In many ways, my 3.5 month stay at the Kasteel has helped me with a lot of life skills. I've learned how to ask for things in different countries even though I didn't know the language. I've learned that sometimes you just have to try that food item that looks disgusting, because it might actually turn out to be very delicious. But one of the most important things I've learned is how to fit a lot of activities into a small amount of time. For example, my friends and I went to London for 4 days, and there is A LOT to do there, that many people take at least a week to do. But due to our time constraints, we managed to do all the normal tourist-y sightseeing things AND plan in travel time. I mean we went through the Tate Modern in approx an hour.
So that being said, my 24 hour excursion to NYC this past weekend was like nothing compared to my weekend trips in Europe.
Devin, fellow co-worker Jonathan, and I hopped on a bus at 10:30pm on a Friday night and arrive in NYC at 2:30am. Our main purpose for the trip was to see the Broadway revival of Guys & Dolls, featuring the one, the only, my favorite actress of all time, Lauren Graham (of Gilmore Girls fame). Basically our 24 hours consisted of 4 hours of beauty sleep in a semi sketchy hotel, waiting in line for about 2 hours for tickets, roaming times square, seeing an awesome show, and meeting the person who I really feel I could be best friends with if I just had more time with her.
To commemorate this trip, we decided to put together a Vlog for you the readers, yes all 10 of you, so you could get a better idea of what it was like.
Enjoy!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Why I Love My Job
Today i received the following e-mail from work (at the theater):
Hello all,
We will have two special offers going out for S & D today. One is specifically for World Theatre Day and will be $10 tickets for Friday’s performance, side sections only, with the code: LMAO. The other offer will be for the run of S & D and will be $25 tickets for Wednesdays and Thursdays, side sections only with the code: ROFL. These will both go out today on Facebook.
Apparently they are trying to reach a younger demographic. I cannot WAIT to hear some 80 year olds try to pronounce "LMAO" over the phone.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
(Il)legally Download This!
After my First (Il)legally Download This post, I decided that this should be a recurring segment so I can share what's I'm digging right now. So here we are for the month of March. Enjoy!
Anjulie Love Songs
Over the past few years, I have learned that most of the things that interest me, are not something that a normal person my age would like. IE HSM3 is probably the best movie ever made. Henceforth, I have come to realize that I should have no shame in saying the following sentence. Last month, I went to a Jesse McCartney concert. The opening act was this girl, Anjulie, who was obviously not well known by the sea of tween girls in the audience. But, she opened up with this song, and I was surprised. After this song though, it went kinda downhill and she was trying too hard to be a pop act, so I only took note of this song. It's catchy and she sounds like Lily Allen mixed with Mandy Moore circa 2002.
David Ryan Harris For You
I first heard of David Ryan Harris a long time ago during my John Mayer fan girl stage. He used to be one of JM's guitarists, so he would always introduce him and make references to him, and I thought that if I learned who his band members were and could notice them at a concert, that would be my way in to meeting John Mayer. It wasn't until recently that I found his MySpace page and I didn't know he had released his own albums, and his own music is just great. This song is a simple acoustic love song that just shows his talent as a musician and a singer. Definitely check out his other songs too.
Yeasayer Tightrope
At the MFA Store, we only play music that we sell. Often times slash all the time, these cds are played over and over again and the cds, even if we don't like them, get stuck in our heads. Luckily, I happen to like some of the cds, including a new one we have called "Dark was the Night." It's a 2 disc collection with a whole bunch of different artists that I can only categorize as really Emerson. It includes artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, and a duet with Ben Gibbard and Fiest. The proceeds from the compilation actually goes to a charity which raises funds for HIV and AIDS research. This particular song is hypnotizing and again, the instrumentals are outstanding. There are a number of songs on this cd that are great, so definitely check it out (or buy it from our store).
Kanye West Paranoid
I actually heard this song in a store and wanted to download it the second I heard it. Using my excellent detective skills, I found out it was from Kanye's latest album, "808s and Heartbreak", his latest foray in going back to the 80s and using that vocal distortion thing. This song goes along with that theme, but its beat sticks out from the rest. I don't think this is his best song on the album, but it's definitely single worthy. Hopefully on the next album he'll go back to rapping.
