Listening To: Thad Cockrell

One of Jay's absolute favorite albums last year was Thad Cockrell's "To Be Loved." It's pretty great. Here Thad is performing my favorite off the album acoustic on a radio station:



Well, apparently Thad is friends with the pastor of our church, who invited him to play on Easter. And so Jay got to play 7 songs with him this last Sunday, which was really cool for him. They didn't practice at all - they totally winged it , which I think was intimidating for Jay, but Thad was really nice and cool about the whole thing. Jay loved him.

And here is "Pride Won't Get Us Where We're Going" off the album:


Later Sunday night, Jay helped out with the audio of a video shoot for Thad. We have some friends who shoot videos of bands doing broken down sets. I'll post the final video when it gets finished, but in the meantime check out a "behind the scenes" here. You spot Jay; I'll spot all the gear we've bought over the years ($$$$).

Some of Us Were Designed for More "Academic" Pursuits

We (ie I) haven't been updating the blog lately for one main reason: there just isn't enough time. And this is due to one main reason: P90X.

That's right - we're doing P90X. [Almost] every night, we have to do an hour to an hour-and-a-half of push-ups, pull-ups, abs, curls, lunges, squats, yoga, stretching... And let me tell you, P90X has taught me how unfair life is.

We're in the 2nd month, and though I can tell I'm quite a bit stronger - can pretty much do a push-up...am sooooo close to being able to do a pull-up - I don't think I look that different. Haven't lost any weight...no six-pack...no bulging biceps.

And then there's Jay.

He's got pecs.

He's got biceps.

He's got massive calf muscles.

Several people have asked him if he's working out, because he really is bulking up. And last time I checked, WE'RE DOING THE SAME WORKOUT! And not that I want to bulk up, but still... If Jay just thinks about eating better, he loses 5 pounds.

This month we finally decided we had to start eating better so that the sweat and sore muscles aren't entirely in vain. So we'll see...

The Melancholy Sessions

A project that Jay produced/recorded/mixed is available for free on Noise Trade today HERE. You can also have a listen by streaming HERE. [Just fixed this link - sorry!]

A few months ago, Jay started working with a Houston-area fellow named Tim Qualls producing a jammier, slightly stripped down version of 4 of his songs. They recorded just about everything at our house, avoiding drums by using lots and lots of hand claps (I'm even in there somewhere!). I think the final product is pretty killer - a little moody, a little poetic...hence the title of the EP.

Jay worked really hard on this project and really pushed Tim to step outside his box, and I think they're both quite pleased with the finished product.

Gotta Get Down on Friday

If you have somehow missed it, watch at least the first minute of this YouTube video that currently has 81 MILLION VIEWS! I'm perplexed...I think it's a joke, right??



Then you can fully appreciate:

Listening Tonight: Adele - 19

This album is called "19" because she was 19 when she recorded it. Her newest album is called "21"...I don't know about you, but this is not what I was doing when I was 19.

The Table

Earlier this year, Jay worked on a project with a Houston area singer-songwriter named Tommy Lynch. This last week, Tommy released "The Table" as a 5-song EP on his website for $5, with all proceeds going to an organization fighting sex trafficking. So you should visit his website to listen and support a good cause. (Note: one of the songs that plays on his website called "Eternal King" is actually from a previous record).

Other than being a good cause, this project has been one of my favorites that Jay has worked on - I can objectively say that the music is really good. Tommy is very talented as a songwriter, and I really like his voice. He's a great cook, and just a nice guy. And of course I think Jay is more talented than most, and he acted as producer, engineer, drummer, and mixer.

To record the EP, Jay and Tommy moved into my parents house for 2 weeks while they were out of town and set up a make-shift recording studio with the main tracking room in their living room and the control room in my dad's study. They'd work as late into the night as they possibly could, with a new musician showing up every couple of days to track bass, guitar, keys. They even used my mom's mother's baby grand piano on a song or two.

