this week in music news....*SPECIAL EDITION*

I'M POSTING A WHOLE CRASH KINGS ARTICLE FOR YOU TO READ. :)

but first,

so, the article thanks all those important music business people, who YES, are important. BUT - they forgot to thank um, the Crash Queens. for our continued support, dedication, and obsessively awesome fandom. i mean, without the obsessively awesome fandom, no band could succeed.

also, they kind of made it seem like without the business people Crash Kings would be nothing. but, i disagree. again, YES, those people are important. but Mike, Jason and Tony are great musicians! so, thank you to them also. for being talented and wonderful and maybe a little good-looking.

so, read this article. (i'm not going to lie to you - it made me a little teary.) (i'm like a proud mother.)

♥

NEW YORK--Custard/Universal Motown trio Crash Kings debut single, “Mountain Man”, from their eponymous debut album, catapults to the #1 slot on the Alternative Radio Charts this week. Universal Motown Records also made history with the Los Angeles based band in that Crash Kings is the first developing rock act on the label to earn the #1 alternative slot at radio. The coveted #1 lockdown is a rare feat for an emerging new rock band, further proof that the Crash Kings are quickly gathering mainstream-sized momentum. This is the first time in recent history going back a decade where a debut song from a band with no prior releases shoots to the top.

“This feat is not possible without the vision of Sylvia Rhone, the commitment of Todd Glassman, the dedication of Chris Frank, and our field staff. We applaud radio for sharing our belief and for leading the way.” stated Steph Harty, VP of Alternative Promotion for Universal Motown.

“To garner the number one spot so early in our game plan and gain the respect of radio listeners and programmers is yet another indication that the Crash Kings are fast becoming one of the artist development stories of the year,” stated Todd Glassman, SR. VP of Promotion for Universal Motown. “This is a significant milestone for Universal Motown as well as Stephanie Harty and our entire promotion team. The Crash Kings debut track hitting number one at Alternative is a testament to the quality of this young band and the passion of our promo staff.”

The band was signed by Linda Perry to her label, Custard in early 2008. “I love this band and could not be more appreciative of the Motown staff and all their hard work."

Known for rendering their signature hooks armed only with drums, bass and clavinet/keyboards, their lightning rise through the alternative radio ranks has turned heads across the entire rock world. “The Crash Kings have brought a unique passion and energy to their music that sets them apart from the pack,” stated Sylvia Rhone, President of Universal Motown Records.

♥ ♥ ♥

ALMODRAMA!!!

i saw the most recent Pedro Almodovar film, Broken Embraces, last night. i forgot how much i love his movies. LOVE them. let's recap:

- VOLVER
- TODO SOBRE MI MADRE
- CARNE TREMULA
- LA MALA EDUCACION

oh, All About My Mother. i love that one. and Volver. oh how i love Volver. i might watch that this afternoon, actually.

oh how i love the Almodramas. SO dramatic. SO over the top. SO red. they're made of wonderful, really. you really can never go wrong.

Broken Embraces was no different.

i guess i love his movies mainly because they're so original. it's never just boy meets girl, boy looses girl, boy gets girl back. it's like, boy is a writer writing his greatest screenplay, girl is a character in the screenplay and he falls in love with her, but then something from the past comes back and makes him realize that she's not only just a character, but they secretly had a love affair when they were young. and then in a total twist, you find out that what's happening in the screenplay has been in the 'real world' and everything you've just watched has been false!!!

aahhhh so refreshing to see something that's not 'based on the book' or 'adapted from the short story' whatever.

Broken Embraces was really good. i wanted it to go on forever. when it ended, i said,

JULIE: WHAT?! Noooo!!! Keep going!!!

for realz. it wasn't as twisty and turny as i expected, though. it was more about realization of the truth and acceptance for the things you cannot change.

but MAN - Penelope Cruz. geeze she's so gorgeous. especially with all her different hairstyles.

anyways. what else?

i had a dream that Kara and I met up with Ryan for a Rooney/Crash Kings show. it was a good dream. the tickets were $50, but i only had $70, so that's what i paid. and it was a 70 dollar bill. not like, three 20s and a 10.

perhaps it's a sign that someday the Crash King tickets will be really, really expensive.

Billboard.com wrote an article about their number 1 song!!!! don't let the huge picture of Carrie Underwood fool you - they do talk about Crash Kings. the article says that Crash Kings are the first new band to have their first single reach number one since 2006. did that make sense when i said it? if you didn't understand that sentence, let me summerize:

Crash Kings = awesome.

also, i watched an interview video with them at SXSW and Tony talked again about having JET over to their parent's house. MAN that must have been a crazy night. anyways, the interviewer was like,

TONY: Yeah, we had them over to our parent's house for dinner when we were in Boston.
INTERVIEWER: ...You did this on purpose?
CRASH KINGS: Yeah!!!
INTERVIEWER: Now, I've met the JET guys, and they don't bathe very often.

now, i heard him say that, and these were the first two thoughts that went through my head:

1. ooooo greasy boys
2. i bet he never washes that plaid shirt

now, since learning that the JET boys rarely bathe, the JET sex appeal has gone up like, probably 25%. it's true. i can't help it. i like the boys who don't wash their hair. most of us know this from the boy i was in love with during college. actually, i suppose there were many boys. but, Emily and Jenny know which one i'm talking about.

i'm not sure how i feel about the sweaty plaid shirt, though. i kind of wish that he would wash it. i bet at least he didn't wash it for the three shows that we saw. because they were on the bus the whole time. and it definitely sounds like no laundry went on at Mike and Tony's house.

just a warning when you watch that video..... Tony is wearing the red plaid shirt. and he smiles a lot. i'm not responsible for what happens to an individual when they witness both the shirt and the smile at once. crazy things start happening to people.

ANYWAYS.

i have to go to the post office. i'm supposed to get, An Education today. which i am VERY excited about. like, really excited. at first i had Where the Wild Things Are at the top of my queue, but then i saw An Education was being released yesterday and i switched them. Peter Saarsgard trumps monsters.

okay. i'm really hungry so i'm going to eat some delicious chocolate cheerios. i might straighten my hair. actually, probably not cause it's raining. still. and then i'm going to go to the post office. i was hoping to walk there today. but, i have no waterproof gear.

except! that sweater i bought in Ireland. that crazy sweater from the Aran Islands. it's probably way to hott for that sweater. it doesn't look cold and rainy.

anyways. i suppose i'll talk to you later. i hope you're having a great WEDNESDAY!!!!!


take care.



<3

ps:

there are a lot of great links in the post below this one. you should click on them all.

and, as always, please enjoy.


<3

this week in music news....

i'm going to post some music updates. both in the real world, and in my world. i mean, i'll post them in the real world. but the updates have to do with both the real world, and music as it relates to my world. which is different than the real world.

whatever.


1. i know i already posted the news about Paper Tongues releasing their debut record today, but that was before i bought the record. for 7 bucks on itunes. after buying the cd and listening to it multiple times through, i have come to this conclusion - IT ROCKS. it's so awesome, i can't stop listening to it!! it's so awesome that i immediately tweeted to Paper Tongues how much i loved it. and i might actually to it again, because i love it that much.

there's this one song: Get Higher. OH MAN. it's so good. and so beautiful. and they include a bonus acoustic version and i can't stop listening to it. i decided i want it to be my wedding song.

the whole cd is awesome. if you buy it on itunes you get 10 tracks, 1 bonus track, plus two videos!! i haven't watched the videos yet. WORTH IT. do it. i know you secretly want to. i can tell. you're all like, "what is this band with seven people in it!!??" i know it sounds CRAZY, and i know they are kind of scary at first. but TRUST ME, i have gone from civilian to Paper Tongues fan and it is a good transformation.

let's see if i can still name them all:

- aswan
- jordan
- cody
- nic?
- no, nic is in JET
- cameron? or is he in JET too?
- are there two camerons?

no, i can't do it. i have to look them up. here we go:

- aswan!
- jordan!
- cody!
- clayton
- devin
- danny

wait, that's only six.

- joey

phew! it's a hard band to name. there are two c's, two d's, two j's, and one a. weird.

ANYWAYS - their record rocks. self-titled. 'alternative' genre. love it. LOVE the bonus track.


next piece of music news:


2. my friend DAVE left me a comment that was actually an awesome link to a Tally Hall article!!!!! about their next record hopefully coming out this summer! so great! and Tally Hall has been appearing in random places in my life lately...
- the abandoned amusement park which made me think of them
- in the grocery store when i was buying ketchup and suddenly i thought of the video where Zubin is talking about eating natural ketchup instead of regular ketchup. and then hilarity ensues. oh man i love that video. if you haven't laughed yet today, you should watch that video. and if you enjoy laughing in general - you should watch all the Tally Hall videos. they kind of feel like your best friends after you do.


which is a lovely segue to our next piece of music news....ALSO semi-related to Tally Hall.


3. i was watching The O.C. the other night, as i have been doing quite frequently in my non-work state, and there was an episode where they went to a Killers concert.

