But in the meantime, BUNNY AND DEER SNUGGLING!!!

I got a new cell phone before Mike and I took off for our trip to New York earlier this month. It has a nifty little video feature, so I tested it out on the best subject ever: Ethel!

It’s almost too late, but super-happy birthday to Nico, our awesome warehouse manager, shown here with the equally-awesome Ms. Rhea. Pic taken by the also-awesome Miss Kaela, at the Fantagraphics Bookstore!

I love my Fantagraphics family.

Oh god, this is so cute and sad, but isn’t sadness an element of cute after all?

Four tiny orpahned hedgehogs are snuggling up to the bristles of a cleaning brush - because they think it’s their mother.

The four inch long creatures are being hand-reared by staff at the New Forest Otter, Owl and Wildlife Park in Ashurst, Hants.

Workers say Mary, Mungo, Midge and Slappy get comfort from playing with the centre’s cleaning brush and enjoy rubbing against it.

The smells on the brush, which is used to sweep a yard, remind the hedgehogs of their natural habitat while the texture reminds them of their mother.

Manager John Crooks, 41, said: “They are a bit like human babies - they need activities to keep them busy.

“Because they have very poor eyesight you have to appeal to their sense of smell and touch by giving them different scents and textures.

“They like natural scents and have enjoyed playing with our cleaning brushes, soil, leaves, flower pots and the like.

“They particularly seem to enjoy rubbing against the brush.

“It may sound odd but I imagine the bristles feel a bit like their mum.”

He added: “Three of the hedgehogs came to us because their mum was sadly crushed by a council palette truck at one of their depots.

“They are only a couple of weeks old.

“The fourth one is a little bit older and was found wandering around a back garden in the middle of the day.

“The home owner left it alone for a while to see if it would find its mum but after a few hours it was still by itself so she brought it into to us.”

The hedgehogs will be fed until they are full-sized and then they will be released back into the wild.

John said: “We are feeding them milk powder mixed with kitten food - but they don’t like fish flavour - they prefer nice meaty chunks.

“When they get older they will move onto proper cat food and will occasionally be given slugs and snails as a treat.

“There has been a real surge in slugs this year because of the wet weather so hopefully that will mean a good year for hedgehogs too.

“I would urge people not to kill garden slugs with pellets because the poison will be passed on to hedgehogs and a build up of poison could be fatal.

“If the weather is good they could be released in a month or so, otherwise we will feed them over the winter so they do not hibernate and then relase them in spring.”

He added: “They are quite a handful and each has their own character.

“One is quite snappy and another fairly sleepy.”

source: Daily Mail UK

Can I brag and mention I won the very first Craft-Off contest? Don’t be shy about entering! It’s a fun way to challenge yourself!

I haven’t had a girl crush on a fashion model since Trish Goff, and I’m starting to think that maybe I’m crushing harder on Irina’s hair than on the person herself.

Seriously, I want her bangs. How do I do that? I’ve been cutting my own bangs for a while now, but I can’t seem to get them looking as cute as hers. But anyhoo, she’s cute; she kinda reminds me of another model, Michelle Hicks, from Trish’s era. (Michelle was in the movie Twin Falls, Idaho, which I cannot believe I reviewed back in 1999!!!!!!! Cripes.) Back to Irina, apparently, she’s also making music with Sean Lennon right now, both literally and figuratively, if you get what I’m saying. But yeah. The bangs. I gotta work on that.

Do you know about those LOLCAT macros? Don’t ask me how this phenomenon started or what it’s all about; all I know is it really cracks me up. And this message board has extended the style to pop bands from the 80’s…

I like how this one gives a nod to the original macros with kitties. There are some just-as-funny ones here. I think I laughed hardest at the Van Halen one but I decided not to share that one here, for, ahem, obvious reasons.

Also, in an even sillier variation, there are Jonathan Coulton macros here. Again, my favorite isn’t something appropriate for this forum…guess which one it is!

Today is the birthday of one of my dearest friends, Susie, who has been so amazingly supportive of me and my move here to NY. I am so lucky to have her in my life!!!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Also, huge “happy birthday” hugs to Miss Karen back in Seattle, and “happy belated birthday” to my cousin Taichi (gomen nasai, Taichi-san).

For our lovely readers who celebrate Christmas, we hope it’s happy!

maybelline intense xxl mascara:
I like insane Edie-Sedgwick-esque eyelashes. I hate the glue and messy application involved in false lashes. So, when I saw the ad for this stuff, boasting “gives a false lash effect without looking fake", I thought, hells yeah, bring it on.

Unfortunately, the results were less Twiggy, and more Tammy Faye. Plus, the two-step applicator is such a bother. If I’m too lazy to fuss with eyelash glue, why would I want to bother with two-step mascara? Screw it.

maybelline instant age rewind cream foundation:
I bought this stuff shortly after turning 30 earlier this year, when I was going through my “OHMYF’INGOD I AM OLD” period. I imagined my skin like some ticking time-bomb, ready to explode in wrinkles, age spots, and crows feet.

Well, maybe I’m jumping the gun too much. Maybe this stuff works better if you actually have wrinkles that need rewinding. But for me, personally, this stuff doesn’t do a thing. It’s thick, looks cake-y, and speaking of cake, it even smells like vanilla frosting. Maybe I just want cake.

I know, I know…I don’t post for ages, and then I don’t shut up…that seems to be a trend for me! But, I just read about this and wanted to pass along the awesome news, so deal with it.

The Sea & Cake Eyeing May For Seventh Album

Chicago indie rock institution the Sea & Cake is eyeing a May release for its seventh Thrill Jockey studio album. Basic tracks were completed in a five-day session last month, and frontman Sam Prekop will spend the next week recording his vocals for the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2003’s “One Bedroom.”

“I’d say in general, for lack of a better word, it’s more upbeat,” Prekop tells Billboard.com. “And somehow, strangely straight-ahead. Some of the songs are more in a certain rock tradition. Of course, that’s coming from me, so it may be hard to believe. I always say that kind of stuff and people will hear intensely experimental art-rock leanings rather than straight rock leanings.”

He adds that the band aimed to recapture the “Afro-pop thing” present on songs from its self-titled 1994 debut like “Jacking the Ball.” “We’re really concentrating on the guitar interweave idea. There’s a decided lack of Brazilian-y flavors,” he says.

At this point, none of the songs have names, a process Prekop prefers to leave until mixing. “I will wait for little song title epiphanies as we work,” he says. Look for the band to play some shows around the new album’s release date and launch a more extensive tour in the fall.

In addition, Prekop has been busy with a book of his photography, which will be published sometime next year via the Japanese imprint Press Pop. Although his photos of far-off locales have graced the Sea & Cake’s album art for years, the book consists only of shots taken “around my house and the neighborhood. It’s limited in scope but hopefully expansive in ideas.”

Also percolating is synth-based instrumentals Prekop submitted for use in the documentary “Helvetica,” which concerns the titular typeface ("We’ve always used it. It’s a classic,” Prekop laughs). The artist isn’t sure whether his music will make the final cut but enthuses, “I enjoy doing that synth-y stuff quite a bit and at some point I’d like to release something along those lines. I have a fairly elaborate home studio I do stuff in all the time but it never escapes.”

from billboard.com

Oh god, they’re trying to recapture some of the sound of their debut album? Damn it, is it May yet?

The cutest author I know and the dorkiest girl alive, Elliott Bay Bookstore, Seattle, WA, October 2006

Christmas has come early, folks, ‘cause my adorable literary crush, John Hodgman, is offering the audio version of his book, The Areas of My Expertise, for free through iTunes! Even if you own and have read the book (and surely you do and have, right?), the audio version is just a whole ‘nother treat all together. Jonathan Coulton provides the delightful musical accompaniment, and some humorous banter, and then there’s the swoonworthy voice of Hodgman. There’s even a guest appearance by Wet Hot American Summer star Paul Rudd! There may be more surprises; I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet. Either way, it’s the nicest present you can give yourself this season, and it’s FREE!

So, it’s December 20th. If you haven’t finished your holiday shopping by now, let’s face it, you’re probably screwed. It’s time to start thinking about New Year’s Eve instead! (Actually…come to think of it, tickets to either of these events would make a really nice Christmas present… just a thought if you’re still racking your brain for gift ideas…)

Mike Birbiglia @ the Moore Theatre

As anyone who reads this blog will already know, these past couple of months have not been happy ones for me. Which is why I am SO EXCITED to end this crappy year with two of the funniest fellows around. I need a laugh for a change, and I will undoubtedly get loads of them at this show.

Mike Birbiglia is simply adorable. I think we saw him first at Bumbershoot back in 2003, and he was just so funny and charming, he totally won us over. His act on the 3-CD “Invite Them Up” set is one of my favorites in the collection. I’m sad to say, we actually missed him the last time he played in Seattle because his show at the University of Washington sold out!!! What does that tell you kids? Don’t wait too long to buy tickets!

And as if getting to end the year with Mike Birbiglia wasn’t enough, opening for him is Eugene Mirman, who is also incredibly adorable. Seattle-ites oughta know Eugene by now since he’s on our own Sub Pop Records, and was recently in town MC’ing for Suicide Squeeze’s anniversary shows.

I would buy tickets to see either of these guys if they were coming to town, so getting to see them both in one night, for one ticket price? It’s a total steal.

KEXP’s John in the Morning At Night New Year’s Weekend Bender

Yup, my beloved radio station where I intern is having a huge ol’ blow out with two concerts over the New Year’s weekend! Just check out this line-up:

Sunday, Dec. 31:
Jeremy Enigk
Wild Sweet Orange
Walter Meego
The Ettes

Amazingly, there are still tickets available for both nights. And if you can’t be there in person, you can always listen either online at kexp.org or here in Seattle on 90.3 FM to two of the bands performing on air, Saturday December 30! The Village Green (as seen above) will be on at 7:00pm, and Catfish Haven will be on at 8:00pm. The station folks are all really good peeps, so spending the last couple of days of the year with them should be a nice time!

Sorry to everyone for that unexpected outage we experienced at copacetic zine recently. Some horrid spammers attacked the site, and my hosting company had to shut us down to block the assault. Unfortunately, as part of our defense against the spam, I’ve had to disable the comments on my diary and on the Daily Snooze. Mike’s Column remains unaffected though, because he is in good standing with the internet gods or something.

I’m sure a lot of you have already heard about the Kim family. In fact, I was just at Walgreen’s picking up a prescription, and I overheard the lady in line ahead of me saying, “I sure do hope they find the father of that family who got lost in Oregon…” and I simply couldn’t bring myself to interrupt and deliver the bad news that they found him this morning, and sadly, he didn’t survive.

If you’d like to do something to help, there are a few different ways:

As most of you probably already know, growing up, I was a total goth girl. Which is why I was delighted this morning to find that Laurence (“Lol” to us) Tolhurst, founding member of The Cure, has a new(-ish) band called Levinhurst, who has a new digital-only EP entitled “The Grey EP” out today. And, it even has a cover of The Cure song “All Cats Are Grey” (which you may have heard on the soundtrack for Marie Antoinette). Can it get more Cure-related? Why, yes, it can, because fellow founding Cure member Michael Dempsey even does a re-mix of one of the tracks, “Never Going to Dream Again” (and how goth-y is that title anyway?). If you like what you download, you’ll be happy to know that What Are Records? will be releasing Levinhurst’s full-length early next year.

You want some links? Okay, here you go:

and started driving to Portland, I could be there in time to see The Pernice Brothers, who I missed last night when they were playing a block away from my apartment.

But I have a cat on my lap. So I’m not going anywhere.

Sometimes, bizarre memories from my childhood creep out from the back of my mind and jump to the forefront, for no apparent reason other than to torment me. So, I’ve decided that from now on, whenever this happens, I’ll try and write about it here…

For example: this morning, for some insane reason, I was remembering this cheesy music video for Billy Idol’s “Catch My Fall”. And, yes, all you get is a link and a really bad screencap, because I simply can’t bring myself to embed this video on my website. I’ve never even liked Billy Idol, and no, it was not the lengthy gratuitous shower scene I remembered. It was the scene where he EATS FOOD WITH A KNIFE.

As children, my brother and I thought this was the most hilarious thing ever. We would stab our food with a knife, bring it to our mouths, and shout across the dinner table, “Look! Look! Just like Billy Idol!” Or when my Dad would eat an apple with a paring knife, we’d point and laugh, “Just like Billy Idol!”

I guess this is because we were dorky suburban children who liked to ride banana seat bikes and read Choose Your Own Adventure books. Seeing someone eat food with an improper utensil was greatly amusing to us.

…And that’s the first in a potential series of weird random memories from Janice.

In other Janice-news, I’m still pretty depressed, but I’ve been dealing with it. I’ve been cooking, which is kinda exciting! I’m actually doing okay at it so far. And exercising, which isn’t so exciting, but ah well. I hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Thanks to everyone for their sweet support over this past week. Good lord, it’s been tough. I guess you might’ve already heard that they caught the guy who murdered my friend. On one hand, it made me feel kinda better, because I just knew in my heart that she didn’t kill herself. But on the other hand, it really made me hate this world: some 19-year-old hothead punched her out and killed her, and then staged it to look like a suicide?! What kind-of f’ed up world is this?! Plus, Adrienne was tiny. She was only 5′2″, and probably less than 100 lbs. Like I was telling my mom, it would be like punching a child! Not that punching anyone is good, but for crying out loud, how could anyone do that to Adrienne?!

So, I’ve been really hating the world lately, but then everyone has been so sweet and supportive to me lately, and it’s people like you guys who make this world good, and make up for the murderers and terrible people out there… so, thank you guys. At the risk of sounding corny, you’ve renewed my faith in humanity. It’s true.

I think today has been the first day in, well, a week, that I’ve felt semi-normal. I guess it helps that the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Lately, all I’ve felt like listening to is sad music like Low and Lambchop and Kristin Hersh (particularly the song “Hope” from Strange Angels), but today I actually put the very uplifting Innocence Mission into my CD player and walked about doing errands. I smiled at children. I pet passing puppies on their heads. I just kinda breathed in the air, and felt the sun on my face, and thought about how Adrienne would want me to get on with my life, as cliched and lame as that sounds. So, I’m kind-of turning a corner, I guess.

Anyway, thank you again to everyone who’s left comments or written me comforting emails or funny emails to help cheer me up. Lotsa love xoxoxoxoxoxo

A friend of mine was found dead in her apartment earlier this week. I’ve been having the worst time dealing with it. She was one of the most amazing people I had ever met, and I feel so lucky that I got to know her. It completely tears my heart apart. I’d been thinking about her a lot lately, but I never found the time to get in touch with her. And now I never can again.

Adrienne was an amazing actress, writer, director…well, she was just an amazing person, really. I met her about six years ago online, because we’re both rather petite, and we found ourselves constantly bidding against each other on eBay for the cutest extra-small vintage clothing. Before long, we were e-mailing each other and trading clothing and becoming friends. The funny thing is, for the longest time, Ididn’t even know that she was the actress I knew from all those great early Hal Hartley movies. All I knew was she was this sweet, funny, thoughtful, sassy, intelligent lady that I was lucky to be emailing with! So, it was pretty funny when I finally found out what her stage name was and realized that I’d become friends with an actress whose work I had loved since I was just a teenager…

When her film I’ll Take You There came to the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX, we got to meet in person for the first time, and she was so sweet, and we had so much fun together (we went thrift shopping, natch), it was like we had always been friends. Sadly, so much happened over the past couple of years that we kinda drifted apart. I got married, and moved to Seattle. And Adrienne got married and had a baby, who’s now a toddler. But I thought about her often, and whenever I made it out to New York, I’d call her and we’d try to meet up. And now, sadly, we’ll never get to meet up again. It’s so terrible to digest.

Amazingly, there have been quite a few other horrible things that have happened to me this week, but without a doubt, Adrienne’s passing has been weighing the heaviest on my mind. I miss her a lot.

Hi! Are you in a band? Do you live in San Francisco? How about New York City? Well, how would you like to open for two very sweet bands, Brookville and Tahiti80? They’re having a contest! I will copy-and-paste the details below…

Brookville and Tahiti80 are looking for opening acts in New York City (at Mercury Lounge ) & San Francisco (at Cafe du Nord) on their U.S. tour. The bands are looking for emerging artists that embody the essence and soul of good pop/rock composition… And a certain je-ne-sais-quoi!

To be eligible, you must be Myspace friends of both bands. Make your submission in a Myspace message, specifying which city it’s for. Members of Brookville & Tahiti80 will then check out your Myspace page. If they like what they hear, they’ll let you know.

One winner will be selected for NYC and another for San Francisco. The two winners will be announced on Brookville and Tahiti80’s Myspace profiles on October 30th. Winning artists will each receive a signed copy of Brookville’s latest album, Life In The Shade, some “goodies” from Tahiti80, and 5 guest list spots. Winners must perform acoustically (no drums) andare responsible for their own transportation to and from the event. There will be no performance fee.

I have to say, I’m tempted to enter just to find out what “goodies” you receive from Tahiti80. And since when did they lose the space between “Tahiti” and “80″?

After last year’s horrible cake debacle, I decided to go for the easiest thing possible…

“Just add water.” Moisten for dinosaur terror. How could I screw this up? Water.

As you can see, this cake was pretty much idiot-proof…

To add my own special touch, I bought some bags of butterscotch and caramel/chocolate swirl kisses to add to the cake. Of course, I realized after the fact that it would’ve been yummier if I had actually stirred the kisses into the batter stuff instead of just poking them through the top of the baked cake, but I did stick the whole thing back into the oven for some melty-niceness.

Ta-da!

Hooray! It’s not totally disgusting! And now that I’m bouncing off the walls from sugar, I am back to work…

i’m in the middle of baking his birthday cake, but i just wanted to sneak a second to post a birthday hello to my husband, WHOO! and yes, you read correctly: i am BAKING A CAKE. oh, the things you do for those you love!

and we’re listening to jonathan richman! isn’t that nice for a birthday?

and, bye!

FRIDAY: I woke up and was showered with gifts from Mike. He got me two amazing Audrey Hepburn books that I didn’t even know had been published! They were so beautiful that I immediately curled up on the couch and started looking through them, thus making us late for the Math & Physics Club in-studio session, D’OH!

So, my radio station KEXP was broadcasting live from my neighborhood on Friday, because we won the hood-to-hood challenge during the last pledge drive, and Ballard residents pledged the largest amount of money outta all the neighborhoods in the Seattle area. Take THAT, Capitol Hill! Anyway, MAPC were one of the five (six?) bands scheduled to play live in the ‘hood. Thankfully, we got there to catch most of their set, and a very lovely woman let me snag the chair next to her. (Aww!)

Sadly, shortly after their performance, it was time for me to get to work. With the help of Julian and Kevin (our awesome KEXP engineers), I had to carry all the in-studio equipment across the street to our next broadcasting location, Sonic Boom Records. If you were listening to the station around 9:30-am-ish, you might’ve heard Cheryl wish me a “Happy Birthday” on the air! (Aww again!)

And then at 10:00 am, Cheryl’s show started, and we were broadcasting live from Sonic Boom…

Setting up before the broadcast began…

Cheryl on the air

If you were listening around 10:42 am on Friday and heard me giggling like crazy in the background, here’s the visual to go with that audio

[ photo credit: Gregory A. Perez / click here for more pics from that day! ]

It was really a fun time though! Thanks to all the nice KEXP listeners who came by Sonic Boom for the broadcast and for the sweet birthday wishes!

SATURDAY: We drove out to Vancouver to watch the lovely Yo La Tengo play at Richards On Richards. It was our first time seeing them play stuff live from the new album, and it truly blew me away and I got stupidly teary-eyed during “The Story of Yo La Tango". We drove home after the show eating Japanese snacks from James and listening to Scharpling & Wurster’s Rock, Rot & Rule.

SUNDAY: KEXP is in the middle of a pledge drive, so we pre-recorded an in-studio session with YLT to be broadcast next week. Admittedly, it felt kinda weird to be doing my intern duties for them since I’ve known them for so long, but it was really lots of fun.

Aren’t they cute?

Me, YLT, and Kevin Cole, our afternoon DJ who interviewed them for the session

[ photo credit: Bootsy Holler / click here for more pics from that day! ]

Mike will have pics from their show at The Showbox up soon, and we’ll be broadcasting their session on 10/24 at 3:00 pm!

MONDAY: Back in the car and off to Portland for our final night of seeing them play. I bought a ton of San-X, Q-Lia, and Crux paper goods, and finally got Douglas Coupland’s latest book j-Pod. We had delicious Thai food for dinner. I was kinda heartbroken to see Yo La Tengo play for the last time, but good god, they were so amazing! I mean, all three of their performances were awesome, but holy crap, Monday night’s show was really, really, really incredible. We got home around 4:00 am this morning, and I’m still kinda tired.

YAY for birthdays! And Mike’s is up this Friday, so it’s a non-stop party!

Debbie Stoller, editor of Bust Magazine, is working on another of her awesome Stitch & Bitch knitting books, this one focused on stuff for guys! Here are the details:

Hey everyone-

I’m working on another book, and this one’s going to be full of knit and crochet projects for men (and boys). I’ve already got a bunch of fab stuff together, but I still need a few more submissions. I’m looking for socks, gloves, hats, scarves, sweaters, bags, and anything else you can think of. If you’ve got something you’d like to contribute, please send an email to stitchnbitch@bust.com by November 3rd (or before) You may send photos of completed items, or sketches of items you’re proposing along with a photo of a (large) swatch knit or crocheted in the manner that you’d like to do the project. YOu don’t have to try and get an entire sweater done by November 3rd, so don’t sweat it. If I am able to include your project, you will be paid for your pattern and provided with all the yarn you need to work up a sample for the book.

I’m looking for stuff that men will actually wear or use, so if you’re female and you’ve got an idea, run it past a person of the male persuasion and get their input before sending it off. I want to put an end to the curse of the boyfriend sweater, with a book full of boy-tested, boy-approved projects. Male stitchers are particuarly invited to contribute!

Questions? Feel free to email me: stitchnbitch@bust.com.

Thanks everyone!

Debbie Stoller
http://www.knithappens.com

…but that’s not gonna stop me from passing along this news from Kristin Hersh! I’m just gonna quote directly from her newsletter, ‘cause I’m too tired to write something up (let alone come up with a Kristin-related title).

