What’s Going On

My summer is coming to an end. Continue reading

How My Tamagochi Would Always Die

In elementary school, before Pokemon, I had a Tamagochi. If you don’t remember Tamagochis, you probably didn’t grow up in the 90s or you were a home-schooled weirdo a la Cady Heron. Continue reading

Things I Think About While on the Toilet

We all think to ourselves when we’re on the toilet. You don’t want to admit to anyone what you’re really thinking about. I’m not afraid to share with the world the thoughts going through my mind every morning.

1.         “Maybe I shouldn’t have had that coffee.”

I don’t know what it is about coffee, but it really gives me an unpleasant experience in the bathroom. I know you fine readers would not like to hear the details. Why does it have to be so delicious?

2.         “Why do people bring reading materials with them into the bathroom to take a dump?”

I’m fairly certain that if you have time to read in the bathroom while taking a shit you either have a bad constipation problem or you are avoiding going back to doing whatever it was you were in the middle of before going to the bathroom. I will admit, I’ve sent many a tweet or text while in the bathroom, but reading trashy celeb gossip mags is not my bathroom forte.

3.         “I wonder what [insert name of crush here] is thinking about right now”

This one doesn’t have much to do specifically about going to the bathroom, since I think about it almost all of the time, but sitting on the toilet alone makes me much more vulnerable to the person I’m currently crushing on. I’m sure you can relate. The toilet stall is a very vulnerable, evil place leaving you with only your thoughts to keep you safe.

4.         “I’m glad I got that out of my system. When am I eating next?”

The best part about dropping one is that you now have more room for more food. Seriously, what is better than a post-crap snack? I really don’t know.

These are the things that cross my mind while taking a dump. Feel free to comment below with your own personal mid-dump thoughts.

The Evolution of the Concert-Going Experience

I’ve been going to concerts since the wee age of four, and I have seen a lot of change between even these 17 years of concerts and shows. Going to a concert in this day and age is a lot different than how our parents went to concerts.

Think back to the 60s and 70s (or imagine for those of us that weren’t there). Everyone went to a concert, drank a lot, and probably did drugs they shouldn’t have been doing. Lighters were thrown up in the air during slow songs. Everyone swayed back and forth to the music (for those on drugs, sometimes to their own beat). For an awesome example, check out the documentary Gimme Shelter by the legendary Albert Maysles that follows The Rolling Stones on their free show called the Altamont Free Concert.

I never realized how much my own concert experiences have changed over the years. I remember going to shows when I was growing up, not seeing almost any cameras in the air. Digital cameras weren’t around much growing up, and those disposable ones you get at your local drug store just didn’t cut it for those big arena shows. Lighters were still thrown in the air. Thank god.

These days we see constant cameras and phones in the air. Lighters have evolved into cell phone screens lit up or those flashlight iPhone apps. Almost entire concerts are recorded by one annoying person with their Flip cam up in the air the whole time and thrown on YouTube. I notice this a lot, and it makes me sad. I almost never bring a camera with me to shows. One reason is a fear of losing it somewhere in a mosh pit, but the other is that I don’t want to have something in the middle of myself and the artist I’m seeing. I like seeing a band right there in front of me, nothing in between.

I went to see Taking Back Sunday last night (emo throwback), and the lead singer, Adam Lazzara brought up this point a couple times in the show. He basically yelled at everyone to take their cameras down, stop filming the show, and just have fun. It was a little blunt, but I can’t help but agree. No one gives a shit about videos of a band live on YouTube. They never look or sound good. They’re pointless to watch. Just put your Flip cam down (they’re dead anyways), dance, and have a good time. It’s so much more worth it than a Facebook album of 300 pictures that no one will look at.

“Up All Night” by Blink 182

Blink 182 will always be my favorite band. I fell in love with them while listening to All the Small Things back at the wee age of nine. I sang along to the words (of course skipping the word suck which was a swear in my home) and watched them dance with a lot of midgets on stage at the MTV VMAs. I dreamed of the Blink 182 rabbit tattoo I planned on getting after turning 18. Don’t worry. That never happened.

Blink 182 is back with their first single in seven years. I cried a bit with excitement and anticipation. I waited for the tour announcement. I bought the tickets to see them in MA (holla is you’re going). The song is called “Up All Night,” and if you haven’t heard it yet, go to their site to check it out.

The song is very much growing on me. At first I was thrown off by the over-production and the awkward sounding drum breakdowns. Then I listened over and over again. I felt the raw, pop punk sound of Blink 182 I always remembered. I hear the grungy whiney voice of Tom DeLonge, and I feel safe. I can’t wait to hear more new tracks from them when I see my boys live on August 9th. Their new album should be coming out this fall, so stay tuned for more news on that.

I’m wondering what you guys all think. Feel free to let me know in the comments.

