I think my favorite thing about this is that in case you wanted to display this in your home and not just reblog it, it’s available in print form.
Hilarious.
I’m using one of my few and far between tumblr log-ins to say that France is SO full of shit. Italy, however? RIGHT ON POINT. Miss you, Matteo & Antonio.
Dear American Airlines,
You want me to “snap a picture” of a place I’d like to go but what if I haven’t been to the place yet? Are you asking me to send you someone else’s photo? That seems wrong.
Please clarify because I’m all about winning these prizes but I also back creative credits.
Yours,
JCohn
Logged into tumblr to let you know that I stole one of you & /mm’s pics of Paris that I had saved on my work computer to enter this contest. I’m not above stealing shit to win a free camera and/or trip.
;o)
Matt Nathanson wrote his own bio for amazon.com about his new album Modern Love. I love the entire thing, but the parts in bold are my favorite/mean the most:
modern love.
an album.
a collection of songs.
short stories. tied together.
peoples stories. about love.
about faith in others. or loss of faith in others.
everyone i know was going through personal relationship crisis.
divorce. affairs. being alone. being newly in love.
i was watching the people around me struggle and transition.
the songs are about them. about me.
the struggle to actually love
and find love.
and accept love when someone is actually giving it to you.
the title: opposing ideas banging against each other.
modern vs. love.
cold vs. hot.
hard vs soft
fabricated vs. organic.
angular vs. curvaceous!
how do they exist together.
records to me have always been uncomfortable to make.
they’ve always felt unnatural.
this one felt natural.
we hung the production on the beating heart. the song. the voice.
the production is loops… with real drummers, sometimes 2 or 3.
acoustic instruments against synths.
organic against synthetic.
the production is inspired by the futuristic throw of those 80s
records i love.
and how they made me feel.
tears for fears ‘songs from the big chair’
depeche mode ‘violator’
inxs ‘kick’
echo and the bunnymen ‘songs to learn and sing’
david bowie ‘let’s dance.’
where the kick drum sounded and promised an amazing future.
this was the idea for the production.
at the time those records didn’t sound current.
they sounded like what was going to be.
it wasn’t so much about copying the sonics of those records..
but trying to emulate the EFFECT those records had on me.
how they made me feel.
how they STILL make me feel.
classic songs. great singing. wrapped in the future.
a human heart beating inside technology. inside what would be cold
and empty without the soul.
but they work together.
towards something bigger, grander than the sum of the parts.
“kiss quick” informed the rest of the record.
it started one way. we beat the shit out of it. pushed it around.
re-recorded the drums. built a loop. re-recorded the guitars.
the keyboards.
it was the lynch pin.
it was the road map for the rest of the album.
we went back and re-recorded from there.
cut loose the things that didn’t fit.
the idea was… future. where does love live in the future?
in a ‘room at the end of the world?’ at the ‘bottom of the sea?’
fascinated with japan.
a place where modern architecture was smashed up against tradition.
against history.
bullet trains. everything moving fast
i read a ton of haruki murakami.
sexuality. and lust. against the cold backdrop of tradition
‘room at the end of the world’ came from this.
ended the “some mad hope” tour in australia.
same idea. same inspiration..
fascinated by the modern architecture there
and how it pushes right up against the outback.
cutting edge smashed against brutal, water starved, uninhabitable nature.
how these cutting edge, progressive cities sit on the rim of the totally untamed.
and keep expanding out into it.
the push of the city.
we move fast. we build things to move us faster.
where does the soul go in that?
“love comes tumbling down” came from that.
where does desire live? where does actual molten human emotion live in
a culture with facebook and twitter and light speed?
where do the molten parts of ourselves come out?
in art.
in music.
in the groove.
in the voice! the voice is the vehicle..
in the creative life. living creatively.
and using technology to your advantage.
as a platform for creative exploration.
not being scared. being excited.
“faster” came from this.
people misdirect their passion. their attention.
off themselves. onto celebrity.
every time i think it’s bad, it gets worse.
the idea that someone else’s life
is more fascinating than their own
we are being DEVOURED by this.
pulling away at the sand under our feet.
“modern love” came from this.