(*KILLERS interlude* first i thought they were scary, but then i liked them.)

anyways, they went to a Killers show, and it was exciting. they always go to concerts now and i love it. BUT, The Killers started playing this one song, 'Smile Like You Mean It,' and the only version i have of that song is by Tally Hall, and i was like,

JULIE: OMG they're playing a Tally Hall song!!!!!

and then i thought about it a little more,

JULIE: Waaaiitt....when was this show on?? Is Tally Hall actually playing a Killers song?!!

and i immediately went and did some research and discovered that the name of the album that my Tally Hall 'Smile Like You Mean It' song is on is called, "The O.C: Covering Our Tracks." and THEN, i realized that it's an album of COVER songs. i looked it up on iTunes.

i was shocked. it's actually a Killers song! and ALL ALONG (crash kings song) i thought it was a Tally Hall song. amazing. that link is to The Killers version. i can't find the Tally Hall version on youtube.


and i just watched another episode of The O.C. and they went to a Modest Mouse concert! and i decided that if the show was still on tv - they would totally go to a Crash Kings concert. Seth Cohen would love Crash Kings.

speaking of The O.C. - Jimmy. i'm sad that he's leaving. i was hoping that him and Julie would get back together. i loved when Marissa went up to Julie and said, "well, if it isn't the wicked witch of the west coast." such a great way to describe her! although, i can't help it - i like Julie.

OH, and i had my first cry at an episode. the first time i cried during an episode. it was during the Chrismukkah episode of the second season. WHICH FUNNY ENOUGH, was the only episode i had ever seen when the show was actually on the air. but at the time, i thought it was strange and had no idea what was going on. but this time, i thought it was really moving and sweet.


anyways. i think that's all the music news. just those three things.


man, i really love that Paper Tongues song. Get Together. no, Get Higher. yep, i love it so much i can't even get the name right.

i'm thinking of the song 'Get Together' that will be the finale on the Bro Tour 2011.

the Paper Tongues song i want played at my wedding. funny, because up until the minute before i heard that song, i wanted my wedding song to be 'Wonderwall.' a live version that Noel does.

which makes me think that i need to have multiple weddings. in order to get all these great songs in.

other wedding songs i would like to have:

1. This Year's Love by David Grey
2. Sunshower by Chris Cornell
perhaps
3. Are You Gonna Be My Girl by JET

that's like, five marriages. i suppose i could combine some of those. say, play 'Wonderwall' and then play 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl.'

i had even thought about playing 'Courtyard (instrumental)' by Coconut Records. but then i thought that it would make a better 'walk down the aisle' song than a first dance song. i'm still sticking to that one.

basically, my wedding is going to be like an episode of The O.C. because of all the totally rad music. i'll probs throw in some Crash Kings too. a little 'My Love.' a little 'Come Away.' i actually think that 'Come Away' would be a pretty wedding song if you get married in the winter. yep.

this is what i think about. planning quite dramatically for the future.

ya know what? i love planning weddings. perhaps i should become a wedding planner. or a Wedding Music Coordinator. do those exist? sure they do.


moving on from my patheticness...


i had to buy more eyedrops today. MORE EYEDROPS. i have been using them like it's nobody's business. like it's going out of style. LIKE CRAZY. man, it feels like every 20 minutes i need to put more in. my eyes are BURNING ITCHY CRAZY. i suppose it's from all the rain plus spring? i don't know. but whatever it is, it should stop. i'm probably going to go blind. i realized this today in the car when i wanted to put in eyedrops but then said,

JULIE: It's probably not safe to put in eyedrops whilst driving.

but these eyedrops that i get - they're the super kind that cost like, $11 for a tiny bottle. and you're only supposed to need them every 12 hours. that's twice a day. sometimes i use them twice an hour! yikes.

BUT! the horrible thing is - i also have cheaper eyedrops that don't say 'every 12 hours' and sometimes i'll use those too. like, interchanging the chemicals i am putting into my eyes. yep. blind.

i should go to an allergy doctor while i still have health insurance. i was actually thinking about that.

i've got nothing better to do. except blog. and watch The O.C.

did i tell you i got my car registered yesterday? UGH. i did. it was expensive.

AND i have to do it again in november and it's going to be even MORE expensive.

i kind of think that's crap. to make me pay TWICE in the same year to register my car. i guess it makes sense, because in november it will be for 2011, right? but still. it won't be 2011 next november.

i should get a discount. well, i guess i did get a discount this time because of all the money i had already paid to get my old car registered in february. it feels like i'm just throwing all my money at the town clerk.

and what happens if i move to a different town or state? will they transfer over the registration and credit me with the money i have already paid? or will i have to pay it all again?

i think this is a flawed system. i'll straighten things out when i am president.

perhaps treat a car registration like a PO Box? pay by the month? or every 6 months? that way if you move, you're not losing all that money.

it should really just be a one-time fee. you buy the car, you pay to get it registered, and you don't pay again until you get a different car. YEP. maybe you have to get the registration renewed. but, that'll be free. just kind of say, "yep, still have the car."

i like this plan. and i think america will like this plan.

"things may be crap now, but the future sure looks good." JULIE FOR PRESIDENT.

love it. i'm making Maria my campaign manager. i haven't talked to her about it yet, but i think she'll take the job. either that, or vice president. and either that, or co-president. like we always talked about.

maybe i'll commission Paper Tongues to write the new national anthem. cause we're gonna need one. or, maybe i'll just have Tony record the current one on the clavinet.

man my inauguration ball is gonna ROCK. it'll be like one of the parties from Marie Antoinette. yep. Jason Schwartzman will be there. that's what i mean by that. no, i'm just kidding. he'll be there, yes, but i meant more like the part with the indie rock music and party gowns. and lots of champagne. and tiny cakes. it will be catered by Kara's Cupcakery and Crepery.

the future. oh man.

anyways. it's 8:11pm.

i got a weird phone call this morning at 5:44am. i answered it and it was two beeps and then silence. and i didn't want to say anything else because i thought, "uh oh, is this line tapped?" but then i thought about the Veronica Mars episode where they can't find the sister who is about to be married, and they keep calling her house phone, which doesn't work, until they realize that they need to switch it over to 'fax machine' or something. and then the fax comes through and they figure out where she is.

so after thinking the thing about the phone tapping, i thought, "oh, i wonder if that was a fax machine calling me."

it wasn't on my cell phone, it was on the house phone. can a cell phone be tapped? probably. i don't know.

and then the house alarm went off. but, i didn't realize it. and i have no memory of getting up and shutting the alarm off. but, apparently i did. because nobody else in the house at 6:15am has the code except for me!

it makes me nervous to leave the house alarm on when nobody else is in the house. we turn it on when there are residents so we know if one of them runs away during the night. then the alarm goes off. but, if the alarm goes off while i'm here by myself, then that means that something else has opened the door. and that scares me to think about. why am i talking about it now? i don't know. i'm just scaring myself.

it also scares me to think, "what if the phone rings while i'm here alone, but it comes from the inside of the house?!" like, if one of the residents calls me during the night, it's a double ring, cause it's coming from the inside. if an outside caller calls, it's one ring. but what if i hear the double ring when i'm alone?!

oh geeze. this is what i think about. i'm not good at living in houses by myself. especially really old and big ones.

ok. perhaps i need to go do something else now. i think Ruby is ready for supper. and i might go take a bath.

hope you are having a great night. when i started this entry, i told myself i wouldn't talk about anything more than those three pieces of music news. and now look what's happened. so much better!!!!!!

alright. i'll talk to you later!



<3

GOOD THINGS ABOUT TODAY:

1. IT'S MARIA'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!! happy birthday, deer friend. (i know i sent you that deer joke in a text message, but let's face it - it never stops being funny.)

2. The Paper Tongues record came out!!! Their FIRST record! And I bought it! And it's awesome. But if you don't want to buy it - THEY HAVE A FREE SINGLE ON ITUNES!!!! And it's 'Trinity,' which is one of my favorite songs. It's a 'non-rap-ish' song, as opposed to 'Ride to California.' So, you should go get that song. It's free!!! And it's a band with SEVEN PEOPLE in it!!! That's so crazy!

3. Crash Kings got an amazing review from SXSW!!! And I quote, "their high-voltage, non-stop jammin’, all night partyin’ Roxy Showcase – this year in the Rusty Spurs Saloon at SXSW, this three-piece showed Austin city dwellers how to blow out speaker..." And then they also go on to say some sexy things about Tony.

3.5. CRASH KINGS AND JET IN COLORADO SPRINGS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!! The Black Sheep!! 8pm!!!! I'm just putting this information out there.

They were in....Denver?.... yesterday and went skiing and Tony totally destroyed his iPhone. Like, completely shattered the glass. They posted a pic on Twitter. It was fascinating.


alright. i woke up this morning and was already bored. i didn't want to get out of bed. because i was so warm and bored. and now i'm out of bed and i'm cold and bored.

ok. hope you're having a lovely day. it's raining here. again. what's with this? last night it was purple foggy. like, i couldn't see anything out my window because it was so foggy in the mountains, but it was a PURPLE fog. it was crazy and awesome.

talk to you later!