This is my favorite of the 5 songs set to pictures they took at the house:



And since I'm always so impressed with the talented people that work on records with Jay, the people who worked on this one were:

Bass - Paul Engelking
Guitar - Matt "Frodo" Kidd
Keys - Brian Mann
Background Vocals - Lizzie Bailey
Audio Engineer Extraordinaire - Daniel Karr

Adding a little color to our world of White and Grey

You may recall my Craigslist couch that I got about a year ago:


I bought it with the intention of recovering. Well my mom, Jay, and I actually spent hours today looking at upholstery samples. These pictures are horrible because they are from my phone, but the winner is kind of yellowish while still remaining neutral.

What's even more exciting is that I also recently bought a Craigslist chair ($38!), and we also picked out samples for that. We're going bold:


So between buying rugs for Christmas and reupholstering furniture, I feel very grown up.

Goal #5: Paint Something

Goal #5 was to paint something (I previously mentioned that Goal #6 was to read more).

Do I did.

I used all the paint samples left over from choosing paint for the living room, and was then of course disappointed that it was so similar in color to the walls. But that's ok because we'll (eventually) have some brighter things on some of the other walls.

On a sidenote, I also touched up our old TV console. This was actually an old '70s dresser that someone gave my younger sister. She didn't really want it, so I decided that we (me and Jay) should rip all the hardware off, lose the drawers, and spray paint it black. Everyone thought this was such a bad idea. They were wrong.

I Like Your Digs

Jay: "Are 'digs' shoes or your house?"
Me: "...digs...house? Yeah house."
Jay: "OK...apparently I'm not hip with my lingo."
Me: "Yeah I don't think that sounds very hip..."
Jay: "Nope. It is. It's what the kids are saying these days."

So when should I start feeling old?

I'm going to stuff all our money under our mattress...

Bernie Madoff will be sitting in jail for the rest of his life for operating the so-called largest Ponzi scheme in history. The actual amount of the fraud is estimated to be likely between $12 to $20 billion.

I was thinking about this and what a Ponzi scheme is (from Wikipedia, emphasis mine):

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors, not from any actual profit earned by the organization, but from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors. The Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering returns other investments cannot guarantee, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. The perpetuation of the returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises and pays requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors to keep the scheme going.

So hasn't our government in essence been running a much larger Ponzi scheme in Social Security? Much larger and much farther reaching than what Madoff did? And actually, I just discovered that this is not my own original idea (also on Wikipedia):

Social Security has been a pyramid scheme from the beginning. Those who paid in first received money from those who paid in second — and so on, generation after generation. This was great so long as the small generation when Social Security began was being supported by larger generations resulting from the baby boom. But, like all pyramid schemes, the whole thing is in big trouble once the pyramid stops growing. When the baby boomers retire, that will be the moment of truth — or of more artful lies. Just like Enron. — Thomas Sowell, Capitalism Magazine

Others call it a "quasi" pyramid scheme because a true Ponzi scheme proffers a mythical source of revenue-generation, while social security payments have always been openly underwritten by tax revenue. Either way, this is a big deal. Consider:

• In 2004 the U.S. Social Security system paid out almost $500 billion in benefits
  
• The U.S. Social Security program is the largest government program in the world and the single greatest expenditure in the federal budget
• The program is currently estimated to keep roughly 40% of all Americans age 65 or older out of poverty

In general, I don't really have political leanings because I think I've become quite jaded to believe that few (if any politicians) have the best interest of the country in mind. I think debt is bad. I think programs like Social Security that are not sustainable and that drive us further into debt are bad. Like personal finances, the way to fix this is to spend less and/or earn more, implying that we need to tax more and spend less. But politicians fight for the opposite because that will win elections.

The things that keep me up at night...sigh...

Fire and Dynamite

Craigslist Cleanout

Jay cleaned out the garage some this weekend, and in there was an old Ikea dresser that he got before we were married. It's damaged and not really worth anything, and Jay just wanted to throw it out. He didn't even want to take it to Goodwill because he thought no one would want it. I convinced him that we should just put it on Craigslist for free so that we wouldn't even have to move it. He was resistant, but I insisted. And I'm not even kidding - I got 6 emails in 9 minutes! The dresser was gone within 3 hours of posting.

