thundering blissful: September 2004

September 30, 2004

my last few days! itemized!

- Snow Patrol on Tuesday was an excellent show. You're all idiots for missing it.
- Whistler this weekend; promises to be interesting.
- The Arcade Fire shirt turned out really well. Pictures later.
- CiTR is all sorts of awesome; I've been in on silly discussions on punk subcultures (chafecore, anyone?) and apparently I'll be in the masthead for Discorder.
- Between doing CDs and shows for Discorder and Arts for the News, I am going to become a review machine. It'll be awesome.
- Cufflinks came. Pictures later. I'll be wearing one pair (of the eight [!]) at Whistler.
- Who knew tweed jackets were so much fun?
- I like Distance Education.
- Still no leads on Job #3.
- I'm starting to give tours next week. This is equal parts harrowing and sweet.
- next three shirts: bzzr.ca (some sort of dark colour on white), whatever I make when Neil settles on a design (hurry up, damn you!), and maybe an interpol one that isn't just the antics cover or the band's faces; more on that later.
- My contract (by which I mean my brother's contract) with Telus is up in November, and they're offering me (by which I mean my brother) a deep discount on a new phone as well as being able to continue on my (you get the idea; I've been carrying around the damn thing for over two years and so I'm used to referring to it as mine) current plan (evenings/weekends/lunchtimes unlimited, evenings from 6pm-8am, 150 minutes daytime, caller ID/waiting/voicemail included), and I'm all for it. Only problem is that the phones suck. Anyone have a bead on where to find CDMA phones that don't make one want to throw shit?

that's it for now; will probably put something up after whistler, and I think it might be time for another round of Five in Heavy Rotation after that.

September 25, 2004

two thoughts, four snippets

I am slowly developing a crush on Ellen Allien:
- she's hot
- she runs a record label
- she spins fantastic music
- she hates trance!
-

She's definitely on the "People I Want to See Live" List.
___
Went to a party for a family friend who was recently engaged; saw a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a good long time, and while it was good to see them, I hated the feeling of constantly being scrutinized by a bunch of brown ladies, all of whom were thinking the same two things:

a) can I marry him off ?
b) failing that, can I badmouth him?

seeing as a) is clearly not an option, I had to keep my guard up for b). Managed to escape without anyone telling me there was a girl I should meet, and fairly sure that I'd done nothing offensive.
___
If this whole school thing falls through, I am moving onto banditry - specifically the holding up of engagements/weddings/receptions etc.
Why people need to wear gold chains ON THE OUTSIDE OF THEIR SHIRTS is beyond me; while I do have one, I'm frankly sort of embarassed by it and can't fathom flaunting the thing, let alone wearing one that came down to my navel (!).

Middle-aged Indian women: the only ones blinging harder than rappers.
__
Speaking of People I Want To See Live, who's on your list?
Mine is currently:

Radiohead (seen)
Pixies (seen)
Squarepusher (seen)
Interpol (have ticket for)
...trail of dead (also have ticket for)
Coldplay
Bjork*
Ellen Allien*
The Walkmen
The Wrens*
The Arcade Fire
Broken Social Scene
DJ Shadow*

stars indicate that cost would be less of an issue, because these are shows that are either ultra-unlikely to come to Vancouver, or guaranteed awesomeness.

September 24, 2004

goddamn suburbs.

there's nothing quite like spending a full fifteen minutes saying goodbye to people at eight-thirty to move one's mindset from "okay, I can do this" to "fuck, where's goddamn job #3 I need to move out."

:\

September 22, 2004

getting all trivial up in here

is it wrong of me to be excited?

now, I need more shirts with french cuffs.

...who's up for a shopping trip?

September 21, 2004

infected with memefluenza

having seen Graham's Five Albums He Found This Month, I'm going to do one of my own.

the deal is simple: post 5 albums you found this month and particularly like. encourage others to do the same. enjoy.

here's mine (yes, they're mostly things I should've been listening to ages ago):

1....and you will know us by the trail of dead - Source Tags and Codes
I'm stuck for words here; songs are epic in scale, the album works as a whole, and it's just really, really good.

2.Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
I was surprised that I liked this; I'm not typically a singer/songwrite kind of guy, but this was... different, somehow.

3.Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
I'm six years late on this one, but it doesn't matter. This doesn't feel like an album from 1998 at all, though; it's similar to the Decemberists (other way around, really) in that it's got storytelling lyrics and lush instrumentation, and a willingness to cross boundaries at will; going from man-and-guitar folk to fuzzed-out rock in the blink of an eye and somehow making it all work.

4.The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Jeph (of Questionable Content) said it best, really: "I swear, Wayne Coyne could sing a song about nuclear war and manage to make it sound utterly blissful. I don't know how the man does it." Also, see this.

5.The Arcade Fire - Funeral
No, I didn't see the 9.7 on Pitchfork, flip out and go download it; I took Jeph's (see above) recommendation.
It is the new hipster favorite, and deservedly so; complex enough to stand up to repeated listenings and catchy enough to make one want to listen to it repeatedly. They're also the only band that's ever made me want to make a shirt within a week of hearing them.

Bonus Track: Interpol - Slow Hands (Britt Daniel Remix)
Take Slow Hands. Remove guitar except for specific flourishes. Marvel, then dance.
*Britt Daniel is the lead singer of Spoon, if anyone was wondering.

