Late to The Party

The New Pornographers got together in 1997 when I was in 10th grade and exclusively listening to Fiona Apple. Eleven years later I feel like I've discovered something magical. By "discovered" I mean, am the three millionth person to listen and be totally delighted by their music.

Their "new" (2007) album Challengers is by turns choral poppy fun and annexed, melancholy solitude. It's title song, Challengers, is so quiet and strong and pretty -- it gives me deja vu in this way that has nothing to do with anything I've lived through. Other highlights are Myriad Harbor which some sly tech person at Improv Asylum has been playing between shows sounds like it should underscore a montage of some mixed up cigarette kids trying on skinny jeans in the East Village, and All The Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth Are Here will make you want to grab a tambourine. But don't. There's not one around you right now.



I basically love this album and am out of my mind excited that there is now eleven years of work that I get to explore like it's new. Thanks, itunes.

Also, I just finished reading Mick Napier's book for the second time and I think I absorbed a lot more of it this time around. I'm feeling super creative and am very excited to improvise. August, where are you?

May Resolutions

I'm determined to not be miserable waking up in the morning anymore. Here are some things that I'm going to do to ensure this:

1. Go to the gym more, for a better night's sleep
2. Start drinking tea before bed
3. Stop drinking beer before bed
4. Eat less crap that's fried
5. Try try try to stop having meta dreams where I wake up in my dream and into another one in which I'm telling dream people #2 about dream #1 and so on with dream #3. I assume I'm having crazy dreams because of poor sleep and high anxiety, so I have to...
6. Calm the hell down.

Happy spring!

One of My Favorite Things

It's teeny and it's tiny, but I'm excited anyway. I've been published in the "staff favorites" section of Venuszine.com! It's almost as though I'm "staff".

http://venuszine.com/art_and_culture/staff_favorites


It's a blurb on one of my very favorite shows, Paranormal State on A&E.

On May 14th they'll be publishing another of my favorites -- and I'll write another exhuberant post with the link.

Baby steppin'
Erin

I Didn't Realize John Cusack Was In This Until I Did a Google Image Search

Random tidbit:

I imagine that everyone has certain "comfort places" that they can mentally go when they need to calm the hell down during an anxiety attack, or perhaps fall asleep when insomnia comes knocking. My mom says that she thinks of bike riding down the Cape. Brian probably envisions himself either swimming--or in front of his xbox doing battle with thirteen year old boys in a cyber-WWII universe. I really, truly don't know why, but I always think about being in my parents house, eating a grilled cheese sandwich and watching this:



For some reason this movie represents all that is the safety of childhood to me. Which is bizarre because it's about a little girl having to make a cross country trip by herself and there's a wolf involved. The Anne of Green Gables mini series can also do the trick.

Raised on TV, for real,
Erin

Free Time Makes Me List

I don't know what to do with the free time I have today.

Things I Did Today:
-Shower
-Folding laundry
-Vacuuming
-Watching Bob Lobel report from the marathon.
-Realizing I'll never run a marathon
-Purchasing/ingesting egg sandwich
-Thinking about doing work
-Deciding not to do work and just go in early tomorrow
-Checking email/facebook/myspace/whyamislavetosocialnetworkingsites?
-Sitting by the ocean trying to be alone with myself without stimulation. Getting up five minutes later because it's colder than I thought it would be.
-Monolouging internally : What am I Supposed to Be Doing With My Life?
-Shaking fist at God
-Sweeping
-Popping popcorn
-Putting on The Fellowship of the Ring
-List-blogging

What did YOU do with your Patriots Day?

Masterpiecey

I assume that I'll probably wake up in about fifteen minutes or so. I don't know why, but I've been in a haze all morning so far. The train ride in felt like a dream. A bumpy, uncomfortable dream.

Sunday night TV is usually a pretty depressing thing. I don't know why they put the worst shows on the night where most of the public really needs a pick-me-up. But last night I found a hidden jewel that might just cure the Sunday TV Blues for good -- Masterpiece Theater.


(Monsterpiece Theater narrated by Alaister Cookie)

I've never read E.M.Forster's A Room With A View but the PBS adaptation was absolutely a treat. It followed a kind of break neck speed, so I'm going to read the actual book to fill in the blanks, but it was lovely for what it was. Essentially, I'm going to love any story whose heroine is named Lucy Honeychurch, seriously E.M.? Yes. Seriously.



So I sat on my couch with a glass of cheap wine and cried at the ephemeral nature of living and love while Brian played xbox. Because, essentially, that's how we live.

More coffee.
Erin

Chronicle: A Love Story

Okay. Enough nonsense, let's get serious. I love Chronicle.



I was shocked recently to find out that some of my respected peers don't even know what Chronicle is -- that they've never taken a long and winding drive with Peter Mehegan down a main street or back road in his old Chevy. They've never enjoyed the effortless, sincere banter between Mary Richardson and Anthony Everett. They've never given themselves over for a half hour to learn, in HD, about coastal Maine, or Rhode Island's best B&Bs. To those deprived friends, I apologize on behalf of the universe.



You're probably like, "wow, Erin's being weirdly douchey and sarcastic". I assure you, I'm not. There's literally nothing I would rather watch on TV than a good Chronicle. Granted sometimes they miss the mark in an effort to be too current events-centric or political, but when they get it right, boy, do they get it right.

As you may or may not know, I spent a long period of time in the craziest, most stressful teaching job that's ever happened. Coming home at night and watching Chronicle made me feel at peace for a half hour the way nothing else could. I just love the show. Tons.

Yesterday I was informed that Chronicle was going to be filming our show at Improv Asylum. I lost my mind. I literally started shaking. We've performed in front of all kinds of crowds, but this made me really nervous! I desperately wanted to rush up to whichever reporter was there and beg for an internship. Would I give up my paying job to make coffee for Mary Richardson? Stupid question. Yes.


Unfortunately, Mary wasn't there, and neither was Anthony. The reporter in attendance left quickly after the show, so I missed the boat completely. But we had a half decent show, and maybe it will be a good segment.

Chronicle, if you're listening, I love you. I want to write for you. I want to travel to Gloucester to report on what's become of the fishing industry. Call me.

Love,
Erin