So then I got bold. Next, we posted this built-in thingy that was removed at some point from somewhere in our house and has been sitting in our garage since we moved into our house. We were totally going to trash it and I figured we'd throw it up there (for free) to see if we got any takers. Within 2 minutes, 2 emails. About 24 hours, gone!

After that one, Jay was ready to post all sorts of stuff and thought we should try for some $$. The thing with Craigslist, though, is people are looking for deals, especially if the deal is it's free. But good lesson learned - if you want to take something to Goodwill (or apparently to a dumpster) and it's semi difficult to get there, just put it on Craigslist!

My First Favorite Songs

How awesome is his hair? I remember one time when I was probably 5, I was mad at my dad for some reason so he put this song on because he knew I liked it, and it took all that was in me to not get up and dance around.

My parents bought me this tape at Hastings in Conroe.

I can remember listening to this in the car and making my dad rewind it repeatedly.

I never knew a Beetle sang this song!

(from 1987)

I can't believe this song came out 10 years ago...

Now that we are done with the first decade of the 2000s, the beginning of the 2000s is much farther away than it seems like they should be. Here are some other albums that came out in 2001 that make it feel like a long time ago:

• Weezer's green album
• Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American
• Destiny Child's Survivor
  
• even N'Sync (the album with that Dirty Pop song)! Who knew they even made it out of the 90s?!
  

Google 4eva

Did you know that the most visited website in 2010 was Facebook? And that "facebook" was the most searched term, followed by "facebook login."

Google came in second. This is absolutely mind-boggling to me as one of Google's most dedicated customers (and yes I know I'm not actually paying for anything...but I am loyal). Do you know how many times a day I google "excel how to..."? Today, Google taught me about indirect cell referencing in Excel, explained that honey doesn't go bad, showed me how to get to a wedding cake tasting place (more fun when you're not the bride I think), helped me find a conversion chart for yards of trash into tons... I mean, what did Facebook ever do for me?!

Goal #6: Read More

Last week I sent a list of goals I have to Jay.

Sidenote: Although this is happening at the beginning of the year, I wasn't really inspired by the idea of New Year's Resolutions...I was inspired by a friend who was in town for Christmas and we met up with who is always trying out new things. For instance, this year she wanted to try some tap-dancing classes and is doing a series of paintings. Last year, her husband got her an accordion, so she learned how to play it. I figured if I didn't really think about what I would like to try out in life besides go to work everyday I might not ever do anything else.

Back to the main story. Goal #6 was "Read more." So now I'm a reader. And since I also decided that "you can't manage what you don't measure" (words of wisdom from a business school friend), I'm keeping track of what I read on Good Reads, which I actually joined probably a year ago and have never actually done anything with. So if you're on there, we can be friends.

I might try to set a goal like a book per month or something, but right now my only criteria is to not actually buy any books because of Goal #4, which was "Declutter our house and live more simply (ie buy less and buy more intentionally)." And since I don't think I've ever reread a book or see value in having most books after they are read, I with intentionally not buy any. Luckily I've already got about 5 or 6 lined up!

Pomplamoose

My mom asked me the other day who these people in this commercial were - she thought they looked like we should be friends with them. They are a band called Pomplamoose, and they are another good example of a band totally made by YouTube.

Here they are in action (for Jay):


And the girl is just amazing...and I've always loved this song:


I actually ran across them totally by accident when I was reading up on Ben Folds (did anyone see him on The Sing Off? - I just love him). They did this pretty cool collaboration with an author:

I just decided...

...that gift bags are cheating. Plus, you can regift them, which makes them that much less personal. And there is no challenge. For instance, I like to see if I can get 45 degree angles on all my corner folds. My brother-in-law likes to see how few pieces of tape he can use when wrapping.

Name the Worst Font on the Count of Three...

