Transition

My babies graduated yesterday. I don't know why I keep referring to them as such. I think it has to do with the fact that they were first-years when I was a junior -- a year where I felt like I was coming into my own. It's four years later (!) and now I get to deal with the fact that next year's graduates will be the last group of people who were students when I was still a student. And I'm still here. Eep.

After the Commencement ceremony Sarah and I decided to celebrate our coolness-despite-our-aging the only way one can: Pat Benatar at the Cleveland Ribfest! Oddly, we weren't the only ones there doing the c-d-o-a thing (imagine that). I drove to Sarah's new apartment in North Olmsted and we took the RTA train into the city. Everyone else on our car had the same destination in mind. There was a guy who brought a bouquet of flowers to give to Pat, but he handed out a couple of flowers to people who would sing a few bars of "Heartbreaker". He was really wasted, but both Sarah and I really wanted him to belt out "Love is a Battlefield". Didn't happen, at least not in our presence.

The rib cook-off wasn't quite what I expected. I pictured endless rows of booths with different preparations of ribs from all corners of the rib-eating world. I think there might have been half a dozen or so booths serving ribs with the rest of the booths serving beverages, hosting radio stations, or selling the tickets to make food purchases. The booths that did have ribs also had the largest trophy collections -- both in quantity and in style -- I have ever seen. I'm curious as to how one gets into the world of competitive rib-cooking (and I'm curious what the jargon is to describe "rib-cooking"). It is an art form. Before yesterday, I was not a fan of ribs, mainly because the few times I had them growing up they were not all that tasty. Part of that may have been an aversion to BBQ sauce I had when I was younger but I overcame that when I had my sampler dinner. Delicious.

We finished dinner just as Pat took the stage and we scooted to the amphitheater. The crowd was more of a hodgepodge than I expected. I would have thought the average age would have been about 40, but there were quite a few youngins there voluntarily which brought the average down to around 30, I would guess. The show started at 6:30 and they had an 8 o'clock curfew, so the set was of the "greatest hits" variety as opposed to "this is off my new concept album..." My favorite revelation happened during the intro to her 5th song. She prefaced the performance with how before every show she debates whether or not to sing it. She doesn't want to sing it, but the crowd practically forces her to. As a result, she made the crowd promise that they will sing the part that she hates to sing. Then the opening riff to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" started to play over the speakers. Awesome. Of her songs that I know, that one is probably my least favorite and I'm glad we see eye-to-eye on that.

I was still rocking out to "Heartbreaker" this morning when John came in to drop off his keys and get his bowling equipment. I tried to track him and Kayla after the ceremony yesterday but it proved too challenging with the number of people. Also, it is so awkward to say "See you later" to people you really respect when "later" is so open-ended, though avoiding it altogether has a set of cons that far outweighs the pros. After John left, I started thinking about the first time I saw him. It was during one of my first Saturday shifts at the lanes and he and his posse came in. I don't know why, but my gut was telling me that he was going to be an important person during my time at Oberlin. I should listen to my gut all the time.

Read More......

Fun Raiser

So. That was my day. I love Alumni weekend.

Read More......

Idol of America - Part II (Short Form)

From the Steve and Edie cover of "Saw Her Standing There" to the going over, this was the most ridiculous finale ever. Why did the Idol contestants get so little screen time? When will the sound guy get fired? Even Kelly was off tonight -- not good. Why does Taylor dance like Jackie Rogers Jr.? Why did Bette Midler sound like Mae West?

Okay, those last two aren't the show's fault, but they enabled them by providing a venue.

I suppose the only good thing about tonight was that the final medley may be an indication that a Beatles night might happen next season. Yay? Speaking of, why didn't LaKisha get the line "I get high with a little help from my friends"?

This season seemed promising, but even the confetti at the end didin't register with me -- and confetti always registers with me. Sigh.

The only thing that made this finale more endless was the local news' top story being about a girl who got shot in the face a few months ago and was voted prom queen and the multiple ads for the story. I'm not happy with TV at the moment.

Read More......

Idol of America - Part I

I caught the Idol Rewind this weekend and they had the Kelly/Justin finale on. Man, same venue, but the staging was so scaled back it looked like it could have been made in a basement. My how times have changed.

Also, thanks for the Seattle recap, show! I missed the Seattle episode the first time around and I didn't realize until reading the most recent recap that both contestants were from that group. And Blake -- you are my guitar hero.

And for tonight's show...

Blake

I think he is trying to throw the competition -- you NEVER choose to go first. More on that later.

You Give Love a Bad Name: I liked the Bon Jovi the second time around. It seemed a bit more polished this time, however the shock value that encapsulated the first performance just didn't resonate tonight. Definitely the best performance of the night. And it was absolutely adorable how geeked he was to be on that stage.