RECAP OF AWESOME:
(maria's birthday!)
(paper tongues record!)
(crash kings in colorado springs!)



alright!!!!

<3

ah, the workforce

What were you really put here on this earth to do? Have you thought about your career lately, or are you content with just a job? Maybe it's time to put some big questions out to the universe and discover your true purpose.


thanks for asking, career horoscope. i HAVE been thinking about my job lately. and i would like to discover my true purpose now please, so i know what to do.

the lady who was cutting my hair today asked,

HAIRCUT LADY: So, did you have to work today?
JULIE: Uhh...no, not today...

i didn't mention that i haven't worked in the past week and a half. or that i filled out my timesheet this morning and was very sad after.

oh geeze. i'm torn. i don't know what to do. about my future life.

here's what i'm going to do with my present life:

make a sandwich and some coffee and watch The O.C.

delish!


<3

Episode 373: Lots of Things Are Exciting

how true!

man, i had a good weekend.

oh wait. i forgot i was in "episode format" and therefore need to be more formal. let's continue...

I discovered last week via Facebook communication with Maria that she and Jason had moved to Rhode Island. I had no idea! And so I said, "Well I must come visit you immediately."

And I did!

I left on Friday just before 11:30am. Stopped at Dunkin Donuts, which took a very long time. BUT BUT BUT!!!!!!

JULIE: Can I get a medium iced mocha raspberry coffee with regular cream and sugar, please?
DUNKERS EMPLOYEE, AMBER: Oh yeah! I remember that drink!!

Yep. She remembered me. I remembered her too. She started working at the one off exit 13 not too long ago. I remember a time when she was still being trained. Ah, they grow up so fast. So, that was cool. It was like the first time at the post office when they knew my box number without me telling them. It's kind of nice to be known in places. It feels like you have more friends.

Then, I was on my way!

Headed south on 89 until I hit 93. I was in a very good mood because this was the day I learned that Crash Kings were the rulers of Alternative Radio. It put me to 'super-excited mode.'

And it was very exciting to drive through Andover, MA, especially with the Crash Kings sticker on my car. I secretly hoped that all the cars around me would roll down their windows at the same time and 'Mountain Man' would be playing on everyone's radio. (I secretly hoped this A LOT.)

If my life were a musical, that would have happened. And perhaps we would all get stuck in a traffic jam and then everyone would get out of their cars and do a choreographed dance to 'Mountain Man' in the middle of 93.

Yeah. I'm thinking about that choreographed dance right now and that WOULD HAVE BEEN SO AWESOME.

Anyways, I continue on my journey on 93 until I see the signs for 95. So, I switch lanes to prepare for my exit. I find myself driving behind a large white van with lots of writing on the back. I am curious as to this writing, so I speed up so I can read it. What does it say in large red letters?? It says,

CAUTION: WEDDING CAKE

Now, this intrigues me very much. Is there a wedding cake right now in that van?? Were they just delivering a wedding cake?? Is someone getting married today?!!?

Then I read that this wedding cake and fine European pastry shop in Braintree, MA was voted "number one wedding cake" on The Today Show. Crazy! And I immediately think of my sister, Kara, who is an amazing cake decorator and overall wonderful baker.

And I'm so enthralled with this truck that I miss the exit for 95. Ah well, this just means I'll have to go through Boston. I am a little excited because my car has never been to Boston before. At least, I haven't taken it there yet, and the last time I was there, was for the show at The Paradise. Lots of good memories.

Anyways, so I drive through Boston and it is exciting. And I continue down 93 until I hit 95 for the second time. I THINK this means that I skipped 128. Which is my least favorite road in all of history. Mainly because I don't understand it. Which leads me to digress and talk about when I am President of the United States...

Quick Recap:

When I am President, there are the new laws that this country will adopt:

1. Drive-thru post offices.
2. Mandatory alphabetization of all grocery stores
3. Birthday holiday.

AND:

4. It will be illegal to name ONE road MORE THAN ONE name.

For instance, "95" and "128." Well, WHICH is it?! 95 or 128?!? No matter HOW many times I am explained this phenomenon, I don't understand it, and therefore, am making it illegal.

The law will be called,

'One Road, One Name.'

Love it.

Let's have it one more time:

1. Drive-thru post offices
2. Alphabetized grocery stores
3. Birthday holiday
4. One road, one name

Things might be crap now, but the future sure looks good. (That could be my campaign slogan.)

ANYWAYS:

I drove 95 through Providence, which also made me think of Kara because she used to live there! Until very recently. I also thought about how the last time I was in Providence, was to see Crash Kings.

ALSO, Friday morning when I was packing up my car I ran into my boss in the driveway and she said,

BOSS: Have a great weekend!
JULIE: Thanks! You too!
BOSS: Where are you headed? To Maine?
JULIE: No, Rhode Island!
BOSS: For the band?
JULIE: No, to see my friend!

But I LOVE how she assumed I was going to see Crash Kings. Like, anytime I leave the house it's to see them.

Back on track:

The drive through Providence was nice. I thought about The Great and Curious Wall. And also Spike's hotdogs.

And then I continued south! I don't remember the names of the roads I went on, or else I would tell you.

But, I took a left exit. And then I took a right. And then I took a left. And then I took another left UNTIL!!!!!

I arrived at Maria and Jason's house!!!!!! SO MUCH FUN. I took my stuff out of the car and immediately tripped over it.

AAAHHHH it was so great to see Maria. I hadn't seen her since Christmas and I don't think I had seen Jason since..... the time I went to NYC during our last year of college. That was a long time ago.

We hung around their super nice, IKEA furnished apartment for a while. Then went for an early dinner at RJ's. We had a strange waiter named Paul. And we heard Julian Casablancas on the radio!!! I was excited by this.

Then, Jason had to go to work, so Maria and I hung around for a bit longer, and then I decided it was time for an "area tour."

We drove past URI, which I recognized from when Kara and I were there for the Phantom Planet/The Format/ZOX concert. AWESOME.

And then we just kept driving. South. on 138. We passed a few Tim Horton's, which was very exciting for me.

WE ALSO PASSED a 'defunct' amusement park!!! ('defunct' quickly became the word of the weekend.)

THE ENCHANTED FOREST OF RHODE ISLAND. In Hope Valley. We drove past it and were immediately amazed. It was so strange. We decided we would stop on our way back.

And we did! There were tiny barricades blocking the entrance, but we managed to park and then just walked around them to get in for a better picture.

I will show you pictures, but not right now because I don't have them uploaded to the computer yet.

The sign was creepy. Especially because it has the word 'enchanted.' And everything is overgrown and grim.

Maria and I decided that we would buy it and restore it to better than it's original glory. If anyone can turn something from grim to enchanted - it's us. Trust me on that.

It was exciting to find this place. It felt like a secret. It reminded me of Tally Hall. I think it was from that internet show where they set off to find Mary-Kate and Ashley, but instead get lost and end up in an abandoned amusement park. (Great video, btw.)

After this incredible find, we headed back for ice cream at this tiny place called Lickety Splits. 24 flavors of soft serve! I got coconut soft serve with chocolate dip. Delish.

(The soft serve ice cream place up here that is located in the parking lot of Home Depot and sounds really sketchy but it really amazing is opening this weekend and I am very excited. Phew.)

Then we went back to the apt and PLAYED ROCKBAND FOR OMG SUCH A LONG TIME.

Have you ever played Rockband? I had never played it. Never even been near a Rockband machine. Which, I don't know what that means. I think I mean the equipment.

Anyways - SO AWESOME. Immediately I wanted this. If I had this game, I would play it non-stop for the rest of my life. So maybe I should never have this game.

I started out playing bass because bass players are totally sexy.

I TOTALLY ROCKED ON:
- 'Here It Goes Again' by OKGO
- 'Buddy Holly' by Weezer

Ummm...that might have been it. It's also a hard game. For the most part, I was convincing myself that it was a defect with the game which was making my score so low. But then Maria or Jason would do it and score perfectly. And so I had to accept that it was simply because I was a Rockband newcomer.

Then, Maria switched to bass and I switched to guitar. Which lead us to a conversation about how they need to add piano to Rockband. Or, as Maria suggested, a keytar. And then I created a new game called, "KEYTAR HERO." A play off the popular, "Guitar Hero."

*And then today, when I was still thinking about creating 'Keytar Hero' I decided that if anyone can make playing a keytar sexy and cool - it's Tony. And then I decided that Crash Kings should totally add a keytar to the band!!! I mean, they already have a keyboard that sounds like a guitar! Why not a keyboard, that sounds like a guitar, that looks like a guitar!?!?! It'd be crazy!!! And then the band slogan would be:

Crash Kings: Blurring the line between guitar and keyboard since 2006.

Brillz! I don't know why they haven't hired me to be band manager yet. I can feel it coming...*

So, we played that for a while. And drank some alcoholic beverages. And then watched Anchorman. Awesome night.

OH. And, we were watching HBO and kind of quite suddenly found ourselves watching this one-man performance called '1,000 Cats' or something like that. Apparently, it's part of this "Funny or Die" TV show.