I believed that unarguably the worst font of all time was Comic Sans (when googled, this is the first page to come up). But my sister and her friend both voted Papyrus. So I decided to do some extensive research (ie I googled) and found "America's Most Fonted: The 7 Worst Fonts":

1. Comic Sans MS (of course...and I will think even worse of you if it is purple and used in your email signature)
2. Bradley Hand ITC
3. Curlz MT
4. Papyrus (still not acceptable if you work at a church)
5. Vivaldi
6. Kristen ITC
7. Viner Hand ITC

So let's just all agree to look for some better fonts. My sister and I share a fondness for Gill Sans. Jay likes ITC Avant Garde. When in doubt, just go with Helvetica.

Sleigh Bells

Note: This is completely not Christmas related. But there is something about this song that every time I hear it, I can't help but totally dig it. They classify themselves as a "noise pop music duo," which I think is totally fitting because they incorporate weird sounds into their music in a totally MIA-esque way. What's most awesome about Sleigh Bells is that they formed when the dude of the band was waiting tables and mentioned to a customer that he was looking for a female vocalist. Customer volunteered her daughter. And Sleigh Bells was formed.



And here's another (and an actual music video this time as opposed to a random irrelevant thing I found on You Tube):

Great Christmas Music - 8

Gatlin Elms - "Jerusalem, Our Lord Has Come!"

I just love this song. Jay mixed it for them, and one of my favorite things about Jay working on other people's music is getting to hear such a wide variety of things (some things I like, some I don't...but this one is great). Plus, it's an original!

Go here to read about and stream the demo.

Great Christmas Music - 7

Olivette - "See Amid The Winter's Snow"



I put this one up before, but I've gotten better at making my videos since then! Jay played drums on this album last year, and I really like it. AND Brian Mann played keys.

Great Christmas Music - 6

Brian Mann - "The First Noel"

Jay played drums on a studio project with this guy, and he's pretty amazing. He recorded this piano album last year just cause why not - he's amazing. It's on iTunes (album is called "Simple Christmas"), and 10% of sales go to support efforts to bring clean water to Haiti.

Great Christmas Music - 5

Sixpence None the Richer - "Silent Night" (version on City on a Hill)

Great Christmas Music - 4

Sufjan Stevens - "O Come O Come Emmanuel"

Great Christmas Music - 3

Vince Guaraldi Trio - "Christmastime is Here"


If you look on our iTunes, this album is one of the most played. Jay literally listens to it year-round.

Great Christmas Music - 2

Relient K - "I Celebrate The Day"

Amazing Cover

And she recorded it in GarageBand (ie not a good audio program)!


[This was on Perez Hilton almost a year ago and might have been how we discovered Florence + The Machine to begin with...here's the original]

And then one day at work, Jay sent me his own version:
[Note: I don't know how to post audio, so I turned it into a video myself. But I didn't try very hard.]

PS - I've decided I need to start posting more stuff Jay does because he will whip something like this up (especially after he discovered auto-tune) and I just think it's amazing.
PSS - 2nd pic is at 2 in the morning as Jay and I completed priming our new baseboards, 3rd pic is brother-in-law Jared, 4th pic is me and the moms at St. Arnold's brewery.

Great Christmas Music - 1

We listen to some Christmas music year-round because it's just that good. So I'm going to periodically put up some of our favorites (and if you haven't noticed, I only know how to put up videos...not audio...so they will always be in video form even if the video is completely irrelevant).

Sufjan Stevens - "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"


(And I know it's not exactly a Christmas song, but it's on a Christmas album and it has sleigh bells at the end)

Internet Killed the Video Star

Have you seen this (right now over 4 million views):

They didn't actually get their instruments stolen, but nonetheless it's pretty impressive. I'd never heard of them until I saw this video. But the other day, I heard this song on the Top 20 station sandwiched in between Nelly and Pink! It's amazing how much the music industry has changed with the internet, especially since MTV doesn't even really play music videos anymore...they're too busy with stellar programming like Jersey Shore and My Super Sweet Sixteen. You can just throw something up on YouTube and millions of people can see it!