“mercy (less drowning, more land)” came from this.
i made so many records before. with a band. in a room.
this record started that way.
it started with that human element.
then the songs went into the lab.
into mark’s garage in los angeles.
mark and i tinkering. pulling them apart.
swapping parts.
back and forth.
bringing in different people. different ingredients.
not settling.
making technology work for/with heart and soul and blood.
build the songs around static loops. layer drummers in.
don’t play acoustic guitar.
write the songs without having played them first.
songs built around ideas. kick out the slats of the pen.
it’s not about limits. it’s about limitless.
we had SO MANY TALENTED PEOPLE at our disposal. use them. no rules.
build a rocket. see how far you get.
this was the first record that i started to let go of the fear.
the judgments.
and embrace the possibility.
this record feels like a beginning.
i had done the singer/songwriter thing. (8 albums of it!)
i didn’t want to be defined by only that.
the success of ‘some mad hope’ was so validating.
being able to rub shoulders with my heroes.
to have that access.
to play bigger stages.
to hear my songs in arenas.
to befriend people who inspired me to reach further.
i am who i am waiting for.
i can be the person who makes the music that i want to hear.
that inspired me. I AM THEM.
“run,” my collaboration with jennifer and kristian, came from this.
it’s ok to show joy. it’s ok to be sexy.
in the grooves. in the voice. in the riffs.
“queen of (k)nots.” “mercy”.. those are RIFFS!
i had never built songs around riffs before.
it was SO LIBERATING.
i embraced that the record needed to be bigger than me.
that i needed to let go. and let what was in me out.
i needed to dissolve into the fabric.
unapologetically embrace sexuality. sound.
inhabit the art.
it started really being about honesty.
in the DNA of the songs. in the singing.
be less concerned with what “they” think
and more focused on what I want.
finally.
-Matt Nathanson
He’s so amazing. This is going to be the best album of 2011. I truly feel bad for the people who won’t get that.
Don’t even try to tell me this is not the cutest thing ever. Don’t even try.
by Lucy Cooke on vimeo.
Why do sloths always look like they’re saying, “Sup dude?”
Oh god I want one so badly
I think I literally just died of cute and now my ghost is sitting at my desk. I wonder if the Aviaros sloth orphanage would hire my ghost self to live in Costa Rica and work there, that would be perfect.
(Source: childrenslaughter, via roamingkiwi)
This is just one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. And it’s made by not only someone I know, but someone I love. I feel so cool.
(via jessicacohn)
I’m very excited for the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee taking place next week! Taking a tip from my beloved Jessica Cohn (jessicacohn.tumblr.com), I decided to create a Fantasy Team so that I’ll have someone to root for. I haven’t decided on a favorite yet, but here are my Top 10 below. Depending on how they do in the semis, I may pick a #1 favorite next week before the main event. The finals are airing on ESPN at 8:30pm est on Thurs June 2nd.
Speller # 50: Jessica D. Penu
My first choice was found on a ctrl+f search for contestants named Jessica. Gotta represent, right? I quickly realized that Jessica is also one of the best looking contestants, if not THE best looking. Obviously, looks are everything. She is from Ghana (so she probably has an awesome accent) and she loves Oprah. GO JESSICA!
Speller # 216: Jessica Lynn Anderson
There is only one other Jessica in this whole competition, and here she is. The only contestant from Rhode Island, Jessica is homeschooled and plays piano for old people. At age 13, Jessica obviously already knows the value of a dollar, as she already has a summer job lined up on a blueberry farm. Also, she was on Jeopardy! Kids Week, which is basically all it takes to get my vote. GO OTHER JESSICA!
Speller # 163: Naman K. Shakrani
Naman is my hometown hero, as he lives about 5 minutes away from me in Rockville Centre, NY. If I’m being totally honest, Naman doesn’t have a shot in hell at winning this thing. He’s only 10 years old and goes to public school. However, he’s a cool kid who plays musical instruments and likes to read. Even if he doesn’t do well or win, he still has a few years left to compete. And if he does win? I’ll be so proud! GO NAMAN!
Speller # 157: Arvind V. Mahankali
Arvind is my more realistic hometown hero, as he resides in Forest Hills, NY which is about 20 minutes away from me. Arvind tied for 9th place in last year’s Bee, so he really has a shot at going far this year. He once delivered a monologue to an audience of 7,000 people, so hopefully he won’t be nervous in front of the crowd and cameras. He speaks a language I’ve never heard of called Telugu, so that’s cool. GO ARVIND!
Speller # 236: Narahari Bharadwaj
I like Narahari because he’s from Texas, which is the winningest state in all the years of the National Spelling Bee. Narahari speaks four languages and is learning two more, which gives him an edge in etymology to help spell those big words. Also, he is a Science Olympiad and so was I. (Don’t hate, that shit was so much fun!) He is also a future neurosurgeon, so maybe he’ll grow into those awkward looks and someday be someone’s Dr. McDreamy. GO NARAHARI!