Just a reminder that Kristin’s last US solo show for a long while is scheduled for October 27 at The Swedish American Hall (above Café du Nord) in San Francisco. Hope you can make it! Buy tickets at Virtuous.

She’ll be playing solo versions of songs from Throwing Muses’ self-titled debut release – in honor of it’s 20th anniversary (!!) – as well as featuring songs from her upcoming new record Learn To Sing Like A Star, due out in January, 2007.

Those of you in the vicinity of London may want to keep an eye peeled for a special, intimate show with Kristin accompanied by bass, drums and strings – now scheduled for early January 2007. We’ll be sure and email with specifics as they’re confirmed.

Kristin’s just finished recording b-sides (of what??) for the first single from Learn To Sing Like A Star. The single is for the song “In Shock” and will feature 3 non-album tracks – 2 brand new Kristin songs titled “Window Pane” & “Blackstone” and an eerie, dark version of “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” an Appalachian folk song she’s been covering lately.

Once I’m more awake, I’ll write more about my amazing birthday weekend.

Here’s my last post as a twentysomething. From here on out, anything I write will be under the “wisdom” of a sage thirtysomething.

Everyone keeps telling me that I will be glad that my twenties are over, and the more I think about, the more I think they may be on to something. My twenties were kinda weird, and not entirely pleasant. If I sit back and take stock of the past ten years, I guess I’ve kinda accomplished a few things: adopted and raised my kitty Tobin, started copacetic zine (which I kinda can’t believe I’m still doing…), got married, moved to Seattle, started my little online business…

But at the same time, I kinda don’t feel that different than I did ten years ago. I still listen to same bands. I still wear the same clothing. I still watch the same TV shows. It just doesn’t feel like I’ve “grown up” very much, which is why I think being 30 feels so weird.

Anyhoo, here are a few things I have learned in my twenties. If there are any youngsters reading this, feel free to heed my warnings:

• Do not befriend the friendless: This happened to me twice during my twenties. You meet someone who seems nice enough. You get to talking, and they reveal they have no friends. You think, “Gosh, but this person seems nice! I wonder why they don’t have any friends…” and then not-soon-enough, you find out why. I think this is especially significant as you get older. If you meet someone in their late-twenties who has a history of screwing people over, you can sure as heck bet that you’ll be next in line if you continue to associate with this person.

• A college degree is no guarantee: My apologies to those of you who are college-graduates or are currently enrolled in college. But sadly, throughout my twenties, I have met way too many college-educated people who are serving coffee or sweeping floors. They are buried in debt, and working for minimum wage, and they can barely make ends meet, let alone pay off their college loans. It’s depressing as hell, and if I can leave my twenties with even the tiniest inkling of relief, it is in the fact that I dropped out early.

• Take care of yourself: I’m sure anyone in their twenties who is reading this will take no heed, because when I was in my twenties, I didn’t listen either. But, now I’m in my thirties, so like those before me, I must lecture you. It cannot be helped. But really, wear sunblock. Drink lots of water. Eat vegetables. I don’t do any of these things, and I wish I had started doing them earlier in my life. It’s too late for me now, but it might not be too late for you.

That’s all I have to say. Good-bye, twenties. You were…interesting. Fun, at times, but also trying. Will my thirties be nicer? I think they might be.

I have two favorite songs right now, songs that I keep hitting the “back” button on and playing over and over again:

One is “Fear” by Lambchop, off their latest album Damaged, which is, simply put, stunning. I’ve read that many of the lyrics were written during a rough time in songwriter Kurt Wagner’s life when he was being treated for prostate cancer, so, I definitely feel kinda shallow and bratty for taking his lyrics to heart during my quarter-life crisis. But, there’s one couplet that’s been really resonating with me:

It’s not so bad,
Ok, it’s worse.

I think a lot of it also has to do with Kurt’s delivery of the lyrics, but I definitely keep thinking about them as things are stressing me out and I’m feeling depressed.

The other song that I’ve been loving is completely on the other end of the spectrum, and that’s the title track of the new Hot Chip album, The Warning. The chorus goes as follows:

Hot Chip will break your legs
Snap off your head
Hot Chip will put you down
Under the ground

Also, apparently Portastatic has done a cover of Hot Chip’s “And I Was a Boy from School", a song you might recognize from a copacetic sound podcast back in August.

On a completely unrelated note, here’s a cute interview with Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket).

And on another unrelated note, my parents are coming to Seattle for an early birthday visit! I pick them up from the airport tomorrow morning. And back to work I go…

I had a kinda crappy day today, but one thing happened that is still making me laugh 12-or-so hours after the fact: This morning I had a doctor’s appointment, but when I checked in at the front desk, I was told that my appointment was at the downtown location, not the Northgate office that I was currently standing in. The receptionist asked me if I knew where the downtown office was, and I answered no. She then, leaned to the side, looked at the older gentleman who was standing behind me waiting for his turn to check in, and asked, “Sir, are you this young lady’s driver?”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

I love that she thinks I’m the kinda girl who has to be chauffeured around town. Or the kinda girl who can afford a personal driver anyway.

can you believe, mike and i didn’t go to a show tonight! instead we stayed home and watched “america’s next top model” and “project runway". back to work for me now…

Sorry I’ve been terrible about writing lately! We saw Kristin Hersh play this evening at the Triple Door. I can’t believe how many times we’ve been there in the past week! She was lovely and gorgeous and heart-warming, as always.

Back to crazy amounts of work!!!

Mike and I just got back from seeing Billy Bragg in concert — my first time ever seeing him live, even though I’ve loved his songs ever since Andrew put some on a mix tape for me nearly ten years ago! God, I am so old…We’re seeing him again tomorrow as he’s doing a special performance for KEXP members. I’ll try and write more about it soon…

This weekend is going by way too fast for me!

The commercials didn’t look all that interesting, but check out the cast listing for School for Scoundrels:

Maybe I’ll just Netflix it.

Sarah Vowell wore some cute shoes on “The Colbert Report” the other night, but man, her eye make-up made her look like the walking dead! Not good.

Mike and I just got back from seeing Lambchop, a band we haven’t seen perform live since our honeymoon way back in 2000! Cripes! But, man oh man, it worth the wait, because they were just astounding! What incredible musicians, and such gracious, kind-hearted folk…it was a really nice night.

Also, I decided that my years-long ban against Quizno’s might be lifted. I can’t remember what happened all those years ago that turned me against them, but we ate there this evening, and it was mighty tasty. What was I thinking?

Tomorrow is also going to be lovely ‘cause Jeremy’s coming home from vacation and we’re gonna check out the Junior Boys in-studio session at the station! (It’s been a jam-packed week of in-studios, cripes!)

And now I’m off to curl up in bed with Tobin and read.

Crazy day today…

Foxy French Fellows Phoenix were at the station today, and they were lovely. That’s right, folks, the man who knocked up Sofia Coppola had his arm around me! ME! Ain’t that a kick? Okay, maybe just to me. Mike has pictures from their in-store at Easy Street Records on his flickr dealie.

photo credit: mike baehr

And tomorrow? LAMBCHOP! I am so excited. I’m also nervous about how we’re going to fit all of them in the recording room…stay tuned…

There’s an adorable interview with the very adorable Mr. James McNew of Yo La Tengo here. The whole Q&A is pretty cute, but I think my favorite line is, “Oh, you know, a guy, maybe he wears a nice shirt …” — HEE!

Okay, now I’m off to vacuum the apartment, FUN TIMES!

Oh god, it’s getting closer! I feel like I should be doing something momentous with my final days in my twenties…like going on a drinking binge, or getting a tattoo, or something more…I don’t know! I’m freaking out!!!

And in an unrelated matter, here’s an adorable interview with copacetic crush John Hodgman, phew!!!

i’ll get back on track soon, i swear it!

i think i have something like 20 more days til my birthday. only 20 more days left in my twenties…*sob!*

as britney would say, i did it again. it’s now saturday morning, which means i missed posting something on friday, which means this is the second time i’ve missed a day in my self-imposed post-a-day thing! oof. oh well.

just a heads up, my email’s been acting wonky lately. apparently, dreamhost is enduring some weird network problem? frankly, i don’t understand the tech-talk. i just want my email to work normally again! if you sent an email, don’t fret – according to dreamhost, it wasn’t lost, it’s just backed up somewhere on their servers. so i should get back to you as soon as i’m able! whee!

not much to talk about, although if you were listening to KEXP earlier today, you might’ve heard me stupidly say that the month was august! hee! oops. wishful thinking?

oops, i forgot to write something for wednesday, or um, 15 minutes ago. but i had a really crappy day, so that’s my excuse.

If you live in Seattle, you might be hearing me on the radio from time to time since I recorded a Public Service Announcement for KEXP, yay! If you don’t live in Seattle, and would like to hear my embarassing over-enunciations, here are the steps to take in order to do so:

1) Visit http://www.kexp.org/streamarchive/streamarchive.asp
2) In the middle of the page, you’ll see “Listen by time". For “Start Day", select “Tue, September 19th, 2006″, for “Hour” select “12″ and for “Minutes” select “00″ and then select “PM".
3) Click “GO”
4) You’ll be taken to another page where you’ll select your bandwidth / player and launch selected audio. Just click the way you want to play it and it’ll launch.
5) You’ll hear the end of a Sleater-Kinney song, Cheryl doing some back-announcing, and then two pre-recorded announcement thingies, and then ME, sounding quite dorky!!!

You can also use these same steps to hear my petulant one-word insistence that Cheryl re-play a Mountain Goats song that she accidentally stopped mid-way through, just select 12:57 PM instead.

I know, I know…I really should be working right now, but I came across this from Amy (a.k.a. Sugabeats!) and it was so fun, I just had to play along. Basically, you use your iTunes player as a sort-of “Magic 8 Ball” — you put it on shuffle, ask it one of the questions below, click “forward", and the song title will give you a glimpse into the future! (Or just a really good laugh…)

I basically learned that my iTunes player has a wicked sense of humor!

1. How are you feeling today?
Every Monday - Tender Forever (WHOA! how did iTunes know it was Monday?!)

2. Will you get far in life?
Tonight’s the Night - originally by Rod Stewart, covered by Yo La Tengo (Uh, okay…)

3. What do your friends see you as?
Autonomie - The Prototypes

4. What is your best friend’s theme song?
In the Hidden Places - Mountain Goats (Sorry, Jer!)

5. What is the story of your life?
Finsh Your Collaspse and Stay For Breakfast - Broken Social Scene (HAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!)

6. What was High School like?
This Year’s First Storm - Hood (Holy crap…)

7. How can you get ahead in life?
Cymbal Rush - Thom Yorke

8. What is the best thing about your friends?
Weak Spots - The Adored (HAAAAAAA!!!!!)

9. What is in store for this weekend?
A Little Time - The Beautiful South

10. What song describes you?
UR A Girl - Junior Senior (why yes, i am a girl, thank you very much!)

11. To describe your grandparents?
Pittsburgh - The Lemonheads

12. How is your life going?
Hard to Hold - Butter 08

13. What song will they play at your funeral?
Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush (ew, i hope not!)

14. How does the world see you?
We Cannot Lose - The Futureheads (bwahahaha!)

15. Will you have a happy life?
Venus - Low

16. What do your friends really think about you?
Muffin 2 - Paris Angels (do you guys think i’m a muffin? or that i should eat two muffins?)

17. Do people secretly lust after you?
Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside) - My Bloody Valentine (how funny! this is the song playing at sugabeats’ funeral!!!)

18. How can I make myself happy?
Growler in the Rumbleseat - The Kingsbury Manx (note to self: growl more…)

19. What should you do with your life?
14 Days - Life Without Buildings (wait…WHAT?)

That was really long and silly!

i’m cutting it closer and closer, huh?

almost forgot again.

but i wrote something!

phew!

maybe i’ll write more tomorrow…

I just read about this over on The Stranger’s blog, and it’s just so darned cute, I had to share…

A young man who ordered some merch from another young man wasn’t very pleased with the free Yo La Tengo poster included in the package, which is a promotional poster for their new record I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass:

Mistaking the poster for an actual handwritten and threatening note, the kid sent off this message in return:

JUST WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE BITCH!? sending me a fucking piece of paper in big letters telling me you are gonna kick my ass, you’re not afraid of me????????? WELL HERE I AM DICKHEAD!

You can read the whole message board thread here. It’s awfully funny!

DEAR GOD! :(

For the past week, a lot of my friends have been asking me, “Have you seen that new Gap commercial with Audrey Hepburn?” At the time, I answered no, and they all warned me, “It’s horrible!” Based on their descriptions, I had hoped I would never see it. (I’m linking it below for those of you with stronger stomachs…)

Alas, thanks to my heavy TV-viewing schedule, I’ve seen it twice now. It makes me want to stab things. It’s SO AWFUL. It’s disgusting. Horrible. It makes me want to cry and throw things.

Another thing that makes we want to cry: one more month til’ my birthday. Oh god.

I know I just wrote about a Merritt-related project the other day, but there’s more news to share, and he is awfully cute. I can’t be bothered to re-write their own text, so here it is:

In addition to the upcoming Gothic Archies CD, end-of-summer means several appearances on some worthy compilation projects.

A new Stephin Merritt song, “The Meaning of Lice,” will be included on the upcoming 4AD/Beggar’s Banquet recording of the Margate Exodus Project, a British government-funded contemporary retelling of the Book of Exodus.

The Future Bible Heroes have emerged from their temporary retirement to submit a faux-British vaudevillian dance hall tune, “Mr. Punch,” to the Neil Gaiman tribute CD, Where’s Neil When You Need Him?, now available from Dancing Ferret Discs.

The 6ths’s “You You You You You,” originally from Hyacinths and Thistles, is included on the companion CD for the annual Music issue of the Oxford American magazine.

Meanwhile, the Magnetic Fields are back in the studio, recording a new release for Nonesuch Records with a target release of next Spring. Wish them luck!

And on a completely unrelated note, do you know what song I can’t stop listening to right now? TV on the Radio’s “I Was a Lover” — that looped horn bit is so good it makes me crazy! Plus, how can you go wrong with an album title like Return to Cookie Mountain? A mountain of cookies? Why, yes please!

Under Byen is this Danish band that Kevin over at KEXP is positively crazy about! He’s played quite a few tracks from their third album Samme Stof Some Stof on the air, and we’re excited to announce that these guys are heading to our continent for a quickie tour:

10.04 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge [FREE SHOW! ONLY U.S.]

10.05 - Montreal, QC - Ukrainian Federation [Pop Montreal] w/ Joanna Newsom

10.07 - Montreal, QC - The Cabaret [Pop Montreal] w/ Giant Sand

10.08 - Ottawa, ON - Zaphod’s w/ Giant Sand

10.09 - Toronto, ON - The Horseshoe w/Giant Sand

Samme Stof Some Stof comes out in the US on October 10th, and you can listen to the whole album online here. We’ll have a full review of the album up on the site soon!

In other news, the new Yo La Tengo album, lovingly titled I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, is in stores today. Turn off your computer and go out and buy it!

David’s got a new story on The New Yorker website for your lunch break reading pleasure.

Tomorrow I’m doing an in-studio at the station involving three bands at once! I have no idea how this is going to work out…are we going to stop in-between each set and soundcheck for each band? Are they all going to play together as one big super-band? Will each band just do a stripped-down acoustic set? How many cups of coffee will I need to serve? Just thinking about it kinda makes me want to cry, so I’ll just stop typing now.

today just keeps getting better and better…

my email is currently broken. i hope it gets fixed soon. bye.

edit: never mind! our host fixed it, yay and thank you!

The Gothic Archies: New Release October 10: “The Tragic Treasury: Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events,” a musical companion to Lemony Snicket’s book series, will be in stores October 10. The CD features a song for each of the 13 books in the series plus 2 bonus tracks. The Gothic Archies will perform songs from the CD on solo ukulele at several of Lemony’s bookstore appearances this October and November. Check the House of Tomorrow or Lemony’s website for confirmed dates.

For fellow Seattle-ites, it’s:
Thursday, October 26, 2006
*With Brett Helquist
Host: University Bookstore
Event time: 6:00 PM
Event location:
Town Hall Seattle
1119 Eighth AVE
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 634 3400

50FootWave + Mission of Burma = West Coast Tour: Isn’t that a great bill? You definitely don’t want to forget to bring earplugs…

15 Sep 06 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe

16 Sep 06 Portland, OR - Doug Fir

17 Sep 06 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall

19 Sep 06 Sacramento, CA - Harlow’s

20 Sep 06 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

22 Sep 06 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour

23 Sep 06 San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick

just a short little “hi” so i don’t break my self-imposed post-a-day thing.

i’ve been very down lately. we went thrift shopping today to cheer me up, but then i didn’t find anything really good, so i became even more depressed. i did find some cute vintage fabric though, so that’ll keep me busy in the sewing room next week.

bye!

• Our most beloved band in the world did a cute interview with UK’s The Guardian. They are just so freakin’ cute. I think my favorite quote is from Georgia: “I like it, whatever it is. [The vocals come in.] Oh, I don’t like it anymore.” HEE!

• I’ve been following Paul Frank’s leave from his company ever since it was officially announced late last year. The whole thing is confusing and upsetting and weird. After reading this extensive piece in Vanity Fair magazine, I’m even sadder than before. I had no idea that Stacia Hanley, Paul’s assistant for four and a half years, was fired! We met her at the same time when we met Paul back in 2003, and she was so totally sweet! AND I had no idea that those meet-and-greets used to bum Paul out so much! Now I feel kinda bad for taking up his time. (Although, hey, if it weren’t for those meet-and-greet things, apparently Paul wouldn’t have met his wife!)

I hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Sorry folks, but the hotlinking to copacetic zine and copacetique has just gotten WAY out of control, so i had to disable the hotlinking. It’s not very nice internet etiquette anyway, and plus, it was gobbling up my bandwidth. So no more.

That’s all for today!

You know you’re PMS-ing when you keep crying at almost every scene of Elf. Goddamn this stupid movie.

Anyhoo…Eugene Mirman is heading out on tour this fall, yay! No Seattle date, but he is performing at some Vancouver Comedy Fest thing, so if we’re feeling kooky, we might grab our passports and make the three hour drive out. Hopefully he’ll be closer to your hometown!

September 7
New York, NY
JOEÕS PUB, 11pm
With Michael Showalter, Ron Lynch and Jon Glaser

September 8
New York, NY
Starbucks Salon
76 Greene Street (between Spring and Broome)
FREE
Doors at 6, show at 7, music of Buck 65 at 9

September 9
Asheville, NC
The Rocket Club
Comedians of Comedy With Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Morgan Murphy.

September 10
Carrboro, NC
Cats Cradle
Comedians of Comedy With Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Morgan Murphy.

September 12
Washington,DC
Black Cat
Comedians of Comedy With Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Morgan Murphy.

September 13
New York, NY
92nd Street Y
TRIBUTE TO LENNY BRUCE
Hosted by Lewis Black, with Todd Barry, Judy Gold, Jonathan Ames, Eugene Mirman and more.

September 15
New York, NY
Irving Plaza
Comedians of Comedy With Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Morgan Murphy.

September 16
Providence, RI
Lupo’s@The Strand
Comedians of Comedy With Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Morgan Murphy.

September 17
New Haven, CT
Toad’s Place
Comedians of Comedy With Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Morgan Murphy.

September 21-23
Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Comedy Festival

Oh, here’s something else I’ve been meaning to share with you! Thanks to the super-awesome Marie for giving us the 411!

Make Magazine Utilizes iTunes For Distribution
The First Magazine To Distribute PDFs Over iTunes

Popular for their clever hacking and interesting modifications of technology products, it comes as little surprise that MAKE, the Do-It-Yourself technology magazine from O’Reilly Media, would be the magazine to tweak and expand the boundaries of podcasting through Apple’s iTunes network.

Since its launch in 2005, Make began distributing content from its magazine, as well as videos and how-to instructions – for free – over the iTunes network. Now, Make is taking this platform even further, becoming the first magazine to distribute PDFs over the iTunes network.

Examples of Make videos and PDFs available for download on iTunes include a bevy of fun projects you can make at a picnic to a wallet you can make from electric tape, or even a wallet that can light up with the help of some old electrical components.

“Since iTunes is the platform that many of our readers use to catalog their music, hobbies and passions – it’s a great way to interact with the Maker community” explained Phil Torrone, senior editor, Make, “The reaction has been amazing so far and I’m really excited about the many possibilities ahead. Step-by-step learning and how-to videos are increasingly popular destinations on the web and within iTunes.”

“Since Make is project-based, we’re confident that our audience will still buy and support the actual magazine – it’s just naturally easier to work from a magazine,” added Dan Woods, associate publisher of O’Reilly’s Maker Media Division. “However, with iTunes we now have the unique opportunity to reach millions of potential new fans, and the best part is that their introduction to the Make world effectively comes through one of our hacks.”

Loaded with exciting projects that help you make the most of your technology at home and away from home, MAKE is a magazine that celebrates your ability to tweak, hack and bend any technology to your own will.

I’ll be honest: I’m just NOW getting into the awesome-ness that is iTunes. Since I don’t have an iPod, I thought that downloading iTunes was kinda pointless, but nuh-uh, my friends…I can testify that iTunes sans iPod is still iGreat. (Sorry, couldn’t resist…) And now, knowing that I can even use iTunes to download .pdf files of crafty instructions and patterns and such? It just makes me love iTunes even more…

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while! Super-nice Colin Clary (of the also super-nice band The Smittens!) alerted our kitty-and-Kochalka-lovin’ selves to this:

It’s the video to “Spread Your Evil Wings And Fly", the title track from the new album by James Kochalka Superstar, which hits stores next Tuesday, September 12th! Not only is the video awesome because Spandy is in it, but it’s also awesome because it was shot using a GameBoy Camera! Neat! Admittedly, I haven’t had a chance to actually listen to the song itself, because I am currently at the library…of course, little children are allowed to scream at the top of their lungs, so why can’t I be allowed to turn up the volume on my laptop, dammit? Huh? HUH??? Oops…sorry…

Anyhoo, here’s another cat-related tidbit, since I’m already typing and all and have built up some momentum: there’s a retirement home a block away from our local post office, and Mike and I get the feeling that they’re not allowed to have pets because instead, they’ve set up some cat beds and other feline accoutrements outside their front door, along with a bench swing, so that stray kitties can have a warm place to hang out, and so the eldery residents can just step outside and get to have a furry visitor. It’s a pretty nice little set-up they have going, and whenever Mike and I are walking by, we always stop to visit the kitties, too.

