Entre Nous.

EZ Pass

So last night my friend Alina and I went to see Ben Lee and Har Mar Superstar in Vancouver.  Before the show we ate dinner at this AMAZING Indian restaurant called Vij's off Granville St.

 

The show was at Richards on Richards.  A band called Zykos opened first.  They're from Texas, but only 2 out of the five band members were at this particular show.  They weren't anything to write home about.  Maybe if the entire band had been there I would have felt differently. 

 

 Har Mar Superstar played next.  He is such a spectacle.  He's one of those performers who knows how to work a crowd.  By the second song he had the whole audience swooning.  Everyone seems to think he looks like the Jon Lovitz character from that animated show The Critic.  Part of his whole performance is stripping off his layers of clothing.  I've heard he used to take EVERYTHING off but I was so grateful he kept his pants on.  I think I would have been more appalled by his appearance if I hadn't had two Whiskey Sours before he took the stage.  Here's an excerpt from a review of one of his shows by The Independent - "The essence of what he does hasn't changed: a not-obviously-sexy man (small in stature, receding mullet, slight belly, hairy back) singing hilariously arrogant songs about being the world's greatest lover, while managing to mimic some of the funkiest talents who ever lived." "Speaking of which, within three songs he's topless, and by the closer - his wickedly funny ode to sex in the workplace, "Powerlunch" - he's down to his tortoiseshell Y-fronts, throwing back-drops and pirouettes, jumping off-stage, cruising the front row, and rubbing his sweaty manflesh along the barrier bunnies." Here's a link to the whole article The Independent Online Edition and here's a link to another show review Blogcritics.org.  So in conclusion Har Mar Superstar is rad live (although don't get too close - he was dripping sweat). Go see him!  Or at the very least go buy his CD. 

 

At about 10:45pm Ben Lee took the stage.  His accent is so adorable.  Thank god he got rid of that Claire Danes.  I was so glad to finally get to see him after being such a fan for so long.  He did not disappoint.  Although I'm not as smitten with his newest album as I am am with his previous releases.   I do think his new CD has a few gems, one being "Apple Candy".  His keyboardist Lara is just so cute.   I loved the star shaped tambourine she played.

 

By the time we left the show and got to the border it was after midnight.  Last time we were in Vancouver we went to see Snow Patrol.  Upon returning to the US after the show the man working at the border asked us what we were doing in Canada.   We informed him that we were at a show.  And he asked “Snow Patrol?”.  How did he know?  It was the oddest thing.  This time we informed the man working at the border that we were at a Ben Lee show.  And he responded with "and what does he do?".

 

Yesterday I purchased a new collar and bed for my cat Morrissey.  And the total came to $50!  The store was even having a 30% off sale and it STILL came to that much.  He's smitten with his new bed.  I wasn't sure if he'd be into it seeing how fickle cats are about things like that.  The collar on the other hand did not impress him.  I think it's lovely though and really that's all that matters.  It's pink and spells out "Moz" in swarovski crystal.

Head over heels

Happy Easter!

So here’s a picture of my Easter Basket. It’s filled with a “Lost In Translation” DVD and "The Life Aquatic” CD along with various Easter candy (my favorite being Cadbury mini eggs). It's a Bill Murray themed Easter.  This afternoon my family went out for Easter brunch. I’ll spare you the details. But only the Mimosas made the whole experience tolerable (I adore champagne before noon). Oh and I tried Peeps for the first time ever today. They’re so vile! I apologize to all of you Peeps fans out there, but I just can’t get past their artificial flavor. But maybe that’s the whole point. They’re so vile that people just can’t help but start a fan club for them.

At one time I thought of myself as a fairly crafty person. Then I discovered websites like craftster.org and getcrafty and various crafty blogs like oh happy day! and One Good Bumblebee and Loobylu and it was then that I realized that I’m only a novice crafter. Since moving back to Bellingham I haven’t been in much of a crafty mood. In Berkeley I was in a knitting phase. Then I got into a crepe paper flowers. Then transitioned into beaded flowers. I even took up calligraphy. Then discovered the new hipster craft - embroidery. I managed to complete a lot of projects while working 50 hours AND taking a Spanish class. But since being in Bellingham I haven’t found any new projects that warranted my excitement. Until now. I’ve discovered felt cakes! Yes I said felt. a_o_i came up with the idea for them and posted instructions. So yesterday I completed my first one. Take a look. Isn’t it divine? Next I’m going to make a chocolate cake with white icing.

