im a nerd, reasons #98234 and #82347

i'm trying to get my company to let me go to a nerd conference in march. i can get into the conference for free (cos i'm a smart nerd) but i'd prefer not to use vacation days to attend. so i'm going to see if it can count as 'training' of some sort.

if it works out it will be tremendously!! awesome. and i will be a nerd princess.

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also. my morning started off just right when my favorite coworker/exroomie called to let me know that tourfilter had sent out an mxpx alert overnight. they're coming to the bean!!!

mxpx? you say. from when we were 12? you say. YES. MxPx baby! we know i love all things middleschool. and i LOVE MIKE. and MXPX.

its an all ages show w/ yellowcard. i think there will be 20million babies there. and ellen and i. it will be awesome. i told ellen that we should make signs. 'TAKE ME TO BREMERTON' or something to that effect. haha.

its on the last night of sxsw tho. i'm conflicted. but its MXPX!!!

ugh. i love my teenage drama filled life. its so sad and so comical, all at once.

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also. i LOVE tourfilter.com for telling me things. even if i cant go to all the concerts i want to (hotchips-soldout, jenslekman-suisse) its still nice to see the info in my inbox. shoutout to tourfilter!

sounds of the soul revival

daniel was telling me about sharon jones and the dap-kings this weekend, how i would be in to the sound. told me i had to give them a listen. so i did some listening yesterday and yeah, she's got 'it' and they're fun. i've been missing out.

also on monday one of my musicblogs had a post about 'em with video. which i watched.

then today i was listening a 3 wk old episode of mark ronson's radio show on the drive in to work and he was all about sharon jones and how everyone needs to listen to her and buy her record. the kid gets excited about all kinds of stuff; sometimes i agree and sometimes i don't.

today i was like, yeah... it is good stuff. i should listen to more... i'm digging this soul scene. i like some serious music and lyrics sung with feeling. yeah yeah.

i also like when my friends, a music blog, and a pop-dj* all offer up the same music recommendation and i actually agree.

* what is mark ronson? a club dj? pop-star? celebrity? entertainment personality? don't know. he's a music producer, a dj, a songwriter, label owner. a scenster and taste maker... dunno. pop-dj. popular (music) disc jockey. pop-dj. haha. yes. even with his increasing popularity in the mainstream and the constant plugging of his own stuff, i still like him.

poo poo on me

i hate when i find a new fun band (via recs, blogs, and myspace) and then google them only to find out they had a show in my city 2 days earlier.

the number of times this has happened MUST be higher than 10.

seriously! ugh. my musical luck is lame.

los campesinos remind me of a baby belle & sebastian kind of. also YLT and broken social scene, as pitchfork states the obvs. i like 'em. would have been fun live.

dang it!!!

maybe they'll have a show in austin or SAT when i'm down there... psh. yeah right.

so many reasons i love my little brother

AIM convo this morning... after he gave me a progress update on the status of the robot costume he is building for his art teacher's house party...

baby bro: how's work?
baby bro: 'work sucks'
baby bro: i know
me: yeah
baby bro: she left me roses by the stairs
me: hahaha
baby bro: surprises let me knoe she cares
baby bro: SAY IT AINT SO
baby bro: I WILL NOT GO
baby bro: KEEP YOUR HEAD STILL
baby bro: ILL BE YOUR THRILL
baby bro: THE NIGHT WILL GO ON
baby bro: my little windmill

sappy addiction

i heard this song while listening to a random podcast on my flight yesterday: http://hypem.com/search/spektor%20real%20love/1/

i don't even like her (regina spektor) that much. during her show at ACL this year i was laying in the sand on the sidelines while all the other kids were swaying and screaming for her. it was just ehh. yet, for some reason, i'm in love with her cover of real love. as soon as i heard it i was like, ahh! who sings this, i need to get it! i'm a nerd that way.

maybe cos it flows nicely with my kate nash's nicest thing obsession. i LOVE that song. i can literally listen to it over and over.

sappy love songs for fall 2007.

i go through phases where i listen to one artist over and over. i know it annoys people, and yet i just cant help myself.

spring was full of bluesy winehouse, summer was a return to lily and amy and lots of top40 hip hop. kate is definitely my fall favorite i keep on repeat. and with the cold creeping in - i'm really in love w/ alicia key's new album. its perfect winter music. there's also a lot of electronic-tinged indie that i'm loving right now- very good for winter months as well. kinda spiky.