Other notable instances of internet blow-ups:

• Justin Bieber (discovered in 2008 from YouTube)
• Every music video ever made by OK Go (seriously, every single one of those has MILLIONS of views)
• A Filipino guy (Arnel Pineda) was asked to try out to be the lead singer of Journey after they saw him on YouTube
  

The Limousines - "Internet Killed The Video Star"

They Must Have Thick Skin in the North

In preparation for our Thanksgiving trip to Oklahoma, I looked up the weather and then googled what to wear in different temperatures. I found this:

30s- jeans, boots, long sleeve, coat
40s-jeans, boots, long sleeve, down vest
50s-jean skirt, over knee socks or tights, boots, long sleeve, down vest
60s-jeans, hoodie, sandals
70s-tanktop, lightweight zip hoodie, skirt or jeans and a top
80s-skirt/shorts, short sleeve tee shirt or tanktop

This person must live in the frigid north! Here in Houston, we whip out the scarves and coats as soon as it dips below 70. Plus, they left out:

90s-shorts, tanktop
100s-as little clothing as possible with an icepack down the pants

Craigslist Furniture Finds

I love looking on Craigslist just to see what's out there (we actually bought a couch on Craigslist a few months ago when I was just looking). Sometimes I wonder if sellers realize that people are looking on Craigslist for DEALS - so don't try to get a good price for the crap you don't even want anymore! I've been looking at wingback chairs, and there are lots for sale in the $50ish range that I would totally buy with the plan to recover if I were in the market for a good wingback chair. I ran across 2 that were just funny to me:

"Custom wingback chair in decorator golf print - original cost $1,000":
And a close up:

My first thought was that it's completely irrelevant to me that this was a custom golf print because the appeal of custom is that you can do it however you want...and I'm stuck with what the seller picked. And secondly, really $1,000? You wanted a golf chair that badly? (I looked up new wingback chairs, and $1000 actually isn't a bad price, but on principle I'm going to say it is.) This person was trying to get $275 for this chair (ie new owner would also want a golf chair that badly and not be recovering in their own, custom print).

[You know, I started thinking that it would be acceptable for someone like Jay's dad, whose career is centered around golf, to have this chair in a study or office... but then you have to wonder if the woman on there even has good form.]

"Unique Jungle print Wingback Chair - $50"
Yikes - those are some big giraffes and elephants. To this person's credit, they are only trying to get $50.

And then I was amazed at the array of colors you can find when looking for a leather couch. Craigslist has the whole rainbow!

Blue:

Green is surprisingly popular:

"Pale" Yellow:

Orange:

And my favorite, Perwinkle:

Need A New Christmas Album?

At our house, we skipped right over Thanksgiving and are on to Christmas. We put lights up yesterday, and though we were early movers, we weren't even first on the street!

This includes Christmas music. I'd forgotten how much I love this album that Jay played on last year. It's nice to mix in with all the classics so you're not listening to the same songs over and over again. Here are three of my favorites:

See Amid The Winter's Snow

O Come All Ye Faithful / Glory To God On High

No Earthly King

The album is "Come and See" by Olivette, available on iTunes. Olivette is Matt and Cameron Hammon. The guy who played piano is named Brian Mann. Jay played with him last night, and I told Jay that if I had enough money I would just hire him to come play at our house every night.

I Just Find This Guy So Funny...

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David, Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane, I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead. I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Thankyou for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.32am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
Can I have my drawing of a spider back then please.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.42am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear David,
You emailed the drawing to me. Do you want me to email it back to you?
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.56am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
Yes please.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 12.14pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Attached

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 09.22am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Whose spider is that?

Dear Jane,
Are you sure this drawing of a spider is the one I sent you? This spider only has seven legs and I do not feel I would have made such an elementary mistake when I drew it.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.03am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David,
Yes it is the same drawing. I copied and pasted it from the email you sent me on the 8th. David your account is still overdue by the amount of $233.95.
Please make this payment as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.05am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Automated Out of Office Response

Thankyou for contacting me.
I am currently away on leave, traveling through time and will be returning last week.
Regards, David.