Um, it was kind of amazing. And kind of ridiculous. A lot ridiculous, actually. But really funny. I found it very funny.

"1,000 cats. 1,000 stories. 9,000 lives." Those were repeating lyrics of the song. It was this middle aged guy dressed in a black unitard and cat ears doing this huge song and dance for like, 12 minutes or something. Maybe longer. Maybe more like 20 minutes. And he had made up this story, kind of, about 1,000 cats. All different kinds of cats. And he was just onstage singing and dancing. Crazy. Oh, it was so weird. (But awesome.)

Then we went to sleep.

Saturday morning we woke up and went to fancy schmancy Newport. We went for sushi, because Maria and Jason had been to this place that they loved and was amazing. But we got there, and the place had closed. Like, gone out of business. Very disappointing. So we walked around and ended up at The Red Parrot. Um, it was delicious. I had mandarin coconut chicken. Ohhhhh it was soooooo good. I can't even describe it. Just imagine the most good thing ever. In food form. YEAH.

Then we drove back. Maria and Jason were very excited to pass in the other direction over the Newport Bridge, because of this "little shack" that you can see from the bridge. I had no idea what to expect. And then finally, we passed by "the shack." It looks like a tiny stone dog house on a little pile of rocks. AND - it's for sale!!! Maria and I decided that we would buy it and transport it to The Enchanted Forest. Turn it into something magical. It only costs $295,000!! It was great.

Then, Jason had to go to work. Maria and I hung around for a little bit more. Then decided to drive to see a lighthouse that Jason had suggested we do. Awesome!

We drove to Point Judith. About.... 15ish minutes away from their house. Nice! A pretty spot that has been overtaken by homeland security. We did not appreciate this, because you couldn't go anywhere near the lighthouse! It was surrounded by chain fencing! And this huge homeland security building! With a giant basketball court! NOT impressed. We hung around anyways.

OH. BUT. Ok, backstory:

The previous night, we had been looking through this Rhode Island magazine, reading ads and whatnot, and we came across an ad for this place called "Iggy's Doughboys and Chowder House" and it had a very strange picture of this "doughboy" who looked a lot like 'Humpty Dumpty' from The Enchanted Forest. We figured he needed a job after the amusement park closed.

And we discussed this for a while. What are doughboys? We came up with the idea that they were fried dough like things. It was a long conversation, I'm sure you can imagine.

SO - CUT TO OUR DRIVE TO THE LIGHTHOUSE:

We're coming up to this small building as we turn the corner to follow the signs for the lighthouse.

MARIA: (reading the sign on the building) Doughboys? IT'S IGGY'S!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, if the caps lock could get any bigger - it would need to be bigger for the amount of volume in her voice. She SCREAMED this. It was a VERY EXCITING time to discover the place that contained the food we imagined as 'fried-dough like.'

We laughed a lot about how loud she screamed. I'm laughing about it again now. So great.

So, on our way back from the lighthouse, we stopped at Iggy's. And ordered ONE DOZEN Doughboy's. As we sat there waiting for them, we realized that most people only order a half dozen. Ah well.

Our number is called. We get the doughboys. The first sign that they would be amazing was that the bag weighed like, 10 pounds. We opened the bag and looked inside. We heard angels and symphonies. The music continued as we ate our first doughboy. OMG SO GOOD. Like a roll of fried dough rolled in sugar. Man. They were delicious. So, so delicious.

We then left Iggy's and went to go visit Jason at work. We brought him a doughboy. He appreciated this a lot. Then we hung around and he took his break. We all went to Starbucks and got delicious beverages.

And then sadly, it was time for me to go. :(

I left just after 7pm. Wow, what a great weekend. I had so much fun. Fun to the max. As always, with Maria.

Seeing as I was on a long car drive, I decided it was going to be my mission to hear 'Mountain Man' on the radio. I had never heard it on the radio before! If you can believe that. It's true. So, I put on WBRU, which was the station that sponsored the Crash Kings concert in Prov. I listened for the whole length of Rhode Island. Which, isn't very long, but still. You'd think you'd hear the number one alternative song in the country.

The station started to get fuzzy just south of Boston so I said,

JULIE: Hmm....what were the numbers of the station sponsoring Earthfest!?

I tried really hard to picture the website.....

JULIE: 92.9!!!!!!!

And I put it on. And listened. I had a better feeling about this one. Heard that song 'Lightening Crashes." Who's that by? Oh, Live. That song is depressing. Heard that famous song by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Commercial. Advertisement for 92.9. "More of the music you love" or whatever. AND THEN.

AND THEN. Right after the advertisement advertising that they play the best songs......

MOUNTAIN MAN!!!!!!!!! Yes yes yes!!!!!!!! Yep, I screamed and CRANKED the volume. On the radio!!!!! I was hearing it for the first time. OMG SO EXCITING!!!!!!! And just as I was driving through Boston, too!!!!! So perfect.

GREAT drive home.

The entire trip was like, 473 miles. And I averaged 50 miles per gallon. Not bad, eh?

I arrived home just after 11pm. Stayed up for a little while. Went to bed around 1:30.

Couldn't sleep. Started sneezing and decided I wasn't tired. Then for some reason started thinking about that restaurant, The Chateau, that you pass on 93. I always make fun of it. It's like, this family Italian restaurant on 93 and it has this super tacky light up sign. But, it's called "The Chateau" which sounds so fancy. I seriously always make fun of it. Whether or not I'm with others or not. It always makes me laugh. Always.

So, I decided to Google it. Turns out, they have multiple locations in Massachusetts. The one that I pass on 93 is, where, you ask? Um, it's in Andover. AND, the pictures look delish. Their menu actually sounds really good. And now I want to go. They have lots of dishes containing fried ravoli as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner! AND, they cater weddings and have a whole wedding package you can do! Yeah, I read all about it in a very long PDF file. That's right.

I also read all about the history of the Nocera family, who own the chain. They're thinking of doing some major expanding. But not too much, because they want to make sure the quality stays the same. The first restaurant opened in Waltham in 1933. Interesting, no!? No, not really. But, it was like, 2:30am and I wasn't tired.

So, I decided that if I don't get married at The Chateau, then I might have my next birthday dinner there. Or heck, maybe even sooner. That's 11 months away.

I also read about employment for The Chateau in Andover. Turns out, they are accepting applications for all positions. Weird. But hey, if things get so bad, I'll take the job and just have to live with Mike and Tony's parents. If worst comes to worst, ya know? We all have to make sacrifices during these tough times. I'm willing to do my part.

ANYWAYS, then I was so bored reading about some other family's history, that I went back to bed. And fell asleep.

AND, had a great sleep until Ruby Tuesday woke me up at 10:30am because she was hungry.

JULIE: No, it's too early for breakfast!

And I pushed her back under the covers and she went back to sleep.

I woke up for good at 12:35pm. I got up and decided that I would be productive today.

I had breakfast and watched a few episodes of Weeds.

THEN, I did all the dishes. Took out the garbage and recycling. Swept and washed the kitchen floor. Did two loads of laundry (including Ruby's food mat and the rug inside my door). Chopped up a bunch of lettuce. Dyed my hair darker although it kind of looks the same. AND painted my nails 'Sonic Bloom,' which is like a neon coral shade that I bought while with Maria.

PHEW. What a busy day!!! But a good day! I had been wanting to wash the kitchen floor for a while now. Ruby hates when I do it. Good thing it hardly ever happens. Now it looks nice. So does her food mat and the rug. Win!

Then I watched, Men Who Stare At Goats. Starring Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. Basically a cast of HOTTIES. I liked it. It was weird. Funny and pathetic. Touching. Hopeful?

Then I watched the special features to learn about all the real people portrayed in the film. It's so hard to believe that this kind of stuff went on in the Army. Crazy.

I also finished Season 5 of Weeds!!!!! AAHHHHH SEASON 6 NOW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! Sooooo good.

And then I sat down to blog. And, two hours have gone by and now I'm here. Yikes. It's 3am. I sat down at 1am and said, "ok, I'll do a quick update." I should have known.

My plan for MONDAY:

- wake up semi-early but probably not really
- post office
- brave up and get the car registered already (oohhhh it's going to be so expensive....)
- maybe get my hair cut, but i haven't decided yet

I spent a lot more time than I should have online today researching hair extensions. Not for length, but for volume. Oohhhhh I want them so bad!!!! If I could charge them to my 'unlimited checking account' then I would. I looked up places in NH that put them in. They're very exclusive and very expensive. I looked up if Supercuts did them. Ha. The internet started laughing at me.

I also did some more researching for the mystery Old Navy song that I can't stop thinking about. Still nothing. ALTHOUGH, there was a very close call with the song, 'Believer' by John Butler Trio. And I said,

JULIE: If that song ends up being by John Butler Trio then I'm going to freak out.

Because I looove their song, 'Zebra.' But, it wasn't.