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i'm back in boston for a few weeks. it's supposed to snow this weekend. it'll be my first of the season. i'm ready for it.

we came to rock

so, ACL was this past weekend. austin city limits festival 2007.

my brother and i went. he's turning 20 in a week... this is an early gift. and the weekend guaranteed i got to spend some q.t. with my baby during his last bit as a teenager.

3 days spent in the company of david as well as assorted UT kids, old tamster friends, a couple of cousins and 60k other people. and you know... some rock bands.

for posterity's sake and in case anyone cares, below is who i saw. i sat for sets ranging between 20 minutes from far away in a field for pete yorn on friday afternoon to the full MUSE show, packed tightly about a hundred feet from the stage near a mosh pit on saturday night. my favorites are star'd. overall, friday was my favorite day - possibly because it ended with blueberry pancakes... but muse was my favorite show. for sure.

friday:
pete yorn
peter bjorn and john*
joss stone**
m.i.a.**
spoon*
gotan project
kaiser chiefs
the killers
bjork

saturday:
kevin devine*
young love**
dax riggs
paolo nutini*
cold war kids*
stephen marley
artic monkeys*
muse***

sunday:
yo la tengo*
the national*
ben kweller
grace potter
common*
bloc party
rose hill drive
regina spektor
wilco*
ghostland observatory*
bob dylan


so my dad picked us up on barton springs, drove me home to san antonio by 12am and i got back in the car at 430am to drive to the airport. and now i'm in boston. clean of any lingering sweat or zilker park dirt, but still bearing my acl mark in the huge amount of sunburn across my back and down my arms.

ah. it was a very good weekend. and now i am pooped.

i heart interpol

went to interpol concert tonight. it was fantastic. (sidenote- agganis sells beer. bc's conte forum does not. this was so strange/great to me.)

anyways.

interpol. i love them. i LOVE daniel's dancing. i LOVE pauls voice. and carlos. kills me. KILLS me. i dont know why.

seeing them rock makes me happy and dance-y. i just bop around, smiling while they sing about stabbing necks and 200 couches and how the subway- she is a porno. I LOVE IT/THEM/TONIGHT. 'twas great. i called at least 4 ppl to let them listen in. if i could dial annatudor in scotland without spending a million dollars in phone bills- i would have called her too, to share in my poppy boppy rocky joy.

stella was the final song. nyc before that. perfect ending. really.

--

this is a great kickoff for my musical week. interpol was the one band that from the announcement of the initial ACL lineup that i was really sad about not being on the list. and now i got to see them anyways. a few extra bucks but a musical thirst has been quenched. i've gotten my interpol fix for now. now i can focus on the other bands.

which i am so excited about.

3 days of possibly rainy rocking out in zilker park. i have rainboots and a poncho. i can deal - for sure.

and now i may have tix to a few after-shows.

grizzly bear. YAY.

and some highschool reunions with old friends. and some quality brother time. and hopefully even a cousin sighting or two. (i have a lot of cousins).

it will be grand. good old austin city limits. here i come. posi thoughts from here on forward.

moving on and on and on

moving out of my place in 12 days. i've been packing on and off for the past two weeks and it still looks as if i haven't even started.

this is not going to be fun.

i didn't even go out today except to go to mass and the grocery store. i actually did spend the day packing. and still... so much stuff all over the place.

i hate moving.

beyond the accumulation of 'stuff' on such a grand scale is the somewhat significant issue of figuring out where i will be 'living' per se come sept1. i can only last on the couch of ex-roomies for so long i think.

so stressful.

and i have amigos that are planning on visiting in the coming months. visiting 'me'. of course, when visiting me, it's important that they have an actual placeee to visit. a physical location where i live and they can stay for a night or two. i don't know where that is. eek. i need a place. soon.

this sucks.