Kelly Clarkson Don't Let Me Stop You
Kelly's new cd is definitely a step in the right direction since her "My December" flop in 2007. When I first listened to the album, I thought every song was too different from the other and she was just grabbing different genres of music and trying to put it all together. She could have easily made this into 3 different albums taking one song and going in the rock direction and taking another into the electronic dance pop "My Life Would Suck Without You" way. However, it's grown on me, and although it's still one song after the other, each still stands up on its own. I think "Don't Let Me Stop You" is the kind of music she is known for. But other songs such as "Already Gone," has a OneRepublic feel to it, which is not really coincidental as lead singer of OneRepublic, Ryan Tedder, co-wrote this song. "I Want You" has a Motown-y flair to it and "Whyyawannabringmedown" sounds like Pink could have recorded it. But all in all, I can't stop listening to this album, so If you like this song and her single, definitely get the entire album.
IDLT March
Anjulie Love SongsOver the past few years, I have learned that most of the things that interest me, are not something that a normal person my age would like. IE HSM3 is probably the best movie ever made. Henceforth, I have come to realize that I should have no shame in saying the following sentence. Last month, I went to a Jesse McCartney concert. The opening act was this girl, Anjulie, who was obviously not well known by the sea of tween girls in the audience. But, she opened up with this song, and I was surprised. After this song though, it went kinda downhill and she was trying too hard to be a pop act, so I only took note of this song. It's catchy and she sounds like Lily Allen mixed with Mandy Moore circa 2002.
Sigur Ros Gobbledigook
This band is so ridiculously Emerson that I can't believe that I'm actually putting it on here. But Lo and behold, turns out that I went to Emerson for a reason and I really don't know what I was missing out the first place. They're from Iceland and even though I can't understand any of the lyrics, I still like it for the instrumentation. They fuse electronic and classical sounds to make some awesome songs that I've certainly never heard of. I must say this may seem like a little out of the ordinary for stuff I usually listen to, but it's great to just sit and chill to.David Ryan Harris For YouI first heard of David Ryan Harris a long time ago during my John Mayer fan girl stage. He used to be one of JM's guitarists, so he would always introduce him and make references to him, and I thought that if I learned who his band members were and could notice them at a concert, that would be my way in to meeting John Mayer. It wasn't until recently that I found his MySpace page and I didn't know he had released his own albums, and his own music is just great. This song is a simple acoustic love song that just shows his talent as a musician and a singer. Definitely check out his other songs too.
Yeasayer Tightrope
At the MFA Store, we only play music that we sell. Often times slash all the time, these cds are played over and over again and the cds, even if we don't like them, get stuck in our heads. Luckily, I happen to like some of the cds, including a new one we have called "Dark was the Night." It's a 2 disc collection with a whole bunch of different artists that I can only categorize as really Emerson. It includes artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, and a duet with Ben Gibbard and Fiest. The proceeds from the compilation actually goes to a charity which raises funds for HIV and AIDS research. This particular song is hypnotizing and again, the instrumentals are outstanding. There are a number of songs on this cd that are great, so definitely check it out (or buy it from our store).
Kanye West ParanoidI actually heard this song in a store and wanted to download it the second I heard it. Using my excellent detective skills, I found out it was from Kanye's latest album, "808s and Heartbreak", his latest foray in going back to the 80s and using that vocal distortion thing. This song goes along with that theme, but its beat sticks out from the rest. I don't think this is his best song on the album, but it's definitely single worthy. Hopefully on the next album he'll go back to rapping.
Kelly Clarkson Don't Let Me Stop You
Kelly's new cd is definitely a step in the right direction since her "My December" flop in 2007. When I first listened to the album, I thought every song was too different from the other and she was just grabbing different genres of music and trying to put it all together. She could have easily made this into 3 different albums taking one song and going in the rock direction and taking another into the electronic dance pop "My Life Would Suck Without You" way. However, it's grown on me, and although it's still one song after the other, each still stands up on its own. I think "Don't Let Me Stop You" is the kind of music she is known for. But other songs such as "Already Gone," has a OneRepublic feel to it, which is not really coincidental as lead singer of OneRepublic, Ryan Tedder, co-wrote this song. "I Want You" has a Motown-y flair to it and "Whyyawannabringmedown" sounds like Pink could have recorded it. But all in all, I can't stop listening to this album, so If you like this song and her single, definitely get the entire album.
IDLT March
Friday, March 13, 2009
Google Reader Alert
If you don't know what Google Reader is, learn it. Live it. Love it. It basically takes all the sites you read and puts them into one window so you don't have to have 30814 tabs open. You can sort through easily and quickly which articles are worth reading and which ones are not. I highly suggest it. (In fact I might make this a recurring post topic, so do it and follow along!) So, one of the first sites you should add to your Reader is www.roflrazzi.com. It's the same idea as LOLcats, but takes celebrity pictures and has funny and quirky sayings over it. Here are some of my favorites as of late. Enjoy!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Kids do the Darndest Things
Today there was a post ONTD titled, "Beyonce Turns Boys Into Girls." Of course, after watching the adorable little kid dancing to "Irreplaceable" about a year ago, I totally believe there must be some conspiracy theory with Beyonce's songs and its influence on young males wanting to dance to her music.
