Feb. 19

Photo HERE

I went to a Josh Ritter concert yesterday evening at local venue Liberty Hall. It was amazing! I go to few enough concerts that I always want to show up at least an hour before the doors open, which proved good fortune for me this time around as I was only 5th in line to get it, so I got a comfy little spot right up front. As it usually happens, all of the folks next to me were super nice and fun to talk to; the evening passed with only a few loudish drunks in the corner, one hellish screaming woman in the balcony, and wasted fellow that wanted to be a bit too close to me and the girl next to me.

I also seem to be extremely lucky with opening acts... the last three or so concerts I've been do I have become a fan of the openers. This one was Scott Hutchison from Frightened Rabbit and he was really great and energetic. I'm listening to him right now actually. Josh was, of course, wonderful. He had such a goofy smile on his face the whole time you could really tell that he was having a blast. I'm really glad I went.

I tried to record as much as I could, but alas, the louder songs didn't fare well. I do have some of Scott Hutchisons act and a couple of Josh's, so feel free to download them HERE. I'm also working on getting some songs up on YouTube. Uploading is quite the slow process.

Here is a song of his called Lawrence, KS that he played for us... I mean, how could he not? As an FYI though, having a song named after your town makes it much more difficult to actually find information regarding a concert in your town. Just typing in "Josh Ritter Lawrence, KS" doesn't work. Also, I didn't record this by the way, just in case you thought I was awesome enough and the venue was quiet enough. It certainly wasn't. And I'm certainly not.

Dec. 31

Source

So I suppose it's the time of year where one reflects on the last 365.25 days and tries to figure out what the next will be like. It has definitely been an ever-changing year for me, and I'm satisfied with it. That said, I hope next year offers a bit more stability.

I'm not going to make any resolutions because I kind of feel that they are silly, but I definitely have a lot to work on this year so hopefully I can motivate myself.

A friend of mine gave me some turkey thighs and a leg he didn't end up cooking, so I made it up the other day and this morning I made some noodles. I'm really excited about turkey noodle soup folks. It seems pretty cold out there so I don't know if it's worth it to go out and get some carrots.... I may improvise with some other veggies I have around.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to take my sewing machine in yet again to see what is wrong with it. I called a local place and he suggested that since I just got the belt replaced it might be too tight? I have been borrowing my mom's for the last couple weeks and it has been working fantastically... I was on it almost all day yesterday without any problems. I start it up today however, and it starts running really weirdly too! I really don't know what is going on with me and sewing machines. I seriously can't try to use them as my livelihood if they insist on not working constantly.

Since it's the holiday and all, here is my favorite version of Auld Lang Syne. I think I might curl up and watch An Affair To Remember tonight, as it's the only movie I have that has a NYE scene. A little champagne might be in order as well.

Dec. 22

Photo by Illahie

It is getting so close to Christmas! My family doesn't make a big deal of the holiday gift-wise, but I always like it. I'm in the process of making a few gifts and helping my sister with some of hers. Hopefully I'll have everything I need to finish done in time.

I was turned on to a new Christmas mix by one of my favorite comic artists by independent Canadian musicians! It is almost all non-traditional and great. It is called Ho! Ho! Ho! Canada Deux and I would recommend downloading it (for free!).

Here is a song that I've been enjoying this week... a Wham! cover by one of my favorites, Erlend Oye, best known for his involvement in the band Kings of Convenience. Enjoy!


                           

Nov. 4

I am a Joni Mitchell fan and was looking up a video of hers on Youtube and came across this one. It's a perfect song for autumn, I've been listening to it a lot. This is from a live performance a couple years before the song was released.



I have never thought to compare the two, but in this video I see a striking resemblance between Joni and Kira, from The Dark Crystal.

 

See the resemblance? No disrespect to Joni of course.

In other news, I did make the bagels and they turned out pretty fine if I say so myself. I've also been working on some new stuff for my shop. I'll update tomorrow!

Oct. 18

Photo credit goes to iantmcfarland

I just went to a Sufjan Stevens concert in Kansas City last night that was incredible! Due to a bit of a medical emergency with a friend I went with, we had to leave after only about half of the show, but what I did see was great. It gave me a much greater appreciation for his newest album, The Age of Adz (I was kind of lukewarm to it before). The opening act (DM Stith) was fantastic as well. As soon as I got home I downloaded his album and I couldn't stop listening to it today. Below is the only video I could find of the concert: the opening song, Seven Swans, and my favorite of DM Stith's that I've heard so far.

Sept. 23

I have to admit, I haven't been doing much sewing the last few days due to schoolwork. I wasn't so busy studying that I couldn't go to Kansas City yesterday to see the Horror Remix show though!

If you like bad movies, this is the thing for you. It consists of two or three bad horror movies trimmed down to the essential 30-45 minutes each; "All Killer, No Filler" as the slogan goes. One of the movies this time around was almost too crazy and gross to be appreciated, but I still had a great time.

Since I don't have any pictures of what I've been doing since my last post (unless you want shots of cultures from my microbiology class) so I'll leave you with another song from a new artist from Nebraska I just found out about named Danielle Ate the Sandwich. Crazy name, crazy girl, lovely Ukulele tunes.

Sept. 6

       Today has been good... I made a fantastic smoothie, cleaned some of the rust off of my bike and attempted to get the tires aired up without success (I guess gas station pumps are a different size than bike tires?) I also cut out some sewing patterns, watched the BBC version of Sense and Sensibility, and made enchiladas. Of course, I didn't take pictures of any of these things. I still need to get into the habit of being a good blogger.

       I was however, told of a great site called Shuffler. With this site I was introduced to a few new bands, one being Isbells who are from Belgium I believe. Since I don't have any pictures I'll leave you with a song by them. Enjoy!