blog fail

I give up. It is too difficult to post on my blog while abroad. And what I have posted is meh. So, give me a week and I will return with my random witty rants. Ciao!

Ciao Roma!

Tonight is my last night in Rome. I am a little sad to leave but I will be in Europe until early July so I can't really complain. Since my agriturismo I have done a lot of things. I went to some more churches, historical sites, bars, and restaurants... but I am just going to recap the highlights.

Early in the week, a friend from USC visited me. I took him to some of the big important sites that everyone has to visit, but we also enjoyed a good dinner and a fun night out.

Later in the week, while walking around randomly, I found the street with the hotel I stayed at 9 years ago! I was so excited. Also, oddly enough, one of the girls I was with had stayed there 5 years ago. So we stopped and reflected and took a cute photo.


Another day, I went with a few friends to have an aperitivo above the Spanish Steps. An aperitivo is like a pre-dinner drink with snacks intended to “open the palate" and give you a chance to socialize. It was nice and relaxing, especially with the view of the Spanish Steps! Ahhhh I love you Italy and your lovely food related traditions.


Too much happened this week, and I can not even begin to recap it. Given that this was my last week in Rome, I did everything and lost a lot of sleep. It was an incredible week. Family and friends, I will be home soon enough and then we can talk about all the fine details of my Roman holiday.

When in the US, I am a computer addict. My addiction manifests itself in three ways - through technology (the form and function), graphic design, and the internet. With this internet addiction I am usually up to date on most current events ranging from pop culture to politics. However, being in Europe I am usually a day or two behind. It kind of pains me but at least I still manage to get my news. Honestly, I have better priorities here. I have learned a lot of about restraint leaving my iPhone at home... but I still have my laptop, my child.

So here are my recent but probably not current internet discoveries. I love movies and I am excited for many upcoming films, but these promotional photos sold me. Get ready for Sherlock Holmes and Alice in Wonderland! These photos are striking, but what also got me is the similar composition. Many current films are showcasing the actors in simple but beautiful posters. I like the cleanliness of many of them, but then some do fail like the poster for Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Well, it may also help that these two movies have some cred and the other... well, not so much. Did I just write cred?



Another great thing I found on the internet is this new Jib Jab Obama video. It follows along the theme of Jon Stewart's "Hope-and-Change-O-Meter," where he placed Obama between Gandalf and Wizard FDR. This video has Obama saving the day with super powers. He can do more than kill flies...



One more thing, family, if you feel inclined to buy me a welcome home gift. This would do the trick. I love the Onion store! (This is not necessary, because clearly I am living a gift).


Ciao! Soon I am off to Venice, Paris, Amsterdam, and Stockholm!

more

Again I fail with the updates...

So this past weekend I went to Umbria with my class. We went on what is called an agriturismo. Apparently these are popular with Italians. It is simply an agricultural holiday focused on relaxation and fresh farm food. We visited a farm, caught fireflies, climbed haystacks, picked cherries, and visited more churches. While in Umbria we also took a day trip to Assisi to visit good ol' St. Francis. The entire weekend was amazing!!!

This is my last week in Rome so I have been busy doing everything I have left on my to do list. There is just too much to do in Rome. I guess I have to come back.

A friend from school visited me Sunday and Monday on his way to Milan and I took him to the Trevi Fountain. If I throw multiple coins in the fountain during the course of one trip do they cancel each other out or does it mean I will be coming back to Rome sooner?

far from an instant replay

So far off that this is pretty much a week recap. I have failed miserably at updating my blog. Rome is just too fun.

Ok, so last weekend...

I stated earlier that I had plans to go to Pompeii, but unfortunately (not really actually) things changed. Here is the story - So, one of my best personality traits is actually my biggest flaw. I love to do everything, making the most of life. As a result I am a very accomplished person, but then sometimes I am too busy. See the pros and cons? Well, being in Rome I want to "carpe diem" of course... Last summer I was diagnosed with celiac, a serious gluten allergy, and since then I don't eat wheat flour products. This is an unfortunate allergy to have in Rome, but I am still eating loads of wonderful food - caprese, prosciutto and melon, gelato, and more!

However, I know how great the pasta is here and I have been wondering for most of the trip - can I eat wheat for a little bit and still have an incredible time? At the start of my developing allergy, the pain and discomfort was not that terrible. I figured, I haven't had wheat in about a year so maybe a little wheat won't be that bad. So, last week I ate wheat. And guess what, I was horribly wrong. I felt sick the night after and then the morning I was suppose to leave for Pompeii I felt absolutely miserable. I will spare the details.

