under-appreciated/underrated city in the United States. Everyone refers to the Midwest as the "fly over states," with maybe the exception of Chicago. Maybe. Otherwise it's New York and Los Angeles with nothing in between. And it's true that, besides the Mall of America (*gags*), we don't really have many blatant tourist attractions. But that's what's so great about the city. It's not a tourist trap (Mall of America isn't even technically in Minneapolis...).

First off, we have a really great arts scene. We have the reknowned Walker Art Center and Guthrie Theater (though they are no longer in the same building), among many other theaters and museums/galleries. We have the infamous First Avenue, which thank goodness didn't close a few years ago. Everyone who's anyone has played at First Avenue. Prince (or the artist formerly known as...) filmed Purple Rain there. We have Garison Keilor's "A Prairie Home Companion," upon which the movie was based. We have the largest Fringe festival in the country with 164 shows in 2006 (sorry I don't know the 2007 numbers, but I'm sure they weren't that different). We have tons of independent movie theaters and we are one of the few states with our own public radio (for the longest time when I moved to NY I thought NPR was New York Public Radio because I just assumed all states had their own public radio like we do) - in fact, we have multiple public radio stations and just a few years ago they came out with The Current, a public indie rock station which I highly recommend. They play a really great variety of old and new. And the song Funky Town? That song is about Minneapolis and the guy who wrote it is a MN native. That's right. Minneapolis is Funky Town.

In fact, lots of famous people come from MN: Bob Dylan, Jimmy Jam, Judy Garland, Prince, Al Franken, Josh Hartnett, Jason Behr, Garison Keilor, Sinclair Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, August Wilson, Winona Rider, Charles Schultz (there are freaking Peanuts statues everywhere in the Twin Cities because they were painted by local artists and auctioned off for charity), Kirby Puckett, Mitch Hedberg, the Coen brothers, Terry Gilliam, T. R. Knight, David Hyde Pierce (well, he's not from Minnesota but he lived there for a while and worked at The Guthrie), Jessica Lange, Steve Zahn, The Hold Steady, The Honeydogs, Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Atmosphere, Tapes 'n' Tapes, The Trashmen, The Suburbs, Semisonic, and I'm sure there's even more that I don't know about.

A few years ago, we were named the top tech city by Popular Science magazine because of cool things like the skyways, the lightrail, the fact that you can use credit cards pretty much everywhere - including cabs (unlike stupid New York where you have to carry cash with you at all times for everything, especially if you need to take a cab), and the stop lights that change depending on traffic or for emergency vehicles (also unlike NY where it takes emergency vehicles forever to get anywhere because they get stuck in traffic). We have a pretty awesome Science Museum. Not to mention we are a very industrial city. Tons of huge companies are based out of Minneapolis - Best Buy, Target, 3M (that's right, the post-it was invented in MN), Aveda, General Mills, Pillsbury, Caribou Coffee (which is way better than Starbucks), Sun Country Airlines (who are awesome!), Northwest Airlines (who suck), Land O'Lakes, Magnetic Poetry (yup random), Old Dutch Foods and Xcel Energy.

We also have lots of pleasant nature. We are the "land of 10,000 lakes" and I live within walking distance of the "chain of lakes," which are a bunch of interconnected lakes in Minneapolis. They're really nice to bike around. And pretty much where ever you live in MN, you're not going to be too far from a lake.

Whenever I go home, I have a huge list of things I like to do (although it changes depending on the time of year). For this trip, the list is as follows:

~Walker Art Center
~The Guthrie (I doubt I'll make it there, but I still haven't seen the new building and now my friend Emilie works there so maybe I can get her to show me around)
~Salsa Dancing at Famous Dave's in Uptown (or Loring Pasta Bar if I wanted to go multiple times each week but I'm not that good so I don't)
~Minnesota State Fair (best state fair in the country. People from other states come to our state fair. I realize most of you big city folk won't understand this and will think it's quaint or dorky, but it's not a "small town" kind of thing. Practically everyone from MN goes to the state fair. And I mean everyone.)
~Minnesota Renaissance Festival (maybe... although I kind of doubt it. Everything's so overpriced and I am going to blow a lot of money on the state fair.)
~Caribou Coffee as often as possible since it doesn't exist in NY - I had one in the airport literally right after I picked up my bags.
~Convention Grill - a very very delicious 50s-style diner (best grilled triple decker-grilled cheese and milkshakes that I've ever had)
~Davanni's - their white pizza is the best pizza around, with no nutritional value whatsoever
~If it hadn't closed... Sydney's - one of my favorite restaurants (*tear*)
~Drive around the lakes or bike if it's warm enough (I actually really enjoy driving since I only get to do it a few weeks a year now... Especially when it's warm out and I can just roll my windows down and blast some music and cruise).

And now some songs by Minnesotan artists:

1999 [mp3] - Prince - "Prince: The Hits 1" (iTunes)

Funkytown [mp3] - Lipps, Inc. - "Funkytown (iTunes)

Somebody to Shove [mp3] - Soul Asylum - Grave Dancer's Union (iTunes)

Test Tube Kid [mp3] - Honeydogs - "10,000 Years" (iTunes)

Closing Time [mp3] - Semisonic - "Feeling Strangely Fine" (iTunes)

Can't Hardly Wait [mp3] - The Replacements - "Pleased to Meet Me" (iTunes)

Like a Rolling Stone [mp3] - Bob Dylan - "Highway 61 Revisited" (iTunes)

One Of A Kind [mp3] - Atmosphere - "God Loves Ugly" (iTunes)

Ok, and now my vacation officially begins. See you all after September 5th. Tata dahlings.