What I am most impressed by is the fact that all these boys, from the Irreplaceable kid to these 5 Filipinos, is that THEY ARE ALL SO MUCH MORE TALENTED THAN I WILL EVER BE. They are like 8 years old and already can imitate music videos move for move and set up formations AND look good while doing it. Not a lot of 8 year olds can do that, or even 23 year olds for that matter.
And per usual, reading the comments after the post on ONTD is maybe even better than the actual post itself. A lot of the comments were akin to 'GET IT' or 'SO FIERCE.' But then there was a comment where someone posted a video of 3 young girls dancing to Apple Bottom Jeans while their family seemed to be watching from the sidelines and encouraging it. The original poster thought the vid was hilarious, but the first reply was "wow, you find that funny? i find it depressing. " They then had a conversation saying that it was kinda normal for Filipinos to do this with their children, but still acknowledge that it is still a little be creepy.
Which got me thinking, my initial reaction to this video, before I read the comments, was that the girls are adorable and the one on the left is NOT kidding around. And the family members are egging the other two girls to keep dancing, still while recording the entire thing. I do get why some might find it a little too much, kind of Showbiz Mom-y, but from a Filipino cultural standpoint, this is totally normal. I think more so in the Philippines, with large families, the younger kids are expected to entertain the older family members, at least that's how it is in my family.
Every 5 years, my parents and I go back to the Philippines for a family reunion. My dad is one of 9, so when we go home for the reunion, there always is that moment of "yes, i know you name, but are you that cousin or the other cousin? ... have i met you before? are we related? probs, but it's been 5 years since i've even thought of you" So anyways, there's always some kind of 'program' for the actual reunion, for example, there are games played, activities planned, karaoke contests (seriously, i was really bewildered when my drunk uncle won by singing some sinatra song), and of course live performances. When I was 9, they made me do a ballet dance for a 5 minute song I'd never heard before and I pretty much just did the same moves over and over again. But even more recently at Thanksgiving, my 3 boy cousins who live with us in the ROC now (ranging in age from about 15 to 20) did an impromptu performance of the Bee Gees for the audience of about 10 at my house. It just doesn't stop.
Actually, these "Philippines Got Talent" kids remind me of my 2nd cousin, Caylah (pronounced KAI-lah, because that's how they do it there. Remind me to tell you about my other cousin Apple sometime). Just a random night the last time I was in the Philippines in 2005, my one cousin was playing his guitar and singing and they made her go into the middle of the circle we were sitting in and start dancing. My aunt even tells her to smile while she's dancing. Gotta be a performer, not just a dancer. As cute as she is, the thought of any of my family members singing or dancing or telling jokes just does not phase me anymore, for it is a part of who we are.
So for most people, I completely understand that it can be seen as creepy or weird or a small form of child abuse, but in our culture, I guess it's more of acknowledging that our kids are talented and deserve to be praised. Or it could be the fact that Filipinos are so family oriented that they like to be entertained by their own rather than go out and watch a movie or tv show. Or it could just be that Filipinos are in a league of their own and are crazy for making their kids do this. It's probably a mix of all these reasons, and for that, I appreciate these Single Ladies kids so much more.
What I am most impressed by is the fact that all these boys, from the Irreplaceable kid to these 5 Filipinos, is that THEY ARE ALL SO MUCH MORE TALENTED THAN I WILL EVER BE. They are like 8 years old and already can imitate music videos move for move and set up formations AND look good while doing it. Not a lot of 8 year olds can do that, or even 23 year olds for that matter.
And per usual, reading the comments after the post on ONTD is maybe even better than the actual post itself. A lot of the comments were akin to 'GET IT' or 'SO FIERCE.' But then there was a comment where someone posted a video of 3 young girls dancing to Apple Bottom Jeans while their family seemed to be watching from the sidelines and encouraging it. The original poster thought the vid was hilarious, but the first reply was "wow, you find that funny? i find it depressing. " They then had a conversation saying that it was kinda normal for Filipinos to do this with their children, but still acknowledge that it is still a little be creepy.
Which got me thinking, my initial reaction to this video, before I read the comments, was that the girls are adorable and the one on the left is NOT kidding around. And the family members are egging the other two girls to keep dancing, still while recording the entire thing. I do get why some might find it a little too much, kind of Showbiz Mom-y, but from a Filipino cultural standpoint, this is totally normal. I think more so in the Philippines, with large families, the younger kids are expected to entertain the older family members, at least that's how it is in my family.