I'm an idiot. That morning I texted my friends and slept off the pain. I woke up a little before noon feeling better, but I was still depressed I missed the trip even though I have been to Pompeii and I remember it pretty vividly. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to be active and of course, carpe diem!!

So I went to the Vatican again, yes for a third time this trip. There is just too much to see there!

After the Vatican I got back on the metro and noticed that one of the stops went to Appia Antica, the ancient Appian Way! I decided to stay on and get off at the stop, which is way off my map. I had no idea where to go so I stopped in a bar and asked a waiter where to go. He drew me a small map and it appeared that the Appian Way was just around the corner. Wrong again. I ended up hiking, forever! However, it was a nice gorgeous walk. See below.


After about an hour I finally reached the Appian Way, and one of the houses had this tile on the wall (below). So, I made it to Pompeii after all! For those of you that don't know, that cave canem mosaic is a very famous image from Pompeii. On the Appian Way there were many ruins and churches. I visited most of them. Including one with the first catacombs ever. The catacombs of San Sebatian is where the name catacombs originated from. It was very cool to see, but it was also incredibly creepy with tons of small caves. I had to bend down in many of them. A church was built over these catacombs, and in the church is the last statue made by Bernini. It was discovered in the monastery there in 2001. Or something like that. I honestly don't know how you can have a statue that beautiful and be satisfied without knowing the artist and having it tucked away. Plus, by looking at the details I think it is clearly Bernini, but whatever. Thanks tour guide!


After the Appian way I went to several other places around Rome. Like - Circo Massimo, La Bocca della Verità, Museo Castel Sant'Angelo, San Nicola in Carcere, and La Scala Sancta.

Scala Sancta, aka the Holy Stairs, are apparently the steps "that led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which Jesus Christ stood on during his Passion on his way to trial." Pilgrims walk up the steps on theirs knees and pray at each step. 9 years ago I visited these steps with my dad and for some reason I got very eager and wanted to do this. I kneeled on the first step and immediately lost my religious fervor. It hurt! They are wooden stairs. I prayed on the first step and left. I promised my dad I would do the second step on this trip. So, I did. And it still hurt. Not worth the pain. Sorry Jesus.


San Nicola in Carcere was just a random church that I decided to walk into. It looked interesting and it had some ruins around it. When I entered the church, a woman was singing Ave Maria with the organ. It was amazing. I just sat and listened to the music for about 15 minutes. I love days where you just wander around and discover new things.

I finished my Saturday by walking home. It ended up being a great day. Even better than the trip to Pompeii, according to my friends.

Sunday, I met up with some friends and decided to have a touristy day. We started by going to the very top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument. It was an awesome view even though the day was a little cloudy.


After, we took a bus tour of Rome. We sat on the top of a double decker bus and drank Chianti. It was very fun. We got off the bus in Piazza Navona and got something to eat. While there we were intrigued by the henna tattoo artist. Somehow we decided that it would be worthwhile to get a temporary tattoo in Rome. Two of my friends got tattoos with stars and I decided to get a tattoo related to Rome. So, I picked SPQR - Senatus Populusque Romanus. Yeah, kinda nerdy. My friends were confused because they didn't know the meaning (keep in mind we are studying Italian not history), but every local Roman I talk to either enjoys the tattoo or laughs at me.


Monday after class I went to the Vatican for the 4th time, but this time to climb the Vatican. It was a total of 1,102 steps. And some corridors were tight and angled. It was quite the adventure but totally worth it. I don't exercise and I am normally very lazy, but I would climb those steps any time for the view of the dome or the entire city.


Half way up you have a beautiful view of inside the dome. Up there you can tell that the "frescoes" are actually mosaics. They were replaced years ago in order to maintain the detail. Also, while we were in the dome, a small service was going on so we enjoyed some beautiful music while looking at the fine details of that amazing Basilica. The interior was incredible, but once we made it outside on the top, the view was spectacular. Hello Roma!