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.08am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Hello, I am back and have read through your emails and accept that despite missing a leg, that drawing of a spider may indeed be the one I sent you. I realise with hindsight that it is possible you rejected the drawing of a spider due to this obvious limb ommission but did not point it out in an effort to avoid hurting my feelings. As such, I am sending you a revised drawing with the correct number of legs as full payment for any amount outstanding. I trust this will bring the matter to a conclusion.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 2.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David,
As I have stated, we do not accept drawings in lei of money for accounts outstanding. We accept cheque, bank cheque, money order or cash. Please make a payment this week to avoid incurring any additional fees.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 3.17pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

I understand and will definitely make a payment this week if I remember. As you have not accepted my second drawing as payment, please return the drawing to me as soon as possible. It was silly of me to assume I could provide you with something of completely no value whatsoever, waste your time and then attach such a large amount to it.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2008 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Attached

Missy the Cat

Shannon (the secretary) has lost her cat and has asked David (the graphic designer) to help with a lost poster. This is their email correspondence.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster

Hi
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.

This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.
Thanks Shan.


From:David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
That is shocking news.
Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
I never said I don't like cats. Attached poster as requested.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
It's a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don't come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,
I don't have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend's cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter. I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says "I haven't seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?" you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.


From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

House Hotting

We've been in our house for over a year now, so we were a little beyond a house warming party. So instead, we threw a house hotting party. It was fun, but it was a lot of work - I think I learned that fun does not have a linear relationship with number of guests (see curve below). Here we are leaving the grocery store the night before the big party (and we even made three small runs after this!):


The fun curve:

Freelance Whales!

The same night I painted my lamp, I also went to see Freelance Whales (I had a very busy night). I loved them.

They haven't been around all that long, and I think this might have been their first headlining tour (I think the whole encore thing confused them - the lead guy said it was the longest they'd ever played). So they were just so cute and humble about the whole thing. And they were amazing - I've never seen a band before where the xylophone and 5-part harmonies are integral to every song. And they rotate instruments pretty much every song.

This video is super weird, but while they were playing this song, a girl in the front passed out. So the lead singer guy put his banjo down and grabbed his water bottle and jumped off the stage to assist. And after the song, the girl in the band jumped back down to make sure she was OK.



This is how they got their start (this is my favorite song):


(This is a random video set to the actual album version)

Fun fact: The #2 guy in the band, Chuck Criss, is brother of Darren Criss, this guy:


(Gotta slip Katy Perry in where I can)

Paint Everything: Example #2

Awhile back, my mom gave me a lamp with a glass and brass base. I liked the shape, but it just didn't look like it belonged with us. So I painted it. Because that's what I do.

Old lamp from my mother (free):


Lamp shade ($27 online - I had a hard time finding a cheap shade with a spider fitting and finally found one here):


Green spray paint ($5 - I was planning on going white but the shade ended up a little off-white so I changed my mind! And it's a little neon/bright, but there are only so many options of green spray paint):


Now I think he looks like he belongs with us!

Stuff

I read and think a lot about waste... side effect of the job. Today I ran across this video, and thought it was a captivating explanation of electronic waste. E-waste is a growing and tricky waste stream. This video is about 8 minutes:



This is part of a bigger project on the stuff we buy and the effects called The Story of Stuff. It definitely has an agenda...but I still like it. This video is about 20 minutes:



I think I like this mainly because I've been obsessively evaluating all of our purchases lately. I've been more sensitive to my own buying behavior since taking classes like Buyer Behavior and Consumer Psychology in grad school and realizing that we are conditioned to shop by brand and not necessarily quality. For example, do you know that Kroger brand instant oatmeal tastes EXACTLY like instant Quaker oatmeal but costs $2 less? I've tried it. I've also tried a Walgreens face wash that is identical to the Clean & Clear face wash that I use and costs almost $2 less (and yes I know I'm probably too old to be using Clean & Clear) and Kroger brand shampoo that is just like the one we buy and costs almost $5 less. In some cases, it likely is the same product, just dumped in different packaging.