Every 5 years, my parents and I go back to the Philippines for a family reunion. My dad is one of 9, so when we go home for the reunion, there always is that moment of "yes, i know you name, but are you that cousin or the other cousin? ... have i met you before? are we related? probs, but it's been 5 years since i've even thought of you" So anyways, there's always some kind of 'program' for the actual reunion, for example, there are games played, activities planned, karaoke contests (seriously, i was really bewildered when my drunk uncle won by singing some sinatra song), and of course live performances. When I was 9, they made me do a ballet dance for a 5 minute song I'd never heard before and I pretty much just did the same moves over and over again. But even more recently at Thanksgiving, my 3 boy cousins who live with us in the ROC now (ranging in age from about 15 to 20) did an impromptu performance of the Bee Gees for the audience of about 10 at my house. It just doesn't stop.
Actually, these "Philippines Got Talent" kids remind me of my 2nd cousin, Caylah (pronounced KAI-lah, because that's how they do it there. Remind me to tell you about my other cousin Apple sometime). Just a random night the last time I was in the Philippines in 2005, my one cousin was playing his guitar and singing and they made her go into the middle of the circle we were sitting in and start dancing. My aunt even tells her to smile while she's dancing. Gotta be a performer, not just a dancer. As cute as she is, the thought of any of my family members singing or dancing or telling jokes just does not phase me anymore, for it is a part of who we are.
So for most people, I completely understand that it can be seen as creepy or weird or a small form of child abuse, but in our culture, I guess it's more of acknowledging that our kids are talented and deserve to be praised. Or it could be the fact that Filipinos are so family oriented that they like to be entertained by their own rather than go out and watch a movie or tv show. Or it could just be that Filipinos are in a league of their own and are crazy for making their kids do this. It's probably a mix of all these reasons, and for that, I appreciate these Single Ladies kids so much more.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Twitter is Another Word For ...
So after about a year and a half of the pressure to join Twitter, I've finally decided to conform to the Twitter society.
For those of you who don't know what it is, think of Twitter as one single site to update your Facebook status. Except it's your Twitter status. You can "Follow" anyone you want, and anyone can follow you. Everyone from college students to CEOs to celebrities can update what they're doing or what they've found on the internetz. You can even take a pic or video from your phone and send it directly to your Twitter to give a complete visual of your life at that very moment.
Now I know it sounds like a stupid idea. Why does anyone need to know exactly what you're doing every single minute of the day? "Traci is brushing her teeth with Colgate Total and will be rinsing out with some tasty tap water." Honestly, NO ONE needs to know that. I thought these exact thoughts when I first heard of Twitter from a friend who also happened to be a Marketing major like me. I told her that it was the dumbest thing I've ever heard of in my life. She said "no, it's actually really addicting." I didn't believe her at the time.
Anecdote: Senior year, I arrived at my Entertainment Marketing class right when it was slated to start, and about half of the class was not present, including our professor. Come to find out 15 minutes later that he had cancelled class because he was sick (very frustrating for people who only had that one class that day). But my aforementioned friend had TWITTER, which our professor was also on, and he had put in his Twitter that morning that he was cancelling all his classes that day because he wasn't feeling well. She got the message, and didn't even go into school because she got his Twitter. UGH, right?!
For the sake of argument, you have to understand (if you were not a marketing major, or not into the latest social media trends) that Twitter is actually a very important platform for the marketing/advertising/business industry. A lot of CEOs and business professionals use Twitter to update their Followers on the latest trends, what's hot, what's not, etc. Yesterday I even saw someone post a job opening at the company they work for. So for these guys, Twitter is a big deal.
Then there are those who I think fall into one of three categories:
1) The vain, narcissistic type that want everyone to know what they're doing because they need attention.
2) Those who are too lazy to write a full out blog, and a 140 character post will do just as good.
3) Celebrities/companies that are a mix of the two previous types, and in addition want to reach out to their fans/customers.
To be completely honest, the only reason I finally caved was that so I could Follow the Backstreet Boys. Seriously. They're on tour in South America right now and they update every day as to where they are, personal pix, and show the INSANE fans down there. I've also taken to following other celebs, such as Diddy (who twittered DURING his 48 hour tantric sex session), Lily Allen (who eats ribs in her hotel bed, apparently), and Shaq (who is arguably the most entertaining, and even gives away free tix to his games via Twitter). For some reason though, Twitter has become even more popular as of late and even made its way into an article today on Yahoo News, giving a spotlight to MC Hammer who doesn't give up the chance to plug his current ventures on his Twitter. I guess that's the best thing about Twitter, is that the Tweets (?) from these celebs and companies come directly from them, and the news wasn't filtered through the media.