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Mp3 Experiment 4

Yesterday I discovered, rather last minute, the Mp3 Experiment 4 and so I decided to go. I've always wanted to go to something "mysterious" like this. Created by Improv Everwhere, this is an annual event (different each year) in which you download an mp3 from their website and go to a specified location with specified things at a specified time and once you get there, you (and everyone else there for the same purpose) listen to the mp3 and follow the instructions.

Here were the directions for this mp3 experiment:
Date: Saturday, August 18
Location: The World Financial Center Plaza by the North Cove Yacht Harbor
Time: The event will begin at exactly 4:00 PM. Arrive early and remember to budget time for weekend subway service delays. The event will be over at 4:36.
Wear: A Red, Blue, Yellow, or Green t-shirt.
Bring: A watch with a second hand; a digital camera or camera phone (if you own one.)
Instructions:
1. Download the Mp3: Click Here to Download (you can listen to it if you want to see what you missed for those of you who didn't go).
2. Load the track onto your mp3 player (iPod, etc) or burn to a CD for use with a “Discman.”
3. Do not listen to the track.
4. On Saturday, wear a t-shirt that is one of the following colors: Red, Blue, Yellow, or Green. (I wore blue)
5. Pack a digital camera or camera phone, if you have one. Keep it stowed away until directed to use.
6. Bring a watch with a second hand (or use your cell phone if it displays seconds.) Before you leave, sync it up to this atomic clock. (I had no clock with seconds or even a watch I could sink up to the atomic clock, which became problematic).

7. Anytime before 4:00 PM, arrive at World Financial Center Plaza and find a seat. Sit anywhere one would normally sit - park bench, concrete seating area, steps, etc. Spread out and don’t sit too close to others who look like they might be a part of it.
8. At exactly 4:00 PM, press play.

Some of the highlights of the various things we were instructed to do were play twister on the tiles of the plaza, find and skip around the "German tourist," parade to a park giving strangers thumbs up and high fives (the people there who didn't know about the mp3 experiment were SO confused...), play human darts (form a dart board shape with our various colors and then yellow were the darts who had to push their way to the center) and played freeze tag.

It was silly and the basic point was to make a fool out of yourself and be ok with it since there were so many other people doing it too, but it's always nice to have an excuse to be a little silly and I had lots of fun and I'm so glad I went. It was such a beautiful day too, I was so happy to be outside. It was 70 and sunny, and there was a nice breeze since we were by the water. I spent the rest of the day walking around because I just couldn't stand being inside. And now some photos:

The parade of colors as we went from the harbor to the park area

We were instructed to photograph a person in blue standing next to person in red.

We were instructed to photograph as many people as possible with nobody in yellow in the picture. I almost did it but people were moving as I took the picture, so there's a sliver of a guy in yellow in the background.

There's no one in yellow in this picture, but there's not that many people in this picture either.

People chilling out afterwards.

Maybe I will post more pictures later, once they put some up of the various activities (I couldn't take pictures while engaging in most of the activities). I went and looked at the stuff they did in previous years, and I have to say the past years actually looked even more fun (they had more crazy characters and stuff), but it was still plenty of fun, and I will definitely go next year if I can.

Oh, and while I was on my way there I saw that fire on Liberty Street and tons of firetrucks racing for it. Craziness. Tata dahlings.

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35W Bridge Collapses in Minneapolis

I know today was supposed to be week two of Theme Thursday, but being that I am originally from Minneapolis, where a major interstate bridge collapsed into the Mississippi river yesterday during rush hour, I felt the need to write about that today instead.

First, let me just say that my heart goes out to anyone who was on that bridge or who knew people on that bridge. It's really very tragic. So far, it appears I am very lucky and nobody that I know was involved. I called basically everyone in my phonebook who might have been near Minneapolis last night. I still haven't heard back from a few people, but something inside of me tells me they're fine. Of course, I'm going to keep calling them until I reach them anyway, but I suspect most of them wouldn't have a reason to be near the bridge at that time anyway.

I just watched the video of the bridge collapsing (and it's kind of sick to me that you can watch video of any disaster nowadays). That is terrifying. I already have a mild phobia of going over bridges in vehicles (moreso because I'm afraid of getting in an accident and getting knocked off the bridge than the bridge itself actually collapsing, but this certainly isn't going to help). The bridge collapsed. It freaking collapsed! One moment the bridge is there and then the next it's not. I couldn't even imagine seeing it happen in person. One article I read had a guy describing how he just saw the cars in front of him sink out sight and there was a loud crash. I don't know what I'd do.

This is going to sound cheesy, but this event made me realize how I've taken some of my friends for granted. I went through my phone last night and called people I haven't talked to in months to make sure they were alive. I guess I always kind of assume they'll be there and so I don't need to call them often, even though I still really care about them. But I shouldn't take that for granted. They could be gone at any moment. It was really nice to talk to some people I haven't talked to in a while. I wish I could've talked to them for longer, but I wanted to call everyone as soon as possible.

When I talked to one of my friends who got married this past December, she informed me she is having a baby in January. So that's a bit of good news that I received in all the craziness of last night. I'm happy for her if she's happy. It's just weird I guess because she's slightly younger than me (I'm 21).

Two things that drive me crazy about this though: how everyone instantly assumes terrorism (really not a very likely place or situation for a terrorist attack. Think people.) and how CNN is capitalizing off of it (I haven't really watched the other channels today, but CNN was on for a while at work and all they talked about was the bridge and there was like a four hour special on it tonight. It's not like they even have that much information yet. Plus they were the ones who have the video of the bridge falling online. It seems kind of sick to me.)

Anyway, I guess that will be all for today. Sorry for the lack of music. I promise music will be back tomorrow and I will resume Theme Thursday next week. Tata dahlings.

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