Then, I sampled every song off the new She and Him album and wished I could buy it. 13 songs for 9.99 was very tempting. But, I resisted. I also thought about preordering the DEBUT ALBUM BY PAPER TONGUES, which is being released on TUESDAY!!!!! But, I didn't. I am very excited. Debut album! From a band I've already seen in concert!! And then I thought about how much I loved their drummer.

And that was all!!!!

Wow. This was a very detailed description of my life since Friday morning. I'm proud of this effort. And also of the fact that I never strayed from the capitalization.

Ok, now I think I'm going to go to bed. It's currently 3:13am. Monday morning. East coast.

Oh, I also watched Hannah Montana while I was waiting for my laundry to be done. Two episodes and I had already seen both of them. ( :/ )

OK!!!! How was your weekend!?!?? Awesome and exciting like mine?!?!?! I hope so. I hope you have fond memories of this weekend like I do.

AND - It's a new week full of possibility! Let's all be excited about that.

OK! Have a great Monday! I'll talk to you all later!!!!!



<3<3<3!!

Hey friends. Time for another episode where julie blogs from her mobile phone. Crazy.

so, i'm in rhode island right now!. Staying with maria and jason in their super nice apartment.
had a lovely but long drive here.

such a great day. We had lots of fun.

i'll update more later.

today (saturday) we're going into newport for some sushi which is supposed to be amazing. And i never turn down sushi.

and then sometime tomorrow i must head back north. It will be a sad time.

until later!. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

:)

she's drunk by the daytime

guess what?

Crash Kings have the number on alternative song in the country!

it's true. i'll have to plan the blog hike sooner than i thought...

wow, what a perfect way to wake up.

and to celebrate their number 1 fame, they made an awesome video which amuses me greatly. especially the part when Mike is sleeping.

wow. i think this is so crazy that i don't even know what to say. i wish i had their phone numbers so i could send them congratulatory texts.

hey, the sun is finally out today!! after like, a whole week of rain and clouds. i bet this has something to do with the number one spot.

the sun shines brighter now that crash kings rule the country.

perhaps i will make that my twitter and facebook status. oh wow this is exciting.

AND!!! in approximately half an hour i will be leaving on my trek to Rhode Island! have i gotten anything ready? nope. i have a lot to do. well, like pack.

so, i should go.

BUT KNOW - that if you haven't started listening to Crash Kings now because you thought it was just some weird band that only Julie likes.... then you can start listening to them NOW. because, the radios have spoken. the people have spoken!!

CRASH KINGS NUMBER ONE WOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!


and now to see Maria!! what a great day!!!



<3

sweetheart

today, i was in a retail establishment and first the employee behind the counter called me "hun" and then he called me "sweetheart."

did i appreciate this? no. no i did not. after he called me 'hun,' i thought, "wow, that was really annoying and inappropriate." and then after he called me sweetheart, i was just plain mad.

i very much dislike when people do that. especially when it's females calling me "hun." not everybody, just people i don't know. like, strangers calling me those names. WHY MUST YOU TALK LIKE THAT!?!? it feels condescending.

that's all.

HOWEVER, the guy behind the counter at Walgreen's tonight could have asked me to marry him and i would have said yes on the spot. he was charming. both to talk to and to look at. i think we had a connection. and he looked like the guy who plays Zac on The O.C. the guy who Summer dates in the beginning of the second season. after Seth. YEAH. hottie, right!?!

and while i was checking out (both my items and the hottie) his MOM came and picked him up from work. adorable? yes. and you could tell he was kind of embarrassed and didn't know how to react. it was awesome and awkward.

anyways. what was i buying at Walgreen's, you ask?

- hair conditioner
AND
- hair dye

SUPER BLONDE!!! remember?!! i stood in the hair dye aisle for a long time trying to decide which bleachy blonde would work to bleach out the streaks. and then i saw SUPER BLONDE. and even though it's a little more expensive that normal hair dye, i KNOW it really works!!!

because remember when i had SUPER BLONDE hair?!?!




and that was going from dark brown. that was a cool time. when i was blonde. EVERYDAY i wish i had streaked my hair teal then. why didn't i? I DON'T KNOW. i have no idea.

that photo was taken on the night of the Ben Lee/Rooney concert! the first time i saw Rooney! AT THE PARADISE! where i just saw Crash Kings. amazing how that works out. and i'm pretty sure the reason that Robert Schwartzman didn't remember me when i met him this time was because of the hair color change....

anyways.

so, i've got the blonde. i'm hoping people will give me some guidance as to the streakage. i wish i had someone to help me. how many streaks should i do?? i'm definitely thinking a tiny one in my bangs. although, a tiny piece would be hard to SUPER BLONDE and then teal.

Ryan sent me a link to the hair dye that she uses when she dyes her hair super awesome colors and it's much, much cheaper than the Manic Panic. and she says it lasts longer. when i saw her, her hair was a super cool mix of purple and green.

AND I REMEMBER standing behind her at Great Scott after seeing Crash Kings and Paper Tongues and thinking, "wow, she has cool hair."

true story!!

anyways, cheaper. it doesn't specifically come in teal. but, she says the 'indigo blue' is pretty much the same thing. and i trust her!


so that's that.


also, today i was looking at my bank account online and saw a credit for $5 from somewhere i have no idea what it is. why would i have a $5 credit?!? not like, a credit card charge - but like, $5 EXTRA. like a deposit. but from where? i have no idea. are people supposed to be worried when they get MORE money in their bank accounts? i mean, if it was money being taken away, then yes. but more? $5 more? hm, i don't know.


ALSO - season 5 of Weeds is available to watch instantly on netflix!!!! so i watched a lot of weeds today. so good!!!!!! i was very excited about this.


SO TODAY (friday) I AM GOING TO VISIT MARIA!!!!! in Rhode Island!!!! the last time i was in Rhode Island was to see Crash Kings with Kara!! what a great state!!!! i'm so excited to see her apartment!!!! and get some good hang out time in. i haven't seen her since christmas.

PLUS - it's her birthday next week. even better because birthdays are the best.


i found this great video on youtube tonight of Crash Kings covering JET!!!! yes, it's true. i thought it was a big hoax when i read the description. but NO!!!

the video starts and they're playing some of 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' and then Tony says, "and they have that other song that goes...." and then he starts playing 'Look What You've Done.'

and then he talks for a few seconds about when JET came over to their parents house for dinner. he said that after ten bottles of wine and some whiskey, their house was not the same.

but! it reminded me of the time before i saw JET and i would try and sing their song to you in this blog. and it never really worked out because it's hard to sing in written form. but i'd be like, "and the other song i know goes like this!!!" and then i would 'sing' it for you.

anyways - it sounds better when Tony does it. much.like.everything.else.

:)


ok let's see. what else did i want to tell you real quick?

maybe that's all?

Ruby Tuesday is conveniently waiting in the kitchen for her second supper. every time i walk into the kitchen, she is waiting for me. and then starts to either meow or roll around on her back. aw she's so cute.

it's really nice to have her in the house with me. because if she weren't here, i think i'd go crazy. especially when it's empty like this.

OK!!! i think that's all.

do you have any awesome plans for the weekend?!?! tell me about them!!!

anyways, i'll be back here on saturday ready to tell you about all of our fun best friend adventures. AHI'MSOEXCITED!!!!

have a great day!! i'll talk to you later!!!


<3

::::CORRECTION::::

ok, so in the post below this one i wrote that 'Mountain Man' was number 8 on the Billboard Top Ten Alternative songs.

WELL, I WAS WRONG. and i just found this out via Twitter.

UM, IT'S NUMBER 2.

that's right. #2. on BILLBOARD MAGAZINE'S TOP ALTERNATIVE RADIO SONGS.

and #17 on the Top Rock Songs!!!!!

um, i can't tell you how excited this makes me.

if Mountain Man reaches number 1 (or should i say, "when mountain man reaches number one") then we'll have a blog party.

we'll go on a HIKE!!! get it? Mountain Man? hike? YES. and now that the weather is warmer it will be perfect.

wow. i'm so excited for Crash Kings.

i had a Crash Kings dream last night. the dream was that were staying at my house in between shows and i tweeted, "@crashkings are staying at my house!" yes - i was on twitter even in my dream.

and they all slept in Kara's room. there were conveniently three beds in there.

oh, it was a great dream. but, no tequila involved. SEE! i can have nice dreams about Tony where we are not doing tequila shots. good to know.

ANYWAYS - i had to share that with you. OH I'M SO EXCITED for them!! they're going to be so super famous it's not even funny.


ok. hope you're having a great day so far. talk to you later!!


<3

burn to the end of seventeen

BURN TO THE END!

love it. 'Seventeen' by JET. that's the song where they have the audience sing part of it. ya know, cause i've seen JET three times now.

so, where did we leave off? OH YEAH - i was having a great day!!


SATURDAY:

I woke up and was very bored. already. after having been awake for 10 seconds.

here's the story about my job currently: we have no babies anymore. and no residents. ZERO. so, i still have a job. but, i'm not doing any work. it's a very strange and lonely time.

so, i had no plans for saturday. just to be alone and bored.