Speller # 239: Cassandra Guardiola
My 2nd pick from the great state (I guess) of Texas is Cassandra. At first, I wasn’t sold on her being my female from Texas, but I like her name and toward the end of her bio it says “She would most like to meet actor and musician Jared Leto, who is in her favorite band, 30 Seconds to Mars.” Done. GO CASSANDRA!
Speller # 24: Laura Newcombe
Laura here is a favorite for the win. First of all, who doesn’t love a Canadian? More importantly, Laura has participated in the 2009 and 2010 Spelling Bees, coming in 17th and 5th respectively. Is this her year!? I hope so, we need a female to win this thing again. She also has a lot of hobbies, and is learning Mandarin and French. Her favorite book is The Host by Stephenie Meyer, which goes to show that being a National Spelling Bee contestant has no bearing on being a lover of quality literature. However, I also enjoyed that book, so who am I to judge? GO LAURA!
Speller # 206: Joanna Z. Ye
Another favorite for the win, Joanna came tied with Laura for 5th place last year. Also one of the more attractive contestants, Joanna plays classical music and tennic. She has her own Day in Carlisle, PA. If Joanna wins, we will all have to find a way to celebrate by either playing tennis or a flute on June 11th. GO JOANNA!
Speller # 89: Yuichi Beinard Barnardo Yoshioka
Yuichi is from Tokyo, Japan and at age 12 already looks like he has the wisdom of a much older man. Besides having one of the coolest names in the competition, Yuichi loves travel, Harry Potter and soccer. While it doesn’t specifically say in his bio whether or not Yuichi and his family were affected by the terrible events in Japan, it feels good to support him and hope that he can take the win for his country. GO YUICHI!
Speller # 215: Julianna M. Canabal-Rodriguez
It’s nice to see so many attractive young ladies in this competition with defined eyebrows, I think their mothers are finally catching on. Julianna has experience, she participated in the 2008, 2009, and 2010 Spelling Bees, coming in 9th place last year which makes her a favorite in my book. She likes to hang out with friends and listen to music, last year she volunteered at a summer camp for disabled children. Maybe if she wins, we can all go visit her in Puerto Rico. GO JULIANNA!
Mark Salling and Mark Sanchez were in the same room together and (of course) I wasn’t there. I feel like the universe is playing a joke on me. ;o)
I’m also surprised that trailer didn’t explode of hotness.
If only I had a genie with 3 wishes right now…
(via twitter.com/marksanchez also via twitter.com/chordoverstreet)
My friends at work and I were just reminiscing about The Real World, since the new season is starting soon. The problem is, I probably won’t watch it. These kids basically look like babies to me now. I’m only 27, but I can’t help but cringe while watching, and think to myself “who gave that child a beer!?” (Remember when Montana got in trouble for giving that kid a sip of wine? I was totally on her side for that one.)
Anyways, Wikipedia is incredibly handy for someone like me with no memory whatsoever. They have every single season with pictures and details about the cast members. Otherwise, they all just blend together in my head. I could probably read these wikipedia entries for HOURS if I had that kind of time.
I think I watched a little bit of London, but since I was only 11 I don’t remember much except for that guy, Neil?, getting his tongue bitten off and that nice black British woman having to get some kind of surgery on her throat. I started watching in earnest when I was 12, almost 13, and the Miami season started. That threesome in the shower between Mike, Rachel, and some unknown girl with Flora trying to climb in the window totally blew my mind. I had no idea that was what being an adult was going to be like! Not even the sex part, just the fact that you can do whatever you want, and everything is fun. (I guess I was sorta right.) From then on, I was hooked, and I dreamed of when I would be old enough to apply and be on the show. Of course, when I finally did get old enough to apply I realized I would NEVER want to be on the show but that’s neither here nor there, right now.
From Miami to Chicago there isn’t a bad one in the bunch. There are probably some I love more than others- Boston was great, Hawaii was nuts, Back to New York was awesome since I’m from NYC. But they were all stellar. Then Las Vegas had to come along and ruin everything. THAT SHIT WAS CRAZY. It was definitely fun to watch, but it was nowhere near the same vibe as the others. From then on, it just wasn’t the same. But please don’t ask me to explain, I can’t tell you what happened, I can only guess. Maybe because I was finally in my 20s, it just didn’t have the same allure as it used to. Maybe I was sick of these idiot kids acting like well, idiots. I still watched Paris through Austin but it wasn’t the same, and I gave up entirely during Key West. I haven’t watched a season in its entirety since about three episodes into that one and I had no idea there have been so many seasons since. It just kind of died, for me.