We refer to the primary kitty who lives there as “Creaky” because her meow sounds kind-of like a rusty door opening and closing. She is so ridiculously cute, but kind-of wary of people, as a lot of stray kitties tend to be. Well, maybe she’s just wary of men, because today, as I was walking to this afore-ranted library, I stopped by to visit her, and I got soooooo much love! I got to skritch her head, and pet her tummy, and she was soo chatty! We carried on this very long and elaborate conversation. It almost felt like she was saying, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you for so long, but you always have that tall scary guy with you!” (Sorry Mike!)

And on that insanely dorky note…

My poor right thigh.

Close-up of the bruises on my thigh.

Just one of the many bruises on my arm.

Me, in pain.

Thank god Bumbershoot is over now. Except tomorrow morning, I’m helping break down the Velouria booth… expect more bruises to follow…

…so, this still counts towards my “blog-a-day” to commemorate the end of my 20’s. Mike and I realized over dinner that there are, appropriately enough, 30 days in September! How odd, huh? I’ve also decided that perhaps I should also aim to lose 30 lbs., you know, to keep with the whole age-theme. What else could I do to commemorate the end of my 20’s and my entrance into middle-age, I mean, my 30’s? I could…read 30 books in a month? Watch 30 different movies? Hmm. I’ll figure something out…

In the meanwhile, here’s a quick Bumbershoot run-down…

saturday
I actually spent the morning working the KEXP booth, which was nice and fun. And then we were off to…

charles burns: Charles gave a really entertaining presentation on his comics, showing slides of his sketchbooks and explaining how his rough drafts develop.

aziz ansari / slovin & allen / zach galifianakis: Aziz was plenty cute and funny, although his story about seeing R. Kelly in concert kinda went on a little too long for me. Slovin & Allen showed two movie clips that killed me. But, I must say, of the three sets, the one that killed me the most was Zach’s. He was completely insane, but in a great way! He kept intentionally knocking set pieces over with his microphone cord. He harassed audience members, with hilarious results. He did some impersonations. He was super funny.

rogue wave: Their harmonies sounded great in the open air. Mike noted that Zach was looking more “hipster-y” than before. It was a fine set.

of montreal: These kids are crazy! They came out with a big blow-up sex doll, and they were wearing their usual thrift-store garb. B.P. Helium was wearing a Heidi-style dress, and Kevin came out wearing a very short green wrap skirt. Poor Jamey had an elaborate Elizabethan-collared top on that must’ve made him sweat like mad! They opened with “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)” (aka the Outback Steakhouse song) and played a nice set of mostly newer material, including some stuff that’ll be on their upcoming album. I kept shaking my head, lamenting to Mike, “What happened to these guys?” Will they ever release songs like “Tim I Wish You Were Born a Girl” again? Kevin made three different outfit changes, including one change into a pair of white pants with a tear right at his crotch. And as he sang, he ripped the hole even bigger! Well! They closed out their set with a pretty faithful cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy", which made the crowd go, well…crazy.

badly drawn boy: Damon’s got a new album coming out soon in October, so he played a lot of songs from that upcoming release. Alas, the new tracks seem kind-of boring. Oh well. He played a nice acoustic version of my favorite BDB song “Once Around the Block” and asked the audience to clap along in 6-time, ha! It ended up sounding really cute. Damon also did that thing where he walked across the foot of the stage, shaking hands or kissing hands with fans standing up front. I love that he does that! He closed with an insane 10-minute long version of “Fall In A River” which is only 2 minutes long on the album. It was quite a lesson in “be careful what you wish for". As Mike and I rode the bus home that night, we joked that Damon was probably still on stage playing that same song…

sunday
the new pornographers: It was an awesome way to start the day! I love pretty much all of their songs, so no matter what they played, I was happy. Neko wasn’t there, but Carl’s cousin Kathryn filled in just fine. Except on “Mass Romantic", where she really struggled to hit Neko’s notes. She blew it twice, and both times, the embarassment was plain to see on her face. But the third time, she nailed it, and the audience roared with encouraging applause. It was a pretty cute moment! Also, Kathryn’s hair looks SO frickin’ cute! She cut it really short, a’la Maggie Gyllenhaal. And with the horrible heat blaring down on me, it made me yearn to chop off my own hair…

john mulaney / maria bamford / dana gould: I had never seen John Mulaney before. He was okay. I’m usually a big fan of Maria’s, but today she was reall-ll-y weird. Mike said he liked the weirdness, but I don’t know…it just seemed too weird for me. Plus, she did a lot of old material, which was okay, but I’d really love to hear some new material from her! Grumble. So, for me, the winner of the set was Dana Gould, who, again, I had never seen before, but man, did he win me over! Apparently, he’s a writer for “The Simpsons", and Mike says he was also “The Summer George” on that episode of “Seinfeld” with the van? He was hilarious.

trapped in the closet: This is a comedy thing hosted by Aziz Ansari and Paul Scheer where they assemble a panel of comedians improving different characters, and they take a look at the R. Kelly “hip-hopera” video for “Trapped In The Closet". For this performance, there was Leo Allen pretending to be a representative from the future (from 2008, to be precise), Eric Slovin playing Mr. Dr. Wexler, R. Kelly’s therapist, someone else playing a French guy, Mary Lynn Rajskub playing the caterer from the video, and some guy playing the stunt coordinator for the video. Oh yeah, and David Cross played the closet itself. They would play a chapter of the video, and then turn to the panel and ask for thoughts, opinions, etc. They even had a Q&A session with audience members. It was pretty funny, but the thing that made me laugh the hardest was the R. Kelly video itself…it’s hysterical, no commentary necessary!

mates of state: Playing the same stage as Of Montreal, and playing the same time slot they did on Saturday, the Mates went on to cover the same song they did! Well, they just slipped Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” into one of their own songs, but still. What’s up with that? They were cute though, as always.

taco bell: Okay, they weren’t at Bumbershoot, but rather, that’s where we went after we left Bumbershoot. And, boy, was it yummy!

One more day of Bumbershooting and then life will, thankfully, go back to normal…

So, as I mentioned, Mike and I were heading to a 826 Seattle benefit show on Friday night. There was, indeed, an all-star cast of writers and musicians, including the folks I already mentioned in that previous post, and the surprise guest ended up being Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie.

Highlights definitely include: • Dave Eggers showing slides of bizarre collages that some youngster in NYC designed and wrote. (Mike’s got pics of all the slides on his flickr page.) • Jonathan Coulton singing “Re: Your Brains” with everyone in the audience chiming in on the line “All we want to do is eat your brains". • Daniel Handler contributing his velvety voice to Sarah Vowell’s delightful reading of the Fremont Expedition. • The Daniel Handler Players (Ben, Sarah, and Colin Meloy of The Decemberists) reading a “play” that Daniel wrote. • Daniel, again, joining Stephin Merritt on stage as The Gothic Archies (especially when they performed “Scream and Run Away” together).

Another major highlight came when the authors descended the stage with buckets in hand to collect donations from the audience members, with all the proceeds, obviously, going to 826 Seattle. Dave made the offer that for $20, he would hug you. Sarah made the offer that for $5, she would give you a punch in the arm. And although he didn’t actually descend the stage himself, John Hodgman jokingly added that for $2, he would lower his glasses down his nose and glare at you over them. Anyway, guess who had $5 to donate?

After their performance, the authors did a meet-and-greet thing in the lobby. For the most part, I just stood back shyly while Mike talked to all the different authors and musicians, but here’s a quick rundown:

Daniel Handler: Mike asked him to autograph his ticket stub, and jokingly quipped to Daniel, “Pretend it’s a copy of The Basic Eight“. Daniel took the ticket, leaned over to Stephin Merritt and said, “Hey, look! It’s a copy of The Basic Eight all condensed onto this tiny piece of paper!”

Stephin Merritt: Again, I stood back shyly. Stephin is quite a wee man. I could take him.

Sarah Vowell: I shyly stood back so far, I couldn’t even hear what she and Mike talked about.

Dave Eggers: My love for fashion overcame my shyness as I practically dove over the table to assault Dave’s awesome shirt. His sleeves were rolled up revealing a gorgeous inside lining and cuff detail. There was an embroidered griffin (if I’m remembering correctly) on the chest. It was amazing. Dave told me he found it for $14 at a used clothing store in Los Angeles, and I gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Ben Gibbard & Colin Meloy: Mike asked, “Has anyone ever told you guys that you could be brothers?” and they answered, “We get that all the time.” Which leads us to…

But really, I wasn’t all that interested in meeting any of them…the only person I wanted to meet was John Freakin’ Hodgman. I have such a crush on this man! Whenever he does any of his segments on “The Daily Show", I giggle like a schoolgirl and swoon. I have his whole hour-long reading of hobo names on my iTunes. I “friended” him on flickr.com. Simply put, I adore him!

And, truly, meeting him was awesome. He could not have been sweeter!!! Nor, cuter, although he did have a bit of a five-o-clock-shadow which looked odd on his cute boyish face. He had an awesome tie on. I asked if the offer for the over-the-glasses-glare still stood, and he said yes. I quickly gave him $2. He counted the money to make sure I wasn’t pulling a fast one on him.

And then he reached up for his glasses to pull them down. At this, I began giggling so uncontrollably that John had to tell me to calm down. I took a deep breath, Mike focused the camera, and…

It truly, truly made my whole night. This lovely man is actually heading out on tour, so if you would like to pay him $2 and receive “the uncomfortable glare” (as he put it), then here is a schedule listing for you. And, really, you should go. John Hodgman is a dear! (And, OMG, I just realized we share the same initials!!! SWOON!) If you live in Seattle, John’s going to be at the Elliott Bay Bookstore two days before my birthday. If you visit this website, you should know when my birthday is by now.

There’s more to write about, but “Metalocalypse ” is on…

i wrote something.

so there.

So, holy crap, it’s September. September 1, 2006…this is the last month that I will be in my twenties. Yup, you heard me. Next month, I turn 30 years of age. Quite honestly, I am not dealing with it well. No offense to anyone reading this who is older (Hi Dad), but for me? I don’t wanna be 30. Isn’t that middle-aged? Crap. Anyway, in honor of my last month in my twenties, I’m going to try and write a blog entry every day. We’ll see how it goes…

As for today, wanna hear something awesomely stupid I just did? I had a pill in one hand, put it in my mouth, and grabbed my beloved can of Diet Cherry Coke to wash it down with…and when I opened my mouth to take a drink? I dropped the pill into the can. Crap. So, now, if I’m to get my daily dosage, I need to hurry and drink this.

I just got back from setting up our booth for Bumbershoot. I’m not one to brag, but really? The booth looks super cute! Mike and I are going to bring the camera tomorrow so we’ll have pics soon.

And tonight, we’re off to the 826 Seattle benefit show with Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields, John Hodgman (oh, the Hodge!), Daniel Handler, Dave Eggers, Sarah Vowell, blah blah blah.

And now I’m off to do some laundry. Exciting, no?

np: Futurama re-runs on the DVR

I am having an absolutely wretched day. I’m not going to say too much about what happened because I think I might’ve signed some papers saying I wouldn’t talk about stuff like that, but if anyone reading this wants to send me some nice thoughts, that would be very much appreciated.

It’s impossible to cut fabric when your kitty insists on flopping around maniacally on it. As I look down now, he is chasing his own tail…and now he has managed to pull the fabric around his entire body so all I can see are his ears…Mike, where the hell is the camera!? Oh, right. Mike’s been taking the camera to work lately for some lunchtime photography. You can check out his work at good ol’ flickr.com.

Speaking of Mike, I’m listening to his latest podcast right now, and as usual, it kicks serious ass. I really love the Vulturines track, and the funny Gold State track, and holy cow, Mike was not kidding when he raved about She, Sir on his column the other day! Gee, do you think they like My Bloody Valentine? I bet they do!

So, I’ve got one week until Bumbershoot, and again I’ll mention that you can buy the stuff I make at the Velouria Boutique booth over by the International Fountain. I’m a little bit stressed out, worrying that I won’t have enough merchandise made by this weekend, but I know I just need to let it go. I finished sewing another stack of wallets this morning, and if Tobin will just get his cute fuzzy face outta the way, I’ll have another purse done too…

On that note, I see Tobin has given up chasing his tail, and I can probably go cut some fabric…bye for now!

there’s a new edition of copacetic sound up today, whee!

can you believe it’s been over a month since we’ve uploaded a new episode? and then sadly, it ended up being a cranky episode, because it’s 100-frickin’-degrees in the apartment today and the whole weekend was hot and miserable. yesterday, i tried to sleep through most of it, but today, i was a good girl and tried to conduct myself as i would normally so i wouldn’t be messed up on monday, especially since the mountain goats are going to be at the station! if i slept through that, i would be incredibly sad.

i don’t have much else to mention…oh, except if you’re attending this year’s bumbershoot festival (and you really should), please swing by the velouria booth (located by the international fountain walkway) where copacetic handmade goods will be! i’ll have some purses, wallets, buttons, and other stuff for sale if you’re into that kinda thing.

…which is exactly how eloquently Mike put it! So, the other night, on our beloved “The Colbert Report", there was that little Star Wars spoof? Well, some nerds were tired of waiting for George Lucas to step in, so they did so themselves. The first one is the favorite one in the copacetic household.

Mike suggested I blog about this, so here ya go:

Hey Luke Wilson: An open letter from Steely Dan

Apparently, Owen Wilson comes back and denies the connection, but come on! I’m voting in favor of the ‘Dan.

It was a nightmarish weekend of heat, but now it’s over. I’m reading the nicest book right now titled “The Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Time-A True Story about Birdwatching” — it’s a nice mix of comedy and nature. My sunburned shoulder is starting to peel and it itches like crazy. I can’t believe it’s only 11:00 pm because it feels much later. I’m totally PMS’ing and it makes me want to stab things. :(

hey guys! want to see really silly pictures of me and read an interview with me? well then you must take a trip on over and check out:

it’s a new online zine by melissa of april fool handmade, and it’s so gorgeously done! i love the whole handmade feel on a website design!!!

PLUS it’s got gorgeous art and photography featured within, plus interviews with tricia from bits & bobbins (and wardrobe_remix!) and milwaukee-based artist matt cipov!

YAY! we’re so thrilled to be part of the sure-to-be legendary first issue of this awesome zine! thanks melissa!!! :)

xoxoxoxo

Just got back from the station where I attempted to work a show wearing 2″ platform sandals…wow, I’m an idiot! But I can’t help it, I’m a short idiot, and I had to wear the heels ‘cause my pant legs were dragging on the floor. But then it all didn’t matter anyway since I ended up running around the station barefoot.

Here’s some news especially for Reverend Jeremy, who I shoulda called last week but I am lame and I forgot. And then what’s even more pathetic is that I was having a bad day on Friday, which should’ve been even MORE reason to call him.

Arrested Development Returns?
Yes, Arrested Development is still cancelled. But this may be the next best thing: Later this year, all 53 episodes of the show will be syndicated on MSN.com, HDNet and the G4 network. According to a press release I received today, MSN has exclusive online rights to the show for three years, and it plans to stream all of the episodes for free. While the site hasn’t announced a launch date, it will happen sometime this year. As for HDNet, the network will begin airing high-definition episodes of Arrested in September. G4 will start airing episodes in October and has acquired the series’ basic cable rights for three years. While this isn’t as splendid as, say, an Arrested movie, it’s a swell start. Of course, it also gives us another time-consuming diversion at work …

source: USA Today

Damn, and we already bought one of the Arrested Development boxsets even! Oh well!

Above, the mock-up comic book cover that Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada prepared for an appearance on Thursday night’s Colbert Report, where he brought Stephen Colbert up to speed on Civil War, the “Marvel Comics Event” that pits superhero against superhero to explore the permeable boundary between homeland security and personal liberty:

“Before the show, Colbert came into the green room and set the tone for me. First he gave me the warmest welcome, shook my hand and told me he’s a huge Marvel fan…As he left he gave me the wag of the finger and said, ‘You know how the show works?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Remember, I’m an idiot,’ I told him that I was one as well and then he went off to do the show.”

source: www.mediabistro.com

Okay, how freakin’ adorable is that? Joe Quesada got a “wag of the finger"! I know that last tidbit isn’t exactly newsworthy, but it’s still cute to read, plus I get to use that mock-comic book cover.

And finally, I leave you with an old video from Archers of Loaf where they blow up Mac. It’s pretty good, but still not as good as the Superchunk video for “Watery Hands"…

Bye for now!

See that little scratch on his nose? My kitty Tobin got his ass kicked by the neighbor’s cat! :(

It was 100° in our apartment, so we had propped open the front door to try and get some ventilation going. We can’t just leave the door wide open, because otherwise our kitties go outside, so we try to leave it open just a crack using one of my shoes and one of Mike’s handweights. You can kinda see a glimpse of our “set-up” in this pic here:

And see how our kitty-neighbor Hannibal is peeking his head through the doorway? Well, this time, he managed to squeeze his entire body through that small opening! We didn’t even realize he was lurking inside our apartment until we heard some unearthly caterwauling coming from down the hallway. I ran as fast as I could towards the wailing meows, and found Tobin and Hannibal completely locked in battle, with huge clumps of fur all around them. I yelled “NO!!!", which startled both cats into ceasing fire, and that’s when Hannibal disengaged his claws and Mike scooped him up and dumped him outside our apartment.

As anyone who’s ever met Tobin will tell you…well, actually, most people never meet Tobin! And that’s precisely the issue! Tobin is very shy, and has some real issues with security and with unknown people being in his home. So, Mike and I were worried that this confrontation and invasion of his “territory” would pretty much traumatize him.

Even with Hannibal out of the picture, Tobin was still (not surprisingly) shaken up. His tail was poofed-out and he was hissing in that pathetic old-man way. I panicked on what to do next. I wanted to comfort him, but I’ve read that sometimes if a cat is in a fight, and he’s still feeling worked up, he’ll re-direct his anger at whoever is around him. I was also concerned about Ethel, who was watching from afar, down the hallway. I didn’t want Tobin, in his emotionally distraught state, to take it out on her. I actually ran back to the living room and did a quick Google-search for some expert advice. I found a site that recommended giving the attacked cat some time and space to get his bearings, and then spending time comforting him. So, Mike and I left Tobin alone for a little while, and then came back about 15 minutes later to pet him and speak to him in a soothing, re-assuring manner.

And, thank god, it worked! Tobin was back to his old self by that evening, and thank god again, he hasn’t seemed to have any lasting effects or issues! And one more thank god: the scratch on his nose seemed to be the only major injury he received. He still had some clumps of fur that Hannibal had yanked out, but I gently brushed Tobin and dislodged the clumps.

So that’s our mini-family drama of the month! Aside from that, we’ve just been trying to stay cool in this horrible summer weather. I got majorly sunburned this past week, too! More on that soon.

I promise to pay you back. (eventually…)

Audrey Hepburn’s iconic black dress to go on sale

LONDON (Reuters) - The iconic black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” will go on sale in December with an estimated price tag of 50-70,000 pounds ($90-130,000), Christie’s auctioneers said on Wednesday.

The dress, designed by Givenchy and worn by Hepburn in the memorable opening scene of the classic romantic comedy, is being auctioned on behalf of the City of Joy Aid charity which helps underprivileged children in India.

It is the star lot of the annual film and entertainment sale at Christie’s, in London’s upmarket South Kensington, held this year on December 5.

Hepburn, who plays Holly Golightly in the movie, emerges from a cab onto a deserted, early-morning 5th Avenue in New York and peers through the window of jeweller Tiffany’s while she eats her breakfast from a brown paper bag.

The Givenchy dress will be auctioned for charity at Christie’s in December and is expected to fetch between 50,000 and 70,000 pounds ($92,025 and $128,863).

December 5th, people…just 20 days before Christmas!

Just got word that Victoria is leaving The Concretes! I’m aghast! Here’s the official word from the band:

Hello all,

These are bitter times indeed. We do not really know how to tell you, perhaps the terse text of our press release says it best:

The Concretes have announced that lead singer Victoria Bergsman is departing the band to pursue a solo career. The band will continue playing together and are currently drafting songs for a new album. They performed without Bergsman at the Summercase Festival in Spain. They apologise to fans who were hoping to see them perform together.

Victoria Bergsman was an original member of the The Concretes, forming the band with Lisa Milberg (drums / vocals) and Maria Eriksson (guitar / vocals) in Stockholm in 1995. Since that time the band have released two albums, the eponymous debut from 2004 featuring the singles “You Can’t Hurry Love", “Say Something New” and “Warm Night"; and this year’s “In Colour". The Concretes’ performance of recent single “On The Radio” on the last series of the Jonathan Ross TV Show is the last time the band will have played together prior to Bergsman’s departure.

Anyway… Life goes on. We are working on new stuff and so is Victoria. We wish her the best of luck.
Always love from…

/The Concretes

Um, yowch! I love the “perhaps the terse text of our press release says it best” line…

Hey copacetic-readers! (If there are any out there anymore…)

Sorry I never write anymore. This summer has been so dang hot, plus busy, plus stressful, but fun, too. I know, I know, I say this a lot, but I really am going to try and write more often. Sadly, today I’m posting with sad news as this morning I read that Japanese actor Mako passed away:

Memoirs Of A Geisha star Mako has lost his battle with esophageal cancer at his home in Ventura County, California. He was 72. The Asian-American actor, who was Oscar nominated for his portrayal of submissive engineer Po-Han in The Sand Pebbles in 1966, died on Friday. Brought up in Japan by his grandparents while his parents were studying in New York, Mako joined his mother and father when they were granted US citizenship. He studied architecture before joining the US Army in the early 1950s and became passionate about acting while performing in military shows. He became a naturalized American in 1956. After his Army service, he enrolled at the Pasadena Community Playhouse in California and studied to become a professional actor. The Sand Pebbles, which earned him an Academy Award Best Supporting Actor nod, was his first film. His other movies include The Ugly Dachsund (1966), The Green Hornet (1974), An Eye For An Eye (1981), Seven Years In Tibet (1997), Bulletproof Monk (2003) and Pearl Harbor (2001). His impressive TV resume includes appearances in Wonder Woman, I Spy, Hawaii Five-O, Kung Fu and The Streets Of San Francisco.