My First Buzz Builders Blog Post

So I’m a Buzz Builder at Likeable Media this summer and helped develop a blog for all the Buzz Builders here at thebuzzbuilders.tumblr.com. Today I wrote a blog post about how to share your love for music and discover new music using social media. Feel free to check it out here. I think you’ll like it if you like my blog. Thanks y’all!

An Open Letter to Lindsay Lohan

Dear Lindsay,

I hope it’s okay that I assume we’re on a first name basis. I’ve loved you since I first saw Mean Girls. You were hilarious and charming in that “I’m from Africa and don’t understand the American public school system” way. It made me want to watch all of your movies. Of course I had already seen The Parent Trap. You do not know how sad eight-year-old me was when I found out there was only one of you.

After Mean Girls, your life started to slide down a dangerous slope. I watched you turn from Hollywood it girl to girl crawling out of dumpsters at 4AM. It was from that moment on that I decided you just need a big hug and a friend. You had Samantha Ronson. No one is still sure how that happened or what went down, but you seemed okay for a while. If I understand correctly, you’re under house arrest or something. Just know, Lindsay, that I’m here for you if you ever need a friend in Massachusetts.

Your concerned friend 3,000 miles away,

Christine

PS I had a dream once once that we were best friends and went to your family’s bbq. It went well, so I think in real life we have a real chance of being besties.

My Love for ThoughtCatalog

ThoughtCatalog is great. As you may have noticed, there is a link to it on the right under “Friends’ Links.” I don’t have any affiliation with ThoughtCatalog. I just love everything about it. The articles and lists they write are hilarious yet well-written. It’s basically my dream right now to be able to write for them. I’m always trying to come up with a cool submission idea for the site. I have internet crushes on writers like Ryan O’Connell and Kat George. You should check out the site and some of the writers. I think you will learn to love it as I have.

On “Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?”

As you may or may not know, I’m a huge Miranda July fan. I love everything she does, and I’m one of those people that tries to make all my friends read her books and watch her films. If you haven’t yet, pick up a copy of her collection of short stories, No One Belongs Here More than You. All the stories are presented with raw emotion and feel real.

In 2005, Miranda July came out with a short film entitled, Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody? It asked this simple question to a few different people on the street. It raises issues and presents how different people would answer this question. It really made me think how I would answer this question myself. It’s weird to think of. I thought of all the important people in my life like friends and family. I would say my mom or dad, but they couldn’t possibly choose between my brother and I. I wouldn’t want them to. Then there’s my brother. He would probably have a hard time choosing too. I would hope he’d pick our parents collectively like me, if that’s even a valid answer. Then there are my friends. I doubt any of them could pick me as a favorite. It would be weird and unfair to our circle of friends. I’m not in a relationship, so that’s out of the question.

I don’t want to say “no,” but I don’t think there’s any other solution. I have friends and family that love me, so I don’t see the need for them to choose me as their favorite. Although if I am your favorite, feel free to let me know. I could write more about it.

For more about Miranda July, check out her website at www.mirandajuly.com.

She also has a new movie out running the festival circuit. Learn about it here: The Future

PTown Part Deux

Today  I woke up fairly early, because there’s continental breakfast in the inn. I also wanted to explore PTown a bit before my volunteer shifts at night. I walked around a bunch and took photos. I bought color film in anticipation of all the rainbow flags and bright-colored buildings. I wanted to find a cool place to eat lunch, and I went to this cute rooftop restaurant called Tinys. They serve locally grown food, and the hummus burger hit the spot. More venturing and a nap later, I started my volunteer shift around 5.

As I am always early, I got the awesome task of putting out and taking away the chairs at the honoree ceremony. The honorees this year were Albert Maysles, Vera Farmiga, and Darren Aronofsky. As you may or may not know, I am a HUGE Darren Aronofsky fan. This opportunity was super fucking cool. I also got to talk to John Waters very briefly.

After this ceremony, I headed to a different venue to help out there for a bit. When I got there, Abigail Breslin was doing a Q&A session after her film. I caught up to her after and told her she was bad ass in Zombieland and that I love that movie. She appreciated it and was super nice. She’s so tiny, but she was wearing heels. It was kind of funny since I think she’s 15.

Then I headed back to Town Hall, and there was a special screening of Gimme Shelter, a documentary about The Rolling Stones’ free concert in San Francisco directed by the honoree Albert Maysles. He introduced the film, which was wicked cool. I had never seen it before. It was a lot different from Stones in Exile which I saw at Cannes last year. Gimme Shelter was more like a concert movie/documentary where Stones in Exile was all documentary. I enjoyed it. It was a 35mm pressing which was pretty kickass.

Overall, today was epic. I hope it’s as epic tomorrow, my last day in PTown. Sad face X1000. This place rules, and I already want to plan to come back again in the summer for another weekend.