Vacation

Vacation?
Vacation is just some fancy Ivy league word for a state of perpetual hangover; a life put through a holiday centrifuge so as to extract all semblence of Responsibility. Vacation is when your no-good hippie boss informs you that while he has no prospects for work in the foreseeable future, on the up-shot, he did just download a Dead concert. During fits of Vacation, the urge to be Productive is an everyday struggle, like a beast trying to find its sustenance in the jungle. How much time spent downloading music is unhealthy? Does t-shirt design count as "a Job"? Vacation means Chinese food for breakfast, and that is the Greatest of Things. It means waking up around noon like a neglected car, sputtering and likely to sink back into a state of torpor several times before getting any traction on the day. Why stray from the towel and bathrobe combo? Don't change horses midstream says Pa. One really must have juice to start any day, OJ is high octane, but even Gatorade can serve as a starter fluid. "Mornings" are spent in search of juice. Thank God that Jade Garden has orange slices. The trusty cardigan will get you through any venture into the Real World, what with its many life-giving pockets that still hold your Powers -wallet, cellphone, keys- from yesterday, which was the same as today and inevitably similar to tomorrow. Thus is Vacation, and soon it will hit New Years like a booster pad. Who knows what Madnesses lay in wait.

BLAZE vs. DAMON ROUND 1

Guess I better take apart my shrine now

Last night I came across some news as one would come across a dropkick to the face off the top rope. Johnny Damon will be a New York Yankee next season. Now it was well known that he was fed up with the red sox management and wanted to change teams. It's also well known that he is getting older and is slowing down some, and was stuck in a slump at the end of last year. So good, I'm perfectly fine with the fact that the sox lost him, make room for someone younger, more consistent, and less expensive.

But damn hell ass balls, the freakin yankees?!

So I have been lost in misery most of the day, while trying to figure out if I now hate my favorite player of the last few years, or if I'm supposed to root for the goddam yankees next year. right now i'm leaning HEAVILY TOWARD THE FORMER. ungrateful son of a . . .

Also, i've stopped speaking to my roommate and I encourage the rest of you to do likewise.

never have i met a child or someone my age named Debbie or Diane,
but countless times have i been talked at by a woman behind a desk with one of those names on a plaque
why?

How cold is it?

I'll freaking TELL YOU how cold it is! Last night, on my way home from the library (BO-HO-HORING!), I stopped at College Town Pizza for a little slice of 'za (if ya know what I'm saying. YEAH!) They only had plain left, seeing as it was almost closing time, but I ordered up a slice anyway. To go.

They put in in a bag, a white paper bag, on a plate. I held it with both hands (to keep it level) and took off towards home.

[insert extreme cold here]

Upon arrival, I headed up to my room to fire up an episode of the west wing and enjoy my pizza. But, alas, my pizza had FROZEN on the walk home!

THAT's HOW FRICKIN' COLD IT IS!

PS If you're into the west wing, drop me a line, ladies!

When I think about You, I touch myself. (Seriously.)

It's at almost every party: a group of kids in the middle of a room, dangerously intoxicated with only enough space between them to raise their arms above their heads and punch the air as they sing. It's a moment of beauty, what I came to college to experience.

So tonight I decided to rediscover the music of a golden era from a time when I was hardly a complete human being, when shoulder pads were big and hair was bigger. You all know what I'm talking about: the 80s. And what better place to begin my magical forray into this sweet world of synth and sweatbands than DC++.

I have recently developed a nearly obscene obsession with Men Without Hats's 1983 single "Safety Dance." I will not, nay, CANNOT, remove my precious white earbuds from my ears each time that fantatsically uplifting song comes on. If you haven't done it already, I recommend listening to it on loop for one day straight. You will never, ever, be happier.

(But as a word of caution: I once did this and my iPod, devil that it is, got STUCK on the Safety Dance. I know what you're thinking. "But Liana, THE SAFETY DANCE IS AWESOME!" Shhh.)

After listening to "Safety Dance" more times than anyone within a two mile radius would probably appreciate, I thought to go out on a limb and introduce a little variety. I searched the usual suspects to begin with: Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. "Sledgehammer" gets better after every time. "Take Me Home" is so carefree and wonderful that I can't help but sing along and treasure that beautifully mild rhythmic syncopation.

The sixth hearing of "Solsbury Hill" prompted me to venture onward. I took a bold step and merely typed "80's" into the search section of DC++. I could not have gotten luckier. All of the standards were there at my fingertips. My Sharona, Video Killed the Radio Star, Eye of the Tiger! Duran Duran, Blondie, WHAM!

The subwoofer making the floor vibrate, the dull oncoming headache, the perfect mixture of strange video game-esque sounds and tambourine, the fucking catchiest lyrics.

It takes me back, guys. It takes me back.

Self Aggrandizing

hi friends,
maybe you should check out this site,
it's called threadless.com
it's a running t-shirt design competition,
pretty keen huh?
well, if you're there, maybe you should check out
"The Modern Jungle"
i dunno, i mean i think it's pretty cool...

Brandeis = Awesome

It's not possible to capture just how awesome Brandeis was with a single post, so I figured I'd add my two cents. First off, Brandeis and Boris' Kitchen did an amazing job of organizing the entire event. They even had a stage manager. If we were organizing a festival we would be lucky to have a stage! (Haha!) Also, the groups that were selected for the festival were awesome. Even though everybody was great, I was particularly blown away by Boston University and the University of Chicago. It feels good just knowing that sketch groups like that exist.
The fun at Brandeis did not stop with the shows. Nay, it continued. Carol was pretty much the best host ever (that's right, I said ever). We stayed up late and acted like silly fools and threw pillows at her windows and she didn't get mad once. You could learn a lesson or two from her, mom. I'm sorry I broke the window with that pillow, MOM. MAYBE IF YOU WOULDN'T NAG ME SO MUCH I WOULDN'T HAVE TO THROW THINGS!!!! WHY DON'T YOU LOVE MEEEEEEEEEEE
The parties were pretty rad too.
So, in conclusion, if you're ever looking for a sketch comedy festival to apply to that will be everything you hoped it would be and more, look into Brandeis.

Waltham....A Heckuva Town!

I'd like to extend an official whoopeedoodaday to all of the great groups we saw perform at Brandeis university this past weekend, as well as our rockin' hosts, Boris' Kitchen. I think I speak for us all when I say we had a great time performing, watching, laughing (oh ha ha!) and partywhooseewhatsitsing. Not that any of you will read this necessarily, but perhaps in the distant future when our blog is the most famous in all the blogosphere, some members of Boris' Kitchen will be trolling our archives, and their heart will be warmed by the mention of the fundiddlyumptious weekend in December 2005 when all was good in Waltham. Hello, Boris Kitchen of the future. Hello.

BEN

P.S. Thanks for your house, Carol!

When Liana Comes Around

So I just spent a while in the sunshine and the snow being locked out of my house 'cause I decided it'd be sweet not to carry my keys around with me, and I realized how much I dig this group. So much so that I grabbed some keys from RPU, came inside, put on some Cash, and rocked out as I created a freaking blog so I could finally post on this thing.

Man, am I giddy.