I first saw Mako in this movie called The Wash — it was like, 1:00 am in the morning on PBS, and I was still in high school and just excited to see an Asian family portrayed on TV. It’s an incredibly moving film, but be warned: it’s based on a play, so it’s a little slow and quiet. But anyway, the next morning I was eager to tell my Mom about the movie and she was like, “Oh Mako! Everyone loves Mako!” and from there on out, I was always keeping an eye out for more of his work, which wasn’t hard since he seemed to be the “go-to guy” for any “Asian” role in the US. Anyway, it was just sad news to wake up to.

I’ll try and post something more cheerful next…

The NY Times has a great article about us D.I.Y-ers! Super-nice!

I just read this online and had to share… it’s from a listing for a house rental:

“Sorry, but absolutely no smoking of pets allowed.”

I’m sure they meant smoking or pets, but the mental picture is already set.

Yay for the Seattle International Film Festival, which is currently in town! Last night, Mike and I went to a screening of the new Pixies documentary, which I review here.

Coming soon: copacetic-faves Portastatic are doing a live set to accompany an old Lon Chaney film, plus Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie are also performing live to a movie, and I feel like there might be one other movie we’re attending, but maybe that’s it…

Mike sent me this link, and holy crap, I knew people who went to this high school! I wonder if Randy has seen this yet? It’s crazy!!!

Teen understudy put Clorox in lead actress’s soda
JUNE 2–A Texas teenager angling for the lead role in a school play is facing charges that she spiked a competing actress’s drink with Clorox. Katherine Smith, 18, was arrested this week and hit with a felony rap for tampering with a consumer product (in this case a bottle of Mountain Dew she gave to a 15-year-old rival). According to a Tarrant County arrest warrant, Smith was the understudy of the teen victim in a play called “Ha.” By dosing the younger actress’s Dew, Smith believed that she would take over the play’s lead role. The warrant notes that Smith “had a lot of family coming in from out of town to see the play and watch her perform.” Additionally, Smith’s mother believed that her daughter was the play’s main character, not an understudy for the February performances at L.D. Bell High School in Hurst. Smith, who used an eye dropper to place bleach in the 20-ounce soda bottle, told a school administrator that she wanted to harm the lead actress “so she could not perform in the play.” Smith’s plot was thwarted when the girl smelled an unusual odor emanating from the Dew. Pictured below in a Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office mug shot, Smith faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the spiking bid…

You can read the rest of this at:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0602061dew2.html

I’m just waiting for the Lifetime movie to be made…

Comic artist Alex Toth dies at 77

Comic artist and animator Alex Toth, who designed classic Hanna Barbera adventure cartoons such as Space Ghost, has died at the age of 77.

The veteran animator died at his home in California last week.

His son, Eric, said Toth had been in failing health for years, and died while seated at his drawing board.

Toth worked as a comic book artist in San Jose, California, in the 1950s, before moving to Hanna Barbera where he stayed throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

His other work at the legendary animation studio included characters for The Superfriends, Jonny Quest and The Herculoids.

“The work he did there touched more lives than anything else he had done,” said Paul Levitz, president and publisher of DC Comics.

“He found ways to take characters like Superman from their more complicated printed form into a simpler form for animation that still held on to their power and majesty.”

Before Hanna Barbera, New York-born Toth worked for Dell Comics, in San Jose, on television-led titles like Sea Hunt and Zorro.

Sorry, I know I haven’t been writing much lately, but I’ve been working like crazy! I did want to share a link that the lovely Miss Saundrah sent me today:

tons of music videos from the 80’s!

Oh, okay, there might be a few 90’s videos mixed in there too, but for your nostalgia-fix, it doesn’t get any better than this site! Might I recommend:

Actually, there are so many good videos (and good-bad videos) that I’m not even going to bother listing them all. Just go click the link and have a nice trip down memory lane!

np: mike’s AWESOME new podcast — go download, or update your ipod subscription!

Ugh, sorry I’ve been neglecting the zine so much lately! I even had written in my dayplanner to “write reviews” today, but sadly, I was only able to get four new book reviews written before it got too late in the evening, and now I really should turn in, ‘cause I’ve got a crazy day ahead of me tomorrow.

Look for new CD reviews from me coming soon. They are way, way overdue! *BLUSH*

Huh, I wonder why Philadelphia won? Is it because I answered that I don’t mind living in a high crime city? (HA!)

I came across a, perhaps unintentionally, hilarious article this morning regarding Christian rock. Andrew Beaujon, the guy who used to be in the band Eggs, has written a book titled Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock. According to Amazon.com, it’s a “riveting, in-depth, behind-the-scenes account of the subculture of modern Christian rock music". This quote from the interview about Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan’s place in the “Christian rock scene” cracked me up:

I think he gets grandfathered in! He’s sort of the house cynic. You know, the guy at work who’s like, “This place sucks” and never gets fired?

The other quote from the interview that cracked me up was when Andrew was talking about his prior knowledge of Pedro…

MP: Were you familiar with Pedro before that show?

AB: Not really. I think the beard kept me away! You know, you’re sorting through promos, you see facial hair…

HAAAA!!! Okay, you should just really check out the whole interview at Fluxblog, which for some reason I always want to call “FluxBORG” like it’s some kind of robot.

np: Elbow: Live From The Triple Door on Seattle’s cable access channel 21

So, I’m watching KEXP’s television broadcast of Elbow’s performance at the Triple Door, and it dawns on me that I haven’t added to copacetic’s list of “Celebs Who Look Like Other Celebs” in a while…

You Are Elmo

Sweet and innocent, you expect everyone to adore you. And they usually do! You are usually feeling: Talkative. You’ve got tons of stories to tell. And when you aren’t talking, you’re laughing. You are famous for: Being popular, though no one knows why. Middle aged women especially like you. How you life your life: With an open heart. “Elmo loves you!”

Frickin’ ELMO!? I hate that guy! :(

Mike and I were just watching DVR’ed episodes of this show yesterday, and we were even ranking our favorite cast members! So, here’s some news about…

“Pimp My Ride” Returns With Xzibit & New Garage.
MTV announced today that the hit series “Pimp My Ride” will return for an all new season beginning Thursday, June 15th at 10pm ET/PT. For its new season, rap superstar and car enthusiast Xzibit and car customization specialist Mad Mike take aim on the biggest clunkers on the road. Joining them for this new season, and giving a new spin on car customization, is GAS – Galpin Auto Sports. Together Xzibit, Mad Mike and the crew at the shop will create unheard of, pimped out masterpieces in the all new season of “Pimp My Ride.”

This season Xzibit and Mad Mike, with some help from the guys at GAS, will take things to a whole new level. Accomplishing things that have never been done before, in this season of “Pimp My Ride” viewers will witness a 1988 Cadillac Limo hooked up with a 50” plasma screen movie theater, a 1995 Mitsubishi Galant with its own white fur chaise lounge, and a 1976 ice cream truck that is destined to go out of business remodeled with some 2006 technology.

In anticipation of the new season, MTV will schedule two 4-hour blocks of “Pimp My Ride” episodes, each block airing on consecutive Sundays in June, for a total of 8 hours of programming. The first block airs on June 4th from 5:00pm – 9:00pm. The second block airs on June 11th from 10:00am – 2:00pm.

MTV.com lends its support to “Pimp My Ride” by launching the Pimp My Ride/Lincoln Mark LT Sweepstakes. Each week MTV.com users will come to the “Pimp My Ride” website and vote for one item featured on that week’s episode to be added to the Mark LT. The following week, Overdrive will feature a package showing the installation of the part that was voted on that week. At the end of the season the Mark LT will be given away to one lucky winner!

Overdrive will also offer viewers access to a segment of outtakes and deleted scenes. Full episodes will be available on MTV On Demand starting July 7th.

In addition, fans with mobile devices will be able to access features including the “Pimp My Ride” trailer, weekly outtakes from current season, “best of” clips from previous seasons and “Pimp My Ride” graphics available as downloadable wallpapers on mobile.mtv.com.

source: www.rapnews.net (my favorite site! — just kidding)

No more Ish? No more Big Dane? Sob!

I got an email this morning alerting my attention to this, a clip from when comedian Todd Barry was on Sesame Street wearing a, uh, rather tight spandex one-piece. Oh my!

I’m home from Portland, with tons of amazing fabric to show for it, WHOO-HOO! Portland is so pretty and so nice…I have to say, I am mightily tempted to pack up the family and move on down there! They have a train! There’s no sales tax! What the heck?! : D

Guess where I am, folks? I’m actually sitting outside our hotel room at the Jupiter Hotel in Portland, OR! It’s 6-freakin’-AM and I am freezing my butt off. It’s weird…I’m only three hours away from Seattle, but for some strange reason, it feels like I’m crazy-far away from home and I actually feel homesick! Maybe ‘cause I’m not used to being away from Mike… Hi, Mike! Mike is actually still home in Seattle. I’m here with three very fun gals, and last night, we hired these male strippers to come back to our hotel room, and…Hi, Mike!!! ;) Obviously, I am just kidding. We’re actually here to buy fabric and visit Portland shops. It’s as far away from debauchery as it can get!

UPDATE: Okay, now I’m actually inside the Doug Fir Lounge which is kinda part of the Jupiter. And lemme tell you: if any of you NW crafty gals have been thinking about signing up for Crafty Wonderland, I will just say: DO IT. This place is really gorgeous, and everyone who works here is super-nice. I actually keep meaning to sign up for CW myself, but I keep forgetting the deadline. (Bad Janice!)

I had the weirdest dream the other night: I was working at the radio station, but instead of being asked to bring CDs into the booth to Cheryl…I had to bring her outfits. And the CD library was transformed into a gigantic waredrobe closet. So, I was dashing into the library, and I’d grab a blouse, and then I’d quickly thumb through the racks trying to find a skirt to go with it…this one’s too sporty, this one’s too “90’s"…and meanwhile, Cheryl was shouting down the hallway “40 seconds left!” which is what she would do if she was playing a CD that was about to end and she needed the next disc, but in my dream’s case, I had to rush and bring her an outfit. Looking back, it sounds like an ideal dream featuring my two loves: music and fashion! But at the time, it was pretty damn nervewracking and I woke up all tense. Boo.

Okay, now I’m off to look at pictures of the kitties and think about how much I miss them…

Cripes, why do I have to sound so lame and dorky on these podcasts?!?! Listening to myself talk is pretty torturous…

Wait, wasn’t I going to bed?

Comin’ atcha’ kinda late in the evening though, uh…I mean, early in the morning!!! Good grief, I really ought to get to sleep! I’ve got my fashion design apprenticeship tomorrow morning!!! Cripes!

But, yes, indeedy, it’s a “Mother’s Day” edition, kinda sorta. And while my own Mom doesn’t visit the site, I know “Big D” does, so you can let her know that I wish her a Happy Mother’s Day! And I know that my newest Mom, Michele, swings by to check-in on her wonderful son, so Happy Mother’s Day to my awesome Mother-in-Law! (Aren’t I lucky to have a nice Mom-in-Law? Of course, it’s no wonder Mike turned out to be sucha sweetie himself… is anyone gagging yet from all this schmoopy-ness? Anyone, besides my Dad that is? HA!)

Man, I am loopy tonight…

Well, kinda.

I think I may have mentioned this before on the site, but whenever I’m in the sewing room, I bring my laptop in there with me and play DVD’s on it, just to have something going on, to have voices around me, ‘cause otherwise I start getting a little stir-crazy. And as I’ve been sewing a lot lately, I’ve been whittlin’ down the ol’ Netflix queue…and here are some quickie capsule reviews!

sweet revenge (1998): This movie ended up in the queue for one reason: Steve Coogan. And? His comedic talents are totally wasted! He does a good job playing a schmucky corporate fellow, but really, they could’ve stuck a complete nobody in that role, and it would’ve worked just fine. Poor Coog…

And, good golly, I was so embarassed for Helena Bonham Carter, who I like okay otherwise, but in this? Oof.

at close range (1986): Holy crap! Whoever thought to cast Christopher Walken and Sean Penn as father-and-son is a frickin’ genius, because they are both insane, and their insanity works wonderfully in this movie. And then I come to find out, this is based on a true story?! Holy crap indeed!

Bonus points go to Crispin Glover’s sideburns, but alas, points are deducted for the overusage of Madonna’s song “Live to Tell". It’s so weird to think she and Sean Penn used to be married…

drugstore cowboy (1989): Watching this movie made me want to visit Portland again, and soon. It’s weird, but Portland has such a distinct look to it…the bridges, the skyline, and stuff.

And listening to the commentary on the DVD gave me newfound respect for Matt Dillon. Now I feel kinda bad for thinking of him as just this “big lug", when he actually comes off as quite smart.

rush (1991): Another one for the “Holy-Crap-This-Was-Based-On-A-True-Story” file. I felt so bad for Max Perlich’s character (and seeing him in this was what motivated me to re-visit Drugstore Cowboy…what is it about him that gets him cast in all the drug-addict movies?).

The commentary for this was really interesting, too. Hearing about the casting and performance of “Special K” McCray was really cool, and hearing about how Gregg Allman got his part is a funny story. And Jennifer Jason Leigh looks really short.

gothika (2003): Oof. This movie was painfully bad. I was intrigued because the film was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, a.k.a. the love interest in one of my favorite films ever, Amelie. But, uh, yeah, that little tidbit is not enough to save a bad movie.

The commentary was pretty adorable to listen to. I like the way he prounounces “Penelope” in his twee French accent! But the other sad thing is, the more he tries to explain the movie, the worse it seemed.

leaving las vegas (1995): I was curious to see this because it got so many positive reviews ten years ago, but it just never really crossed my radar. And, like I said to Mike afterwards, I felt like my “sensitivity chip” must’ve been turned off, because I just did not like this movie at all. This was the big deal at the Oscars in 1996? Really? It was so…cheesy.

Plus, I just couldn’t seem to separate poor Elisabeth Shue from her character in Adventures in Babysitting! I kept thinking, “Don’t f— with the babysitter".

Oh, yeah, and the ending grossed me out. Ew.

mystic river (2003): As the hipsters would say, I ain’t mad at this movie. Tim Robbins is a cutie, Sean Penn was good, and I truly didn’t see the ending coming. But if you never rented this, you wouldn’t miss much either.

Hmm, I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been getting all these dramas from Netflix! :/ Now you know — while I’m cutting out and sewing little fawns and fuzzy bunnies, I’m actually watching movies about drug addicts and murderers! WHEE!

This morning, when my alarm clock went off, I reached over, and with the palm of my hand, I bopped Mike on the top of his head, as if he were the snooze button. Oops. Sorry, sweetie!

Also, when getting dressed and putting my make-up on, I had a revelation: so, cosmetic companies are always putting out “the latest in mascara technology". There’s “LashEXTREME” and “LashEXACT” and “LashARCHITECT” and “LashSCIENTIST” (okay, I made up that last one, but doesn’t it sound as if it could be real?).

Well, I’m starting to think that they just keep regurgitating the same product over and over, but giving it dramatic names. ‘Cause I realized, I don’t think I ever buy the same kind of mascara twice. Oh, sure, I have product allegiances when it comes to things like lipstick or eyeliner, but mascara? By the time I’m done with a tube and go back to Walgreens, it’s already out of production and there’s some NEW! and EXCITING! mascara on the market. But, you know, I bet it’s the same one I used three months ago, just with new packaging…

Okay, that’s my “Dale Gribble” conspiracy theory of the day. Now I’m off to my fashion design apprenticeship, so bye for now! (p.s. Don’t forget to check out Mike’s awesome new podcast!)

Well, if all your favorite TV shows are in re-run, then why not get thee down to High Dive in Fremont? The lovely band Central Services are on at 9:30, followed by Visible Men at 10:30 and Dept of Energy at 11:30. It’s the band’s only show this month, so if you miss it, you might have to wait until June to see them again!

In Janice-news, I feel like my head is going to explode. Ugh.

Whoo-hoo! There’s a new episode of copacetic sound up now!

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately! I’ve kinda developed an addiction…and although my schedule has been pretty hectic lately, not a day goes by that I don’t need a fix. Yes, it’s true, I have a serious addiction…

…to FARM HUSTLE!!!

It’s the cutest, most addictive, challenging game! I’ve only made it to level 10 so far. If anyone makes it higher, tell me what the level looks like!

Hmm…time for another round, methinks…

It’s Sunday night, which can only mean…

Whoo-hoo, it’s our special Easter edition!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been curious to try the new Coca-Cola Blak! Well…here’s how it went:

(Sorry that the video is sideways!)

Last night, my awesome friend Marie made the suggestion that I should have a podcast. It sounded like fun, but I figured it might be too complicated for me to figure out how to do.

But then this afternoon, I was writing new CD reviews for the site, and I thought, “You know…I should do a podcast! I could include songs that I write about on the site!…”

And thus, COPACETIC SOUND was born, a weekly-if-we-feel-like-it podcast featuring the bands we write about!

I found a whole slew of resources online that helped me put the sucker together. But despite following directions, it still has this crackly low-quality sound, like an old cassette mix tape. At first, I was a little bummed that I spent all this time recording it and then it came out sounding crappy, but now I like the low-fi-ness of it!

And, of course, the other thing is: how weird my voice sounds!!! ARRRGHH! Be gentle with me, this is my first ever podcast, okay? And yes, I goofed up on the title of the Kingsbury Manx CD, and yes, I forgot to mention the title of the song, too! *BLUSH*

But, hey, it’s all in fun, so go download or subscribe with itunes! ;)

Ohmigod! What the fudge is this? Coffee and cola all mixed into one beautiful beverage??? That taste of coffee and the bubbliness of soda? Wow. I mean, just wow. What an age we live in…

Apparently in stores now. Review to follow…

 

Strapped : Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead by Tamara Draut
Generation Debt: Why Now Is A Terrible Time To Be Young by Anya Kamenetz
I thought I’d take a cue from Mike’s clever capsule reviews, and instead of writing a full-on review of these books, I’d just kinda summarize my feelings:

Basically? We’re all screwed…

No, just kidding. But both these books bring up some really terrible horrible issues. For example, did you know that today’s college grads are making less than the college grads of thirty years ago? Author Tamara Draut reveals that “men aged 25 to 34 with bachelor’s degrees are making just $6,000 more than those with high school diplomas did in 1972″. HOLY COW! They also state that nowadays, saying you have a college education on your resume means about what having a high school education used to mean: basically bupkis! And both books talk about how the cost of living and the cost of health care have soared dramatically, while wages have dropped, equally dramatically…AND, the population has also increased (dare I say?) dramatically…

Bleh. Not the most relaxing bedtime reading, that’s for sure, but both definitely interesting books. If I had to choose, I would say that Strapped was the more interesting of the two, but if you can find either of them at your library, they’re both worth a read!

Aw, I can’t believe it’s already been ten years! I still remember when I picked you out of the litter. Being shy myself, at first I was leaning towards picking out one of your shy brother or sister kitties, but then I saw you, all frisky and playful. Who could resist your charms? That night, I bundled you up in a towel and brought you home. As I sat in the passenger seat with you all cradled like a baby, you dreamily gazed up at me with those pretty green eyes, and we bonded.

For years, it was just you and me. I’d come home from work, and find you waiting for me with lots of “meows". I’d sit on the couch, and you’d sit right next to me, scrunching your warm kitty body up next to me. And at night, you’d either curl up in bed with me, or you’d sleep on my guitar amp, which was right next to my bed.

I know that when we moved to Austin to be with Mike, it was rough on you. And I know that you and your step-sister Ethel don’t always get along. But I also know how much you love Mike, and how happy you are to have two people to love you and pet you and play with you! (And having another kitty to chase around the apartment can be nice too, right, Tobe?)

So, HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, to my beloved Tobin, my Toblerone, Mr. Clicky-Claws, Purrfessor Rumbledoor!

Check out more wonderful pics of my handsome birthday boy here!

The adorable Todd Barry has a new “Comedy Central Presents” special that airs this Friday, March 31st (during that painful “Stand Up Nation with Greg Giraldo” thing).

Also, this has nothing to do with Todd, but it is funny!

“We are getting preliminary reports that Robert Smith (lead singer of The Cure) is looking to stop further production of the [Depeche Mode] album Playing The Angel. It is said, through sources, that Robert has a concern that the “Mister Feathers” character that Anton Corbijn created for the Playing The Angel cover bears more than a passing resemblance to the cover for The Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry” single.

“We will provide further information on the impending injunction as soon as it is available.”

 

source: Depeche Mode’s website

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh Robert Smith! My inner goth will always love you.

…that I shouldn’t be so quick to guffaw. I just heard that the Erasure show at the Showbox is sold out. Um, shame on me for my snickering when I first saw their concert listing. Shame on me.

As my sweetie already reported, Belle & Sebastian were in Seattle this past weekend, and while we were SADLY not able to attend their show that night, they did swing by KEXP in the afternoon, where I got to bring them drinks and annoy the heck outta them with my girlish, nervous giggling and cooing!!! Mike has some great pics of their performance on his column, but hey, here are some really awful pics where I look terrible! (I cannot take a decent picture for the life of me!)

Me and Stevie

Me and Stuart (ugh, don’t even ask what I’m doing with my face here!!! BAD!)

You can actually listen to their in-studio session using KEXP’s streaming archive (http://www.kexp.org/streamarchive/streamarchive.asp) and select Saturday March 25th and 2:00 pm (although the set actually started about one song after 2:00 pm, right after the Neko Case song, if my memory serves me right…)

NEW YORK - First “Fake News,” now “Truthiness.” The publisher of Jon Stewart’s million-selling “America (The Book)” is releasing a book by Stephen Colbert.

“This book will have the same noble goal as my television show: to change the world one factual error at a time,” Colbert said Tuesday in a statement issued by Warner Books.

Colbert’s book, currently untitled, is scheduled to come out in the fall of 2007. Colbert, a longtime fixture on Stewart’s “Daily Show,” now hosts “The Colbert Report,” also aired on Comedy Central.

Colbert also has a background with words. He contributed to “America (The Book),” co-authored “Wigfield” with Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello and is credited with coining “truthiness,” named Word of the Year for 2005 by the American Dialect Society.

“Truthiness” is the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts.

source: yahoo news

Dag, there has been so much awesome news lately! And if you wanna read a cute interview with Stephen’s “Wigfield” co-author, Amy, check out these pics (you have to click them and make ‘em bigger to read the text).