I still admit though a fairly unnecessary site, Twitter is the next big thing in social media, whether you think it's dumb or not. I'm sure people thought Facebook was a dumb idea when it first came out. But in all honesty, I think there is a little part of us that wants to know what their friends and celebrity friends are doing and thinking throughout the day. It's why we stalk Facebook pictures. It's why we flip through the latest People magazine. It's why when we're driving on a highway and there is traffic and when it finally starts to clear up you realized that everyone was slowing down to stare down the car accident on the side of the road. As human beings, we can't help but be slightly interested in other people's business [see: The Hills/ALL REALITY TV]. And right now, I can't help but refresh my Twitter to see what movie Demi and Ashton are watching together, or look at pix of John Mayer's version of 'interior decorating' because I'm just that addicted. Tweet ya later.
ps: my twitter name is tracileigh27, so follow me if you so choose.
For those of you who don't know what it is, think of Twitter as one single site to update your Facebook status. Except it's your Twitter status. You can "Follow" anyone you want, and anyone can follow you. Everyone from college students to CEOs to celebrities can update what they're doing or what they've found on the internetz. You can even take a pic or video from your phone and send it directly to your Twitter to give a complete visual of your life at that very moment.
Now I know it sounds like a stupid idea. Why does anyone need to know exactly what you're doing every single minute of the day? "Traci is brushing her teeth with Colgate Total and will be rinsing out with some tasty tap water." Honestly, NO ONE needs to know that. I thought these exact thoughts when I first heard of Twitter from a friend who also happened to be a Marketing major like me. I told her that it was the dumbest thing I've ever heard of in my life. She said "no, it's actually really addicting." I didn't believe her at the time.
Anecdote: Senior year, I arrived at my Entertainment Marketing class right when it was slated to start, and about half of the class was not present, including our professor. Come to find out 15 minutes later that he had cancelled class because he was sick (very frustrating for people who only had that one class that day). But my aforementioned friend had TWITTER, which our professor was also on, and he had put in his Twitter that morning that he was cancelling all his classes that day because he wasn't feeling well. She got the message, and didn't even go into school because she got his Twitter. UGH, right?!
For the sake of argument, you have to understand (if you were not a marketing major, or not into the latest social media trends) that Twitter is actually a very important platform for the marketing/advertising/business industry. A lot of CEOs and business professionals use Twitter to update their Followers on the latest trends, what's hot, what's not, etc. Yesterday I even saw someone post a job opening at the company they work for. So for these guys, Twitter is a big deal.
Then there are those who I think fall into one of three categories:
1) The vain, narcissistic type that want everyone to know what they're doing because they need attention.
2) Those who are too lazy to write a full out blog, and a 140 character post will do just as good.
3) Celebrities/companies that are a mix of the two previous types, and in addition want to reach out to their fans/customers.
To be completely honest, the only reason I finally caved was that so I could Follow the Backstreet Boys. Seriously. They're on tour in South America right now and they update every day as to where they are, personal pix, and show the INSANE fans down there. I've also taken to following other celebs, such as Diddy (who twittered DURING his 48 hour tantric sex session), Lily Allen (who eats ribs in her hotel bed, apparently), and Shaq (who is arguably the most entertaining, and even gives away free tix to his games via Twitter). For some reason though, Twitter has become even more popular as of late and even made its way into an article today on Yahoo News, giving a spotlight to MC Hammer who doesn't give up the chance to plug his current ventures on his Twitter. I guess that's the best thing about Twitter, is that the Tweets (?) from these celebs and companies come directly from them, and the news wasn't filtered through the media.
I still admit though a fairly unnecessary site, Twitter is the next big thing in social media, whether you think it's dumb or not. I'm sure people thought Facebook was a dumb idea when it first came out. But in all honesty, I think there is a little part of us that wants to know what their friends and celebrity friends are doing and thinking throughout the day. It's why we stalk Facebook pictures. It's why we flip through the latest People magazine. It's why when we're driving on a highway and there is traffic and when it finally starts to clear up you realized that everyone was slowing down to stare down the car accident on the side of the road. As human beings, we can't help but be slightly interested in other people's business [see: The Hills/ALL REALITY TV]. And right now, I can't help but refresh my Twitter to see what movie Demi and Ashton are watching together, or look at pix of John Mayer's version of 'interior decorating' because I'm just that addicted. Tweet ya later.
ps: my twitter name is tracileigh27, so follow me if you so choose.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)