Making Me Smile

This video always cheers me up and I am in need of some cheerfulness lately. For some reason I just love the way he says "It's a basket full of puppies." Enjoy!

Music Monday

It's official! I will be seeing these guys this Friday at the High Dive in Fremont! I am so psyched cause this song is so amazing on all levels. I am completely relating to the lyrics and am totally into bands that feature a lot of piano. Want to go to the show? You wont find tickets anywhere, but listen to 107.7 The End and text to get your name on the list! Thanks guys!

Dessert To Die For

On Thursday, I was hanging with a couple girlfriends and we were having a nice complaining session, which usually leads to the need for some delicious something. Luckily my friend lives about half a block away from the Blu Water Bistro on Greenlake and they feature some excellent desserts. I'm a simpleton when it comes to dessert, anything with chocolate or ice cream I'll be happy with. Luckily here, they have a great dish that combines the two. A large skillet-cooked Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie topped with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Man, was it delicious. Nice and warm and not quite cooked all the way so it was the perfect soft consistency. Mixed with the cold vanilla ice cream made it heaven. Delicious. Will definitely go back for this again.

I'm Back

I have returned from the east coast! And I have completed my new header. Of course, I'm still working on the complete layout, but I'm pretty happy with it so far! Blogs about the trip to come very soon.

Weekend Getaway

I am off to Washington, DC for a long weekend getaway to visit friends and see cool sights! Expect many awesome pictures upon my return. Have a good weekend and behave yourselves!

Two-fer Tuesday

A Double War Whammy

The Hurt Locker

After taking some of the more prestigious Academy Awards, my family decided that it was probably a good idea to check out this movie. I have to say that I thought it was amazing. It was the perfect match of story line, character development and intensity. And explosions. (Come on, don't tell me you thought he disarmed ALL the bombs.) I can't say exactly cause obviously I haven't experienced it, but I thought it was a good representation of these peoples' lives. Or at least a very interesting one. It really puts you into their shoes and gives you a look at how difficult a life of war is. Also, there is something to be said about movies without a real soundtrack. I mean, obviously I LOVE music, but in this kind of movie, the lack of music increases the intensity and really makes you pay attention to what is going on. Kind of like what Alfred Hitchcock did with "The Birds". He thought it made it scarier without music. Same with this movie. You're just sitting at the edge of your seat for the majority of the film. I don't want to give away the plot to those who haven't seen it yet, but I definitely recommend it. Kathryn Bigelow definitely deserved her award.

Brothers

This movie was completely different than I thought it was going to be. The way they advertised it in the trailers is a bit misleading, but I guess that is okay because you get a story you didn't think you would. It was an interesting surprise. I again don't want to give too much away, but instead of being a story about a woman's struggle choosing between two brothers, it was more about a man's struggle coming back from war. I can't say this was an amazing movie. I thought it ran a bit slow at times and some scenes were a little lengthy. Also it was really stressful at times when you're waiting for things to happen and they don't! But it was all part of the experience. Again, it puts you in a realistic story about those who return from war and what they have to deal with. My family watched this the night after we watched "The Hurt Locker" so we were a little stressed out seeing two intense war movies in a row! But overall if you enjoy these types of stories, I would recommend it.

MUSEic Monday

EPIC. It's the only word I have been able to think of to describe the show I saw on Friday night at Key Arena. So much so that I had to recover all weekend and couldn't muster up the energy to write this post until now. The show featured Silversun Pickups and Muse. Two of my favorite bands of all time. (If only Incubus was there too...) But seriously, I think this had to be the best show I've ever seen. So far anyway. While I was a bit bummed out that I missed some of Silversun Pickups, I learned that it might not be too long before I see them again, and from what I saw, they were incredible. I heard mixed reviews about them playing live, but they did not disappoint. When I heard this show was going to be at Key Arena, I was not exactly too excited. I've been going to a lot of smaller venue shows lately and really enjoying them. I think the last band I saw at Key Arena was `Nsync. (I know that wasn't judgement that just went through your mind...) Honestly, I totally forgot that in a big venue, you don't just get a concert, you get a show! A show complete with sets, lights, screens, other visual effects, just the works! It started with these three structures that looked like buildings and before we knew it they were stairways, they were eyeballs, they were people. I mean, these things turned into everything. The bottom halves of the "towers" served as platforms that could rise and lift the performers, which was really nice, especially for the shorter kids in the audience.

They only played a 45 minute set at Deck the Hall Ball back in December, so I was excited to see more of an array of their music in this much longer concert. Of course they started out with their high energy hits such as "Uprising" and "The Resistance" to get the crowd really amped and involved. Towards the middle of the show, they calmed things down and played a few of their more mellow hits. However, even their more mellow hits have some intense, loud guitar parts as well. By loud, I mean LOUD! But we got to see the most badass piano ever that lights up depending on the notes or chords he was playing. People were mesmerized by that thing, no joke. Then at the end of the show, it was time to go out with a bang and they picked things back up again. They even included giant eyeballs that they pushed down from the ceiling into the audience. Totally random and unorthodox, but added character to the show.

The encore was probably my favorite part of the whole show. They finished with three final songs, the first being "Unnatural Selection" (I think? I honestly can't remember. I was too excited.) That particular song is a bit slower, but they followed up with "Stockholm Syndrome" which is one of my all time favorites of theirs and probably the most high energy ever. My friend Sara said, "This is the song that makes me want to be a rockstar." It was absolutely amazing. Note: If you're at a Muse concert and they haven't played "Knights of Cydonia" then you know it ain't over yet. That song is another one of their most powerful and audience entertaining. It's the perfect closer and the one everyone waits to sing along with.

On a scale of 1-10, the show gets a 179. It was absolutely incredible. Muse really is the best band to see live. Even if you're not the biggest fan of their recorded music, they are so much better in the flesh. So if you ever get the chance in your lifetime, DO IT. It is worth every cent.