I am stupidly-tired this evening, and verbally kaput…here are some links to entertain you instead:

• copacetic zine fave author Douglas Coupland interviewed Morrissey for the UK’s Observer! How cute is that? Check it out here.

• Add this to your list of must-see films: Hot Fuzz, written/directed/starring Simon Pegg from the awesome UK show Spaced. Also in the cast? Julia Deakin (aka landlady Marsha), Mark Heap (downstairs artist Brian), and not-from-Spaced-but-still-freakin’-awesome Steve Coogan and Martin Freeman both playing police detectives!!! Did you just hear a thud? Why, that was ME, fainting from giddy joy…

I hope everyone is winding down their exciting weekends? Or coming home from SXSW? We’ve just been doing our usual routine of work, work, working, but I came across some cool news I thought I’d share:

• Reno 911! is coming to a theater near you for “Reno 911: Miami"! And it’s almost like a reunion of The State with the boys from Stella appearing in the film. More details await you here, but no word yet on a release date…

• Here’s another film to add to your “must see” list: my former sk8-boy crush Spike Jonze is bringing the classic children’s book Where The Wild Things Are to the silver screen!!! Holy crap. And helping adapt the book into a screenplay? None other than, um, Dave Eggers! Wow, whoa, weird! A few more details can be found here, but again, no release date yet…

• Also, you may have heard that Futurama is returning to your TV sets…well, sadly, Billy West reported tonight that he got some wrong information, and there will not be 26 new episodes coming to television. Don’t be too sad though, because the DVD’s are still in the works.

Don’t get me wrong: I love my friends, but sometimes I feel like maybe we have a little too much in common? Oh, you like Superchunk? Me, too. Do you watch Homestar Runner? Me, too. I mean, obviously, it’s these similarities that drew us together to become friends, but sometimes I feel like the world is divided into cliques, and sometimes I feel like I want to break these boundaries down. I wanna meet people who come from entirely different backgrounds, learn more about their culture, teach them more about mine…

And it’s with this in mind that I propose: I would like to make friends with a Gangsta.

I mean, who in the world could be more completely opposite from me? Gangstas deal drugs and do drive-by shootings. My hardest “drug” is Diet Cherry Coke, and I like to play Puzzle Bobble and watch re-runs of The X-Files. C’mon, let’s hang out! You can teach me how to throw gang signs with my hands, and I can teach you about all the different San-X characters!

I feel like by hanging out with a Gangsta, I can bring so much more to the table. All my current friends already know about the new Saturday Looks Good To Me compilation CD that just came out, but chances are, a Gangsta doesn’t even know who that band is. I could make him a mix tape! And I don’t have any idea what music a Gangsta would even listen to. See? He could introduce me to new bands too! And maybe, just maybe, we would have some common interests in music! I mean, doesn’t everyone like The Beatles? Even Gangstas? I’d like to find out if this is true!

What about food? Everyone likes food! We could hang out and eat pizza! Everyone likes pizza! Or, movies? Would a Gangsta enjoy independent films? What TV shows do Gangstas watch? Would they find The Simpsons funny?

And then there are the deeper issues we could bond over: surely, we’ve both grown-up with discrimination in our lives. We can share stories about growing up and being picked last for kickball, or being made fun of by other kids for being a different race. And, what about a Gangsta’s inner-child? I mean, yes, they’ve grown up to “pop caps in bitches” (isn’t that how they put it?), but once upon a time, they were six-years-old and believed in Santa Claus, right?

But, how do I make friends with a Gangsta? I don’t really see them at the used bookstores I hang out at…where should I go to meet them? Would they want to meet me? Or would they take one look at my calculator watch and Converse sneakers and run away?

If you are a Gangsta and are reading this, please drop me an email. Maybe you’re interested in my life, too! Maybe you wonder why a 20-something-year-old girl has so many toys in her apartment? Let’s hang out, and start breaking down the walls of prejudice!

Oh, man… remember how I reported last November that designer Paul Frank left his company? Turns out, he was fired! From his own friggin’ company!

Artist Paul Frank, whose doodling launched a multimillion-dollar clothing and accessories empire, is reaching for the eraser.

The designer filed a lawsuit this week against Costa Mesa-based Paul Frank Industries to shut it down. He alleged that company President Ryan Heuser and Chief Executive John Oswald fired him in November “without cause” and that the executives were paying themselves excessive salaries.

And wait, it gets uglier…

In a separate copyright suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Frank alleges that the company has continued to use the monkey design without his permission.

“I love being able to create,” said the artist, whose full name is Paul Frank Sunich, in a statement. “I was promised by the partners I brought in that they would make my creations even more profitable. What they didn’t tell me was that they would snatch those profits for themselves.”

The lawsuits paint a different picture of his departure from Paul Frank Industries from an earlier account. In November, the company said the designer left “to pursue other interests” and that Oswald and Heuser would continue to run the business while Frank remained “a significant stakeholder.”

After he was dismissed, Frank was denied a salary or any share of profit, although he owns nearly one-third of the business, the suit said. Oswald and Heuser also demanded that he sell his stake back to the company for a fraction of its value, the suit said.

The clothing firm also insisted that Frank not create characters for anyone else, said his attorney, Howard King. “They decided they didn’t need him anymore and kicked him to the curb,” King said.

You can read the entire article at the Los Angeles Times website.

I’m really sad for Paul right now. This is a guy who started his company out of his parent’s basement, and apparently, Oswald and Heuser were brought in to handle the business-y parts so Paul could focus on what he does best: designing and creating. I mean, that’s definitely something I can sympathize with. : ( I hope he’s able to win this lawsuit…the idea of Paul Frank Industries running without Paul Frank is just ludicrous to me.

Mike, my love, this animated GIF is for you…

Again, not much in Janice-news. I tried to hug Tobin today, but he struggled and my hand got scratched in the process. We went to Taco Bell for dinner, and I took the sticker that reads “SPECIAL” off my Crunchwrap Supreme and am now wearing it proudly on my chest. We watched America’s Next Top Model, and it seems pretty obvious that Nnenna is going to win this thing (and rightly so! She’s lovely!). That’s pretty much it. I am a hotbed of excitement and drama!

Looks like Chef won’t be laying down by the fire with the ladies, or serving up anymore of his Salty Chocolate Balls, ‘cause it was announced today that Isaac Hayes is leaving South Park! Very sad news — here’s the AP report on it:

Isaac Hayes has quit “South Park,” where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion.

Hayes, who has played the ladies’ man/school cook in the animated Comedy Central satire since 1997, said in a statement Monday that he feels a line has been crossed.

“There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins,” the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

“Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored,” he continued. “As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices.”

“South Park” co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, “This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology… He has no problem — and he’s cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians.”

Last November, “South Park” targeted the Church of Scientology and its celebrity followers, including actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, in a top-rated episode called “Trapped in the Closet.” In the episode, Stan, one of the show’s four mischievous fourth graders, is hailed as a reluctant savior by Scientology leaders, while a cartoon Cruise locks himself in a closet and won’t come out.

Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey Parker “never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin.”

source: msnbc.com

Not much news to report in Janice-land, but darn, the weather was nice today!

Weighing a whopping 33 pounds, the nine-year-old cat, astonishingly, still enjoys good health. This feline monster from Qingdao, Shandong Province, has a waist measurement of 31.5 inches.

The cat is so heavy it needs the help of its owner to get onto a bed – so expecting him to fulfill his cat duties, such as catching vermin, might be a bit much. It would seem catching a nap, using his own little blanket and pillow, is the extent of his skills.

The cat’s owner maintains a healthy appetite is to blame for the state of his cat’s belly.

The cat has, according to his owner, no interest in fish, preferring to eat six pounds of chicken and pork each day.

DUDE! STOP FEEDING YOUR CAT SIX POUNDS OF MEAT EACH DAY!!!! :(

Ugh. I am on my sixth day of being sick. I feel like I might be on the mend — Mike keeps re-assuring me that the “coughing stage” is usually the final stage of a cold. However, my “coughing stage” has lasted for four days now, and the coughing is so intense I’m scared my lungs are going to escape out my throat. I seem to be getting my sense of taste back though, and celebrated by polishing off a bag of Chee-tos this morning. Good times!

Howza’bout a little Friday Fun, shall we?

• Yo La Tengo will be doing their annual WFMU request show to raise money for the station on Tuesday March 7 from 8 pm - 11 pm, EST. Anyone can listen in, no matter where you live, by clicking over to wfmu.org . Interestingly enough, next week is also a pledge drive over at KEXP! If you’d like to pledge to our station on Tuesday March 7 from 10 am - 2 pm, PST, you can click over to kexp.org and let them know that you’re pledging in honor of the cute intern girl who works the Tuesday midday shift. (ahem, ahem!)

• Fans of comedian Mike Birbiglia will be excited to know that tonight is the premiere of his latest Comedy Central special at 9:30 EST, and then later on, he’ll be on Last Call with Carson Daly. I hate Carson Daly, but I do like Mike Birbiglia.

• Graham Coxon’s new album Love Travels at Illegal Speeds comes out this month on the 13th, and today he made an exclusive acoustic version of the first single “Standing On My Own Again” available for download on iTunes. copacetic zine makes no guarantees for the quality of this song — I kinda hate iTunes, so I haven’t downloaded it myself. For all I know, it could be a horrid song, but I doubt it. Graham Coxon is a very nice “bloke", as the Brits would say. I got to serve him water the last time he was at the station, and because I am a HUGE IDIOT, when I served it to him, I was like, “Here’s your water, Mr. Coxon—OHMYGOD, that scarf is gorgeous! Dude, is that SILK?!” and then I began molesting his scarf. Thankfully, he was quite lovely about the whole attack, but he did seem pretty taken aback. Oops. Sorry!

• Oh, and since I’m sharing the “Idiotic Adventures of Janice” today, here’s the latest addition. I was actually not going to share this at first, but well, I guess I’m on a roll at this point, huh? So last week, The Wedding Present did an instudio at the station. And knowing that David Gedge was from Leeds, I decided to wear the “Leeds United Football Club” t-shirt that Andrew got me for Christmas a few years ago! I’d read that David was a big “footie” fan (again, as the Brits like to say), so I thought he’d get a kick out of it. So, after the session, I went into the performance room, introduced myself to David, and said, “In your honor, I wore my Leeds United t-shirt today!” and pointed to my chest. (Classy, huh?) And at this point, David politely informed me, “Oh, I’m actually a Manchester United fan.”

[silence]

Me: “Ohhh! Um, aren’t Manchester and Leeds, like, huge foes of each other? Don’t they kinda have a huge rivalry?”
David: “Yeah, they do.”

[silence]

I mean, don’t misunderstand: David was smiling and was very charming about the whole thing, but MAN, did I feel like a doofus!!! Thankfully, as you can see above, he kindly agreed to my request for a photo, despite my Leeds United t-shirt. ;)

Okay, time for another throat-soothing popsicle! Have a good weekend, everyone!

This past weekend, Mike and I were driving through Capitol Hill listening to Broadcast’s latest album Tender Buttons. And they have a song titled “Michael” and every time Trish sang his name, I would point at my husband along with the lyrics, uh, ‘cause I’m so witty like that.

But the whole thing dredged up an age-old issue for me, and that is: why hasn’t anyone written a song titled “Janice"?

Lucky Mike (or “Michael” to use his proper name) has:
• that Broadcast song
• “Michael” - Franz Ferdinand
• “Michael” - Boyracer
• “Michael” - Red House Painters
• and let’s not forget the childhood favorite, “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore”

But where are the “Janice” songs? The closest I can think of is a Sonic Youth song “Tunic (Song for Karen)” where Kim says, “Hello Janis…” — but of course, she’s referring to Janis Joplin, and she only says it once. I’d like a whole damn chorus, thank you very much.

So if there are any songwriters reading this, might I suggest to you a song titled “Janice"? I know it’s not a very common name, but it lends itself quite nicely to rhyming! In fact, allow me to assist you with…

My dear friend Susie Ghahremani brought this to my attention, and I wanted to pass along the word. I know there are a lot of fellow artists, photographers, writers, musicians, who swing by this neck of the woods, and I felt it was important for you to know this is going down. :(

this week, the senate committee on the judiciary is proposing an amendment to copyright legislation to REMOVE PROTECTION from ‘orphaned’ or unattributed works. [edited to add: susie gave the following example – “as one website gives as an example - if the work is signed “mark smith” but there are 30 mark smith illustrators and they can’t discern which one it is, or get ahold of whoever it is to confirm then it’s considered orphaned. signed works could still be considered unattributed.]

this means, basically, if you do a piece of work that isn’t credited to you (such as those that sometimes get posted on websites or in magazines, or show up in other people’s photographs or whatever), it is assumed that it is an orphaned work and deemed copyright free and available for use by anybody!

this is so dangerous to artists, writers, filmmakers, crafters, musicians and anyone making things in so many ways i don’t even know where to begin.

i just faxed my own letter of disapproval to four senators, please read the graphic artists guild action alert for more info on what to include in your letter / more info about the situation in general):

http://www.gag.org/activities/advocacy.php

senators / fax #s (there are 13 senators on the committee, these first three head the committee on intellectual property, as well as the judiciary committee)

orrin hatch (utah) fax: 202.224.6331
patrick leahy (vermont) fax: 202.224.3479
arlen specter (pennyslvannia) fax: 202.228.1229

and my own california representative:
dianne feinstein: fax 202.228.3954

this proposal is being considered soon, so it is URGENT that people write and act now.
on this website is a list of all the senators involved in the committee on the judiciary:
http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm

there are other methods of contact: email, telephone and letter. please read more and let the senate know this is majorly screwed up.
protect your work and your fellow illustrators and artists work!

read more here: http://www.stockasylum.com/text-pages/articles/ a6wn022006-orphan.htm
or here: http://www.gag.org/activities/advocacy.php
or here: http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/
or here: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=29763

please please take action, contact your reps, and pass it on!

If you caught Ed Harris on The Daily Show last week, then you’ll have already heard about his upcoming film Winter Passing. But what you might not have caught in the brief 30 second clip they showed was, playing his daughter is the awesome, amazing, kick-ass actress Zooey Deschanel!

In this movie, Zooey plays Reese Holden, a struggling actress who’s been promised a small fortune for publication of love letters written by her legendary, but reclusive father, novelist Don Holden (Harris), to his late wife, also an acclaimed writer and Reese’s mother. Sounds a little like J.D. Salinger so far, huh? Which is interesting since Zooey was named after Salinger’s story “Franny and Zooey"!

But I digress! Reese hasn’t been home since her angst-filled adolescence, so when she arrives, she’s taken aback to find her Dad has taken in two roommates, forming a makeshift family of sorts. Among his younger housemates, there’s Corbit, a would-be Christian rocker, played by Zooey’s Elf co-star, Will Ferrell!

Winter Passing was written and directed by award-winning playwright Adam Rapp, a guy who barely has any previous film work to his credit. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this’ll be a good one. From the clip they showed on The Daily Show, it looks like it will be! And, it stars ZOOEY, for pete’s sake!

The movie opens in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Seattle and Portland on March 10th. I’ll be sure and let you know how it is, ‘cause you sure as heck know I’ll be there opening night. ;)

tonight, mike and i are gonna be dancing the night away to the “smooth” music of the 70’s! the headlining act “the leisure suits” is actually the band central services (led by kevin, the drummer for math and physics club, and with ethan from MAPC on bass) + saundrah, the pretty violinist from MAPC! YAY!

my love for soft rock has kinda been re-awoken by the awesome video series “YACHT ROCK”. our friend craig introduced us to it last year, and since then, it’s been one of my favorite internet things, right up there with homestar runner and making fiends.

admittedly, i kinda can’t wait for the 90’s revival to kick in. i’m ready for baby doll dresses layered over thermal underwear long-sleeve tees with a black velvet choker with a cross on it and doc marten boots to come back into style. i’m ready.

Let’s play the “Name Game"!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME:
(Take the name of your first pet and your current street name)

Charlie NW Central Place
(hm, didn’t quite work for me…)

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME:
(grandfather/grandmother on mother’s side first name, favorite candy)

Miri Take Five
(I feel like I’ve just dishonored my ancestors with that one…)

3. YOUR “FLY GIRL/GUY” NAME:
(first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)

J-Hea
(Actually, one of my sweetest friends calls me “J-Nice", as in “Whaddup, J-Nice?")

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME:
(favorite animal, name of high school)

Kitty Boswell
(Okay now THAT’s a good detective name!!!)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME:
(middle name, city where you were born)

Ann Philadelphia
(Eh.)

6. YOUR OPPOSITE SEX NAME:
(name of dad/mom, cell phone company you use)

Richard Verizon
(That’s a pretty good Soap Opera name!)

7. YOUR STAR WARS NAME:
(first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother’s maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet’s name)

Hea Aki Tob/Eth
(I have two kitties! I can’t play faves!)

8. PORN STAR NAME:
(middle name, street you grew up on)

Ann Glenn
(that’s the most unsexy name in existance…)

And then to borrow from the sublime McSweeney’s:

Take the name of your pet as your first name and the name of the street you grew up on as your last name. That’s your Porn Star name.

Take the last name of the person you love as your last name. If you are a heterosexual woman, that’s your Oppressed by the Patriarchy name. If you are a heterosexual man, that’s your Sensitive New Age name. If you are a gay person of either gender, that’s an affirmation of your love.

Take aim at your neighbor with a large club, then hit him over the head and take his wallet. Hide his body in the shrubbery outside his house. The name on his credit cards? That’s your Fugitive from Justice name.

Take the kind of first name given to girls whose parents followed the Grateful Dead. Now take a patrician surname of English origin. That’s your public defender’s name.

Take a random six digit number as your first name. Drop your last name. That’s your official prison name.

Take an interjection used to call attention as your first name. Take the proper term for a female dog as your last name. That’s your unofficial prison name.

Take the name you used back when everyone had C.B. radios. Boy, that takes you back, huh?

Take note of the name your cellmate whispers repeatedly in his sleep. That’s your Stool Pigeon name.

Take the word “dead” as your first name, and a description of incest with your mother as your last name. That’s your Marked by the Mafia name.

Take a name from the list of most common names for babies in 1965 as your first name. Take a name chosen at random from the phone book as your last name. That’s your Witness Relocation Program name.

Take your middle name as your first name. Take your mother’s maiden name as your last name. That’s your Romance Novelist name.

Last night, I couldn’t sleep and stayed up until about 3:00 am reading on the couch. But despite my exhaustion, I shot outta bed like a rocket this morning around 8:00 am because I remembered something…

An eBay auction for a Built By Wendy corduroy jacket was ending this morning!

I dashed into the living room and booted up my laptop. But, what was this? NO INTERNET CONNECTION?!

Seattle is being hit by a crazy storm right now, so I suspect that our cable company might be “experiencing technical difficulties". I set into a panic! Sneaking onto a neighbor’s unprotected wireless network (sorry, buddy), I loaded up the eBay listing to see there were 45 minutes left in the auction. But my connection was too weak for the lightening-quick reflexes I would need to bid on this baby. So what did I do?…

Um, I quickly changed outta my pajamas, threw on some shoes, and ran to the local cupcake shop to use their free wi-fi and bid.

:::::::::BLUSH!!!:::::::::::

But it was worth it because a) I WON!, b) the jacket retails for well over $100 and I got it for a mere pittance, c) it looks a lot like my favorite jacket from the past couple of years that I literally wore to death (I’ve tried to patch it, believe me. Now it just looks sad. People pass me on the street, place their hand kindly on my shoulder and whisper, “Let the jacket go. It’s time…", and did I mention, d) I WON?!

See how cute it is?

Plus, I got to start my Saturday with a red velvet cupcake and a raspberry mocha. Not too shabby… ;)

today’s entry:

“I feel like that fat guy on Celebrity Fit Club 3…”

which made Mike burst out laughing and asking, “Uh, which one?”

d’oh.

(For anyone who doesn’t know what show I’m talking about (*cough* hi Dad!), Celebrity Fit Club is a reality show on VH1 where eight overweight celebrities compete to lose weight. And, no, no, I’m not saying I’m fat, but today I was having a hard time bending over to put on my socks, hence the comment…my lower back is all outta wack. :P Ouch.)

(And, what is up with the painfully-obviously-Photoshop’d pic of the cast on the VH1 website? Couldn’t they get the cast together for a normal photoshoot? Or, uh, couldn’t they hire someone with better Photoshop skills?…)

(Sorry, it’s late at night and I’m crabby!)

Or, uh, “afternoon", I suppose!

HERE’S GREAT NEWS! Here’s the official word on Futurama!! David X. phoned me about an hour ago and said that this Futurama project is a done deal! Here’s the word from DX—There are 4 DVD movies that we’ll start recording at the end of July or August.Full feature length FUTURAMA movies. Everybody is excited to get back together–as I am!

Into the Future,
Billy

From Billy West’s website — he’s the guy who was the voice of Fry, the Professor, and so so many more characters, and the “David X” he refers to is executive producer David X Cohen. FOUR MOVIES!!!

‘Cause we do adore that man!

SHOWTUNES AVAILABLE MARCH 14

Stephin Merritt’s “Showtunes” is set for release on March 14 on Nonesuch Records. This 26-song CD contains a selection of compositions created for Chen Shi-Zheng’s “Orphan of Zhao” (2003), “Peach Blossom Fan” (2004), and “My Life as a Fairy Tale” (2005), and features members of the original casts and ensembles. The complete recorded score, including selections not on the CD, will be available through iTunes and many major pay-per-download services. A full press release for the CD is available from our website.

IN THE WORKS: SONGS FOR LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

This fall, Stephin Merritt (as The Gothic Archies) and novelist Daniel Handler (as Lemony Snicket) will release a CD of songs to accompany the book series “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” The CD will feature 13 songs plus creepy bonus tracks. If nothing goes according to plan, the release will coincide with the unveiling of Lemony’s 13th and final volume of the series, scheduled for release on Friday, October 13.

Do you see what I see?! It comes out on my birthday!!! HELLS YEAH!

what’s good:

Well, uh, kinda! ;)

It’s a documentary called The Comedians of Comedy, and it follows a group of comedians across the west coast: Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Maria Bamford, and (although he didn’t perform at the Seattle show) Zach Galifianakis. You may have seen the TV show of the same name, with the same premise, on Comedy Central last year.