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went to a concert yesterday. the day was pretty beautiful out, feeling like fall in new england (though it's still bloody summer!), with sunny skies and nice breezes. only once the sun set it was freezing cold and my fingers began to turn blue.

musical highlights of the concert were band of horses, yeah yeah yeahs and modest mouse. my first time seeing each and they were fantastic. seeing karen o. in person in her total rockstar persona with crazy dancing and theatrical makeup and was so awesome.

seeing guster again was also great, only cos it took me back to bc days. i remember sitting on the windowsill of our mod on the last day of classes to watch them perform in the mod lot. ahh. bc memories. :p

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my mom/bro are on the phone giving me update on people from my elementary school that she sees around town. two more girls are engaged/married. seriously. i cannot move to texas under these conditions. all other girls my age are married or engaged. all decent boys are already taken. there will be no girls for me to hang out with and no boys for me to date. fantastic.

not.

so depressing.

i'm so old school

while on vacation in miami last month i bought a nkotb shirt at urban outfitters. it was on clearance for 9.99 and was a black replica of a (white) shirt i had in elementary school.

i have loved nkotb for a long time. like since i was 5. i remember coming home from kindergarten (1989, what- what!) and going over to my cousin valerie's house to watch nkotb music videos. forreal. nkotb was my first cassette tape. (michael jackson and smurfs were on lp). such a baby of the 80s, i know.

today while thinking back i realized/recalled these fun facts. 19 years ago i loved 5 boys from boston. 19 years later i realized i've lived in their hometown for almost 6 years. freaky, huh? coincidence? tangential relation?

i'm a loser.

i did meet jordan knight once. in logan airport actually. on my very first visit to boston, my senior year at tams. aww. maybe that's what really sold me on this place. tricky tricky jordan knight. so cute. (i had the j. knight barbie when i was 5 or 6. picked it out myself. rat-tail and all. wow. ok. done for the night.)

good bye.

blogging on and on and on

today at lunch we were talking about this kid who is socially awkward. he sends mass emails and talks to strangers. and he has a website. which people at work have checked out. i feel like i saw it once but i don't remember what was on it. don't know if it was a blog... then someone mentioned another work-dude who had a blog and talked about work people using vaguely disguised nicknames. also strange/awkward. people at work reading a blog that talked about them...always turns into a weird joke.

so yeah. i have a blog. obviously. which could be found easily enough. it's cross listed with a ton of websites i frequent (cos i'm a dork that way). no big. pretty much everything i say on here i'd say to anyone i talk to in real life. i think my dad is my number one reader. and if you can say it in front of your parents and the rest of the internet, i really don't feel that worried about 'work people' reading what's here. i'm a dork, i have weird obsessions, and this is one of my hobbies. writing little diary entries and life observations on the internet for friends, family and myself. i talk and write a lot. i feel like most people know that about me anyways. i'm pretty open about stuff, so whatevs.

i know some people from work read this. most don't know it exists. not like i advertise. maybe as i progress in my career i'll talk less. i know how to censor myself. i don't really want to be a topic of lunch conversation. but i am a rockstar so maybe i am super interesting and worthy of lunchtime convos... heh. anyways. the blog will continue with my self-centeredness... read on friends...

there's always so much interestingness going on... :p

i stopped at newbury comics on the way home. went on a cd buying binge. that is why i work, right? to buy things i want. so i took that list i made last week and invested in a few pop artists. interpol, spoon, white stripes and girl talk to be exact. 4 new cds. so old fashioned, i know! but since i'm anti-itunes and sometimes have weird modern-luddite leanings, i still rock the plastic cases from time to time... anyways, i listened to interpol on the way home. fantastic. of course i have heard this album before online. but listening to a new cd for the first time while driving with the windows down is just extra special. tomorrow's drive to work will probably be some thump-y goodness cos i have to be awake so early. yay. new music is great.

also i bought a new phone today. shipped this afternoon and will probably get in on thursday. how exciting.