September 20, 2004

shakespeare quote, etc etc

dear Mazatlan,

It's time for you to get archived. We've had a fun summer together, but with autumn all but here, it's time for you to get shelved in favor of more... season-appropriate stuff. I mean, there's no point in We Came to Play if I have to catch up on my Brain and Behaviour homework, right?
That's not to say that I won't miss your addictive hooks and catchy lyrics; far from it, as the case may be. I simply won't appreciate you like I should, and so we must part.

Until the sun shines again, and I am free of obligation.

September 18, 2004

they say it fits, if you let it...

Today's mission was simple: buy cuff links.

I recently found a shirt with french cuffs in my dad's closet, and promptly appropriated it; only to find that my dad never wore it because he bought it and couldn't find his cufflinks.

And so, Lana, Rob, Neil and I set out downtown, first trekking through Pacific Centre and then down Granville in our (well, mine, really) search.

Along the way, we partook of some silliness, and the semi-serious findings are as follows:

- I look surprisingly good in purple.
- Shirts really should come with their own haiku.
- Neil + Sean John = hilarity (Rob's got the photo, else it'd be up here)

and then, somewhere in a mall, I saw these.
I'd have bought them, were they not $325. or $375. The saleslady couldn't remember.

I guess it's off to eBay for me, then...

September 15, 2004

weird.

impromptu bus survey reveals that I may be the only brown guy of undergraduate age at UBC without some form of goatee.

...did I miss a memo?

September 12, 2004

the only thing worse than lululemon wearers...

...are the bags.

someone returned a uniform in one, and I've spent the last two minutes being baffled at how someone's managed to recreate an anthony robbins motivational program on the back of a shopping bag.

Visualize your eventual demise. It has an amazing effect on how you live for the moment.
Breathe: this lets you live in the moment.
Observe a plant before and after being watered, and relate these changes to your body and brain.
Do not use cleaning chemicals on your counters. Try vinegar and lemon juice; someone will inevitably make a sandwich on your counter.
Dance, sing, floss, and travel.
You ALWAYS have choice, and the conscious brain can hold only one thought at a time. (note: not true; most people can keep track of five to nine things at once.) Choose a positive thought.

now, most of these are fairly innocuous and while they seem odd on a clothing store bag, they're not full-on bizarre.
Until, of course:

Just like you did not know what an orgasm was before you had one, nature does not let you know how great children are until you have them. Children are the orgasm of life.

did you see that?
allow me to repeat:

CHILDREN ARE THE ORGASM OF LIFE.
THE ORGASM OF LIFE IS CHILDREN.

because it needs immortalizing:

...which is so not true.

I plan on having children when I get suicidal.

Apparently they rob you of all your energy and vitality.

... huh, which is kinda like an orgasm, I guess."
Gina | Homepage | 09.15.04 - 12:44 am | #

...

I thought you were in a sorority, not retarded.

Love,
Spencer
Spencer | Email | Homepage | 09.16.04 - 1:12 am | #

September 10, 2004

from a great height...

it's pissing out, and so I took the bus all the way home because the parents went visiting.

odd note: Surrey and Delta look exactly the fucking same in the dark. I had to ask the bus driver to inform me where my stop was. He got it wrong and I had to walk an extra block, which is how weirdly faceless this place is.
___
The first week of school hasn't sunk in. I've been in Brock Hall the entire damn time. Sigal asked why I wasn't going to classes, and I explained, at which point she informed me that she'd been in exactly the same position before, which made me feel 10x better about the whole thing.
But, yes, Peer Advising is over, and Student Recruitment begins; training tomorrow for which I am stoked.
___
The weirdest thing about working in Brock Hall? Being the one who knows stuff. Last year, I'd MSN Aleks or ask someone who was close at hand, but this year, I was the one who knew and the one who other PA's would ask. I get the feeling that this is going to be a recurring theme in most of the stuff I get up to, and while it's a little unnerving, I think it's for the best.
___
Need to start hanging out with more people my own age; the end of this year brings the graduation of some of my favorite people, and as much as I don't want to admit it to myself, I'm going to need to rebuild a social circle.

September 09, 2004

coupla thoughts:

I'm getting into Medúlla as an album now; both Oceania and Who Is It? keep surprising me with new nuances.
__
I need a haircut. This length is manageable, but it's starting to bother me.
__
I thought I could handle another year of commuting, but being reexposed to the teeming masses of humanity again makes me a little unsure about it.
__
Fucking suburbs. Honestly.

September 06, 2004

post-party notes.

party was fucking ridiculous amounts of fun; only problem was that I should've taken a nap beforehand so people wouldn't have drawn on me.

...and I still don't know why Alasdair's number was on my arm.

props, trimble crew.

September 04, 2004

dilemma

I started work at 7 today, and woke up at 6:30. This means I had to skip breakfast, and am now feeling peckish.

Unfortunately, the only vaguely edible thing in my bag is my two-six of Tanqueray.

Fuck.

September 03, 2004

news // goals

news:
- now a campus tour guide.
- working basically all next week at Brock Hall.
- iPod, here I come!
- I won't sell you a shirt. I will come over and show you how it's done, or make you one as a gift, but I will not sell you a shirt. Stop asking.
- Interpol! woo!

goals:
- get licence.
- learn to ride a bike.
- go to 80% of all classes.
- join CiTR, undergo DJ training, then go work mostly for Discorder.
- do My First Triathlon.
- get a summer job that doesn't suck.
- flat stomach by summer.
- more! striped! shirts!

September 01, 2004

lightning? check.
someone to curl up with and watch lightning with? we're working on it.

in which I earn the enmity of my liver.

tonight: beers with P and I.
friday: steve's going away party.
saturday: trimblepalooza.
sunday: spark that screams release party.
tuesday: pixies.

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