R.I.P. Floozie

We had to put Cassidy to sleep today. It was ridiculously sad. My mom was a wreck. She's 17 and has been fighting cancer for the last 18 months. This past weekend you could tell her body was shutting down. She was not the dog we all remember her as.

She got the nickname "Floozie" because she and another one of our dogs (not from the same litter) got together during her first heat and she had puppies. My grandmother called her that and it just stuck.

We'll miss ya old gal!

Sales Guy vs. Web Dude

Saw this on TechCrunch and it's so damn funny I had to post it here so I'd remember it :)

Beinig a dork is fun (a/k/a introducing Seesmic)

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What will be the Song of the Summer?

Today I was listening to the NPR: All Songs Considered podcast "Summer Music Preview". They sampled a few tracks that reminded them of summer and of upcoming summer releases. The Black Kids "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" was identified as the "current song of the summer". I like that they justify it as "current" because it's too hard to determine the "song of the summer" yet because summer is just starting!

I know Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" reminds me of 2006. "Young Folks" by Peter, Bjorn and John was probably the song of summer for 2007 because it was everywhere (anything by Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Kings of Leon or Regina Spektor would also do). But what will it be this year? I don't listen to the radio much so I can only name songs that I have downloaded and play alot on my iPod. A few contenders come to mind (based on songs I listen to and hear on commercials or in bars):

Cold Play - Viva la Vida
MGMT - Time to Pretend
Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place
The Ting Tings - Shut Up and Let Me Go
The Hives - Tick Tick Boom
The Kooks - Always Where I Need to Be
Weezer - Pork and Beans
Spoon - Don't You Evah
Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
Kate Nash - Foundations

UPDATE: Adding Estelle's 'American Boy' to the list :)

What would you pick so far? And what criteria do you base your choice on?

As a side note, Phillips from Pitchfork declared on the podcast that the "Avant Club Record of the Summer" (in America anyways) is Hercules and Love Affair. So keep your ears open for it so you can be hip this summer by listening to some modern disco! Personally, I downloaded "Blind" when it was a the free song of the week from iTunes and I really like it.

I Like It, I Love It

R.I.P. George Carlin

So sad that George Carlin died today. He has influenced so many comedians and actors. This year he was supposed to receive a Kennedy honor as a tribute for his career.

Where the Hell is Matt (2008)

This guy "Matt" made one of the first viral videos by doing his silly little dance all over the world. I remember first seeing it on Good Morning America several years ago. There have been over 9.5 millions views of the original. Now he has made a new version and this time people from around the world dance with him. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I see all types of people getting together like that :)

Girl Talk's "Feed the Animals"

Today I have been completely blown away.

Several weeks ago mentioned that they wanted to see Girl Talk at Lollapalooza. I assumed they were a band but really Girl Talk is a DJ! He is known for sampling and incredible mashups. I had a hard time finding any of his stuff to check out but today he released a new album called Feed the Animals. It is "pay whatever you want" to download.

I downloaded it this morning. I paid $0.00 and when asked why I wasn't paying I choose "because I don't really like Girl Talk" which was an option I could select. I love the fact that it was an option! Anyways, after about 60 seconds of listening to the album my mind went into ADD mode. There were so many different sounds at once. I had to rewind it and start over and pay attention.

There are a whole bunch of songs that get mixed together. Everyone is talking about Jay-Z being mixed with Radiohead. I freaked out when I heard Public Enemy with a Heart guitar solo. There so much random music in here that it is amazing. It's like a soundtrack of my life all smushed together in 55 minutes. I love it! Actually, I love it so much I went back and paid $15 for the album.

Any Given Day

It's days like these that make me love life! There is so much fun going on just on the Internet! Today the Lollapalooza 2008 schedule was announced which is the most exciting news for me because I have been waiting for this for a while! Now I have to make my decisions of who to see. Coldplay's new album "Viva la Vida" is available for download (and streaming). Also, it's Firefox 3 Download Day which simply means that Firefox 3 is now availalbe. A trial version of the Spore creature creator was also released today which give us a first look at what's possible in the upcoming game. So with so much fun stuff going on, who has time to work?

Oh, and in the real world I'm signed up for a Thai cooking class at Kendall college tonight!