A few posts back I noted that I walk to school every day from the Piazza del Popolo to the Spanish Steps. In between those two sites is All Saints Church of Rome. I go to All Saints Church in Pasadena so it always makes me happy to see something familiar. Last week I noticed that the church holds Opera nights twice a week with the singers of the Filamonica d'Opera di Roma. I got really excited about this discovery, so I went Tuesday night. This was the incredible program:

Haendel - "Lascia ch'io pianga"
Puccini - "Ch'ella mi creda"
Mozart - "Voi che sapete"
Mozart - "Madamina il catalogo e' questo"
Puccini - "Quando me'n vo'"
Rossini - "Una voce poco fa"
Verdi - "La donna e' mobile"
Rossini - "La calunnia e' un venticello"
Hoffenback - "Barcarola"
Verdi - "Va, pensiero"
Bizet - "Seguidilla"
Puccini - "Si', mi chiamano Mimi'"
Verdi - "Eri tu"
Donizetti - "O mio fernando"
Puccini - "Nessun dorma"
Bizet - "Toreador"
Gounod - "Ah, je veux vivre"
Verdi - "Brindisi"

Below is a video of the "Nessun dorma" performance. It is my favorite song out of the selection. Being a graphic designer I think heavily about composition. I do the same with photography. And with those mediums you aren't usually limited by orrientation. I filmed the video vertically to get more of the beautiful background, but clearly a vertical orrientation does not work for a video format. So, unfortunatly you have to tilt your head to watch the video. The singer was a little tired from his previous songs and made a few mistakes, but overall it was a great performance of "Nessun dorma."

Yesterday, we went to an art show put on by the students of the Rhode Island School of Design. They have an independent study program in Rome that lasts 5 months. It was great to see their work and eat free food.

On top of those things, I am still speaking lots of Italian, visiting fun bars and restaurants, and getting to know more of the people on the trip. I can't believe it is almost over!

it's hard to blog during a Roman Holiday

This year I discovered personal blogging and shortly became a fan. Well, I became more than a fan, actually I was kind of obsessed at times. I constantly had this need to post my thoughts about current events, technology, politics, art, pop culture, and sometimes my personal life. When I relocated to Roma, I changed the content of my blog, making it a fun venue to update my friends and family about my wild and crazy Roman Holiday. However, because I am having so much fun here I have less of a desire to write coherent intelligent reflections and instead I just want to post photos and lists of my activities. Sometimes I feel like I am slacking, but then I realize photos are worth a thousand words.

For those of you that care about grammar (including me) I would like to apologize for everything but mainly this list with it's lack of parallel structure and incomplete sentences.

Here is my weekly update:

-Speaking Italian more, go me!
-More amazing food, even with my food allergy
-Food deserves two bullet points because there was a gelato party at school... I had 4 cups
-Discovering cute little Italian markets and stores
-Learning more about Italian culture
-Wine tasting with school, aka wine drinking, but I learned a lot surprisingly
-School trip to Florence, so incredible!
-Weekend reunion with the Morphy family (practically my family) in Tuscany
-Ok, one more food point because with the Morphys I had a 6 course meat meal prepared by a famous butcher!

Now, here are 5,000 words.

Barça, Barça, Barça!

That is the response I got as I walked down the street in my Barcelona jersey yesterday. It is part of the Cant del Barca. Well, clearly I only got that response from Barca fans, I won't even mention the screams I got from Manchester United fans. I happen to live near the Man. United meeting spot. Not so good. 

When I planned my trip to Rome I only considered two things: my desire to visit Rome again/study abroad and my desire to really learn Italian. I didn't even consider such crazy events like the Champions League final! I met some guys from Canada and Virginia that flew to Rome just for the final, and they didn't even have tickets!!! Yeah, I lucked out. 

When I went to class on Friday, I saw this on the Spanish steps!

My class was interrupted by random cheers in the streets. Despite my inability to focus and learn, it was fantastic. I have an exam tomorrow so I am not going to write much, but things are still incredible. I have explored more of the city and have met more locals. 

I watched the game yesterday in Campo dei Fiori with a bunch of Barcelona fans. Unfortunately, there was no viewing at the Coliseum. Roman authorities really cracked down on security... most bars were shut down and all locations were prevented from selling liquor 2 hours before the game. I was afraid of being stabbed so the security was good, in fact it kept things quite tame so it was almost disappointing. But it wasn't!!! The game was great. Everyone was in good spirits. And after we walked to the Spanish steps to continue the celebration. It was an incredible night. 

Tomorrow I have an exam in the morning and wine tasting in the evening. Saturday and Sunday I will be in the Florence area. 

Ciao! 

finalmente, buon giorno Roma!

I finally made it to Rome. On my way to Rome I experienced the worst flight of my life (I was delayed for a total of 25 hours, I sat next to a  crying baby for my longest flight, and my connecting flight lost my luggage - actually no, they put one of my bags on a different flight arriving in another terminal so I confused Italian security when I tried to get through without a boarding pass and with a large bag...) but despite those problems, the little time I have spent here has already made up for it and then some. 