And now we have Jersey Shore, which I love probably more than I should. I mean, L-O-V-E. I actually really care about these crazy guido kids, and I don’t want it to ever end. I always used to wonder what would happen if some of these Real World casts had to come back and film another season together. You sometimes got a little bit of that on the Real World/Road Rules Challenge but not the same way as if they had to be back in the house again. So I guess we get something like that with Jersey Shore, we get to form connections to them, and they are definitely way more famous than any of the Real World kids ever were… except maybe Coral (love ya girl!) I get that Jersey Shore is going for a different angle, but I’m so happy to have a new MTV reality show that I care about working into my schedule and making sure I don’t miss every week. It’s not just reality, it’s an EVENT. I love having an event again. MTV definitely invented reality TV, and anyone who doesn’t believe that isn’t worth my time.
*PS: Gina said “remember how they used to be only half an hour and now they’re an hour?” and I was like “NO WAY! They were always an hour!” Yeah, check the little note at the bottom of this chart. I’m an idiot. I told you my memory was bad.
Bands I’m Excited To See:
1) THE MOVIELIFE & I AM THE AVALANCHE (I dont have to explain this, you all know)
2) Taking Back Sunday
3) Gaslight Anthem
4) New Found Glory’s set with Marky Ramone
5) RX Bandits
6) Streetlight Manifesto
Bands Im Excited to see FOR LULZ
1) Insane Clown Posse (MAGNETS HOW DO THEY WORK)
2) Motley Crue
3) Lil Wayne
4) ADTR
5) LMFAOAlso, lets think of the Lil Wayne, Insane Clown Posse and Motley Crue fan base….someone is going to get fucking stabbed.
This is me not having words to express my feelings on this situation. I suppose a simple “LOL” might do the trick.
I think this is the first time I’ve ever bothered to reblog something. But I couldn’t help myself. ICP!? I love staring at Juggalos but someone is DEFINITELY going to get killed! I mean, Ryan fucking Cabrera is also on this list! Didn’t Wakaflocka just get sent back to jail? lol. Also, “eatmewhileimhot”? I fucking hate kids today. EFF THIS. I’m so happy this stage in my life is OVER.
Poor Gaslight.
Here’s the weirdest thing about me:
When I get really nervous or excited about something, I start gagging uncontrollably. Sometimes I gag so much that I throw up. It depends on just how nerve wracking and/or exciting that something is.
Things that have made me gag or throw up in the past:
First days of school
Job Interviews/First day at a new job
Vacations
Concerts
Fun activities like skiing (this is where my oddity first started, as a 3-year old about to enter ski school)
Big Nights out with friends (yeah, I throw up before we even start drinking)
I’m pretty sure I have plenty of big events left in my life to make me gag, don’t be surprised if I’m gagging my way down the aisle at my own wedding. That’ll be nice.
I’m not exactly sure why this happens. I’ve been doing it since I was a little kid, and I know my cousin who is 10 years older than me also does it so maybe it’s hereditary. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to control and hide it. I either figure out a way to suppress it before I leave the house, or sometimes I just get it over with. Sometimes I can predict it’s going to happen, and other times it’ll hit me out of nowhere. Most of my good friends have witnessed me bent over against the side of a building while walking down a New York City block. Some of them think it’s funny, some of them have to run away because the sight and sound of someone else throwing up will make them throw up too. I always feel bad when an unsuspecting stranger has to witness it, and I always wonder if they think I’m drunk or pregnant or just sick.
In addition to all of this, I have a really weak stomach in general. And a really strong gag reflex. This is not necessarily something I want a guy I’m interested to know about right off the bat, for obvious reasons, but it is what it is. I’ve learned to manage it in that area anyway and it’s never been a huge problem. Otherwise, I just really can’t handle bad smells, strong tastes, or seeing something gross. What’s really strange: another person throwing up doesn’t really bother me at all, or at least as much as you’d think it would. I guess it’s because I can empathize with them or something along those lines.
This isn’t something I’m necessarily embarrassed about. Usually I just feel bad for anyone who has to witness me in this state. In general, having dealt with it for about 23 years, I’m just used to it. Which is perhaps the most disarming thing for people who know me, and especially people who hate throwing up. For me, it’s simply a natural occurrence that I just handle and move on with the rest of my day. It doesn’t really bother me as much as some might think it should.
Next Thursday at 9am EST I’ll be boarding a plane from NYC to Los Angeles, CA for a big 7 day vacation in LA and San Diego with 5 friends including @futt and @jessicacohn. It’s definitely going to be an amazing time. I can’t wait to be in those cities as a person of legal drinking age, and to just have an awesome fun drunken high crazy relaxed time. I will definitely be gagging my head off over this one, stay tuned.