She Will Be Loved: Squeeeee! At least I got my wish that he would perform that song. I do agree with Simon that tonight was not the best night to whip it out (dirty!), and seemed very "Black Horse and The Cherry Tree" of Blake to do so.

This is My Now: Yuck. Not your fault, Blake. Even if he were able to put his own spin on the song, it still would have been a hot mess. If he doesn't want to win, that song should seal the deal for him. If he is legit, then choosing to go first may have been quite the strategic move.

Jordin

Fighter: The sound seemed really weird -- like she was singing in a closet or something. Regardless, Jordin lacks the ferociousness needed to approach that song. Whither the ball busting, Jordin?

A Broken Wing: Love the outfit (finally)! It was alright. I seemed to recall liking it the first time around, but it certainly wasn't memorable then or tonight.

This is My Now: She escaped the iron lung -- good for her! I loved the audience shot with Melinda: she looked stupefied. I'm so glad she didn't have to sing this drivel, especially since her voice would not match it.

At this point I'm ambivalent since 1: Melinda isn't there, and 2: Most of my prognostication this season has been wrong and I'm tired of picking the wrong pony.

Lastly: Kathy Griffin! Squeeee!

Tomorrow: Bloatfest VI

Read More......

Spam

My work e-mail account has a spam filter that e-mails you a listing of potentially naughty/non-sensical items sent to the address. It's a nice occasional giggle every afternoon around 2:30. All the listings show is the source e-mail address, the subject line, and a button to click if you wish to allow the e-mail to go through.

Today's subject line giggle: "This may happen on its own or with an attack of meningitis."

It is equally horrifying and hilarious to imagine what that subject could be referring to. I didn't pass it through the filter since it is undoubtedly an ad for Ci@l!s (I didn't know meningitis caused that) or a plea from some dignitary from Africa (which tends to happen on its own).

But maybe it is referring to something else? Maybe it's the new tag line for Heroes?

Read More......

Rube Goldberg Goes Dancing

I don't think I've been to a straight club before. At least not one that wasn't The 'Sco, which...no. Doesn't count. I have to say that I did not get what I expected, both positively and negatively. Our case study: The Velvet Dog.

Positives

• I did not feel completely out of place. I knew clothes-wise I'd be okay (thanks H&M!), but you know body-wise I'm not exactly Hottie McHottiehots, Ph.D. There was a good looking crowd, but as I was discussing with Carla, the lookers seemed to have happy and healthy hamsters running things behind their eyes.
  
• I honestly was worried that I'd be a little old, even at 24. That might be the case at 18+ clubs, but since this was 21+, I shouldn't have been concerned too much. There were people of all ages there and I was actually near the average age for where I'm at (usually the bowling lanes) for once.
  
• Downtown Cleveland is pretty hopping on Friday nights. There were people walking around and taxis were all over the place. I've never experienced that in Detroit, and most likely never will.
  

Negatives

• The place was empty. I know there was a baseball game but maybe there was something else going on that kept the crowds away. We were there at 11 and it was as if we got there as soon as the place opened. Not so great for dancing. Also, the club advertised 3 floors of dancing. I thought that would mean different music on each floor, but it's just a way to spread people out.
  
• Also not great for dancing: the music. When we arrived, they were playing what I could assume was a new Gwen Stefani song. This was followed by Fergie (Y-U-C-K), soon followed by Nelly Furtado, another Gwen Stefani song, Pink (best described here), ANOTHER Fergie song, ANOTHER Nelly Furtado song, Cyndi Lauper (only half of that song), and Black Eyed Peas. That's 2.5 Fergies/Hour, or per capita, or whatever. Is the Top 40 really made up of 7 people? Oh, and the songs were the radio edits. The hell?
  
• The bathroom has someone monitoring things. I suppose that's to prevent people from getting freaky-deeky, which I guess is fine if laughable. Bounce, the gay club I sometimes go to, just has a sign that reads "Please -- One to a stall." Anyway, all was well and good until I went to wash my hands. As soon as I step near the sink, the guy turns on the faucets for me then holds the soap dispenser so that he can put soap in my hands. I realize when you go dancing, there is a certain expectation that your bubble of personal space is quite limited. In exchange, everyone else's bubble is limited as well and everyone seems to be in agreement that unless you're being an asshole about it, there's no sense getting bent out of shape if you keep bumping into people. The bathroom should be an exception to this. I am fully capable of washing my own hands, thank you.

All in all, the experience was okay. We didn't get to do much dancing, but we did end up at an awesome martini bar before the night was over. I think this was a chance to get my feet wet without going overboard.

Read More......