For this trip, I signed up for an apartment and that is all I knew about my residence. I told the taxi driver my address and from there on it was a mystery. When I arrived at my residence, I saw this...

So beautiful! I buzzed the name that matched my assignment and this student came down to help me carry my luggage up the 6 flights of stairs (I will be getting lots of exercise on this trip!). She gave me a tour of the apartment and I was thrilled. My living arrangement is perfetto! I live with a mom, her daughter, and this young teacher. I signed up for an apartment, but technically it is a home stay but with less restrictions. I have my own room, my own bathroom, and I am allowed to eat anything in the kitchen. Feels like home already.

Here is the living room.

Here is my bedroom.

And here is the view from outside my bedroom. Yes, a Hitchcock poster! They knew I was coming. 

It is surreal walking around Rome knowing I will be here for 5 weeks learning Italian. I love history, so seeing the incredible sites of Rome every day is fantastic. One girl in my class got lost yesterday near the Pantheon. My response was, "Oh so sad, the Pantheon..." incredible! When in Rome! 

Here is a photographic tour of my path to class every day.

I take a bus from my apartment to the Piazza del Popolo. 

Then I walk down a beautiful street to the Piazza di Spagnolo. 

Then one block past the Spanish steps is my school!!!

After the first day of class we visited the Trevi fountain and ate gelato. Last night we went to the Campo dei Fiori for dinner and experienced the Italian night life. Strangely enough though, I didn't talk to many Italians... I found a group of Irish people from Belfast! 

So, I love Rome. I could stay here forever. And yes, I am learning a lot of Italian. My friend forgot his address last night and he is in Italian 1, so translating directions for our poor taxi driver was certainly a fun experience for me.

Ciao! Off to the Coliseum. 

not original

my seemingly witty blog title is not original!! Bahhhhhh Color Me Katie!

the incoherent tales of ODJ

ODJ stands for Old Deaf Jimmy. Jimmy is not a friend, in fact I have never met him. I just hear stories about him... amazing stories.



So Jimmy works with my friend Andrew. Here is Andrew's description of the man,

"ODJ is a 75 year old Chinese immigrant who has been working as a translator with the same company for 35 years. He isn't particularly overweight, but he does have heart problems. I met him just after he had quadruple bypass surgery. He is the nicest guy in the world with good intentions, but he is literally IMPOSSIBLE to understand sometimes."

I am not sure why his heart problems are relevant because our focus is on Jimmy's inability to understand or be understood in conversation. Hopefully he only translates documents.

So when ODJ is lost in translation, Andrew recaps the funny conversation, or really lack of conversation due to confusion. The stories I hear are fantastic, and because of that I convinced Andrew to write a blog about our friend ODJ. Andrew created the blog, but he only has two posts so far. Both written in early March. And the first post isn't even an ODJ story, it is a description of the blog and apparently my state of being possessed by the blogosphere. Lame!

Because of Andrew's epic failure to maintain his blog, I am typing up the some of the ODJ stories he has shared through text messaging while at work.

Enjoy.

--

ODJ: you ever use the scoopie?
ODJ: you know the call you can make with your computer
Andrew: Oh Jimmy you mean skype?
ODJ: Oh so the E is sirent

--

ODJ: where you on Tuesday?
Andrew: some friends from out of town wanted to go to Disneyland.
ODJ: you are the Disneyland.... UH, uh, uh, uh, uh, the ddisneyland uh... Guy!

--

ODJ: you ever go to sex frags?

--

Twice ODJ has asked who the lady is on Andrew's mug.
The lady isn't a lady. He is Garth from Wayne's World

--

Jimmy thanked Andrew for helping him with an excel problem by showing him a video on his iPod. An inappropriate video for work.

--

ODJ: I like going to West Covina office because they have genital services
Andrew: uuuummmm what?
ODJ: you know genital services. They clean everything.
Andrew: Ohhhh janitorial services.
ODJ: Oh yeah...

--

ODJ: I'm wondering you is a fan of simons and garfunkel

--

ODJ: do you watch person escape?
Andrew: what?
ODJ: that TV show with the prison
Andrew: you mean Prison Break

--

If you enjoyed reading these ODJ conversation recaps you may also like Engrish.com.