And this isn't about being cheap. I'm still completely willing to spend money on going to dinner with Jay or on an overpriced cupcake because I place value on the experience in some way. But I'm indifferent towards my oatmeal, so I feel manipulated that someone else convinced me to pay more than the value I actually place on the product. It's about being a better, more responsible consumer.

[If you want to see the other videos in the series, go here. The bottled water and cosmetics ones are my favorite.]

Amazing Cover by an Amazing Band

"Tatooine" and "Miracles" by Jeremy Messersmith

Let's Do This Thing! aka Feeling Inspired

I have a sudden wave of inspiration to finish our front 2 rooms. It takes me a long time to figure out what I think a room should look like, and then I obsess over it. And I am OBSESSING over these rooms.

These rooms have been a series of projects over the last year. Have I mentioned how much Jay does not like my projects? First we painted the rooms white, and Jay switched out the light switches and face plates. Then there was a little DIY project when I fell in love with this wallpaper:


Once I saw it, no other wallpaper was good enough. Problem was, it cost $200 a roll! So I fell into wallpaper depression, trying to rationalize why I should spend $600-800 on wallpapering a single wall in our house, especially since we were eventually going to have to buy a table and chairs to go into the room. And then...THEN...I saw these panels on Ikea's website:
It was 9:30, and I made Jay drop everything to go to Ikea right that second before they closed so we could buy them. The entire project was about $100:


(Notice in that picture there is no table, just the amazing green chairs I found at Marshalls. We bought a table a few months later.) And then there was this project. And then this one. Then we followed rule #2 and hired pros to install wood floors. Love it. I have been obsessing over wood floors since we moved in. Current state:

So here's my game plan, people: we've got 2 small DIYs that I can do on my own...no Jay necessary. A few weeks tops, pending the shipment of my lampshade I ordered last night. And then there is a more ambitious (awesome!) project I will need him for (ie it involves power tools). And then a recovered couch and rug later, we're done!

How many hipsters does it take to change a light bulb?

According to Wikipedia:

Hipster is a slang term that first appeared in the 1940s, and was revived in the 1990s and 2000s often to describe types of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with interests in non-mainstream fashion and culture, particularly alternative music, indie rock, independent film, magazines, and websites.

These days, Hipsterism has gone mainstream. Urban Outfitters is like a training ground for "all things hipster"...the vinyl, the Obama t-shirts during the last election (hipsters are into "progressive politics"), the flannel and thrift-looking stuff... You can even now be a Hipster Christian.

Another typical characteristic of a hipster is that they are employed in music, art, or fashion. In other words, all of our friends. And we all went to a hipster-lovin' concert last week:



(I posted to another video with the same song here, but I liked this live version to capture the animal animation on stage.)

Jonsi is the lead singer of an Icelandic band called Sigur Ros. I think that if Bill and Ted were to form Wyld Stallyns today (ie the music at the core of the future's Utopian society), it would be Jonsi / Sigur Ros. It's such a strange concert to go to because (besides the fact that EVERYONE is wearing skinny jeans and v-neck tees while taking pictures with their iPhones using the hipstomatic app) everyone stands silently, just holding their breath and experiencing the music. It's that amazing. I'd been to Sigur Ros several years ago and have been waiting for them to come back to Houston so that Jay could experience the awesome-ness for himself. Jay actually has Jonsi on vinyl, so consider him hipster.

[Sidenote: Unlike Sigur Ros, Jonsi does some upbeat stuff. Take for instance this song, in which he actually sings in English and to which he jumped around in an Indian headdress at the concert.]

And in regards to how many hipsters it takes to change a light bulb--it's a really obscure number. You've probably never heard of it. (that cracks me up every time!)

Sing-A-Long

Jay and I and I have quite different tastes in music, and we love music for different reasons. I think he appreciates the craftsmanship where I just get drawn in by the overall aesthetic/feel.

Take, for example, what we would each pick for a sing-a-long:

• Jay = Michael Jackson
• Me = THIS (the pictures put to this are hilarious)

He argues that MJ has songs that everyone can easily sing along with. I think my idea of a sing-a-long is more exclusive. You have to know the song...know the words...know what's coming...know when the build is coming. And then the song becomes a shared experience. And I know that sounds ridiculous, but I think that's the sole reason success bands like Dashboard Confessional have success (just imagine all those emo kids singing along...).

