Randoms

We found someone to fill the other dosimetry position at work...and it's someone I've worked with previously!  So this is a huge weight off of me...not only is the position filled but I know it's someone I can work with.  I'm so sick of dealing with temps...October can't come soon enough!

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The donations for the Alzheimer's walk started off a little slow but it's definitely picked up...thanks all who donated!  You are rockstars!  There's still time to plenty of time to donate if you want!

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A hero of mine has fallen this week.  This week, it was announced that Jack White collaborated with the horrible, horrible, awful group Insane Clown Posse...over a Mozart track...sigh.  It's beyond awful.  It's no secret how much I love Jack White, and this has almost made me lost respect for him...that's how bad it is!  If you're a glutton for punishment and want to hear it yourself, go here.

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Speaking of the loves of my life - I went to the Bodega Seafood, Art, and Wine Festival last weekend and they had a Capt. Jack Sparrow impersonator who went by Capt. Jack Spareribs...corny but entertaining. 

He actually looked and sounded quite a bit like the real thing so no complaints here!  :oP

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Kenai got into a fight a daycare last week...and he started it...with a huge pit bull...named Gotti!  I'm not sure if he "won" or not, he has a few battle scars from it...well, at least he's not picking on anybody smaller than him.  I still can't believe it...the people at the daycare were pretty thrown off by it too.  He gets three strikes and now has one.  I was told some dogs, like people, just don't like each other for no apparent reason...so they're keeping an eye on the two of them.

This is the face of a LOVER not a FIGHTER!

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At the festival a few weeks ago Arcade Fire performed a song, "Rococo." That song never really did much for me...until I heard it live.  Now, it's a new favorite....I think I never listened to it close enough before. 

Let’s go downtown and watch the modern kids
Let’s go downtown and talk to the modern kids
They will eat right out of your hand
Using great big words that they don’t understand

They’re singing
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo…
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo…

They build it up just to burn it back down
They build it up just to burn it back down
The wind is blowing all the ashes around
Oh my dear God what is that horrible song?

They’re singing
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo…
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo…

They seem wild but they are so tame
They seem wild but they are so tame
They’re moving towards you with their colors all the same
They want to own you but they don’t know what game
They’re playing

Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo 

I didn't come up with this summary of the song but it perfectly explains my thoughts on what the song means:

"for anyone who doesn't know, rococo was an 18th century artistic movement. it was light, airy and disgustingly ornate and most of the subject matter of the painting and sculpture was the nobility enjoying themselves in the countryside. it's widely criticized because for all its style and detail, there was no substance underneath. it was empty of true meaning.

obviously this connects right into the idea of the "modern kids" who use "great big words that they don't understand." if you look a lot of the popular styles with the young kids (especially hipsters), you see this same thing. they obsessive over perfecting their appearance with, expensive clothes and vintage accessories, spout words like "immolation" and "poseur," but don't really have any idea what their saying.

essentially, they're modern rococo. what's incredibly clever is that the example of these "great big words" we're given is the word rococo itself."

So true, and it's stuff like this makes Arcade Fire rock my world.

Know how I said in a previous post how much hipsters bother me?  While, yes, they try to avoid the "mindlessly consuming the corporate, mass-produced, shallow culture of the mainstream" (yeah, I stole that from someone else), they're also pretentious, self-righteous, judgmental, and all around douche bags......unfortunately I tend like a lot of the same things they do, so I never really get away from them.

But I'm not a hipster...I'm not nearly "cool" enough.  I don't only shop at "vintage" stores...I'll actually go to a chain store...maybe even something like Banana Republic!...gasp.  Not only do I own a TV, sometimes I even watch it!...gasp.  I don't feel the need to be the smartest, most intellectual, most well traveled, or most philosophical in the room...gasp! (Using great big words that they don’t understand and)  Just because somebody or something is or becomes popular I don't immediately write it off (not to say I haven't stopped like something after it's gained popularity but it's not because it's popular). (They build it up just to burn it back down)  Most of them do all this stuff too...they just don't want anyone to know about it....because heave forbid you become "one of the sheep" if you watch a popular show like Glee or shop at a Target.  (They seem wild but they are so tame)Sorry...those people just get under my skin so much...