If you didn't enjoy the short ODJ anecdotes, too bad. They are hilarious, especially when recapped by Andrew. Unfortunately, he fails to see the fun of blogging.

working for the weekend

One more final until I am a senior! That explains why I have been absent from my blog. Technically, I have been a senior for a while (according to units), but I won't consider myself a senior until I am in my fourth year of school. Some people graduate early, some become super seniors, some sign up for the progressive degree program, and some even pull a Van Wilder, but for me, four years is perfect. You see the natural progression of college life through those four years, and I enjoy carpe diem-ing ever minute.

Speaking of Van Wilder, this guy Johnny Lechner has been a college student since 1994. Wow. At least he has multiple degrees, but why not continue your education at a different level? How about a masters degree Johnny? His logic makes no sense and he has by far the most poorly designed website I have ever seen. Actually no, this website may be the worst. Speaking of bad design, check out USC's newest sculpture...


I needed to know what this thing is, so I searched the USC website and found this description in the news section - "A stunning bronze fountain, "Generations," sculpted by Aris Demetrios, is up and running northwest of Leavey Library, across from Stoops Education Library."

It is far from stunning. It is awkward not only in appearance but also in location. It has no relation to the environment. It is a huge bronze block next to the library. It looks like cheap brushed metal and how it represents "Generations" is beyond me. You could argue that the different sections of the fountain and the flowing curves symbolize generations, but I think it's a stretch. It's just ugly. USC has one of the worst public sculpture/fountain collections I have ever seen. Like my other favorite ugly fountain near the Engineering School. I hope I don't look that emaciated when I graduate. Clearly, money doesn't buy taste.

More posts to come. Maybe. GGAAHhhhhh finals.

we have momentum

One night last year while partying with my next door neighbors the topic of business came up. Usually a taboo subject while having fun, it somehow became increasingly interesting as my neighbors began to reveal their surf business called Momentum. I immediately told Mark and Matt that I am a graphic designer and that I would love to work with them. That night spawned an awesome work relationship that has continued to grow. With Momentum I have designed many (many!) shirts given my primary role as design director, but I also helped in organizing parties and other promotional things. Recently, Mark promoted me to COO, so I will be doing a lot more in the future.

My work may be interesting to read about, but this post is primarily to congratulate the two Momentum founders, Mark and Matt, for being featured in the LA Business Journal!! In the article, these two sexy men recapped their passion for surfing and how it grew into their entrepreneurial relationship. Read the article and be impressed. Go Momentum!

unwigged and unplugged

and undoubtedly one of the best concerts I have been to!

(my photo, I was only a few rows away from them!)

Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer recently reunited to go on tour playing an all acoustic show focused on the fictional musicians they created in This is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. I bought the tickets a few months ago when I found out about the tour. I didn't know who I was going to go with, I just knew I had to go. This is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind are brilliant mock-umentaries that beautifully combine comedy and great music. I enjoy both the rock and folk music they sing in these films, but above all I appreciate their dry-wit humor and its subtleties. For example in Spinal Tap the same bass notes are played by multiple musicians.

David St. Hubbins: Can you play a bass line like Nigel used to on "Big Bottom?" Can you double that? You might recall the line's in fifths.

These comedians played off this joke when performing for the Live Earth concert with 20 bass players. AKA: "every bass player in the known universe," including Foo Fighter's Nate Mendell and Metallica's Kirk Hammet. The humor in their films/performances not only includes musical satire but their characters also add a huge amount of comedy. For example, consider the shirt below. Here is the dialogue that accompanied this shirt in the film:

[Marty compliments Nigel on his tee shirt]
Nigel Tufnel: You like this?
Marty DiBergi: It's very nice. It looks like hollow wood.
Nigel Tufnel: This is my exact inner structure, done in a tee shirt. Exactly medically accurate. See?
Marty DiBergi: So in other words if we were to take all your flesh and blood...
Nigel Tufnel: Take them off. This is what you'd see.
Marty DiBergi: It wouldn't be green though.
[Nigel points at Marty]
Nigel Tufnel: It is green. You see how your blood looks blue.
Marty DiBergi: Yeah, well that's just the vein. That's the color of the vein. The blood is actually red.
Nigel Tufnel: Oh then, maybe it's not green. Anyway this is what I sleep in sometimes.


I bought this shirt at the concert. Awesome!

The concert contained this kind of humor but everything was "unwigged and unplugged," meaning the men were out of character and the show was acoustic. It may sound less entertaining because their ridiculous characters added to the humor of their films, but actually it was more amusing because it allowed for more comedy and an easy transition between songs. There was no opening act, so the men just came out and began the show.