It started out with a kiss

Lately I cannot get enough of these cookies.  They're sugar cookies with M&M's.  And for a while I was purchasing them at this coffee shop near my apartment.  But I promptly stopped when I realized that they were using "faux" M&M's!  How dare they.  So then I discovered another place that makes the cookies with mini M&M's!  I suppose I could just start making them myself.  But really that just seems like too much trouble. 

 

Due to the fact that I currently am employed I decided to treat myself to a new CD.  So I went with The Polyphonic Spree's "Together We're Heavy".   I heart concept albums.

 

This is probably way more information than you ever wanted to know about my cat Morrissey, but I don't care.  So this last month he had a bladder infection.  Which he acquired due to the high protein cat food I was feeding him.  I was feeding him that particular food to help with his fur balls.  He has such a problem with them.  He is a Himalayan after all.  So now I can't feed him the high protein food and he's been throwing up fur balls.  So gross!  I know.  So I went to the pet store and they suggested buying some wheatgrass for him to chew on to help with the fur balls.  And he just loves it!  It's like his own little plot of grass inside the house.

Gilding the lily

I went out to dinner with my Mother. We had salmon and watched the sun setting over the sailboats in the bay. I adore how "foodie bloggers" always post photos of their dinners out and about. So here's my homage to them.  

I took the drug test for my new job. It was so stressful! They tell you to only drink 8oz of water two hours before you go to take the test. Earlier that day I started to feel like I was getting a cold so I took one of those Airborne tablets.  Then got all paranoid that there would be some herb in the Airborne tablet that would show up on the test. So I get to the doctors office and so don't have to pee. But they said only drink 8oz! So the nurse asked me if I could fill the cup up half way (with pee). And I informed her that "It's not likely". So then she handed me a cup of water and told me to go out to the waiting room and she would come get me in 20 minutes. Well, if I had known it was okay to drink more than 8oz of water I would have done so and been ready to take the test when I arrived at the doctors. Then of course she doesn't come to get me until about 30 minutes later. By this time I was at the doctors office for almost an hour. So the nurse hands me a cup and tells me to fill it at least half way. And I go into the bathroom and there's a sign next to the toilet that says "don't flush if you are taking a drug test". And I'm so grossed out. I'm not going to pee in a toilet that has not been flushed! I don't care what they say. So to sum things up I peed into the cup and passed the test. So now I start my new job in a week. 

I was reading this article about how high end designers are teaming up with bargain brands. The term they've coined for this pairing is "high-polar". Examples of such pairings would include Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel and H&M, Tara Subkoff of Imitation of Christ and Easy Sprit, and Stella McCartney and Adidas (although I don't know if I'd refer to Adidas as a "bargain brand"). Then there's also Isaac Mizrahi and Rachel Ashwell who have teamed up with Target. I'm all for this new movement of designers slumming.  

Woody Allen has a new movie coming out titled "Melinda and Melinda" (what a title). It's basically about two parallel narratives taking place in one movie. The same story is told twice side by side, one as a comedy and one as a tragedy. The Melinda character stays the same but the rest of the cast changes. I so cannot wait to see this movie. Oh and Chloe Sevigny is in it. I have such mixed feelings about her. Most of my feelings towards her verge on jealousy. First she gets her start as an intern for my beloved Sassy magazine in the early 90's. Then she moves to Brooklyn at the age of 18 and appears in a few music videos (The Lemonheads and Sonic Youth). Appears in a movie. Starts dating Harmony Korine. Appears in another movie. Gets an Academy Award nomination. Becomes a fashionista known for her avant-garde fashion sense. Appears in the second Miu Miu ad campaign. Is Imitation of Christs "creative director, their hipster figurehead". And is NOW in a Woody Allen film? How could one not be jealous?

Awake is the new sleep

I spent the weekend at my Moms house.   It was one of "those" weekends.

I just purchased tickets to see Ben Lee and Har Mar Superstar in Vancouver.  Jealous?