wow. reading the last two paragraphs reminds me that i am such an environment killing consumer. and it bothers me and i need to stop... working on it...

i said no, no, no.

a bar i was at last night played amy winehouse's entire "back to
black" from start to finish. we left the second time rehab started
playing. i love that song. i loved that bar not only for their
martinis, but for their music choice. very wise. great lounge music.
:p

so today i've spent a lot of time listening to amy again. ellen thinks
i'm crazy. i know. sometimes i get into things and listen to them far
more than any normal person could stand. good thing i have headphones.

tried to make me go to rehab

i said no no no.

i heard amy winehouse's rehab song on the radio twice today. once on the drive in to work and once on the way home. both times on fnx. both times it was the first song i heard when switching from cd to radio. and both times i had just been listening to amy winehouse's cd back to black which i am in love with.

i'm glad she's getting played cos i love it and now when i hum/sing the song to myself people will not think i'm an alcoholic or crazy. at least not totally. no more than amy winehouse

whatever.

i might go to her concert on my own next month. i think it'd be good for me to be able to attend a concert on my own. we'll see.

south by sad west

ugh. i'm so sad i missed sxsw (as usual). it just seems like everything i read/listen to is a big flag saying, I WAS IN AUSTIN LAST WEEK-WHERE WERE U? poop. i am obsessed of late w/ paolo nutini, amy winehouse, mxpx, gym class heroes... and all of them were where. oh yeah. austin. poop.

bloggers and radiostations and my mean roomate all keep reminding me of what i missed. dang it.

big resolution for march 2008: I WILL BE AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND IT WILL BE AWESOME. ellen's coming too.

watch me hate every band there. wouldn't that just be my luck?!?
no
that's impossible. there's so many. i have to love a few. or all of them.

ugh.
anyways.
the spoon concert at mfa is sold out. dangit. and i even had rishabh willing to go with. how depressing. i need to find another show for us to go to. and i'm missing fountains of wayne where ellen and i would sing along to sink to the bottom and then i would glower with arms folded during stacy's mom. that song is whack. like ur mom. HAHAHA. i've been at work too long.

jenny, don't be hasty. no, don't treat me like a baby. i love this kid. jenny you are crazy. first i'm perfect now i'm lazy.

also i'm obsessed with 'mind the buzzcocks'. it was on the allfg top10 or something so i checked it out and now i'm addicted and watch like two eps everynight. not every episode is awesome, but on the whole they are v. entertaining and have made me laugh out loud more than once. and for some reason, addicting. i usually hate quiz shows and vh1style dumbness. but this is great.

by the way

i uploaded all my pictures from my trip.

you can find the abridged version in facebook.

a few more in flickr, where i've added ge0-tags and such: http://flickr.com/photos/florajasmine

and a full set is up on my picasa albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/florarj/UKSpringBreak2007

i spend too much time on the internet. yes.

also, music i found over there due to store soundtracks, museum lists and magazine reviews: klaxons, little man tate, and paolo nutini. recently discovered they're playing paolo on us mtv cos i just saw him the other morning before work. i downloaded all those guys and b/c i couldnt find my new teenyboppermusic, gym class heroes, anywhere i went out and bought a cd at the store! after a first listen, i decided, me gusta.

i like music a bit much- grammy blog.

watching the grammy's alone cos none of my roomates are all that interested. kinda lame.

stereogum's liveblogging, so i've been dropping in with some of my own comments over there. cos i'm that lame/ loving this stuff. i think i'm going to liveblog the rest over here cos i'm commenting too much and its embarassing.
anyways, the police, mayer, and now chris brown.

been commenting here: http://www.stereogum.com/archives/004584.html

chris brown dancing with little kids. little hip hop dancers are the best. and chris brown has really stepped it up, usher needs to come back on the scene soon if he wants to defend his crown. cos this kid is all over that stuff.

christina popping out from below the stage. her hair is outta control but the girl's got some pipes. i like that she holds on to her red lipstick/white hair look. sticking to her fashion guns. props.

still ahead: ludacris and mary j. love it. love love love luda. hungry, ham sandwich time. i'm such a fatty. oh well.

