Creative types wear black?

Unless we are in the sixties at a poetry slam I'm not sure this tag line really still applies. Some of the most creative figures decorate themselves with outrageous colors. Elton John and Betsey Johnson are examples of how expressing your creative and innovative way of thinking can be displayed on you. Honestly when I think of the "creative type" I don't think black, I think wild and cutting edge.

Uptown

Trendy shops, exotic restaurants, and indie music. The West End is thriving with these. It has really created a name for itself as a place to be seen. That's what I have noticed about the majority of people hanging out at the West End. Don't get me wrong I love taking advantage of all the ammenities the West End has to offer. The cool movies that the Magnolia shows and the fact that the Starbucks stays open until 12 is fabulous, but it seems that I always see the same people hanging out down there. I can describe them perfectly. There is a lot of hair gel and striped button downs for the men, and fake tans and perfectly manicured nails for the women. There is usually a child or two bouncing about the outdoor eating while Mommy and Daddy sip on their wine.

Ryan Adams

Love him. Ryan Adam's was one of the most amazing artists I have seen live. Not only he is incredible on his CD's but he is ten times better in concert, if thats even possible. He may be quite a strange character, in fact for most of the concert my boyfriend and I thought it was high out of his mind, but he can still put on an amazing show. We later found out that Ryan has been sober for a few months. He also played three sets and played for so long that he needed to have an intermission. Afterwards we heard he hasn't played this good or long of a concert is years, probably because of the fact that he hasn't been sober. But even without the drugs he still is a little strange. He came out in full leather and chainmail for the second half, and then realized that wasn't the most comfortable outfit so he walked off stage, leaving his band to improvise for a few minutes. He also felt the need to do a power stance before every song. But beyond his odd mannerisms, he is an incredibly talented musician, playing multiple instruments and producing multiple CD's each year.

Anything you can do, I can do better.

Embroidery has recently become a trend. It can be found on jackets and shirts in big name department stores, unfortunately these hand-crafted pieces of clothing are almost always outrageously expensive. I figure I could do that on my own for a fraction of the cost. It is easy enough to do and its pretty fun. One woman, Jenny Heart, recognized how simple it really is, and has created a embroidery packets filled with edgy and fun designs. It's great that this local Austinyte is doing so well with a business that encourages people to get creative.

The most obnoxious songs

Ever feel like there seems to be the same song playing everywhere you go? Right now I can not escape "Hey There Delila". It seems to be on every station at all times. I used to really like the song, but now I can't stand it. It's too bad when a chart topper is played so often it become more annoying then enjoyable. Rolling Stone came up with a list of top 20 most annoying songs. Some grew to be annoying, others started right off annoying.

1. Black Eyed Peas, “My Humps”
2. Los Del Rio, “Macarena”
3. Baha Men, “Who Let The Dogs Out”
4. Celine Dion, “My Heart Will Go On”
5. Nickelback, “Photograph”
6. Lou Bega, “Mambo No. 5″
7. James Blunt, “You’re Beautiful”
8. Spice Girls, “Wannabe”
9. Sisqo, “The Thong Song”
10. Cher, “Believe”
11. Aqua, “Barbie Girl”
12. Chumbawumba, “Tub Thumper”
13. Rednex, “Cotton-Eyed Joe”
14. Eiffel 65, “Blue”
15. Crash Test Dummies, “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”
16. Meatloaf, “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”
17. ‘NSYNC, “Bye, Bye, Bye”
18. Ricky Martin, “Livin’ La Vida Loca”
19. Semisonic, “Closing Time”
20. Wham!, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”

I agree with most of it with a few adjustments. Creed most definitely needs to be on there. I'm not sure I know anyone who still supports Creed's musical career. Ja Rul deserves a place on this list as well.

Guilty Pleasures

Guilty Musical Pleasures

Listening to Colbie Caillet as loudly as your stereo will go minutes before your girlfriend hops in the car.