In college I use to go to concerts all the time with this small group of crazy music lovers. The other girl even DJed for a local indie station. One time we went to a Rilo Kiley concert in Austin and listened to Rilo the entire way there AND back. THIS was a particularly good one for our sing-a-long group due to the group vocals and clapping (yes we did clap in the car).

And for songs like those, the sing-a-long becomes the greatness of the song.

Movie Screening Night!

Tonight I went to a free movie screening for "Life As We Know It," a very predictable romantic comedy starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. It was actually a pretty cute movie, but that's not the point...the point is IT WAS FREE. And things like this go down all the time!

Without over explaining, we went to a screening that doesn't take any sort of special invitation, you just sign up. But they reserve the best rows for press/bloggers and have "special" screenings all the time that you can't just sign up for. We got there an hour early and got OK seats, until my cute friend asked the guy in charge if we could sit in the empty blogger seats (ie best seats in the theater). So I'm sitting next to this slightly awkward woman who smells like little girls' toys (somewhere between plastic and powder...like the fake fruity scent you would expect to find on Strawberry Shortcake), and she tells me about her blog. I just looked it up, and it's nothing special...she does post every day...and she does have some ads...but seriously...it's ugly and not interesting.

So this gets me thinking, what else are people getting for free out there and how much effort does it really take to get it? If we just blogged more would they let us come to all the free movie screenings? And then I thought...if I just stayed at work for the hour we waited in the theater, I could have paid for all three of us (plus our bottled water, string cheese, bananas, and cookies we bought at the grocery store on our way)...

...but it's still, on principle, it always feels good to get something for free!

Equal Opportunity Music Listeners: Part II

Fine. You don't have it in your heart to love Katy Perry. I can take a hint. So today I give you 100% non-pop, inidie-lovin' awesome music.

First is something for you hipsters, xylophone and all:

• Freelance Whales - "Hannah"
• Freelance Whales - "Generator 1st Floor" live (I love these harmonies...no words...)
  
• Freelance Whales - "Ghosting" also live

And something a bit more "mainstream" (ie had a song on Eclipse and Scott Pilgrim):

• Metric - "Give Me Sympathy"
• Metric - "Black Sheep" (from "Scott Pilgrim Versus The World"...loved the movie by the way)

And one last attempt to warm your cold, Katy-Perry-hating heart:

• Temper Trap - "Sweet Disposition" (500 Days of Summer)
  
• Temper Trap - "Fader"

All videos because I know how to link that :)

Equal Opportunity Music Listeners

In our house, we like music. We like variety. I tell Jay (and he agrees) that he has the musical taste of a man in his mid-50s, but he's actually broadened his horizons substantially since we've been together...though he's still angry about going to see Mates of State with me FOUR YEARS AGO.

We have a recent musical obsession. I like to think of her as our new best friend...a new member of the family. We love her. The funny thing is, Jay is the one who downloaded one of her albums (we have since downloaded her latest). I'm afraid to tell you who it is because she sings dumb pop music. But then she went and did this amazing, jazzy Unplugged. And she's a really amazing singer. Who knew?!

Now don't judge...we love her...

You'll Never Guess Who Sat Behind Us...

...at the Paramore concert:

And if you don't know who he is, maybe this one will help:

And if that doesn't help, than you don't really need to know [I actually recognized him from SYTYCD not DWTS]. He sat down with an Asian woman and a large black man who looked important, but they were whisked away back stage pretty quickly before we could eavesdrop enough to figure out who they were. But the real mystery is: What in the world is Louie doing at a Parmore concert in Houston?

Update: I found Louie on Twitter, and he was in Houston to practice his first dance with his dance partner for this coming season's Dancing With The Stars - Margaret Cho, the Asian woman he was sitting with. Her comedy (?) tour was in Houston. Their first dance is a waltz, FYI.