BUT THEN!!! around 3:30pm i was sitting at my computer and suddenly heard, 'It's Only Wednesday' start to play.

JULIE: Hey, alright! I love this song!

but then i realized that it wasn't playing through my computer - it was my phone ringing in the other room.

so, i got up and ran to my bedroom, just in time to miss the call. it was Emily! i listened to her voicemail and she said that her and David were skiing at Mt. Sunapee and they wanted to stop by for a quick visit!!!

i IMMEDIATELY called her back and after a few failed phone calls due to crappy cell phone service on I-89, we made a plan!!!! they would be here in 40ish minutes!!!!!!!

OH MAN - THE DAY GOT AWESOME.

seriously - from that moment on - i had GREAT SUPER EXCITING DAY.

so, Emily and David came!!! they got here around 4:20ish and stayed until 7:45ish or so. oh man - it was the best. and the fact that it was so unplanned made it even more fun.

we hung around and talked for a while. getting caught up with our lives. i hadn't seen them since David's birthday celebration in october. wow. that's a long time.

anyways - then we walked down to Salt Hill and got dinner. so good. so fun. then we walked back to the house and sadly, they had to be on their way back to Lowell.

sooomuchfun to see them. we collectively decided that Emily and I will buy around-the-world plane tickets and travel together while David stays at home, works and sends us money. i believe we also came up with a plan that we all live in a big house together and it will be like Jan Term forever.

:)

THEN, i was sad after they left. because i was alone again.

and i was walking through my kitchen when suddenly, i heard 'It's Only Wednesday' start to play AGAIN!!!!! i ran to the phone to see who was calling..... it was RYAN!!!! my awesome Crash Kings travel buddy!!!!

she was IN AUSTIN at SXSW calling from the CRASH KINGS SHOW!!!!!!! it had just ended and she wanted to tell me all about it. oh, it was awesome. and it made me SUPER EXCITED. like, so excited i can't even use words to describe.

oh. so. great. and it put me in the same constant excited mood that i was in for the whole Crash Kings Roadtrip Weekend.

and i was excited the rest of the night.

THEN, on sunday i woke up and was still excited. and i decided i didn't want to be alone because i wanted others to share my excitement.

so, i drove home to maine!!! and was excited with my mom.

we hung out at home for a bit. then drove to the beach. Wells, Maine to see the place where kara will be working for the summer. Kara is going to be like, a super big shot baker at this place called Pine Tree.....Shop? Pine Tree Beach? The Pine Tree...Place? Pine Tree Place? Pine Tree Place Bakery and Gift Shop? something along those lines. right on Route 1. kind of across from the mini-golf course.

we walked around the gift shop. it was full of way-too-expensive-weathered-looking-things for your fancy beach house.

then we went and got shakes from McDonald's and drove over to Drake's Island. our fave beach. and drank yummy shakes and watched the ocean.

i had really been wanting to go to the beach for some reason. weird, because normally people have to drag me there or bribe me with something in order to get me to go to the beach. i guess that's more in the summertime when you actually have to get out of your car and go sit in the sand.

then we drove home.

then kara came home. we all hung out. my mom and i started watching Weeds, Season 5. i ended up watching the whole disc. so good! i can't believe how old Shane looks!

then went to bed around 3am.... i think.

woke up around 10.

went downstairs and watched Teen Cribs..... or something like that...... on MTV. it's not a show about pregnant teens, it's a show about really rich teens with super fancy houses. basically, it's disgusting.

then Kara and i spent most of the afternoon coming up with a layout for the bakery she will someday own. i came up with the name: Kara's Cupcakery and Crepery. um, best name ever, right? kara kept saying that she wanted to own a cupcake bakery. and so i said, "why not call it Kara's Cupcakery?" at first i think she thought it was a joke. but then realized i was serious. and then she said she also wanted to own a Crepe Bakery. and then i added the "and Crepery" to the title. i love it.

AND, downstairs from Kara's Cupcakery and Crepery will be a place called "The Donut Hole" which will be a donut shop BUT ALSO a hip music venue.

KARA: The Donut Hole downstairs, where bands can come and play!
JULIE: Like The Middle East downstairs?!?
KARA: EXACTLY LIKE THAT.

yeah. um, it's gonna be the best place ever. we planned out menus, color schemes and another section of The Donut Hole called 'Julie's Juicery,' which was modeled after the juice bar on the tv show JONAS. but, i'm not entirely sure that branch is happening.

and then, i left. headed back north to new hampshire. arrived home around....5ish? maybe. hung out for the rest of the night.

TUESDAY:

we had staff meeting.
and then i hung around for the rest of the night!

WEDNESDAY:

.......hung around for the whole day!!!


yep. oh, i also applied for a job at The Gap today. because i realized that, although it's been nice just totally hanging around for this strange, lonely time - i am not making any money. and now i have car payments on my car, which i am finally starting to feel comfortable driving.

IT'S TWO WEEKS OLD TODAY!!! aw. wow. they grow up so fast, don't they?!

my plan for thursday includes:

THURSDAY:
- maybe go get the car registered
- go to the post office (i'm getting 'Men Who Stare At Goats' and 'Broken Embraces.' very excited about both of those selections.)

OH. the Hollywood Video up here is going out of business. YES. i drove by the other night and there was a big 'STORE CLOSING' sign on it. i gasped in horror and somehow resisted the urge to turn in.

hm.

i might also streak my hair teal. for real this time. i know i've talked about doing it for like....four years. three years? no, i think four years. wait, actually it might be five years. i was in my second year in college when i first tried to streak my hair teal. without bleaching first. and it didn't work. i remember because Rachel helped me. and also, possibly Emily!

anyways. i might do it. why not? i'm not getting any younger. i've wanted to do it for so long. i posted it as my facebook and twitter status today and got LOTS of great feedback from people encouraging me to do it.

maybe i'll do it.

OHMYGOD. so, i go onto the website that i've looked at a million times for teal hair dye. Manic Panic. i've been to this site a whole bunch. almost bought teal hair dye a lot of times.

so, i go there JUST NOW and whose picture is on the very front page?!?!?!?!?!!?

JULIAN CASABLANCAS. he uses Manic Panic to dye his hair awesome colors. but remember he followed me all around the internet until i finally bought his cd on iTunes and now i love him???
YEAH. it was around Christmastime and like, every website i would go to, or every article i would read had some mention of Julian Casablancas.

and now he wants me to dye my hair. the Manic Panic website is the last place i expected to find him. but he's there. and i consider that a sign.

THIS IS THE COLOR i would get. Atomic Turquoise. ohhhhsoooopretty.

oh man i really want to do it. the question is: how many teal streaks should i put in? one? two? three? i need some feedback/support from you, friends. and maybe someone who can give me a really good reason not to do it.


remember how much i love hair wraps? yeah. i love hair wraps. they are so cool.


ooo that hair dye is $17. yikes. i didn't think it'd be that much.

anyways. i guess i'm still thinking about it. on a scale of 1 to 100% i'm at like, 75%.


and now for the part where i talk about Crash Kings:

SO, there is this awesome video that someone took of Tony performing at SXSW last week. OMG it's a totally hott video of him solo on the piano playing 'Non-Believer' which is a totally gorgeous song. gorgeous man, gorgeous song - why wouldn't you watch?!!

and if you don't want to watch the whole video - let it load, and watch from 2:00 to 2:30. that's only 30 seconds. surely you have 30 seconds to spare!!!!

OH MAN - the part at like, 2:20 makes my heart melt. like, for real. it gives me chills. yeah. WHOA. okay.

ALSO: i have a new favorite video on youtube and i would like you all to see it.

YES, it is a Crash Kings related video, but NO, there is no Crash Kings music. the video is only :23 seconds long. SURELY you have time for :23 seconds! it's entitled, "Hottie on the Keyboard" and it is brilliant. kind of self explanatory, but also not. which is why i encourage you to watch it. it makes me giggle every time.

AND IF YOU WANT TO WATCH CRASH KINGS TOTALLY KILL ON 'MOUNTAIN MAN,' then please do so here. :)

you might know that song because it's currently #8 on the Billboard Top 10 Alternative Radio Songs. YEP. and i'd like to take some responsibility for that. partly because i believe i have mentioned Crash Kings in pretty much every blog post since December. and partly because i am a Crash Queen. so,

Dear Crash Kings,

You're welcome.

Love,
Julie

:)

and that Mountain Man video is great because the CROWD GOES WILD. and Tony's smile at the end while the crowd is SCREAMING is amazing.

OH, BUT BE WARNED, Tony does shout a profanity during the song, so consider this video "not safe for work." or, "nsfw" as the kids say. also, not appropriate for young children. if there are any young children reading this. but please, i welcome young children to watch the "hottie on the keyboard" video. that one is fun for all ages.

ALRIGHT, friends. i think i've covered all that needs to be covered. and possibly more.