Cruiser vs. Nester

Some kind study has taken my generation and lumped us into three categories: cruisers, nesters and super-breeders. And of course I am in between two of them: the "cruisers" and the "nesters".

Biggest Ever Study of Thirtysomethings Discovers Cruisers, Nesters and Super-Breeders

Cruisers: Drifters who live on the edge of the mainstream and are out to have fun. They love Nelson Mandela but can't stand Thatcher, The Pope or McDonald's and are sceptical about Starbucks. They have a wide circle of friends, enjoy partying and/or casual relationships. They see home as a place to sleep and like independent, urban and specialist brands. Think Kate Moss and Russell Brand. Surprisingly, the data shows them to be the least happy of the three groups: only 34% are happier now than when they were 18.

Nesters: Focused on a smaller group of friends, a nice home, creature comforts, high design and fashion, this group loves their lifestyle. Their heroes are Madonna, Audrey Hepburn and ET. They like to think they are free thinking; they'd be happy to have a gay child and love city living. They like aspirational brands; people like Cameron Diaz. Many are looking for love but are already pretty happy: 55% are happier now than when they were 18.

Super-breeders: Parents who categorically say "it's all about the kids." Driven to protect their children from a host of perceived threats (sugar, television, the internet, chemicals, junk food and porn), they will stop at nothing to give their kids a competitive boost. Their buzz words are organic, fresh, local, free-range, recyclable, environmentally friendly, green and sustainable. They want brands to help them achieve their perfect worlds. Think Jamie and Jools and Brangelina. The super-breeders are the happiest of the lot: 67% are happier now than when they were 18.

Can I say that I'm a cruiser with a nice little nest? I was more of nester before I got divorced but now that I am single again I am definitely a cruiser. In fact most of the "nest" I built up for myself is now packed away in a Mi-Box. I go out for fun 3-5 nights a week. I have a wide variety of friends (and yet I keep them in my own special small circle). I have fun and waste a ton of money just doing things that are interesting - concerts, plays, cooking classes, tasting menu's at fancy restaurants . . .

But I do have a nice little place packed with all sorts of fun things to keep me entertained: DVRs, satellite radio, computer, laptop, Wii, scrapbooking stuff, cameras, kitchen gadgets, and of course my two dogs and my little bird. So I don't have to go out because I have lots of fun things to do at home, either by myself or when friends or family come over. I am free-thinking and I'd "be happy to have a gay child and love city living".

The happiness thing kind of gets me. At 35 I know people both younger and older. The ones that were HAPPY at 18 were only that way because it was the summer after high school and before college and mommy and daddy paid for everything and the world was full of possibilities. I am much happier now than I was at 18, but I'm happy for the REAL reasons, not the party reasons. Who knows enough of life at 18 to determine if they are truly happy or not. Happiness comes with age and maturity. Thankfully, every thirtysomething is happier now and wouldn't really want to go back in time. The 20's are way hard!

The Sound of a Generation

(For more of my thoughts listen below)

I recently listened to NPR's All Songs Considered podcast "The Sound of a Generation". It is a really great discussion and some of the comments have stayed with me. I have been thinking about the music I used to listen to when growing up and a lot of it seems to have been omitted from their discussion.

According to their blog:

Every generation has its own soundtrack. The Silent Generation (people born in the '20s and '30s) had big band and swing. Baby Boomers (born in the '40s and '50s) had rock and soul. Generation X (born in the '60s and '70s) had grunge and hip-hop. There's plenty of overlap, of course, and these are incredibly broad distinctions that don't take a lot of other genres into consideration. But it's probably fair to say that these were the most defining moments in music for each generation.

Big-band jazz and swing was the sound of a nation celebrating itself during and after the War. What's now called classic rock was the perfect soundtrack for a rebellion, while the mopey angst of grunge captured the, well, mopey angst of disillusioned teens and twentysomethings coming off the Reagan years.

Why is Gen X defined by Grunge and Hip Hop? What about New Wave? That seems to be the first music we as a generation in the 80's could call our own. Depeche Mode, The Cure, Erasure . . . Was they not huge bands? They impacted TONS of today's artists. Nirvana, as called out in the podcast didn't break big until 1992. And there was alot more going on in the 80s besides the break out of Hip/Hop and Rap.