They started essentially like this:



They performed a good amount of songs including a folksy version of The Rolling Stones' Start Me Up and a sexy jazz version of Big Bottom.





If the songs weren't funny enough, the men included a few little comedy routines, like awarding one lucky guest in the audience a special chance to experience Spinal Tap in 3D. Sounds cool, but it was basically the audience member standing in front of the stage in 3D glasses while the guys performed a song and waved their arms in front of his face. Absolutely brilliant!

At another point in the set they read from a NBC document stating what parts of Spinal Tap were inappropriate to air on TV. They started reading - 5 minutes in... 11 minutes in... The entire movie was deemed inappropriate, understandably in some points, but the document and the way they read it was hilarious.

I enjoyed every aspect of the concert and I laughed the entire time. My face even hurt after. It was a fantastic experience and I could easily write another book post, well, this is already pretty long but I will hold back and fondly remember my night with Spinal Tap! Joel and I deemed it epic!

Here is Keith Olbermann's report of the tour:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

it was only Coachesterday...

Finally! Here is my EPIC Coachella recap. Woooooo!
**all photos in this post are mine

I got back from Coachella Monday morning at 2 am and have been busy catching up on school. So sorry for the delay.

I thought it was best to title this blog post with one of the brilliant Coachella puns that Eric, Erin, and I came up with on our trip. (Ok, they aren't technically puns, they are compounded/blended words, but I shall call them puns.) What triggered this manic pun-fest? The new Coachella iPhone app.

Ok back track > before Coachella my iPhone broke. My beautiful white 16 GB techno-gem. The right side of the screen became a worthless dead zone preventing me from unlocking the phone. I could receive calls and text messages but I couldn't do anything about it. My iPhone was in a painful coma. Also, this all happened on my 21st birthday. What a disaster. The next day, the day I was leaving for Coachella, I went to the iPhone store hoping something could be done. I explained my problem and then *poof* they gave me a brand new phone for free. No questions. Replaced. Fantastic! I now had a functional phone so I could contact my friends at Coachella. I went with Eric and Erin but I had some other friends that I wanted to meet up with in Indio. Now, with my new working iPhone I was able to download the Coachella iPhone application. The application included a set times schedule, an interactive venue map, a friend finder, a Coachella photo uploader, and the infamous Coachooser. The application bombed, completely worthless (I used paper print outs for the set times), but it left us with the word Coachooser. Fail. Worst pun ever. So we came up with better ones:

Coachillin' like a villain

Coachellin' like a felon

Coachestery (Paul McCartney inspiration)

Coacheleanor Rigby (Paul inspiration again)

Fauxchella (inspired by the knock off Coachella shirts being sold on the street)

NOchella (inspired by the 3 inch moths we had to dodge at night on our walk home)

Other random ones that simply formed out of the trend:

Coachelementary

Mr. Coachangles (Eric laughed. but Erin booed this one. I love it.)

and more...

There were many I came up with that were utter fails. I almost added Coache- to any word. Kind of like how USC adds SC to everything. SCampus, SCard, voteSCount, and other terrible ones like SCamp. That camp sounds like a disease.

Anyways, so Coachella. Life changing as usual. No big deal.

I spent a fortune on food and water. I got sunburned. My ears were assaulted by loud music for 3 straight days. My legs lost their function from never-ending walking, standing, and dancing. BUT I would do that every weekend because of the pure awesomeness of the experience. I love music, so seeing so many incredible artists in one weekend is ecstasy. I would have suffered even more for the experience.

Here are the bands I saw:

Friday

We Are Scientists
Steve Aoki
The Hold Steady
The Ting Tings
The Black Keys
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
Franz Ferdinand
Leonard Cohen
Beirut
Girl Talk
The Crystal Method
Paul McCartney

Saturday

Liars
Drive By Truckers
Michael Franti & Spearhead
TV On The Radio
Calexico
Fleet Foxes
Thievery Corporation
M.I.A.
Band of Horses
The Killers
MSTRKRFT

Sunday

Friendly Fires
Shepard Fairey
Okkervil River
Lupe Fiasco
Lykke Li
Peter Bjorn and John
Yeah Yeah Yeah's
My Blood Valentine
Public Enemy
The Cure