Secretly wishing you could "bring sexy back" just like JT.

Watching the Youtube.com video 20 times until perfected Soulja Boy.

Wanting to bust out Soulja Boy in the clubs, but refraining from looking like a total tool.

Claiming all of the Avril Lavaigne songs on your computer was for your little sister...and you don't even have a little sister.

Loving it when "Gimme More" comes on in the clubs while everyone else boos.

Really wanting to reserve your Spice Girls reunion tour tickets but can't find a legitament excuse as to what you can be doing that night.

Going to a Hanson concert, running into someone you know, and you both getting really embarrassed.

The Green Scheme

Now a days everyone and every business is trying to be environmentally friendly or at least appear are. . Even corporations you would not expect, like Facbeook, is taking a green approach. There is an application that if added to a profile, donates money to foundation that works to eliminate CO2. I'm still not really sure how playing on Facebook saves the world but its worth a try. Barney's New York is also jumping on board. They advertised in Papercity saying "Have a Green Holiday". This seemed they are doing nothing more than just adding this little green blurb to be trendy. There is no explanation why they focused on being. They aren't donating. They aren't conserving energy some how. They are just keeping up with the trends.

Across the Universe

Let me tell you, I was so excited for Across the Universe to come out. Everything about it looked so interesting. The fact it was an original and not a Broadway musical made into movie, or the bright color pallet you really don't see in movies, was really intreging. The effects used in the movie were definitely unique. It almost seemed the special effect crew ran down the list of every possible effect they could do, and crammed it into the movie. It also seemed like the writers so desperately wanted cram as many Beatles songs in as possible, so they created characters who really didn't serve much of a purpose other than their name happened to be mentioned in a song. There was one character named Prudence, who brought nothing to the plot. She just kind of hung out and was weird until they cast broke out in "Dear Prudence".
It is also the type of movie that I feel you either need to be pretty familiar with the 60's, or you need to be high to watch. The movie was very "artsy" and at some points just really strange, but I know there was probably meaning behind most of it that I am just not catching on to. I think its the type of movie you need to see more than once to fully appreciate it all, but for me, I'll wait until it comes out on DVD.

What's in a name?

Red Bull, Twinkies, X Box, iTunes, iPod. These are only some of the brands clearly advertised in the movie Disturbia. These products were at times, obviously turned a certain wa,y or held at a certain angle, so the brand would be clearly seen by the viewer. In most movies it seems they usually use made up brands or blank labels. I know there are reasons behind why manufactures don’t want their label associated with the movie, or the production company doesn’t want to pay to use the brand, but I think it really adds to the movie when both parties are willing. At least for Disturbia, it really helped Shia Le Beouf’s character become more relatable. I know that any guy, if under house arrest, would totally sit around, play X Box, eat Twinkies, drink Red Bull, and listen to their iPod. That whole situation would have lost impact if the movie production company came up with bogus labels for the scene. Not only was it believable, but it was a great advertising opportunity to appeal to teenage boys who would probably be buying all of these products anyways.

"Its 3 am and I want to go to bed"- OAR

3 exams in one day. I most definitely haven't gotten a lot of sleep this week. Last night I got an hour, and things are starting to get a little twisted. My vision is starting to flutter, making everything look its had too much caffeine. I'm a little shaky and delusional but mostly I think that everything is funny. Right now my roommates are probably the funniest things out there. My one roommate is loving this since she quite prides herself on being comical. Even the things that I have been saying I think are really funny.... they definitely aren't meant to be. So I am going to listen to O.A.R. and go to bed.

SMU billboards

I would really like to know who thought it was good idea to have a billboard for SMU saying "We don't tailgate, we boulevard." We already have the reputation of being little, rich, snobby kids, why would we promote it more? Do we really think we are above tailgating and why would all of i75 knowing be a good thing? I really surprised that the football department, or the board of directors or whoever, ended up approving that. I'm just hoping they weren't from Temerlin...