I can totally remember the first time I heard Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by The Cure. It was like something out of a movie where my girlfriend put on the tape and I flipped through the liner notes while we tried to absorb all the sounds and lyrics. And by the time they got to Disintegration they were AMAZING!



Erasure's The Innocents also had a huge effect on me. I performed in a dance show as a sophomore in high school where half of the songs were from that album. They had tons of good stuff before that too. Anyone remember the live Two Ring Circus album? And how about Depeche Mode's Violator album? Influences from these artists and other like can still be heard in many indie rock and indie pop artists today.

And there were alot of other big artists that don't fall into the "New Wave" category but I'm not quite sure where they fit. What about U2 and R.E.M.?

Sometimes I'm a "Twitter Whore"

Plane, train and bicycle nightmares

It seems that the Chicago area has a cloud hanging over it that is leading to a ridiculous amount of train and bicycle accidents. And the plane delays suck too!

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Kevin Fowler @ Floores Country Store (6/7)

We got introduced to Texas Country in a big way by going to see Kevin Fowler, an Austin favorite, at Floores Country Store outside of San Antonio, Texas. (I'm not sure of the full story but Floores and Willie Nelson have some type of connection people kept talking about.) Friends of my sister rented out the patio for us so we were completely spoiled. Instead of having to be smushed down in the crowd we were able to sit and have beer served to us while we could see the entire show. There were about 30 of us all together and plenty of room to dance and be social. Oh, and we were in a great position to check out all the cute boys in cowboy hats!

I did some reconnaissance on Kevin Fowler and checked out his MySpace profile to see what I was getting into before we went on our trip. I'm not a big country fan but his music was pleasant enough so I was looking forward to seeing a real "Texas" show.

His songs are actually fun and in a concert setting they are easy to pick up the verses on. My brother-in-law's favorite song is "Hard Man to Love" and he was playing it for me in the car earlier in the day. But during the show I enjoyed songs like "I Ain't Drinking Anymore", "Long Line of Losers", "Don't Touch My Willie" and "Beer, Bait & Ammo". He even played two songs that I knew: Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" and Queen's "Fat Bottom Girls" and that was crazy fun! There is no doubt that Kevin Fowler is a FABULOUS entertainer and really knows how to get the crowd engaged.

As for the guy himself, I have never seen a more gracious "celebrity"! After the show he went over to the t-shirt stand and he stayed until EVERY LAST PERSON got an autograph and take as many pictures as they wanted. I had him sign the t-shirt I bought but skipped on the photo op. I highly recommend checking out one of his shows if he tours in your area.

Casey's Graduation

Our family photo shoot for Casey's graduation!

Music and Social Networking

Weezer plus Twitter plus Nirvana plus MySpace plus Radiohead . . . it is a good time to be alive!

My Utterz about Music and Social Networking:

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The Kooks @ The Vic (6/2)

I LOVE The Kooks! We went to see their SOLD OUT show at The Vic Theater tonight. We spent the first 5 or 6 songs up in the balcony where we were sitting down. The show was all ages so it was ridiculously crowded on the main floor. But it wasn't look before I felt the need to dance so we did end up going downstairs and mingle with the crowd.

What a great show! I don't know the full setlist, but some of the songs they played include "Seaside", "Ooh La", "She Moves in Her Own Way", "Naive", and a cool acoustic version of "Jackie Big Tits" from their Inside In / Inside Out album. They also played a whole bunch from their new album Konk like "Always Where I Need to Be", "Mr. Maker", "Stormy Weather" and "Shine On". Now of course I can't stop listening to them and reliving each moment!





Love is all around you...

- Rachel

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From Sushi Wabi to the Green Mill

What a fun night! Yesterday started off simple enough. I attended RIApalooza which was a really great event about discovery of Rich Internet Applications. Afterwards my friend and I went to Sushi Wabi (one of my favorites) to grab an early dinner. Since we sat at the sushi bar we started chattting with a few of the guys who came in solo. We met Guy, a really neat guy from the UK and we kept chatting with him until we CLOSED Sushi Wabi! We wanted to take him someplace that is TRUE Chicago so we took him to the classic Green Mill. It was like we stepped back in time 50 years. The jazz was PERFECT and we all had a blast!