i can has cheezburger . . .

more i can has cheezburger

Oh My Oh

I have an obsession. With tall, dark, and scruffy.

I just watched Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - which was a fairly worthless movie except for the following: the kitschy late 1930s design was just delightful (both the set and costumes) and LEE PACE. Scruffy. Lanky. Husky voiced. My oh My.

How does Chuck resist him? Oh wait, she'll die if they touch.

Superhero Brother

Last night was the G.Love concert at Red Butte Gardens. Ahhhh, G.Love. I think this was the seventh or eighth time I've seen him. My friends and I saw him six times in one year alone - I was an unintentional groupie. Once my friend Lori even caught the harmonica he threw out into the crowd. For a pretty much unknown artist from Philly, he sure comes to Utah a lot. And he usually says something about going fishing on the Provo river before the show. I actually thought about driving up the canyon yesterday because I knew he would be there, somewhere.

It was a great show - the John Butler Trio was great, even though they didn't sing "Losing You" (see video below). We missed Tristan Prettyman unfortunately, but she came out on stage at the end to sing "Beautiful" with G. I love that song. Tristan has such a great voice and I love when they say "peanut butter jelly, butter butter . . . "

He also sang "Hot Cookin' ", one of my favorites from Lemonade. G.Love, he likes the lemonade. But he seriously needs to lose the chicks dancing around in the background of his video.
Like an idiot - I forgot my camera. I never know whether or not cameras are allowed into concerts, so I never think to take it. And then I end up kicking myself because not only does everyone have cameras, but we always we end up on the front row at the G.Love concerts. I half expected him to say, "Well hey there girls - I keep seeing you on the front row at all my concerts. Why don't you come on back stage after the show for some lemonade. . . "

peanut butter jelly, butter butter. . .

John Butler singing, "Losing You"

using our superpowers for good

What superpower would you choose if you could have one? I have always wanted the power to snap my fingers or crinkle my nose a la Samantha Stephens and travel anywhere I want in the blink of an eye. If that were possible, today I would have lunch at Haleiwa Joe's on the North Shore, go surfing in Fiji, take in the sunset in Patagonia with some penguins, have a late dinner at a cafe in Morocco, catch the northern lights in Norway and be back in time to watch re-runs of Burn Notice or My Boys. Until this superpower unveils itself (preferrably at an opportune time - like when I blurted out "Venereal" instead of "Vernal" to a room full of colleagues whilst discussing small towns and their educational needs; instead of turning beet red with embarrassment while they all looked at me like a vulgar and worldly harlot, I could have been attaining enlightenment and inner peace by being instantaneously transported to the Taj Mahal), I will just have to discover some other, less exciting superpowers.

Time O'Reilly (tech editor and expo producer extrodinnaire) said recently on the O'Reilly Radar

"What good is collective intelligence if it doesn't make us any smarter?
In an era of looming scarcities, economic disruption, and the possibility of catastrophic ecological change, it's time for us all to wake up, to take our new "superpowers" seriously, and to use them to solve problems that really matter."

I am too often afraid of what I'll say or do wrong to really make a difference. What if none of us were afraid to operate at full capacity? What if we weren't concerned with what am I getting out of it and instead focused on what can I do about it?
If we all are given different talents and capabilities, maybe it's time to start working as a team. Maybe it's time for me to stop wishing/complaining/whining about the current circumstances around me and start using my superpowers for good. I know they are in here somewhere . . .

Reggaeliscious

I'm feeling very reggae today, as you can tell by my blog. I love all kinds of music - there isn't a single genre of music where I can't find something I like. You name it, metal, opera, classical, country, indie, rockabilly (Honky Toast is a fave), folk, reggae. I don't know what it is about reggae, but I absolutely love it. I grew up listening to Bob Marley and UB40 (then later, bands like Sublime and the Marley kids). When ska got big in the 90s I recognized it's reggae roots and took part in the surprisingly huge U.C. ska scene. I think I saw Skankin' Pickle and Stretch Armstrong ten times. No Doubt made it out to the Provo Armory in '93. Gwen Stefani (my style icon) sweated on me. Ever since I was a kid, Bob Marley has been a staple at my house. Legend takes me back to some good memories: blasting reggae on the boat at Lake Powell before wakeboarding, surfing on the North Shore of Oahu, and early Saturday mornings in college - the kind with cotton floating in the golden light streaming through the windows. That's what reggae is to me.

I have been mocked for my love of reggae, although I have no idea why, it's just a type of music. It's like preferring pineapple over strawberries - big deal. But whatever - I'll always love reggae the most. For all of you reggae rookies out there (and if you don't know who you are, you're in luck - pretty much 98% of the population are not reggae literate beyond "Buffalo Soldier"), here is a list of some of my reggae/island style favorites:

Matisyahu (I love, love, love me some Matisyahu. He's playing at RedFest at the UofU on September 18th and I will be out of town. I'm seriously distraught over this.)
Mishka (If you can stand to look at Matthew McConaughey's huge head, check out J.K. Living records within his website to hear some of Mishka's new stuff - which is also the soundtrack to Surfer, Dude - a movie that I have absolutely no interest in seeing.)
Damien Marley
Stephen Marley (Mind Control is brilliant, as is "In Love With You" with Erykah Badu)
Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers
Orange Grove
Jimmy Cliff
Dawn Penn (Rihanna did a decent remix)
Black Uhuru (my brother is my reggae music sherpa, he knows all the good stuff)