Neighborly love.

Living in an apartment, you may not get to know your neighbors personally, but you still know a lot about them. In our complex our apartment faces out to the courtyard along with many other balconies. Different people use their balconies for different purposes. Some use it as a sitting area to enjoy the sunlight and view of the pool, while others may use it as a spot to enjoy other neighbors. I know it may sound a bit hypocritical since I am kind of doing this as well, but at least I am covert! We have one neighbor who sits on his third floor balcony and will intensely watch anyone who is out on theirs as if they were a prime time drama. Oh but he also has other hobbies such as feeding a lot of birds, which he will pretend to do if you catch him in the act of people watching.

Dyson vacuum

Ok so I have searched and searched, and I cannot find the Dyson squeaky vacuum commercial on the Internet. It used to be on youtube but I suppose Dyson didn't want it floating around. Anyways Dyson's choice of the ever-familiar squeaky toy sound for the replacement of their competitors mechanical whirring was really innovative. It uses vertical intertextuality to demonstrate the weak suction of their competitors. When we hear that annoying little squeaky we think squeaky toy. A squeaky toy, which is usually seen as soft, plushy, furry, cute, little stuffed animal covered in dog spit isn't exactly a flattering way for a vacuum to be portrayed. When buying a vacuum you want something, strong and durable that has some force to it, a funny little squeak doesn't convey that message.

Inspiration

For me inspiration comes from taking a closer look at things around me. For one friend, it comes from listening to music and then trying to write. For another, it comes from the people around her. I love that fact that three different people can look at the same thing and come up with completely different thoughts or ideas. Last night I was trying to get inspired to blog and had been doodling on a piece of paper. My friend grabbed a pen and started elaborating on the squiggles and shapes I had jotted down. A lighting bolt turned into the Specialized bikes logo, which was soon the Gatorade symbol, then it was Superman's chest plate, which turned into the Harry Potter H, and so on and so on. I would have never thought to create the squiggle into most of the things that my friend drew. I while I was looking around the room for inspiration, he was racking his brain for previous experiences. Inspiration does not have a formula, although I'm sure someone, somewhere has tried to define it. Everyone grabs inspirations for different places, which allows us to create things that we wouldn't have been able to create on our own.

Oh Facebook, how we love thee.

The phenomenon of Facebook has changed the world of dating. This is sad but true. Facebook can help a crush bloom or a long distance relationship seem not so far away. It has opened up a new dimension of flirting. There are the flirtatious applications Facebook has made available to show your interest, such as the "poke" and the "super poke", but honestly who uses these except silly friends and super skeezers? Where the real virtual flirting comes into play is in Walling Postings and Messaging. The initial step, of course, is "Friending". After a night out on the town, one may wake up to find a Friend Request, which in itself is a form of flattery. A Friend Request means not only was this person in a clear enough state of mind to remember talking to you, but they enjoyed your company enough to search for you on Facebook. Walling postings like "Hey had a great time with you last night, hope to see you out soon." are common starters for Facebook relationships. You can always tell how interested the other party may be by the length of time between the posting or if they respond at all. Then there are Messages. Messages tend be a bit more of an intimate way to flirt. They are not for public view so there is usually something encrypted in the message that is not Wall material. Plus Messaging can go on for much longer than Wall Posting.
It's funny how we as young adults over analyze everything when it comes to Facebook. Whether it is a friend request or fact that someone got your AIM screen name off your profile, you usually have an idea of what meaning is behind these subtle actions. We think a Wall Posting may determine the direction a relationship is heading, or stress over the idea of making a relationship "Facebook official”. I know I have received calls from friends wanting me to approve their Facebook Wall Posts. That was a bit extreme but my point is Facebook has created a safe environment for flirting. By safe, I mean the chance of one party getting seriously hurt by rejection is lowered because the flirtatious actions are so subtle and, although a bit creepy sometimes, they are usually fairly innocent.