oh, my head hurts. and target totally must have spent a billion dollars on grammy commercials. and tony bennet buyoffs.

president of the academy talking about music in schools. boring. stop talking stop talking. kid playing restaurant background piano. i wonder if he would rather be jamming. probably. i hope so.

hahaha, closeup in john mayer in a tux. he looks so uncomfortable.

now the sad 'ppl who died this year' part. its sad.

chris brown is back to do some james brown crazy dancing. that kid should do broadway i think, more than his pop/r&b/whatever thing hes got going on.

jamesbrowns cape is getting a standing ovation. good.

even the heineken commercial looks like a target add cos of the shape of the speakers in it. they dont even sell beer at target.

red balloon. what is it with those guys. why are the balloons always red?

finally, back to the show. rhianna looks pretty. sometimes shes not. david spade looks so old. mary j and luda! whoop. w/ some earth wind fire vibes. luda really is hot i think. and i dont even like this song. runaway girl... mary looks nice. and young. little girls holding candles. ok, i totally agree with the sentiment and the idea of this song. just not the actual song. is whats going on.

now james blunt. i liked this song for liek a week. a long time ago. and does anyone else think he looks like napoleon dynamite? hes awkward.

big commercial windows.

j.hud! yay. i like her. even if she can't read the teleprompter. a girl named robin gets to sing w/ justin. thats cool. her dress is short and i love justin. he must have read the nyt style article about white sneakers for men. she's kind of an awkward dancer. really. she does sing well. and now ti. hes hot. justin kinda looks like mike skinner. a bit.

bennet and tarantino. both quentin and i can't believe they let him present. he freaks me out. i just saw paris hilton in the audience. they let her in? seriously? thats funny.

danger mouse never looks happy and cee-lo is always busting out.

dixie chicks get album of the year. good music or political statement? or both? dont know.

chris rock! i love him. rhcp, not so much. they're ok. what's flea wearing?!? a soccer kit. and the other two stole their outfits fro brandon flower's samtown closet. ok.

ooh, i hope j.may trio wins. home. oh no. broken boy soldiers!! yes. best rock. its going to be rhcp. gross. yep. boo. thats annoying.

don henleys so old and has gross hair. scarlett is recording an album. eh. good thing shes pretty.

album of the year- dixie chicks. no big surprise after the whole show.

and done.

driving in

driving to work with ellen this morning, while through an intersection i heard a gigantic BOOM! sound. i thought, shite! something fell on me. or my car just got shot. or my bumper fell off. then ellen was like, 'dude, i think the water bottle in your trunk just exploded.' oh. yeah. that thing thats been rolling around like a giant bowling ball all week, throughout these below freezing temps. only my trunk is currently sewn shut to preserve the semi-attached state of my bumper. gee whiz. i need to get out these ice chunks before temps warm up... and i have a mildewy trunk... ugh.

i'm listening to my own little custom mix-list at work. and a sublime song came on. it's a live cut and the beginning is filled with people laughing and talking, you know, background noise at a bar. and it just is kinda depressing in a weird way. like the fact that the 100- 1000 people in the room were there for a sublime concert. during the relatively brief life of brad nowell sublime played live constantly. and here it seems like these people werent fully appreciating their reggae skater punk music, which i think is a great genre and should have more bands cos its something i like....

anyways. i dont know. obviously, people are always talking at concerts. but it just feels like lots of times we have these limited opportunities to experience something like a great concert or just quality time with people we love. and we can get distracted carrying on and doing 10 other things at the same time. when really we should be focusing wholly on one experience at a time, because you never know when or if a similar experience will present itself again. everything's finite. especially time and life.

also, last night instead of going to sleep at a decent hour, i watched a movie on ifc. cos that makes sense. it was last night. sandra oh was in it w/ some other random canadian actors i dont know. it was another 'end of the world' movie. this one follows 6 ppl's stories, as they live their final day. it was kinda random but interesting. how people come together and split apart, etc. and what people would do and say if they knew the world was coming to an end very soon. interesting.

it's friday. whoop, i suppose.