Well, when the documentary covers their show in Seattle, you can see me and Mike standing close to the stage (where we usually like to be, ‘cause we’re enormous geeks like that). These pitiful screenshots don’t show us very clearly, but you can kinda get a sense of where we were standing…and there’s one point in the movie where they do a close-up of the audience and you can really tell that it’s me and Mike: I’m wearing a scoopneck black t-shirt with a sweater tied around my waist, and Mike is wearing his bookbag slung across his chest and his hair is super-short. I know, I know — I’m totally dorking out here, but really it was kinda weird and exciting to be sitting on the couch watching a DVD and then suddenly notice, “Hey! That’s us!!!!!” ;)

Oh, and the rest of the movie is really good, too. ;)

We hope everyone had a good first week of 2006, WHOO! I’m in the throes of PMS, so while I’m trying really hard to have a positive attitude, my hormones have me on an emotional rollercoaster. I watched the William H. Macy movie Door to Door today as I worked in the sewing room — it’s based on a real-life door-to-door salesman named Bill Porter who suffers from cerebral palsy. I cried, and cried, and cried! It’s such a great movie, and DAMN, that Bill Macy is such an amazing actor! It’s funny, because we just caught Fargo last night on cable, and then to watch him again today in such a completely different role…that man is amazing!

Tomorrow I get to “board-op” some more at the station when Beth Orton comes in for her instudio, yay!

I’m not sure what the original source is, but I found this reprinted online:

What has Stewie Griffin wrought? How about a Bender rebirth? Following the hugely successful resurrection of Family Guy, Fox execs are reportedly in talks to bring Futurama back from the dead.

The studio has begun talks to revive the Emmy-winning animated series and produce a limited number of new episodes, thanks to a resurgence in the show’s popularity on DVD and in reruns, Variety reports.

Reps for 20th Century Fox have declined to comment on the news, but Variety says initial negotiations have begun.

If revived, it’s unclear exactly which network would air the new episodes. While Fox housed the original series, the show found new life once reruns began showing on the Cartoon Network. Comedy Central subsequently snapped up the off-air rights and will exclusively air the repeats beginning in 2008.

The brainchild of Simpsons mastermind Matt Groening and writer David X. Cohen, Futurama debuted on Fox in March 1999. The series revolved around Fry, a pizza delivery boy, who is accidentally frozen for a thousand years. He wakes up in the year 3000 and befriends sassy one-eyed pilot Leela and cranky robot Bender, who both work for an intergalactic delivery service run by a distant nephew of Fry’s.

After five seasons and three Emmys, including the 2002 prize for Best Animated Series, Futurama was shuttered in August 2003.

Should the show make its way back to the airwaves, it would follow in the footsteps of another Fox cult ‘toon, Family Guy.

The latter show was brought back in 2004, thanks to robust rerun ratings and staggeringly high DVD sales–the show ranks as the fourth-biggest TV-series seller ever. Since its comeback, Fox has produced two more seasons and the direct-to-DVD movie Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.

For Futurama to return, the studio would need to re-sign the show’s production team, as well as voice stars Billy West, Katey Sagal and John DiMaggio.

In the meantime, Futurama lives on in comic-book form, with all-new stories continuing to be released by Groening’s Bongo Comics.

Count me in as one of those who finally embraced Futurama on DVD and in re-runs. I remember when it first aired, I was so immersed in my Simpsons-fandom that I hardly gave Futrama a second glance. Oh, how wrong I was!

But on the other hand, if Futurama comes back, I hope it doesn’t eventually go drastically downhill like The Simpsons has this past season. Painful!

np: aqua teen hunger force

Guess what? I like CUTE STUFF!!! Bet you didn’t see that one coming, did ya? ;)

Today’s New York Times has a great article about the scientific responses to cute (click here to read). And if you don’t care about science, there are always the cute pics of BABY PANDAS AND PENGUINS!!! Squeeee!!!

I found out about this article through the super-adorable website Cute Overload (thanks so much to the awesome Steve B. and the adorable Saundrah for directing my attention to this site!). And if you can handle it, there’s also Adorablog and Cats In Sinks (thanks to “Kitten” for the link!). There’s also a site called Kitten War, but that site makes me a little sad, because to me, all cats are winners!

On that note, tomorrow morning, I have to take little Ethel to the vet. :( Sadly, she’s licked her poor sweet little tummy all naked again. The last time she did this, she was having an allergic reaction to some medicine she was on, so we’re hoping that maybe she’s just having allergies again. Our adorable friend Marie told us that her dog had a similar situation where she licked the fur off her arms, and all they had to do was change her food and the licking stopped. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Ethel’s situation will have a similar simple solution!

(And, by the way, Dad: no comments for this picture?)

On a totally different note! Seattleites: Be sure to check out Central Services and Math & Physics Club playing tomorrow evening at the Seattle Art Museum! The show sadly starts at 5:00 pm, which means I will have to be there in spirit only. :( Mike is gonna try and make it though, so be sure and say hi to the really cute boy with the camera! ;)

np: his name is alive - detrola (it’s sooo good!)

Happy New Year! We hope it’s a fun and super-nice one for everyone! One of my many New Year’s resolutions includes trying to write more in this here blog, so let’s start the new year off right…

Mike and I have lived here in Seattle for quite a few years now, but we’ve yet to find a really good restaurant to take my parents to when they fly in from Texas to visit. Either the food is really good, but the prices are outrageous (like the restuarant we took them to on Lake Washington), or the food is not that good, and the prices are…well, still outrageous (like the bad experiece we had at The Hi-Life earlier this year, which is within walking distance of our apartment, but the food, while good, is not goooooooood, you know?). And we won’t even get into Dick’s…

So, this holiday season, when they came to visit, my Mom came prepared with a suitcase full of food, and then we also swung by Safeway to pick up other ingredients that wouldn’t have survived in her suitcase, like eggs.

One morning, my Mom “attempted” to teach me how to make cheese omelets. Well, here’s what really happened: Mom was just cooking away without explaining herself, while Dad was in the living room saying, “Yuko, you’re supposed to be teaching her how to do what you’re doing, not just doing it…", while I freaked out, shouting, “Ohmigod, that cup is vintage 1960’s Mikasa! Don’t use THAT to pour used cooking oil into! It’s not for using! It’s just for looking at!!!” and Mike was all, “It’s okay, she can use that cup if she wants to…” and I’m all screeching, “EWWW! NO!” …Ah, Christmastime! ;)

But the experience illustrated that our cooking (well, my cooking) is incredibly rudimentary. So my parents very generously treated us to a nice cookware set! And to kick off the new year, I tried to visually replay in my mind what I saw my Mom do, and recreate some cheese omelets for breakfast!

Check out that fancy cookware, eh? ;)

Note how Mike’s sweater matches our kitchen…

And then for musical accompaniment? Why, Eggs, of course!

A very nice way to start the new year, dontcha think? I think I did pretty okay making the omelets, but Mike’s omelet came out much nicer than mine. (Mine broke in the middle when I tried to flip it.) But still, they were edible! And neither one of us has thrown up yet!!! Thanks again, Mom and Dad!!! ;)

Kevin (one of the DJs at the station): So, Janice, what are your top ten albums of 2005?
Janice, shrugging: Oh, I don’t know. I never make lists like that…
Kevin, emphatically: But you have to!
Janice, dumbstruck: No, I don’t!
Kevin, defeated: Oh, right…you don’t!

You see, Kevin and the rest of the DJ’s compile a list of their Top Ten favorite releases every year, but as a “free agent", I don’t have any “establishment” telling me that I “must” do anything, HA! But what can I say, with everyone else making lists, it kinda inspired me to take a look at my faves of the year too. Obviously, Mike’s list kicks my list’s ass all over the place, but oh why the heck not, lemme give this a try myself…

album of the year: yo la tengo - prisoners of love: a smattering of scintillating senescent songs 1985-2003 Okay, fine, so this release is actually an anthology of songs recorded from 1985 to 2003, but it came out in 2005, so NYAH! Any release with my husband’s awesome photography in the booklet automatically takes first place in my heart. (Awwww!)

runner’s up (in no particular order):

portastatic - bright ideas

top five cds by bands who have a special place in my heart, but really these releases, while good, didn’t get as many spins as some of the other cds i bought in 2005:
1. archer prewitt - wilderness
2. sam prekop - who’s your new professor
3. ivy - in the clear
4. trembling blue stars - the seven autumn flowers
5. lou barlow - emoh
6. clem snide - end of love

three cds that i listened to a lot in 2005, but that i don’t have any strong emotional feelings towards:
1. mia - arular
2. stephen malkmus - face the truth
3. m83 - before the dawn heals us

best local release: math and physics club - movie ending romance ep

song of the year, based on quality: broken social scene - “7/4 (shoreline)”

song of the year, based on quantity (of times i played it in winamp): gwen stefani - “hollaback girl” (yeah, you heard me…)

As for other categories like “Movie of the Year” and “Live Show of the Year", I’m in total agreement with Mike, but here are a few more “Things of 2005″…

best drink of 2005: the same as 2004…diet cherry coke!

best book i read in 2005: “eleanor rigby” by douglas coupland (it made me cry!)

last person i called in 2005: my aunt shoko, all the way in tokyo, japan!

last person i e-mailed in 2005: my awesome friend marie, who was absolutely one of my best friends in 2005! it was such a cruddy year, and her emails (and occasional phone calls) definitely kept me smiling! it’s good to know there are still trustworthy, good-hearted, wonderful people in this world.

last store shopped at: children’s hospital thrift store on aurora ave. (i didn’t buy anything though, durn)

last movie watched: um, i can’t remember! but this morning, i watched a little-bit of the edited-for-TV version of punch drunk love until i got sick of all the bleeped out cussing!

last person kissed: mike, as always!

So long, 2005!

In stores now:

Eugene and Bobby Tisdale curate an intimate, weekly comedy show in New York’s East Village called INVITE THEM UP. And, whoo!, they’ve released a 3CD/ 1 DVD collection on Comedy Central Records! This collection was recorded over three nights and features many great performers, including: Eugene Mirman (duh!), Mike Birbiglia, David Wain, David Cross and Jon Benjamin, Todd Barry, Patrick Borelli, Demetri Martin, Heather Lawless, Michael Showalter and Zak Orth, Jessi Klien, Slovin and Allen, Shonali Bhomik, Andy Blitz, Tom McCaffery, Bobby Tisdale, Jon Glaser, Marcellus Hall, Aziz Ansari, Seth Herzog, God’s Pottery, Langhorne Slim, A.D. Miles, Criag Wedrin, Chelsea Peretti, Craig Baldo, Amy Miles, Andrea Rosen.

This four disc set is only $19.99 and will be available everywhere, on-line from places like Comedy Central and Amazon.com, or in any record store like, Virgin, Tower, Newbury Comics, etc.

Yippee!

from cnn.com

MISSOULA, Montana (AP) – If cats have nine lives, a kitty in Montana has definitely used one up.

A house cat survived being locked in a cage, thrown off a bridge and then stranded in an icy puddle of river slush.

The ordeal ended Tuesday morning when a pair of passers-by spotted the calico cat while crossing a footbridge and called for help.

Missoula firefighters arrived minutes later, donned wet suits and launched a rescue boat.

Someone had put the animal in a cage, along with a rock weighing about 16 pounds, and tossed it into the Clark Fork River. But instead of landing in the water, it bounced several times on the ice and then became stuck.

It’s unclear how long the cat had been there.

Firefighters took it back to the fire station, dried it off and fed it leftover Christmas turkey and a dish of milk.

“It was really skinny, nothing but skin and bones, and had collar marks where a too-small collar had rubbed the fur off its neck. But it was really friendly,” firefighter Philip Keating said.

Firefighter Josh Macrow decided to keep the cat. After his shift, he took it to a veterinarian and then home to his 12-year-old daughter.

“It’s the sweetest cat,” Macrow said. “It sits on your shoulder when you drive down the road, and it curled up with my black Labs this morning.”

Naming the animal was easy, he said.

“We call her Lucky.”

Thank goodness Lucky had a happy ending, but my heart just breaks for the kitties who are not as fortunate. And I wanna hunt down the Montana-resident who threw her off a bridge and kick them really hard in the shins. No, not the shins. The groin area. That’s more like it…

My parents are back home in Texas now, enjoying the rain-free skies, I’m sure. ;) It was a pretty awesome kick-ass holiday weekend!

check it out!!!

written by our very own, jeremy! thanks, jer!

np: seinfeld re-runs on UPN, yay!

Remember when I said I was gonna put up my Christmas tree? I lied, HA! Turns out I didn’t have time to put it up until now, but it’s up, it’s up, and it’s a beauty, HA!

So, as I wrote about last year, our Christmas tree is one of those Bratz™ trees! We found it in the kids’ holiday aisle of Target, and I’m pretty enamoured of it. I noticed that last year’s tree ended up a little bit too “Janice” and not enough “Mike", so this year, I made a point to add some of his toys too! So, hanging from the white chenille branches next to Hello Kitty, there’s Snowball II from The Simpsons, and some Star Wars Lego people too! But, keepin’ with tradition, sitting atop of the tree like last year is the mighty C-3Po! YEAH!!! ;)

I hope everyone is having an awesome holiday weekend so far!

…was this past Sunday, December 18th, as we had announced below! :) Here are some pics from the event!

You can see me in the background, adjusting the displays, HEE! :) Not only was this the most successful craft show of the season, it was our most successful craft show EVER! And we obviously owe it all to our kick-butt, awesome designers!!! ;)

A lot of cool things happened, but here’s a couple that warrant a mention!

1) A fella who bought a wonderland-q patch at an earlier iheartrummage event showed up with it sewn onto his corduroy jacket! : D How completely AWESOME is that?! He turned his coat into a unique, one-of-a-kind piece, all for the grand price of $1.50! I mean, WOW! That pretty much rules right there!

2) Secondly, guess who was shopping at iheartrummage? Peter Buck of R.E.M.!!! Mr. Buck is actually a co-owner of this legendary Seattle rock club, and we’ve seen him hanging-out backstage at shows and stuff, but this was the first time we’d seen him at Rummage and it was really surreal for me! I was actually underneath the table (literally!) digging for bags, but I heard his voice and immediately recognized it. The little girl he was with pointed out the Meomi buttons, and in that distinctive Southern drawl, Peter said something like, “Aren’t those great?” HEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! :D

There are no craft shows scheduled for January, but we’ll be back at Rummage in February with tons of awesome cute handmade goods for you and your sweetiepie! :)

In personal-news, I’m ending this cruddy year in a crappy way, HA! Basically 2005 was all about working myself to death, and now that it’s the last month of the year, and the last few weeks of the month, I think I’ve kinda mentally broken down or something? I’m a total zombie girl. I’ve hardly stepped into the sewing room all week. Physically, I’m still here in Seattle, but I think mentally, I’m off on Mars or something! I’m just spaced out…

Only 2 more days til Christmas?! HOLY CRAP! :P

np: stephen colbert on npr’s fresh air…

as of sunday afternoon, email is working again…PHEEEEWWW!!!!!!!!!!!

in other news, here’s a sweet holiday animation, link provided by the lovely ms. karen!
http://www.starz.com/features/christmasstory

today i’m putting up our christmas tree, and i can’t wait! :)

* Back when I lived in Texas, I pretty much eschwed socks, even during the winter, and even when it snowed. Once I moved to Seattle, I learned pretty fast that such a habit will not work here in the Pacific Northwest! So slowly, I’ve been trying to adapt to wearing socks…but DAMMIT! What is up with this “one size fits all” crapola?! Socks should not be “one size fits all". The “heel” part of my sock is all the way up around my ankle…it’s annoying. :P maybe this is why I stopped wearing socks back in Texas…I think I’m gonna hit the kids department of Target later tonight. It’s the same place where I buy my underpants.

* Yes, Futurama writers…"underpants” is an awesome word.

* Thanksgiving was lovely! Mike cooked for the both of us (a good thing since history has proven that I should stay away from the kitchen…), and we had a snuggly-nice weekend! We saw Jeremy for, like, the first time in months on Saturday night, which is ridiculous since the boy lives right downstairs from us, but I’ve been so shuttered away in my sewing room, that the term “social life” has no meaning for me anymore. I checked out all these books from the library about time management and “how to balance your life” and “turn 24 hours into 26 hours", but…uh, I haven’t had time to read them, HA! ;) But it was awesome to see Jer and catch up and stuff! Jeremy’s the raddest.

* One last thought: damn you Starbucks for your tasty holiday flavored coffees! I had managed to exorcise you out of my life, but now I am crawling back, pathetically ordering the peppermint mochas, and planning return visits to get a eggnog chai…DAMN YOU STARBUCKS! DAAAAAAMNNNNNN YOOOOOUUUUU!!!

I just wanted to let you guys know about the PLUG: Independent Music Awards, which just announced its nominations this morning! And the radio station where I work has been nominated for a couple of categories! PLUS, Lauren Gregg’s super-cute video for Of Montreal’s “Wraith Pinned To The Mist (And Other Games)” has been nominated! You have to vote in atleast five categories in order for your vote to count, but that shouldn’t be too hard…well, actually, just choosing ONE out of ALL the awesome choices is kinda hard! (The “Record Label Of The Year” category? GULP!) The Album Art/Packaging of the Year category is another toughie, but EWWW! No voting for Goblin Cock! I just reviewed their CD the other day, and called them out on their icky cover art.

But if you wanted to vote for my station, KEXP, in any of these categories, that’d be swell!

College/Non-Comm Radio Station Of The Year
KEXP, Seattle, WA

Internet Radio Station of the Year
kexp.org

Also, Sonic Boom Records, Seattle, WA should definitely win for “Record Store of the Year"!

And since I promised to post this pic many moons ago, here it finally is, me with Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, as written about all the way back here.

And now it’s time for the one-two punch of The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report…bliss!

And while I’m at it, here’s some more news about other people…

“Showtunes” by Stephin Merritt coming early 2006

Nonesuch Records will release “Showtunes,” a selection of original theater music by Stephin Merritt composed for director Chen Shi-Zheng’s “The Orphan of Zhao” (2003), “Peach Blossom Fan” (2004), and “My Life as a Fairy Tale” (2005). The projected release date is mid-February, 2006.

The complete catalog of songs from all three shows will also be made available by digital download. More information about the downloadable songs will be available shortly.

Mike and I have been listening to Lemony Snicket books-on-CD lately as we work, and they each feature music by The Gothic Archies, which is cute and nice! Some of the books are read by Tim Curry, and some are read by Lemony himself, Daniel Handler. Personally, I prefer it when Daniel reads.

This was actually announced last week, but I’m just now getting a minute to post about it…

Paul Frank puts a damper on Julius’s party
Eponymous designer quits monkey business on 10th birthday of his primate creation

Just as his most famous creation - Julius the monkey - celebrates his 10th birthday, the designer Paul Frank, has resigned from the company that bears his name.

Paul Frank Sunich, to give him his full name, quit last week, giving no reason for his departure. The company will continue to be run by its two co-founders, John Oswald and Ryan Heuser. In a statement, Paul Frank Industries said that the 38-year-old Mr Sunich would remain “a significant stakeholder".

His departure comes at an embarrassing time for the company. On Friday it celebrated the 10th anniversary of Julius the monkey, the cartoon character that is featured on many of Paul Frank’s products. These have proved particularly popular among girls and young woman.

Mr Sunich, from Huntington Beach, California, came up with the design when he was an art student trying to make cheap, waterproof wallets to sell to surfers.

It took two years for the products to catch on among a wider market and, with investments from the other two partners, Paul Frank Industries was created in 1997. The company later expanded into clothing, backpacks and accessories. It now boasts more than $40m (£23m) of turnover and a total of 14 stores including branches in London, Tokyo and Seoul. As well as Julius, the company’s animal characters now include a giraffe called Clancy and Ellie the elephant.

If Paul Frank Industries continues to thrive, it will join the likes of Jil Sander, Helmut Lang and Roland Mouret as fashion companies that have carried on after their eponymous founder has left.

I’m still reeling about this! What will happen to Paul Frank Industries? What will Paul do next? His last name is Sunich?!

…but election results are pouring in, and I’m SO HAPPY that the smoking ban has PASSED!!! WHOO-HOO!

and man, Texas, I so do not miss you. :(

Okay, back to insane amounts of workworkwork…Dad, can I retire with you? Huh? Can I?

I got up early today and dressed up as Robert Smith of The Cure to go to the radio station, where the DJ’s are playing nothing but Halloween-related songs today! If you subscribe to the “John in the Morning” mailing list, you may have already read this, but in his “Top 5 Costumes at KEXP Today” list, I placed at number three:

“3.Janice as Robert Smith. Janice helps Cheryl’s show and others a ton here at the station and NAILED the Robert Smith…at least in his early less bloated late 70’s/early 80’s days.”

Don, our station director, deservedly got first place with his Robert Plant costume. He had a plastic shark that he was carrying around with him too, HEE!

So, without further ado, and please excuse the messiness of our apartment in the background, but here’s me in my Halloween costume:

I hope everyone’s having a Happy candy-filled Halloween so far!!! ;)

I almost hesitate to tell you about this, but on the other hand, it would be pretty nice if a copacetic zine reader won this. (Esp. if you invited me to come sleep on it at some later date!)

Yes, YOU could win the infamous Daily Show couch! Plus a trip to New York to watch the Daily Show being filmed, and cash, apparently? I’m not sure how much cash exactly. Maybe whatever Ed Helms has in his pocket at the moment, who knows?

np: Steely Dan - “Peg”

Oh, HOLY CRAP! We have to thank our friend Craig for introducing us to the hilarity that is Yacht Rock.

 

This very low budget online series makes fun of the trend of “smooth” pop that came out in the very early 80’s, with hilarious fake re-enactments involving artists like Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. Watch as they go toe to toe with Hall & Oates in a back alley song-off contest that ends tragically! And what happens when Harold Ramis and STEVE PERRY of Journey lure Loggins away with the movie Caddyshack?

So, so very funny…watch episodes online here.

Yesterday was funfunfun!