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I have jury duty the week after next.  Ugh... :o/  I live in AK most of my life and never get jury duty...well I did once but easily got out of it...I live in CA for less than a year and I get it...with no option of getting out...

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Sadly, after all the shows I saw at the festival a few weeks ago whenever I hear one of the groups on satellite radio or my iPod (finally replaced my stolen iPod, with a iPod Touch...didn't realize how much I missed having one!) I'm sad I'm not back at Golden Gate Park seeing them live.  :o(

Now, I feel like I have to get to every band I like that comes to the area...and when living in the bay area, that's a lot of shows!  I actually have to turn shows down because there are so many...so not used to doing that.

I didn't totally miss out on Foster the People after all! They're going to be in SF 10/13!! Band of Horses = 9/10.  Grouplove =9/23. Peter Bjorn and John = 10/8. Lykke Li = 11/9. Sadly, though, I found out about Smashing Pumpkins and The Pixies too late. Sad face.

hitRECord with JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT (whaaa?? ahhhhhhhh ZOMG!!)

Well, my search for "Mr. Right", my soul mate, or whatever term you choose is over.  He goes by the name Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  I will hold out and remain celibate for the rest of my being until he, too, realizes that we are supposed to spend the rest of eternity together.  I do not think this is a unrealistic or crazy thought at all.

Dare I say he's even cuter in person?  Yes.  Yes, I very much dare say.

Okay, seriously...you know those ads on the side of Facebook (for those of you with a Facebook) that are usually for a bunch of crap you don't care about?  Well, (as much as I hate to admit this is how I found out about this) I just happened to see an ad for some show in San Francisco involving Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  I didn't know or care what the show was about...as the saying goes: it just could have been him standing on stage and reading the phone book for all I cared. I was buying tickets!  So, I went into the city last night to see a show called hitRECord at the Movies that was hosted by the one and only Joseph Gordon-Levitt (since his name is sort of long he shall be referred to as "JGL" for the rest of this post).

I had never heard of hitRECord before...but it's pretty interesting!  (of course there were plenty of hipster douches there..."uuugh, look at all these people.  But I knew about this 40 years ago.") Apparently, it's a web community...a "creative collaboration production company".  Say, Bob has a poem or a script that he wants to share, so he posts it to the site...and Alice can do some animation that will work perfect with it and she posts it to the site...and Bill creates some music to kick it up a notch so he posts it...and Jill has the magic touch with the editing to help bring it all together and she posts...and etc.  It's everything, movies, music, art, poetry...everything.

This event I went to was to share some of these projects...mostly short films.  You know how when you normally go to a show they tell you to turn off all recording devices and not to take pictures...well this is just the opposite.  They want you to record and take pictures and upload it to the site, and they make a short film for each city they visit!

On the movie screen before the show started

More promoting

My seat...I was kind of in the back but luckily it wasn't a big venue

Even though he's a fairly big movie star, JGL was super personable and seemed like the type of guy you could hang out with and have one of the most entertaining conversations ever over some beer or coffee or something.  Plus the fact that he's behind a group like this, one that encourages people to tap into their creativity is just plain awesome!  Here he is explaining and giving some examples of how hitRECord works: (pardon the shaky my camera work...it's not easy to hold a camera still and my arm kept getting tired!)


I stopped recording at that point because as you can imagine it got NUTS!


There were lots of good short films but these were among my favorite:

How to get inspired



They Can't Turn the Lights Off

(Insert heavy sigh)

and a new earth



Everything Is On Fire



He also combined promoting his movie that's coming out soon...hey he's got to pay the bills too....50/50 and hitRECord...  (In 50/50 he plays someone who is dealing with a cancer diagnosis...I'm very eager to see it)



At one point he busted out guitar and sang a song he wrote. It didn't completely blow my mind...but it really wasn't bad! I liked it.

Then he sang some song in French...I didn't understand a word of it but it sure sounded good! ;o)

And then, sadly we had to part our ways.  I was a little tired today since I had to drive from the city last night, but it wasn't anything a little Red Bull couldn't fix and it was totally worth it!

Now, I will go off and continue to yearn for my JGL fantasy to come true...