AND THIS WEEKEND - i'm going to the great state of RHODE ISLAND to visit my bestest friend MARIA. yessss!!!!!! she just moved there!!!! i am super excited. also because her birthday is next tuesday!!!!!!

how convenient that the day of Maria's birthday is the day that Crash Kings will be in COLORADO SPRINGS, which is the great city that Maria's brother DAVE lives in!!!!! wow. what a strange happening. perhaps it's a sign that Dave and Renee should buy tickets to see the show. JET and Crash Kings. i'd see it again 100 times. for sure.

OKAY. now, i believe that is all.

i hope you're having a wonderful day, morning, night - whenever you are reading this. currently in my time zone it's 12:52am.

my goal is to be in bed by 3am. my horoscope told me to get a good night's sleep tonight.

alright, take care. be well, friends. i'll talk to you again soon :)



<3u.

Episode 368: Julie Has A Great Day

I had a great day today. The boring, lonely day that I was anticipating turned out to be totally wonderful and exciting.

However, it's 3:42am right now and I'm going to bed. I will tell you all about it later, don't worry.

And I don't know why I'm suddenly referring to the blog posts as 'episodes,' but for some reason it makes it formal enough for me to use proper capitalization.

We'll see how long that lasts.

Hope you're having the great weekend that I'm having!!


<3

Episode 367: Julie Has A Boring Day

In this episode, our hero, Julie, has an uneventful, boring day. Stay tuned to find out what went on!



First, I woke up.

About an hour later, I decided I wanted to eat bruschetta and watch last night's episode of The Office and 30 Rock.

I went to get the 'bruschetta' bread and discovered it was moldy. I inspected the mold. Cool. Then I decided I would use my whole wheat multi-grain bread instead.

Still delish, although the bread turned out a little soggy.

Episode of 30 Rock was totes hilars. I laughed really hard when Liz is going on about how great Tracy's life with his family is and then she says, "Know what I have? A Sims family that keeps getting murdered." Yeah, I laughed for a while. Also appreciated the amount of the Che picture that Liz keeps tacked to her bulletin board.

Then I wasted some time.

Then I tried to rework my car insurance but the website kept getting errors and so finally after like, an hour, I gave up and was frustrated.

Then I decided to take my frustration out in the form of being crafty.

Here is the craftiness progression:





(note Ruby Tuesday and a pack of diapers in the background....)







Voila!! A pretty pot of fake purple flowers.


Then, I made Kara an anklet. I call it, "Blue Sunrise." It's a repeating rainbow progression of color. I don't want to post a picture because I want it to be a surprise for Kara.

Then, I fiddled around and tried to make a pair of chandelier earrings, but I couldn't get a design I liked. At first I was imagining them crystal and silver beads. But then I thought about adding color. But then I kept thinking about the crystal and silver. Now I'm undecided.

Then, I restrung the "sister crystal" that me and Aliya have to hang in my new car. I added some extra beads and a real clasp and hung it in the car!!



The Sister Crystal keeps me safe while driving. I haven't had it in the new car, and maybe that's why I've been so uneasy about driving.


Then I called my mom.

Then I had a bowl of chocolate cheerios.

Then I did some intense research on the song I heard in Old Navy back in January and still can't figure out what it is. Still no luck. Although, there was a very close call with this band called Fanfarlo, which I might be interested in listening to more of.

Then I went and washed out my earring with alcohol. Why? Because it's infected. Again. I've had this piercing ONE YEAR. ONE YEAR THIS MONTH. And it's still getting infected like, every two weeks. Why do I put up with it? Why don't I just take it out forever? I DON'T KNOW. I can't explain it. I guess I kind of like it. But it drives me crazy.

Then I decided it was time to finish season 1 of The O.C. SO I DID. (I might have cried a little. Just a little...) (Like when Seth and Ryan were saying goodbye to each other.) ( :'( )

While painting my fingernails black.

And my toenails 'steel.'

Then I got a letter ready to mail to my new BFF Lindsay who works at Toyota of Portsmouth. I enclosed a note on teal paper. She sent me a note in the mail the other day and it was on lime green paper!!! And I said to myself, "if she can send me a note on lime green paper, then I can send her a note on teal paper!!" SO I DID. Clearly the exchanging of professional notes on awesomely colored paper means we're BFF.

Then I got a little sad because Crash Kings tweeted saying that Jason has a horrible case of food poisoning. :( Feel better Jason.


Then Ruby Tuesday was playing with her favorite toy and it was really cute:



(note: Huggies diapers, again, and my Coconut Records tote.)


Then I watched the video of Chris Cornell singing 'Imagine' on Conan O'Brien while Tony plays piano. This was back on 11 September 2009.

And then I decided to blog.

Do you realize that someone has a birthday coming up? Two very important birthdays are in our future.

Scratch that - FOUR very important birthdays are in our future.

1. MARIA
2. Celine Dion
3. Ewan McGregor
4. THE BLOG

Can you believe we've been here at Blogger for almost one year!? Seems like only yesterday that we were saying goodbye to the livejournal, where we made our home for so many years.... And I planned the first ever online ribbon cutting ceremony for the new blog. This blog.

Man, I don't mean to brag - but I totally rock at planning ribbon cutting ceremonies. I should be a professional ribbon cutting ceremony planner. I have experience in both real-life ceremonies, and online ones.

Ya know what? I feel like I'm pretty good at planning online parties too. Remember when we had Blog Reader Appreciation Week and I planned a different event for each night? YEAH. Um, that rocked.

I should be an online event planner. It's probably the way of the future. I feel like I could team up with Myspace. They seem to always be hosting online things.

Anyways. That was my day. And then some.

Currently it's 2:55am. Saturday morning. Once again, I'm alone in the big house. Last night I was really creeped out. The house phone rang at 4am and it freaked me out. And then I couldn't sleep. And then I had to go down to the staff office and log the phone call. And I don't like walking around the empty house at night time. It's shadowy and creaky. Two things that don't mesh.

Plan for Saturday? Nope. Nada. Nothing. None. There is no plan. Except try and be awake before the post office closes so I can go get the first disc of season 2 of The O.C.

I was thinking about Crash Kings performing at SXSW and how Ryan is going. And how Elizabeth lives in Austin. And I said,

JULIE: I have the weekend off!!! I could fly to Austin for a few nights!!! And stay with Elizabeth!!! And meet up with Ryan for the show!!!!!

And then I thought about how I now have car payments.... It was a bummer moment. If I had an 'unlimited checking account,' (which Kara and I constantly joke about having) then I would have gone.

I miss Elizabeth. I think about her every time I look at my 'I heart Poe' button that I have hanging on my fridge. I should write her a letter.

Maybe I will write letters as my plan for Saturday. Maybe I will go somewhere and write them. That could be a fun and fulfilling plan. I like it.

Okay. 3:06am now. I'm going to get into bed and try and go to sleep. I'm not sure if I'm tired.

Thanks for tuning in to Episode 367: Julie Has A Boring Day.

After writing this entry, I feel like maybe it wasn't so boring after all.....




<3

show yourself!

HOROSCOPE FOR TODAY, 19 MARCH 2010:

Things could be taken to the next level today, so don't shy away from asking someone out on a date. Perhaps an office flirtation will move from a professional to personal relationship. If you don't have anyone in your scope, keep your eyes peeled as secret admirers will likely reveal themselves at this time.



DEAR SECRET ADMIRERS,

It's okay, you can come out now.

love,
Julie



<3

all i know, is there must be something more

oohhhhh what a day, what a day.

let's start from the night.

i had a fun night playing mom to the newborn. although, i don't think Ruby Tuesday liked it. it felt a little like when they bring the baby home in Lady and the Tramp. or, that's how i felt. but, Ruby and i spent all day today snuggling, so that makes up for it.

anyways. the baby was up from 1:15 until about 3.
then from 4:15 to about 5:20.

then we were supposed to wake up at 7:15 for another feeding....so i set my alarm for 7:05, just because i knew i had to bring him to daycare at 8am and i wanted to have time to pack up all his things, etc.

so, my alarm went off at 7:05. i hit snooze. and woke up again at 7:55am. aw, crap. baby was still sleeping.

so i JUMPED out of bed, packed up the diaper bag, threw on a sweatshirt, picked up the baby and brought him down to daycare. that was sad. i kissed him goodbye.

THEN, i went down to the office because i was driving the resident to an appointment at 8:15. it was now like, 8:05. and it takes like, 15 minutes to get there.

so, i get the keys to the van and then decide i'll go upstairs and tell her we should go.

i go upstairs, and she's still asleep in bed. ugh.

i wake her up and tell her we need to leave right now so get ready!!!!!!!

then i go downstairs and wait. we don't leave the house until like, 8:15, which was the time the appointment was for.

we get to the place at like, 8:30 and THEY SAY IT'S TOO LATE. uuugghhhh. great.

i'm also like, living in zombieland due to lack of sleep and very early hours. (note the 'zombieland' reference even though i haven't seen the movie. hear it has great music, though...)

ANYWAYS. so we drive back to the house. things are very panicky for like, 15 minutes.

finally, i am able to go back upstairs to my house. and i give Ruby a hug and tell her it's time to go back to sleep.

and it took me a loooong time to fall asleep. at first i thought it was going to be easy, but then i couldn't keep my eyes closed. and it kind of felt like i was on a roller coaster.

and then i slept until like, 2pm. mmm. nice.