First, I took Mike to see the new Wallace & Gromit movie at the Cinerama at 2:00 pm in the afternoon. For those who don’t live in Seattle, the Cinerama has a reputation as one of the best movie theaters in the city. And it’s huge. According to their website, it seats 808 people. Well, yesterday afternoon, there were 806 empty seats, and the experience was SURREAL! Every other time we’ve seen a movie there, it’s been packed. So, to be the only ones in the theater? It made me kinda giddy! We were like, “Let’s pretend that we’re millionaires and we rented out the Cinerama for a private screening party!” At one point, I jumped up into the center aisle and started disco dancing. And then I got it into my head to utilize this expansive space and the unusual privacy for a cartwheel, a’la Betsey Johnson. But I should’ve remembered that Betsey doesn’t do cartwheels in knee-length pencil skirts. She does them in big poofy pinafores that allow for her legs to kick out. Which is why I suddenly split my skirt open when I kicked out my legs, and then fell on my ass. How un-Betsey!

Later that night, I embarked on another cooking attempt in the name of love. Acute (and cute!) copacetic zine readers might recall last year’s attempts at a berry pie. These same readers might also recall that cooking is NOT my forte. That’s putting it politely. In fact, I suck at it. That’s putting it more accurately.

So, with a heavy heart and a messy sink, I’m posting pics from the birthday cake fiasco:

I used a Betty Crocker box mix for a White Chocolate Raspberry cake. I thought, “A box mix! How hard can this be?” Answer: HARD!

Mistake #1: The list of ingredients on the back of the box called for two sticks of butter. Okey dokey. I headed for the “butter” aisle at the grocery store. I stood and stared at all the different brands, and then positioned next to the sticks of butter were sticks of margarine, with proclamations like “Less calories than butter!” So, I figured, less calories? Sounds good to me! Which is such a ridiculous example of “Janice-food-thinking": “Oh, I’ll have a chocolate donut for breakfast, but I will wash it down with a Diet Cherry Coke, so it’s okay…”

Mistake #2: So, I start the cake-making process, and one of the first steps is to grease and flour the pan. WHAT?! Uh, I didn’t see the ingredients “grease” or “flour” mentioned on the box, so I didn’t buy any! Durn. Instead I… (*BLUSH*)… used the stick of margarine to “grease” the pan. It made sense at the time!!! I don’t know…I’m very embarassed by this in retrospect though!

Mistake #3: And this cracks me up more than embarasses me, but as you can see, when I put the pan into the oven, I kinda tilted it downwards when I slid it in, resulting in a lower corner than the rest of the cake. HA!

And Mistake #4: is more of a “stylistic choice” than a “mistake", let’s say, HA! But, my original intention was to write out “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” with the raspberry drizzle stuff. But as I wrote the first line to make the letter “H", I realized that this stuff was thick, gloppy, and I probably would only make it to “HAPPY BIR” before I ran out of the goop. So instead, I scribbled a face. Note the look of manic frustration on the cake.

So, that was my cake attempt. Honestly, I think it tastes gross. I can’t really taste any “white chocolate” at all. And the whole cake tastes like margarine with a dash of margarine. Nasty! Susie told me that when baking, it’s really better to use butter, so that was totally my bad when I was seduced by the lure of margarine packaging. And maybe I shouldn’t have used a box mix…maybe I should’ve just gone to Whole Foods and bought a cake!

Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANYWAY MIKE!!! ;) *SMOOCH!* XOXOXOXOXO!!!

Birthday weekend was a BLAST! Thank you so much, Mom and Dad, for the visit and for all the goodies and food, HA! :) And now the fun continues as tomorrow is Mike’s birthday, oh yes it is! So, more funtastic adventures await us tomorrow and through the weekend! Isn’t it easy to see why October is my favorite month? ;) And then Halloween is right around the corner! YEAH!

Actually, with Halloween in mind, here’s a fun link for you all: Vice Records has combined a whole fleet of indie rockers for this dare-I-say ridiculous Halloween spoof song! It was written by one of the guys who used to be in The Unicorns, if that tells you how silly it is! But, dagnab, look at this impressive line-up:

ARCADE FIRE’S WIN & REGINE
BECK
BUCK 65
DAVID CROSS
DEVENDRA BANHART
DESSERT’S LIANE BALABAN
ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK
FEIST
GINO WASHINGTON
LES SAVY FAV’S SYD BUTLER
ISLANDS’ J’AIME
MALCOLM MCLAREN
NARDWUAR THE HUMAN SERVIETTE
PEACHES
POSTAL SERVICE’S JIMMY TAMBORELLO
REDD KROSS’ STEVE MCDONALD
R.E.M’S JOEY WARONKER
RILO KILEY’S JENNY & BLAKE
ROKY ERICKSON
SLOAN’S CHRIS MURPHY
SMOOSH’S ASYA & CHLOE
SONIC YOUTH’S THURSTON MOORE
SPARKS’ RUSSELL MAEL
SUBTITLE
SUM 41′S STEVO
TAGAQ
THAT DOG’S ANNA WARONKER
WOLF PARADE’S DAN & SPENCER
YEAH YEAH YEAH’S KAREN O

And, how freakin’ adorable? For “Vocal Engineer", look who has a credit?

JAY FERGUSON (JAY’S BASEMENT)

HEE! I LOVE HALLOWEEN! :D So, you’ve been warned! It’s cheesy, but here you go:
http://www.vice-recordings.com/halloween

But is he coming to Seattle? Why, no, of course not! Never mind that he’s signed to Fantagraphics, who are located RIGHT HERE IN SEATTLE! Just pass us by, Chris…

However, perhaps you live in a town that Chris has decided to grace with his presence! Following are his tour dates. I’ll just go dig up an old copy of copacetic, issue six and re-read the comic Mike drew about meeting him in person back in Austin, summer of 2000.

Wednesday, Oct. 19, 10:30PM
University of Iowa Bookstore
Iowa City, IA

Thursday, Oct. 20, 7PM
Philadelphia Free Library
1901 Vine Street Logan Square
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Panel discussion with Charles Burns, moderated by Chip Kidd, followed by book signing.

Friday, Oct. 21, 7PM
Booksmith
1644 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117

Saturday, Oct. 22, 11AM
M is for Mystery
86 East 3rd Ave.
San Mateo, CA 94401

Monday, Oct. 24, 6PM
Brattle Theater
40 Brattle Street, Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA 02138
Panel discussion with Chris Ware and Charles Burns moderated by Chip Kidd, followed by book signing.

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 7PM
Thalia Book Club/Symphony Space
2537 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
Panel discussion with Chris Ware and Charles Burns moderated by Chip Kidd.

Thursday, Oct. 27, 7PM
Barnes & Noble Astor Place
4 Astor Place
New York, NY 10003
Book signing with Charles Burns.

Friday, Oct. 28, 5-8PM
Adam Baumgold Gallery
74 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10021
Reception for new exhibition of artwork from the release of The Acme Novelty Library #16

Saturday, Oct. 29, 4PM
Harbourfront Festival
Harbourfront Centre’s Brigantine Room
Toronto, ON
Panel discussion with Charles Burns, Chris Ware and Seth.

Okay, I’m gonna talk about fashion and bore the hell outta everyone right now…

So, the low-rise pant trend of the 2000’s was a God-send for a short-waisted gal like me…’cause now it looks like I actually have a torso, right? But after tonight, and after wearing a pair of high-waisted 70’s pants to the 70’s Soft Rock Night at the Sunset Tavern, I realized…I am sacrificing the length of legs for the length of my torso! ‘Cause high-waisted pants? Make me look like a GIANTESS! Therefore, in turn, wouldn’t low-waisted pants actually shorten the length of my legs and make me look shorter than I really truly am?

Oh, Trinny and Susannah! Where are you when I need you?!?!?

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! It was a super-nice day, and the fun keeps on goin’ through the weekend as MY PARENTS are gonna fly in tomorrow morning and stay until Saturday! HEE! (Yes, now you all know where I get my crazyness from…) There will undoubtedly be pictures to follow soon as I live to embarass my parents (see: yesterday’s post).

Hey Dad! Check out my new t-shirt!!! ;)

HA!!! :D

So thanks, Mom and Dad, for, uh…expressing your love physically 29 years and 9 months ago so that I could be born 29 years ago today! WHOO! Way to go, you guys!!! ;) HAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

goodbye 28…i won’t miss you, ‘cause you were a cruddy year!

let’s hope for 29 being the magic age…

I haven’t been posting much shoppe news here lately ‘cause I’ve been kinda feeling like the ‘zine is the over-looked older child and I wanted to give her more attention, hee, but we’ve gotten some way-exciting press lately, and I simply must share!

Today, I woke up to find our interview with WIRED is up on their website!!!!! :O
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,69074,00.html

Plus, we were mentioned in last week’s issue of the Seattle Weekly!

  
(item pictured: pony farm re-con tee)

YAAAY! ;)

as reported on the Ivy mailing list:

First of all, residents of Spain rejoice: Ivy will be coming to your peninsula in November. Dates coming soon.

Second, Andy’s side project Brookville is mixing their second album this month, with an eye to a late March 2006 release on Unfiltered Records. The popular Steve Osbourne (of U2, New Order, and other great bands) is coming in to co-produce.

Did you know that Ian Brown of the Stone Roses makes a small cameo appearance in the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Why, it’s true! If you watch very carefully during the first scene inside The Leaky Cauldron, he is the wizard stirring a cup of tea and reading A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, hee! How cute is that? Here is a snippet of an interview he recently did for The Independent:

Why did you want to be in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and what spell did you cast to make your tea stir itself?
JOANNE KAY, BRISTOL

I did it for a laugh. I’ve got no ambition to be a movie star. I know the director because my wife’s Mexican, and the director’s a Mexican called Alfonso Cuaron. Once, at dinner, he said that he had a part for me, so I asked my lads and they said, go for it. I think J K Rowling is brilliant - I love the story that she wrote the first book in a café when she was on the dole, and now she’s richer than the Queen. As for the tea, I used my magical powers as a bohemian wizard!

Also, in the upcoming film Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire (which comes out in November), both Jarvis Cocker of Pulp and Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead make appearances as members of the band, Wyrd Sisters!

np: reno 911 on comedy central

I’m so insanely hungry right now. My brain hurts. That sentiment is from me, and not Sub Pop.

np: kexp, yay!

I accidentally put my contact lenses in the wrong eyes this morning and I spent half of the day wondering why my vision was so blurry…then I spilled my white chocolate mocha in the hallway of my apartment complex…and earlier this morning, our server was down…BUT! It’s Friday Fun-Time!

First off, this pic is LONG overdue, but in light of his AWESOME new show on HGTV, here is a pic of me with designer/crafter-extradonaire TODD OLDHAM!

Meeting Todd was completely surreal, as I’ve been such a huge fan since HIGH SCHOOL! He actually grew up not far from where I did: like his high school football team played against mine, we shopped at the same vintage clothing stores, etc. When I met him, I told him I grew up in Fort Worth, and we excitedly reminsced about the flea markets and stuff. It was AWESOME! I wish I lived in the same city as Todd; I would stalk him and be like, “I’ll do whatever you want, I will walk your dog Ann, I will make you coffee, I will clean up after you do your craft projects with Amy Sedaris, whatever…”

Meet Quincy! How frickin’ adorable is she? I would’ve loved to have her when I was a little girl, even if my Mom is the Asian one and my Dad the Caucasian, but whatever. I sent this link to my friend at the station who has the cutest little half-Japanese little girl, and she liked it too.

Well, if you can even consider them “celebrities", HA! More like “Indie Rockers Who Kinda Look Like Other Celebrities” but I guess we gotta go with what we got…anyhoo, I’ve got two new additions to the list:

First off is Laura Cantrell (aka Andrew’s old girlfriend, HA!) and The X-Files’ Gillian Anderson, but only the X-Files-era Gillian, ‘cause I’ve seen pics of her recently and she’s morphed herself into a sad bleached-blonde-anorexic-Hollywood mess. I miss you, Scully.

And then there’s Patrick Pentland from SLOOOOOAAAAN and Harry Potter — okay, okay, it’s mostly the glasses that make this comparision!…and the eyebrows…and the squared chin…HA!

And our final one, Luke Temple (seen here in a pic from his recent performance at KEXP when they were in NYC and I didn’t get to go wah wah waah) and…Pauly Shore! Thanks for the suggestion, Mike! :)

And if you ever have any “Indie Rockers Who Look Like Celebs” ideas, don’t hesitate to send ‘em in!

So, that article I mentioned the other day ran in the New York Times today. And I must say, I was floored: I had no idea about Stephen’s loss! :( In any case, for those who don’t feel like registering with the website in order to read the article, here it is:

How will your new late-night show, “The Colbert Report,” be different from Jon Stewart’s, “The Daily Show,” on which you have appeared for years as a fake senior news correspondent?

The character will not change. He’s the exact same guy from “The Daily Show,” and he has just been promoted into the host’s chair. We’re trying to establish a persona here. He’s a well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot.

Will you continue the tradition of political satire that allowed “The Daily Show” to inject so much welcome gravity into the light, goofy realm of late-night TV?

Jon would be so happy as a comedian to hear that he injected gravity. Can I be the one to tell him?

Seriously, what do you have against gravity?

If we thought we added gravity to anything, we would feel that we had failed. We’re just trying to ease the pain of people who feel the world is going insane and no one is noticing. We’re like Cortaid, something not too heavy that is used for a rash or a bug bite. I wouldn’t use it for a wound.

I think you’re underestimating the influence the show has had. People might perceive it as substantive because the jokes happen to be political.

But I guarantee you that it has no political objective. I think it’s dangerous for a comedian to say, “I have a political objective.” Because then they stop being a comedian and they start being a politician. Or a lobbyist.

I just read somewhere that jokes are less popular than they used to be.

You mean like, “Two guys walk into a bar"? I think you are right. I get e-mailed jokes a lot - by friends who are not in the business. Jokes live on in e-mail. E-mail has become a museum of jokes.

Why do you have a framed poster of Richard Nixon hanging in your studio?

It makes me happy to think of Nixon as my president. He’s funny. Or at least he used to be funny. Steve Martin said in 1976 that making Nixon jokes was like making Ike jokes. He had been used so much - the orange has been juiced completely.

I don’t know any Ike jokes, do you?

Maybe it’s time to bring them back. Ike was before my time. I will have to ask my older brothers and sisters. They say he was a very nice man.

I hear you grew up as the youngest of 11 children in a small town outside Charleston, S.C., the son of a doctor. Was your childhood as warm and fuzzy as it sounds?

I was very loved. My sisters like to say that they are surprised that I learned to walk and that my legs didn’t become vestigial because I got carried around by them so much.

Then how did you ever develop a sense of humor?

Freud claimed that people don’t develop a sense of humor until their sense of childhood happiness has vanished. I think comedians are in some way damaged.

How are you damaged?

[Long pause.] I lost several members of my family when I was a child. My father and two of my brothers, the next two up from me. I was 10 years old, and the three of them died in an airplane crash. It was pretty bad.

I’m so sorry. I had no idea.

I don’t generally talk about it.

Can we talk a bit about your own nuclear family? You live in suburban New Jersey with your wife and three children.

I have a wife who loves me, and I am oddly normative. I go to church. I would say that there would be plenty of Catholics in the world who would think of me as not that observant, but for the world I move in professionally, I seem monastic.

What are you like as a dad?

I read to the children most nights. They are 10, 7 and 3. I am big on hugging. We are very silly. We fall down for each other. We do pratfalls.

Do they stay up to watch you on “The Daily Show"?

No. I don’t let them watch. I don’t want my kids to perceive me as a performer.

What do they think you do?

I tell them I am a chiropodist. I think that’s a chiropractor for feet.

We’re back from seeing Portastatic. I swear, Mac does not age AT ALL. I think I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: he is the indie rock Dick Clark. He is also amazingly wee. I think I could crush him.

Anyway, this Sunday, the New York Times will have an interview with Stephen Colbert. Here’s a sneak peek:

In an interview for this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, Stephen Colbert, a star/writer at “The Daily Show,” says, “We’re just trying to ease the pain of people who feel the world is going insane and no one is noticing.”

Colbert, who is about to launch his own Comedy Central program, “The Colbert Report,” tells the Times that his persona on the new show is merely that of a fake correspondent who has been promoted to the anchor chair but is still “a well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot.”

Although The Daily Show has gotten an increasingly harder political edge, Colbert claims the show has “no political objective,” which is death to a comedian. He compares the show to “Cortaid.”

He also reveals that he is a Catholic church goer, lost several members of his family as a child (which he generally doesn’t talk about), considers himself “oddly normative,” and doesn’t let his children watch him on TV because he doesn’t want them to think of him as a performer. He says he tells him he makes his living as a chiropodist.

Stephen Colbert is awesome. That’s a pic of him with his kids above. Yeah, I know I’ve posted it before, but it’s just SO DAMN ADORABLE!!!

…I gotta say, the October schedule for Saturday Night Live has some good stuff in there!

October 1 - Steve Carell/Kanye West
October 8 - Jon Heder/TBA
October 22 - Catherine Zeta-Jones/Franz Ferdinand
October 29 - Lance Armstrong/Sheryl Crow

Well, the Steve Carell and the Jon Heder (aka Napoleon Dynamite) episodes look intriguing anyway!

Okay, gotta run! Portastatic are about to do an in-studio at the station!…

When I was sick a couple of weeks ago, and I had re-read all my David Sedaris books for the billionth time, my dear sweet husband brought me something to occupy my fever-ridden mind, and though I may now be over my flu, I now have a new disease: Harry Potter-itis!

I know, I know — where have I been? I mean, they’re already on the fourth movie, and the sixth book, for cripes sake! But, wow, I totally get all those midnight-sale frenzies and all of it…these books are so freakin’ compelling! I would stay up all night finishing one, and then immediately grab the next one and keep going! Holy crap! We don’t own the latest book yet though, but I am dying to get my hands on it once it comes out in paperback.

Last night, we Netflix’ed the last movie that came out “Prisoner of Azkaban” — I’ve seen the first two movies, mostly ‘cause I loves me some Alan Rickman, but you know, the movies are so much more enjoyable when you’ve read the books! Like, comparing them to the visuals I got in my head sorta thing? Like, when I read the book, I kinda imagined the Dementors like more robotic for some reason. But in the movie, they’re very fluid and more ghost-like, and I was like, “Ohhh! I like that better!” - LOL! But I kinda imagined Professor Lupin to look a bit more raggedy than he did in the movie. In the book, they’re always talking about his torn-up clothes and stuff. Also, when I was sick and reading the books, everytime Harry would suffer a Dementor attack and Lupin would bring him chocolate, I’d be like, “That’s what I need! I need chocolate to regain my strength and feel better!” and I went out and bought one of those huge 2-lb Hershey’s bars! (I’m still eating it weeks later, it’s so damn huge!)

Oh, but I loved the way Buckbeak looked in the movie, so cute! And the scenes with Alan Rickman and Gary Oldman were total fangirl glee for me!

So, yup, that’s what I’ve been up to lately when I haven’t been working (which is near-constant), or sick (which is thankfully almost entirely out of my system now)…

Sorry I haven’t written much around these parts lately, but as the darling Ms. Bee reported on the Sampler site, I’ve been sick as a dog lately…you know, I wonder where that expression even comes from? “Sick as a dog"? Dogs don’t get sick that often? Well, whatever, I’m babbling…

Anyway, the one cool thing about being sick? I think I caught it from one Mr. Theodore Leo…yeah, you read that right!!! Ted and his Pharmacists (oh the irony…) were at the radio station on Tuesday, and omg, those guys are SO FREAKIN’ NICE! I was wearing my Teen Girl Squad t-shirt and Ted read the back of it in the Teen Girl/Strongbad voice, “I have a crush on every boy", to which my hilarious and sweet co-worker Lisa piped up to Ted, “Yeah, especially one certain guy…” waggling her eyebrows, until I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the studio with my face bright red! (She’s TERRIBLE, but I adore her!)

I wish I had a copy of the picture of Ted WITH HIS HEAD ON MY SHOULDER! but Kevin (whose camera was used to take it) hasn’t emailed me a copy yet. But here’s a pic I took of the boys with the DJs:

But, Ted was sick himself, so when I fell ill the very next day, it seemed like I probably caught it from him. But then my sickness has involved fevers and vomiting and more, so hopefully I DIDN’T catch it from him, ‘cause he still has shows to play! :( Get well soon, Ted! (And me, too!)

Well, one tiny upside to all this being sick (I’ve been sick since Wednesday of last week, CRAZY!) is that I’ve seen a LOT of campy, ridiculous Lifetime movies! Oh, join me, won’t you, for a brief little rundown?

Deceived by Trust: A Moment of Truth Movie: The Dad from heartwarming 80’s sitcom Family Ties plays a sleazy-ass high school principal who sexually harasses his students! He shaved off the “hippie liberal” beard, but has left the “bad guy” mustache for the role. I don’t care how many 17-year-olds he corners in a classroom, I still can’t help but hear him saying, “Alex? Mallory? Jen? Time for dinner!”

To Live Again: A crazy Mom locks her teenage daughter in the basement; 17 years later, the police find out and the young lady (played by Annabeth Gish, aka “Monica” on The X-Files) re-enters society under the watchful eye of a social worker played by Bonnie Bedelia. At first, Annabeth can’t talk, and she kinda grunts, like she’s been left in the jungle, not in a suburban basement with a television set. But then she DOES start to speak, miracle of all miracles, and she does so like RAINMAN, singing the theme to Cheers in a weak monotone. Whatever. And then, again like Rainman, the movie concludes with a scene where the officials intervene to see whether or not she’s capable of living on her own, or whether she should be returned to her crazy-ass Mom.

Murder of Innocence: I saved the best for last. This movie is based on a true story, which makes it very tragic, because the woman is CRAAAAAZY and it’s terrible to think that she’s not just a work of Lifetime fiction. The queen of made-for-TV movies, Ms. Valerie Bertinelli (a.k.a. Mrs. Eddie Van Halen, though I understand they might be divorced?) plays Laurie Wade. Laurie is completely unstable; she trashes her own bedroom like Van Halen trashed hotel rooms back in ‘84, writing “777″ and “PAIN” and “SHE KILL” and other crazy things on the wall with lipstick. She shoplifts tons of raw meat from the grocery store and just leaves it stuffed under couch cushions and stuff. She keeps her makeup in the fridge. You get the idea, right? She’s CRAAAZY!!! And while the true story is obviously enormously tragic, the execution of this made-for-TV movie rides on the brink of comedy…Valerie’s hair is all crazy and there are lots of close-up shots of just her eye, like LOOK INTO THE CRAZY EYE OF MADNESS!!!