Yes. That is quite a list. Each artist was amazing. I was not disappointed by any of them, well, besides Shepard Fairey. When I saw Shepard Fairey on the line up I was confused. He is the brilliant designer behind Obey. Fairey was recently in the news because of a battle with AP over his Obama image. My response to that would require an entirely separate blog post, but hopefully you read about that. Anyways. I saw Fairey on the line-up and I was super excited, but what would he do? I love the man because of his design. I even own his book, Supply & Demand. Would he do spoken word like Henry Rollins did on Saturday? Live art design? What? Well, he DJs, but very very poorly. He selected good songs, even some great classics. It was refreshing to hear some classic rock mix with modern music in a DJ set, but he transitioned between songs with a few scratches and some poor fades. Terrible! As an artist, I was so happy to see Fairey in person. As a music connoisseur, I was insulted. However, given that Fairey was at Coachella, he designed a limited edition poster for Paul McCartney. He made 500 prints and signed them all. And I bought one!! Eeeeeee so happy!!! Remind me to get that framed.

Back to the rest of the music, the good music. I would review each set, but I saw a lot of bands and reviewing each would take too much time and my blog post would become a novella. Below are a few thoughts about a few performers. Don't judge the selections, it doesn't reflect my favorites. In fact, some of my favorite performances aren't listed below like Franz Ferdinand because there is nothing particularly exciting for me to say besides - that was fantastic, good stage presence, sang some good songs... That is not fun to write or read.

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Lykke Li is a cute blond Swede with a lot of spunk. She has a great sound and an incredible stage presence, probably even better than a lot of the big bands I saw. Her energy was contagious and Erin and I discussed that we want to be her! We even practiced her dance moves. I honestly forgot she was playing at Coachella and I am glad that Eric and Erin reminded me and we went to her set.

Peter Bjorn and John is always great. I saw them at Coachella two years ago, but this set was particularly fun because it was a "Swedish smorgasbord" (A quote from Peter, the lead singer). Robyn, another Swedish singer, joined the set for a song. Then a few songs later Lykke Li showed up again! Woooo pale white Swedes in the California desert during a heat wave. It was fantastic. A good collection of my favorite Swedish imports minus Ikea.


The Yeah Yeah Yeah's are crazy. We showed up and a giant eyeball was on stage. A+ for set design. When the concert started, Karen O, the lead singer, came on stage in what looked like a metallic fish scale curtain with green tights. It was pretty outrageous, but I could tell she loved it. In fact she barely stopped smiling. Her happiness was adorable. I love when musicians love their job. Musicians are performers, working for the audience, but when they love what they do, their passion comes across and it is generally a better experience.


My Blood Valentine assaulted my ears... even with earplugs. My Bloody Valentine is considered one of the loudest bands in the world. Their performances have ranged from 120 - 132 decibels (from what I have found online). During Friday and Saturday I saw plenty of people wearing earplugs just because of the constant noise they would be experiencing. Those few were smart. I am not too concerned though. When I start losing my hearing there will be bionic ear transplants and I will have hearing like a mouse (apparently they have great hearing). However, on Sunday, things were different. Coachella was even passing out free earplugs. Then I remembered My Bloody Hearing, I mean Valentine, was playing that day. Erin, Eric, and I talked about the decibel level the entire day. We were both concerned and anxious. We eventually decided to stay as far away from the stage as possible but still within view. When they started playing, WOW! So loud and we were easily farther than a football field away. Then they reached their last song and it ended with about 15 minutes of non-stop noise!! Ahhhhh. Good thing I had earplugs.

Public Enemy with Flavor Flav. Enough said. Yeah Boy!!! Hahaha what a joke.

The Cure was incredible. It was exciting to see the influential English rock band along with Robert Smith, the lead singer, and his iconic goth look. They sounded great in concert. I still can't believe I saw them! Just like Heaven.

The Crystal Method was awesome!!!! The electronic music duo mixed up a storm. We were dancing like crazy. I really wanted to see them, so unfortunately we had to leave Paul McCartney for a little bit. I felt somewhat sacrilegious for leaving the main stage, but it was totally worth it. Half way through our time there, two robots came onto the stage. I was super excited. I love robots! Who doesn't? Then after some cool dance moves they took off their suits and it was the hip-hop group LMFAO! They rock the beat and rock the show. In my closest group of friends at SC we always play these two specific LMFAO songs, they are like our anthems. Because of that, I freaked out when they were on stage. Then all my regret about leaving Paul vanished.