THEN i went to the post office. got some Netflix.

then i had to go to wal-mart to buy cat food. so i did that. and also bought the new chocolate cheerios.

drove home. man, it's very hard for me to get used to this new car. it's like i've never driven anything before in my life. is this normal with new cars? to feel like you're the worst driver on the road? i can't get used to the car.

on tuesday i read the manual for the car. and i read it while sitting in the car to see if just being in the car more would make me feel more comfortable in it. but, not really.

BUT! there was an awesome section in the manual titled:

When You Want to Take a Nap in the Car

and it was about making sure to keep things safe while you're taking a nap. this made me laugh, really, really hard.

how often do people say, "ah, this is a good afternoon for a nap. i think i'll go out to the car." i mean, i know that people occasionally nap in their cars, but does there really need to be a whole section on it?!! wow, i still think this is really funny.

i tried to take a picture of the title to post as a twitter update, but the picture kept coming out blurry.

anyways. i drove home today and immediately had a bowl of chocolate cheerios. AAHHHHHHH THEY ARE SO GOOD. especially with vanilla soy milk. YUM DELISH TO THE MAX. ok, i had two bowls. and i watched an episode of The O.C.

i admit - i'm very sick of this Ryan-Marissa-Theresa drama. UGH. why can't it just be OVER?!! and now Theresa is living in the Cohen house!??! UUGGHH.

i was thinking today about The O.C. and remembered that SNL Digital Short with Shia LaBeouf that was a spoof of the final episode. didn't like, everyone die? does everyone die at the end of this show?! that would be weird and depressing.

i can't believe Julie is marrying Caleb. that's funny.

anyways. that's my O.C. update for the night.

here's my SXSW update:

TALLY HALL AND CRASH KINGS ARE BOTH PERFORMING AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!

Tally Hall is at Emo's and Crash Kings are at the Rusty Spur!!!!!!

how do you pick?!?! who do you go see?!?!? WHY would the scheduling board of SXSW schedule these two bands to perform on the same night!???! CRUEL!!! although, i think Crash Kings is also performing tomorrow, and saturday night. or maybe just saturday? i can't remember.

anyways. if i have any readers at SXSW right now, please enjoy the music.

and i REALLY hope that the Tally Hall guys and the Crash Kings guys hang out after the show. ooooo they MUST be BFF because they were on tour together for like, a month! i'm so excited about the prospect of red tie hanging out with Tony. toomuchhottness.

oh, alright. i guess that's all for now. it's early still. 10:39pm. thursday night. i keep thinking it's friday. i've been so mixed up on my days ever since coming back from the Crash Kings Roadtrip Weekend.

also - i reealllly have had to restrain myself from going to see the new Robert Pattinson movie, Remember Me. i reeallllly want to see it. and it's playing in the local sketch theater. (the one that needs the new sign letters. although, they're getting better. 'Avatar' is now spelt, 'Auatar.")

it was really hott in my apartment today. it's been really hott outside. really? already? it wasn't even that cold this winter! come on!!!! i'm not ready for warm weather.

ok. i'm going to make supper and watch The Time Traveler's Wife. i'm secretly very excited about seeing this. well, not so secret because i talked about it last night and i'm talking about it again right now. i feel like i saw the trailer about one million times, so now i'm excited about seeing it for real!!!!!

alright friends, i'll talk to you later. have a wonderful end to the week!!!!! i bet you all have super hott fancy plans for the weekend, right!??! awesome!!!! me too!!!!!! actually, no i don't. i have no hott fancy plans for the weekend. i guess i just got excited.

ok. have a great night. take care, be well, no worries.



<3

an outlaw for my love

so, i've got the newborn baby for the night. talk about taking work home with you, right?

geeze, i feel like Sandy Cohen when he brought Ryan home! omg, my life is sooo much like The O.C. it's crazy.

except, Kirsten didn't approve of Ryan at first. but, if Sandy had brought home this little baby, everyone would have immediately fallen in love with him.

he's pretty much been sleeping ever since i've had him. i fed him his bottle around 10:15, but he only ate 1.5 ounces. he was too tired to eat! he kept falling asleep. sleepy little guy.

anyways, he seems to like listening to Crash Kings and JET. get the kids started on good music at an early age. that's what i like to say. 2 weeks old isn't too little to start to rock!! for serious.

aw man babies are cute. and tiny.

i need to make a video of newborns sneezing and yawning. it would be the number one video on youtube for like, ever. because it would be all people want to watch. because it's the cutest thing ever. just sneezing and yawning. because no matter how many times you see it, it never gets old.

it's so weird looking at this baby and thinking, "i remember seeing you before you were born!!" remember i went to that ultrasound with his mother and we saw him blinking at us on the tv screen? THAT was crazy. and now the fact that he's sleeping next to me right now is ever crazier. right?!

anyways.

i was eating a piece of my staff meeting chocolate raspberry birthday cake earlier and listening to Crash Kings and i got SO HAPPY. like, at that moment, life could not have gotten any better. things were perfect!!! cake and Crash Kings. MAN. i was so happy.

anyways. thursday i am excited because i am getting the final disc of season 1 of The O.C. AND i'm getting The Time Traveler's Wife. yep. cheesy rom com. actually, i don't know if it's a rom com. i don't think so. more just a cheesy rom, i think.

OH HEY, it's sad that Alex Chilton died, right?! yeah! the singer in Big Star! who they are honoring at South by Southwest on Saturday, i think. that's sad. he was only 59.

MAN. i wish i could go to SXSW!!!!

my favorite Phantom Planet (performance) video on youtube comes from SXSW!!!! they're doing 'Knowitall.' i love that song. and i love the way they sing this.

Ryan is going to see Crash Kings perform!!! SOOOOOOOOOOO jealous. but SUPER EXCITED for her. i bet they're gonna kill it. yeah. totes. and then get back to the JET tour.


SO, Kate Winslet is on vaca in mexico right now. apparently, there are already rumors that her and Leo are hooking up. but, according to a "source" those rumors are "absolutely not true." which means that they ARE TOTALLY TRUE!!!!!!!

oh geeze. i'm so excited.

also, i forgot to tell you this when it happened - but i'm now following ALL THREE Jonas Brothers on Twitter. yep. first it was Joe. and then last week Kevin joined. and then i said, "ah, what the heck!" and so now i'm following Nick too. YES. so far, it's amazing.

we're excited to have them on the Bro Tour 2011.

oh man every time i think about the actual possibility of the Bro Tour happening, i get soo excited. it would be too much amazing to handle, i think. shall we recap?


BRO TOUR 2011 featuring:

HANSON
JONAS BROTHERS
KINGS OF LEON
CRASH KINGS
JET
with special guests
ROBERT and JASON SCHWARTZMAN

and then of course the opening band will be called the Non-Brother Band and will be composed of the 'non-bro members' of Crash Kings, Kings of Leon and JET.

jason (crash kings) on drums.
marc (jet) on bass
cam (jet) on guitar
louis (jet) on the keys
(guy from kings of leon) on whatever he plays

hopefully 'kings of leon guy' sings. he can do lead vocals.

i should come up with a tour poster.

my friend Dave (who lives in colorado springs where crash kings will be in like one week!!) sent me the link to this awesome article all about brother bands!!! i'll have to find the link he sent and post it for you. it was actually a super great article. it like, rated the brother bands in terms of sibling rivalry.

i think Hanson was the band with the LEAST amount of sibling rivalry. Jonas Brothers was near Hanson. Kings of Leon was towards the middle, i think. Crash Kings didn't make the list. but, if they did, then they would be right around Hanson. Mike and Tony are BFF. and i think Oasis was the band with the most. Noel and Liam aren't invited on the Bro Tour because 1. Oasis broke up and 2. we don't want any stage fights.

ok. anyways. i should get out of this Bro Tour fantasy i'm living in.

there's like, 15 minutes before the baby needs to eat again. so, i'm going to go get ready. it's very stressful caring for a baby. because you have to do everything right. because babies can't do anything! i filled up all his bottle with water. they just need to be mixed with formula and warmed. or, the other way around. and i set up a diaper changing station in pretty much every room.

it's a big job. pretending to be a mother.

earlier, the JET song 'Cold Hard Bitch' came on and i said, "uh oh, this isn't appropriate for a baby." so, i had to switch it. too bad, cause it's a great song! but not for little ears.

maybe i should play 'Non-Believer' by Crash Kings so he can start to learn the days of the week.

OR, 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' by JET. then he could learn to count to 6!!

alright. for realz now. we're gonna move shop into my bedroom so that after the feeding i can go right to bed.

i'll be playing my lullabies tonight for sure. i wish they made lullaby versions of Crash Kings songs. maybe i'll tweet to them about that. i'm sure they'll get right to it. i bet they would be good lullabies, though.

OK. hope you all are having a great time doing whatever you are doing. and are having a great day. morning. night. whatever.

my plan for thursday = do nothing.

goodnight!!! sweet dreams!!!!!



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