That’s all for now; I gotta run to the grocery store and buy more nighttime flu medicine, more Kleenex, and more Orange Juice. :( And soup. Lots and lots of soup.

hey everyone! check out this picture my dad took!!! yes, i know, this sunset is better than “okay"; it’s downright stunning! but, it was also taken in OK, as in Oklahoma!

just a little proof that, yes, it can be pretty in the south. sometimes. ;) HA!

i am in a GREAT mood today, ‘cause it’s overcast outside and the apartment is nice and cool….ahhh! man, i am so ready for this blistering summer heat to be over! :( plus, i’m even more excited, ‘cause tonight, we get to attend a sneak preview of the new Steve Carrell movie, 40-Year Old Virgin! HEE! he was the guest on the daily show last night, and could not have been cuter.

man, my grammar skills are non-existant. okay, time to sew more purses! bye!

i’m sure the hair growth (both facial and…uh, “scalp-ial") is for a movie, but damned if it doesn’t make steve coogan look like wayne coyne! (added to our much-neglected celebs who look like other celebs list…)

np: Futurama…Fry is playing his all-Rush mix tape and Mike is across the room cheering…

Mike and I went to Target this past weekend and got him a new alarm clock. It’s awfully similar to the one you see here, but Mike’s is waaay cooler, in light blue and orange, like some stylish sneaker. But the best thing about it is, it actually projects the time on to the ceiling!!! At first we thought it might be creepy, to see 12:01 AM or 3:45 AM being projected above us. But it won me over the first night when Mike came to bed around 4:00 AM (he’s a hard worker!), and instead of having to lift and (ugggghhh) turn my weary head, all I had to do was open my eyes, read the ceiling, and voila! This clock is awesome.

I know I say this all the time, but really, I truly, deeply, sincerely am going to try and write more in here! I’ve been kinda spreading myself a little thin lately, so I’m trying to remember to take breaks and not work myself so hard. Believe me, it’s really hard to do, esp. with the shoppe getting so much lovely lovely press and stuff, but if I’m going to keep my sanity, I need to remember to take time to smell the roses, or more accurately, write for my zine and stuff. ;)

Speaking of the shoppe, I’m in the middle of a massive update right now — restocking our old school designers, adding new designers, and there’s a whole buncha new copacetic autumn purses up, with more on the way. Woot!

My laptop has to go to the doctor (i.e. back to the manufacturer’s for repairs), so please bear with me over the next two weeks until she comes back to me.

Orders and business inqueries will NOT BE AFFECTED by this! (Mike handles all of that, and his computer is behaving like a dream, knock on wood!!!)

But I’ll be slower to respond to personal emails about Jon Stewart in the meanwhile. I know, it stinks. :(

Wish my laptop luck!!!
xoxoxo

alrighty, looks like this new spam killer is a winner, so hooray! i went ahead and installed it on mike’s journal and on the daily snooze this evening. phew! so feel free to start leaving us comments again! we love hearing from ya’ll!!!

ALSO! holy cow, the press on copacetique has been pouring in lately!!! :D WOW! we couldn’t be more flattered or more excited! :) today, we were featured at the shopping website shefinds.com. here’s our feature:

and last week, we were featured in the email newsletter, liquidtreat! here’s a peek at that write-up:

so as you can probably imagine, we’ve been keeping a little busy lately, HEE! :) but it’s in the nicest, most surprising, and most fun way imaginable, so it’s all good!

we’ve still got new reviews coming your way, some of which mike got up this past weekend! GO MIKE! more news soon…!!! :) xoxoxoxoxo

No, it’s not just you folks, turns out the spam blocker we installed on the website is killing EVERYONE’s comments! :( Suck!

I’m gonna try and fix it this weekend, and yes, the Decemberists contest will be extended to make up for it!

Sigh! Oh, technology!

If you already read his website, then you’ve already seen this:

A guy dies and goes up to heaven. St. Peter is giving him the grand tour of the Grounds, and he says, “So, what were you into back on earth? Like, what were your hobbies and shit?” And the guy says, “Well, I was a musician.” So St. Peter says, “Oh Jeez – well come on! You know what they say about how Heaven must have one Hell of a band and all that – this is the place for YOU, my brother! As a matter of fact, there’s a show about to get underway down at the Celestial Auditorium. You wanna check it out?” Guy: “Hullz yeah!” St. P.: “Well let’s get it awn!”

So they go down to the Celestial Auditorium, and the guy’s jaw immediately drops to the floor – on stage, starting the show is someone playing the most rippingest version of the “Star Spangled Banner” ever, and the dead guys is like, “Oh my Gawd! It’s Jimmy Hendrix!” And St. Pete is all, “Totally. Here come the drums – check it…” And he hears, like, DUH-DUH-BAP! DUH-DUH-DUH-BAP! And he realizes, “Holy schniekies – it’s friggin’ Bonham!” And Saint Pete’s playin’ it cool, but he’s like, “Yup. But wait for it… Now dig the bass.” Ding-diggaddy-ding-diggaddy-ding-diggaddy-ding-ding-doomb!! “No way – it’s The Ox! John Entwistle – he’s my favorite!!” Then the singer comes out and starts belting, “eeeeyah-hooooooo-hoo-hoo-hoooooo! Hoooo-ho-ho-ho!” And the dead guy is really puzzled because it’s obviously Bono, so he turns to St. Peter and says, “But wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute – Bono’s not dead, is he?” And St. Peter sighs and says, “No no no – that’s Jesus – he just thinks he’s Bono.”

He also had a link to this hilarity. Oh, Ted!

Okay, it might not make you cry. I’m just a big wuss.

“Casimir Pulaski Day” by Sufjan Stevens, from his 2005 album, Illinois.
(right-click, save as)

Thanks to my radio station internship, I’ve had this CD for a while now, but it wasn’t until this weekend, when I was driving around doing errands that I really had a chance to listen to this song in particular. And it just kinda struck something in me. And I was sitting in the parking lot of Office Depot, and I couldn’t even turn it off and go inside, like, I just had to sit there and listen to it all the way through. And something about the lyrics just kinda ripped at my heart, and I was sitting behind the wheel crying, and all these Office Depot customers with their printer cartridges and ballpoint pen 12-packs were looking at me like I was a total freak.

And since misery (as lovely as it is!) loves company, I’m sharing the song with ya’ll tonight, but it’ll be gone tomorrow, so download while you can, HA! ;)

WHOO-HOO! IT’S A CONTEST!

But for this contest, the winner will receive:

SO! Here’s the contest: just write a little haiku about the Decemberists, or it can be in the style of the Decemberists (like about whales and prostitutes, hopefully not in the same poem). Haikus will be judged by a secret panel of judges (if you don’t know who they are, you won’t know who to bribe).

Katie Holmes is an anagram of “Tom Likes A He".

awesome!

i’m SORRY! i know you must be getting bored of all these shoppe updates, but here’s another one!

yippee! sorry for the lack of interesting updates lately…mike and i have been gearing up for going to brooklyn at the end of the month. we are INSANELY STRESSED OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oops, sorry for that! ;) but it’s true. we’re a mess. hopefully we’ll get it together soon. and if you’re gonna be in brooklyn the last weekend of june, come visit us!

Okay, fellow Seattle-ites…we used to have an indiepop dance night, and it folded due to lack of attendance…let’s NOT LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!!! :D (Plus, I just really love to dance, yo…)

Thanks to the always-awesome Charles of Math & Physics Club for sharing the good word! :)

Yes! The last day for you to….

You’ve got til the clock strikes midnight, so come on Cinderella, and get creating! ;) Need more details?

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to pledge your support to KEXP! It’s their summer membership drive, and they are the bestest radio station out there!

And since I’m being bossy and telling you what to do, lemme add to that list while I’m at it: go hug your pets, tell your best friend that you love them (LOVE YA JER!), go buy yourself a cookie….

Yes, I know I just had a shoppe update the other day…but, dagnabbit, the cute just does not rest at copacetique, yo.

  

I can’t believe I’m actually watching Saturday Night Live right now…I haven’t watched this show in…good grief, maybe over a decade now? And I adore Amy Poehler, but dang…this is really bad. And it’s weird watching Beck and thinking, “Dude. You’re a scientologist.”

And on that note, I should probably try and sleep now…

but it’s still pretty darn cool…

as seen on eBay, a haunted Nintendo system…

scary!!!

holy crap, i just finished the biggest shoppe update yet!

new friends:

    

      

WOWZERS! there is so much to see, i’ll stop babbling and let you get to it! ;)

Just a quick link before I go chain myself to the sewing machine! ;)

I woke up this morning feeling a little guilty about venting last night about the rancid tour manager for Ivy. Oops, maybe I shouldn’t call him “rancid” — guess I’ll wake up tomorrow feeling guilty about that! I love Ivy, I really really do. And I guess I’m being ungracious and ungrateful…I mean, I’m lucky I even got to see them in concert at all! Sigh!

Okay, off to the copacetique sweatshop!

Hi everyone! Huge apologies for the lack of updates recently…our lives are undergoing a little bit of a metamorphisis right now, but the butterfly will emerge from the cacoon towards mid-June, so after that we’ll probably be updating so much you’ll get sick of us. ;)

But I just had to pop in and share a few quick links…

So, eek, Moby is coming back to the KEXP studios today, and The Lucksmiths will also be playing today…quelle excellentment! And Friday…SLOOOOOAAAN! Eeeee! Also, I woke up this morning and found a COLOSSAL Coachella report from the lovely Ms. Karen in my inbox, holy crap! You will all read and die of jealousy! PLUS! Jeremy sent over a kick-ass review of the new Todd Solondz movie Palindromes, so don’t go see it yet! We’ll have it all coded up and on the site before you know it. Okay, now I gotta finish up the latest shoppe update……lotsa love xoxoxoxo!

np: Upright Citizen’s Brigade

OMG, thanks to Karen & Jen, we learned that last Thursday, copacetic was the word of the day at dictionary.com! Check it out! YAY for COPACETIC!!! :D

One last thing…

I just wanted to say a quick “HAPPY ANNIVERSARY” to Mike! We’ve been married for five years now! WHOO! What is five years? Paper? Plastic? I have no idea.

But after I quickly whipped that graphic up, I realized, “Hmm. That’s not very Mike-friendly…” so I threw together a different one, just for him…

That’s more like it, huh, Mike? ;) So happy anniversary! May we continue to be as happy together as these two droids are! ;)

Awesome. I think that “Z” comes from a local pizza place called “Zeke’s” or something, too! Click here to play…and Mr. Lunt, there is a package in the mail for you…

So, have you all seen all the awesome new stuff on the site? Holy moly, there’s so much cool new stuff to read and see and do…it boggles the mind! Perhaps my mind is too easily boggled. Maybe I need to become more jaded. My tongue hurts. I think I bit a taste bud. It’s all, like, inflamed or something…Should I just shut up now?

Oh, but one last note! Ethel is responding to the medication which is good. It makes me happy to see her eating and being more like her old self again. So things seem to be going okay with her! And on that note, now I’ll shut up. :)

Hey everyone!

Well, for some reason, my server wasn’t delivering my email properly…so if you sent me an email, it may have disappeared into internet oblivion, or it may have bounced back to you…

OR, it may be one of the emails that keep trickling into my inbox all day…they really all trickling in like tiny drops from a melting icicle…it’s kinda amusing…like *DING* wednesday, march 16, 2005…*DING* tuesday, march 15, 2005…

So if you’ve been waiting to hear back from me, please bear with me for a little longer…my email is all wacked out right now. I’m gonna cross my fingers and hope the server totally defrosts and all the emails come pouring in over night, and then tomorrow morning I’m heading out to Cafe Verite to settle in with a cupcake and I won’t leave until all of ya’ll are answered. That’s my goal. :)

Thanks to all of you for your patience!!! :)
xoxoxo janice

np: STARS! STARS! thank you sooooo much Karen! :)

I got this link from my “Daily Candy” newsletter this morning and, of course, had to check it out immediately! Astrologer Michele Bernhardt has teamed up with Pantone (the worldwide last word on colors) to create this combination of astrology and numerology and doesn’t it sound like the witchcraft thing from A Mighty Wind?

“We are Winc. W-I-N-C. Witches In Nature’s Colors. Terry and I worship an unconventional deity. The power of another dimension. Now you are not going to read about this dimension in a book or a magazine because it exists nowhere… but in my own mind. Through our ceremonies and rituals we have witnessed the awesome and vibratory power… of color.” — Laurie Bohner, The New Main Street Singers

Anyway, my birthday came up with “Opal Blue", which is indeed one of my favorite colors that I tend to wear often! Er, I guess that’s creepy…but it also states that I am “practical, builder, driven” — wrong, wrong, and wrong!!! Laughably wrong. I am the most impractical person you might ever meet. My Mom’s birthday was a bunch of hooey too, but my Dad’s birthday rang somewhat true, and Mike’s birthday brought up a few things similar to him, so who knows! Go check it out! ;)

np: Daily Show mini-marathon on Comedy Central! WHOOO!

So, whew! Whatta whirlwind of a weekend! My parents arrived on Christmas Eve morning, on Christmas Day we had an awesome dinner at Chris & Arianne’s (Arianne ROCKS!), and then at 4:00 am this morning, I drove my parents to the airport before returning home to crawl back into bed where I didn’t wake until about 10:00 am (about the time my parents’ plane arrived home in Texas, I believe?).

Mike and I have spent the rest of the day, lazily laying on the couch watching our new Seinfeld DVDs (THANKS Mom & Dad!), and eating leftover cookies from last night’s amazing dinner. Bliss.

Um, so those elves I mentioned last week? What can I say? They took some PTO’s, so all the exciting new merchandise isn’t on the site yet. It will be this week, definitely. I’ll be working on it tomorrow.

But as for tonight? It’s all about my friends, “Couch” and “Remote Control” — have you met them yet? They are oh so nice.

Hey all! I know I mentioned earlier that Debbie Stoller (editor of Bust magazine, author of Stitch & Bitch) was going to tour in support of her new book, but I received word today that the tour has been cancelled! As Debbie states, “I was really looking forward to meeting all of you in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and Kansas City in the coming month, but my beloved dog, Shadow, who has been battling cancer for the past 6 months, is too ill at this point for me to leave him. It’s been heartbreaking, but it’s what I need to do right now. I hope to be able to reschedule some of those dates at a later time.”

We all send our most warmest wishes to Shadow and Debbie!!!

Sweeping Refusal Clause Strips State Autonomy And Jeopardizes Women’s Reproductive Health
from Planned Parenthood, December 8th, 2004

Washington, DC — Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) today challenged President Bush’s signing of the Weldon Amendment, or so-called “Abortion Non-Discrimination Act” (ANDA). The legislation, originally proposed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and added as an amendment to the final version of the omnibus appropriations bill, will allow health care organizations to refuse to comply with existing federal, state or local laws pertaining to abortion.

“This amendment’s Orwellian name makes it sound as if it protects women seeking abortions from discrimination. In fact, it discriminates against them,” said PPFA President Gloria Feldt. “It also discriminates against health care providers as well as state and local governments that want to provide comprehensive women’s health care. It allows any health care provider or institution, religious or otherwise, to refuse to provide a much-needed reproductive health care service. The vast majority of Americans oppose allowing health care entities to deny services to women, even if those entities claim their refusal is based on religious or moral grounds, which ANDA does not require. This sweeping federal refusal clause will allow the whims of a corporate entity to trump the conscience and very real medical needs of women nationwide. Simply put, you ought to be able to trust your doctor or hospital to give you a full range of options and respect your health care choices. ANDA lets them discriminate against you.”

ANDA was added to the appropriations bill by anti-choice Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL). The bill provides a sweeping exemption from existing laws relating to safe and legal abortion services. Health care entities, as defined by the law, include hospitals, provider-sponsored organizations, health maintenance organizations, health insurance plans or any other kind of health care facilities, organizations or plans.

Feldt said, “PPFA and others will be working to see the law blocked in the courts or repealed in Congress, where Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has promised Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) a vote to repeal the bill.We will also continue to work with our allies in Congress and across the pro-choice movement to strengthen legislative protections on reproductive rights and health through measures like the Putting Prevention First Act (PPFA), which promotes family planning programs. If ANDA’s anti-choice supporters really cared about preventing abortions, they would help us do more to support family planning instead of penalizing women and service providers with vague, unfair, and dangerous legislation.”

I realize that my next statement is nowhere near the amount of gravity that this situation deserves…but…I just have to say it: stupid yucky President Bush!!!!! :( :( :( Just know that even though my words may not reflect it, the anger I feel is real.

np: King of the Hill on FX

So, I know that both link sections on the zine and the shop are huuuge and sometimes when I add a new site to the links, no one ever notices! With that in mind, I’m gonna be highlighting new links here whenever they go up, so they’ll get a little more attention than they might among the tonnes and tonnes of other links! :) Here goes!

From Planned Parenthood:

In spite of what the name might indicate, this legislation does not protect women seeking abortion services from discrimination. Instead, it would allow any health care provider or institution (not just religious entities) to refuse to provide, pay for, or even refer for abortion for any reason. Supporters of this bill claim this is a matter of religious freedom.

With the reelection of President Bush, the conservative right has claimed it is the moral majority in this country. But we know there is nothing moral about preventing women’s access to needed health care services.

Click here to speak out against the federal refusal clause and help women maintain access to needed medical services.

from moveon.org

Questions are swirling around whether the election was conducted honestly or not. We need to know – was it or wasn’t it?

If people were wrongly prevented from voting, or if legitimate votes were mis-counted or not counted at all, we need to know so the wrongdoers can be held accountable, and to help prevent this from happening again. That’s why we believe that: “Congress must investigate the integrity of the voting process in the 2004 election.”

PLEASE CLICK HERE to sign the petition, and pass the word on to everyone you know. This campaign is based solely on word of mouth, so the more people you tell, the better!

np: cnn…

Okay, I know we’re probably not going to find out who will win tonight, but I’m having a hard time tearing myself away from the TV. :-/ I know it’s looking grim, but I have not given up hope. I’m weary. I should really go to sleep. I should…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ… !!! ;)

Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know some of you got sick of hearing this song over and over again the last time I put it on my blog page, but it’s Election Day, so here it is again! :D VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! (And, yeah, I’m gonna take it down tomorrow…) I’m o.d.-ing on CNN today…I know we’ll probably not have a winner at the end of the day, but still, I’m biting my nails.

Tobin is snoozing next to me, his whiskers twitching as he dreams. He’s such a sweetiehead.

np: “Sweet Home Alabama"…that Reese Witherspoon movie…man, they show some lame movies in the afternoon! No, correction: I watch some lame movies in the afternoon!!!!!

I’m so tired. Mike, Jeremy and I saw Belle & Sebastian last night! It was wonderful and so much fun. I’ll write more about it later, and Jer snuck his camera in, so we might have pictures later, but boy, I’m sure pooped.

But I did want to announce we have some new stuff in the shop! :)

np: Mr. Show

New David Sedaris Book
It’s called Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and it’s coming out in June 2004. I simply can’t wait. Plus, Seattle-ites get a Summer of Sedaris with three (!!!) local appearances:

June 9 - Seattle, WA. Third Place Books 7:00 PM
June 10 - Seattle, WA. Bailey Coy Bookstore. Reading & Signing. 2PM
June 10 - Seattle, WA. Elliott Bay Book Company 7:30 PM

Is it a little too stalkerish to go to all three readings? It is? Oh, good. Click here for more appearances across the nation.

sp: Futurama

Stills News
(quoted directly from the horses’ mouth ‘cause i am laaazy today! but I do want to add that Sea Ray are amazing, and Metric are great too! i’m really excited for this bill!)

“We’re heading out to England again this month to do some shows with The Shins and The Walkmen. But we’re back in May for a huge headline tour, save for a couple dates we’ll be opening up for the with The Strokes. Below you can see all the dates. ALSO we’re hosting MTV2’s Subterranean on Friday April 9 at midnight and we’re on an MTV show called Advance Warning that debuts on MTV on Sunday April 11 at 1am.”

Sat May 1 Indio, CA Coachella
Mon May 10 Philadelphia, PA The Trocadero
Tue May 11 New York, NY Irving Plaza (buy tickets here)
Wed May 12 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Fri May 14 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony
Sat May 15 Boston, MA Orpheum Theater with THE STROKES
Sun May 16 Providence, RI Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel with THE STROKES
Wed May 19 Atlanta, GA Cotton Club
Fri May 21 Indianapolis, IN Birdy’s
Sat May 22 Cincinnati, OH Bogart’s
Sun May 23 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theater
Mon May 24 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
Tue May 25 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
Thu May 27 Detroit, MI St. Andrew’s Hall
Fri May 28 Chicago, IL Metro
Sat May 29 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
Sun May 30 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Cafe
Tue Jun 1 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
Thu Jun 3 Boston, MA ‘FNX Best Music Poll/Landsdowne St
Fri Jun 4 Phoenix, AZ Marquee Theater
Sat Jun 5 San Diego, CA Soma Sidestage
Tue Jun 8 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theater (buy tickets here)
Thu Jun 10 Sparks, NV tbc
Fri Jun 11 San Francisco, CA Live 105 festival
Sat Jun 12 Portland, OR Crystal
Sun Jun 13 Seattle, WA tbc
Tue Jun 15 Vancouver, BC Commodore

* all dates with Metric and Sea Ray unless otherwise noted

np: The Daily Show yet again…can you tell I like this show?

So, holy crap! My server was up and down all day long. It seems to be holding steady now, thank goodness, and I apologise to anyone who was inconvenienced!

Today was insane! We had a high of 75 degrees in Seattle today! It was soo hot! So, of course, Jeremy and I had to celebrate with some ice cream. ; ) Ballard now has a Ben & Jerry’s right next to the movie theater. This is both good and bad. “Good” ‘cause…well, duh! But “bad” because Jer and I are gonna get soo fat if we’re not careful! It’s a sad thing when they’ve been open for less than a month, and Jer and I already have “our table". And then, when we walked in today, the girl behind the counter said, “Hey! I know you! I’ve seen you in here before!” *BLUSH* Eeep! I guess that’s a sign we should find somewhere else to hang out for a while! We used to get chai tea at Mr. Spots Chai House, but ever since it moved to its new location, it’s gotten waay more “hippie” than it was before. :-/ I just hate going home from that place reeking of incense.

New Reviews On The Site!

Yes, indeedy, it’s true!