Paul McCartney is legendary and so was his performance. However, I feel like he was drunk. Some of the things he said were a little ridiculous. "We are going to ROCK the rooof toonighTT Coachellaaa!!!" Ok. Thanks Paul. He started off with some Wings songs. It was good, not quite what I was expecting. Drive My Car was stuck in our heads all weekend for some reason. I also enjoyed Got to Get You Into My Life. Like I said earlier, we left for a little to see The Crystal Method. Sorry Paul. When we returned he sang Birthday from the Beatles White Album. I am pretty sure he sang that for me. My 21st was the Wednesday before. I forgave Paul for wishing me a happy birthday two days late. During his performance, I heard some of my favorite Beatles songs and he did two quality encores.

Right after the first encore we all thought Paul was done. He walked back stage, then back on, then he started singing Yesterday. Nathan, my friend who was working backstage, then texts me. Here is the exchange:

Nate: He fooled me. Dammit.
Me: Hahahaha. He is such a tease!
Nate: Who does he think he is?
Me: Paul McCartney!

You gotta love The Black Keys! Their performance was great and I think they are highly under appreciated. I love them in particular because they have a classic rock edge that I find so sexy. Most of the bands I listen to are classic rock bands, so it is refreshing to listen to a new band that shares that sound. They kind of sound like Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The White Stripes thrown in a blender.

I have never listened to Michael Franti & Spearhead. Well, maybe I have, but I know nothing about them. We went to see them in concert because Erin's alternative hippy mom told us to. When we arrived we felt a great energy in the crowd and we couldn't stop dancing. They created this great warm environment of love and happiness. As lame as that sounds it is true. It felt great being in that crowd. Apparently the lead singer is a peace activist. I felt it.


Fleet Foxes was INCREDIBLE. I would have to say probably my favorite performance of the weekend. The sun was setting, the temperature was perfect, the stage was beautifully lit, and the entire crowd was filled with fans. Given that it is a music festival, often people will venture into crowds to see artists that they don't really know. Sometimes that results in indifferent spectators that don't really add to the energy of the crowd. That often disappoints me because I love the power of music to emotionally change a person and if they don't respond it makes me sad. When Fleet Foxes came on stage I fell in love with the lead singer because of his plaid shirt and his bushy beard. He looked like my guide in Yosemite. I secretly called him Mountain Man. He was amazing. When Fleet Foxes started singing, their haunting harmonies gave me goosebumps. Whenever the lead singer talked, I could tell how insecure he was and it was great to see that kind of vulnerability on stage. All around, it was a beautiful performance. PS - the lead singer Robin Pecknold is only 23! Husband?


M.I.A. was ridiculous. Loud, energetic, insane, colorful, funny, and fantastic. The set and costume designs were great and bold. I particularly loved the glow-in-the-dark accents on the clothing. The non stop dancing was so exciting. The stage was one big giant party, especially when M.I.A allowed a bunch of audience members on stage to dance with her. Security was freaking out. She also gave out horns to the crowd. Sorry correction, she threw out horns and said, "My Lawyer said you will sue me if I hit you." Hahaha she is crazy. She was also an incredible performer and had a great set list. She recently gave birth so I was even more impressed with the outstanding show.


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Well, I am pretty sure I have reached novella length, but here are a few funny anecdotes before I stop writing:

We saw a root beer float vendor at Coachella but it was in the 21 and up food area! Not fair, plus it is root beer not real beer! Eric and I are 21 (both with the exact same birthday!) but Erin is not. In order to get root beer floats we went to the ID check place one extra time and gave Erin our extra wrist band. (Oooh admitting to illegal activity - I am wild). So we got in line for the 21 and up food area and our plan was foiled, they carded Erin again. She talked with security and said, "I just want a root beer float, no beer! I got this band only for that purpose. If you want you can escort me to the root beer float stand..." That didn't fly. Instead she waited outside and we brought the root beer float to her.

We inappropriately called our walk back to my car the "border crossing" because of the dirt road and the fact we had to somewhat squeeze between a fence and a wall to enter the lot. There was an actual entrance but too many cars were moving through it. Unsafe!

I have a ridiculously bad tan right now from being in the sun all day for 3 days.

I laughed at every DJ that mixed music from the musicians that were at Coachella performing live. "Hey DJ, nice M.I.A. song selection. Oh Wait, I saw her live last night. Play something else!!!"

We spotted the worst spelling mistake EVER on a van at Coachella - you snoze you loze. NOchella!! Fail!


There were several fantastic art installations/giant constructed crazy things! Epic high-five!



Ok, I am going to stop writing. Summary: fantastic weekend. A wonderful escape from life and I miss it so much!