Necklaces

I don't know why I feel the need to write about what I'm going to write about at this particular moment but for some reason I feel the need to address something. It's two necklaces I own. I think I've written, or at least mentioned, both of these necklaces, but now that I have a cord for my camera and some free time, I'm going to write about them. Again, I don't know why I feel the need to do this, but I do. So here we go.

The necklace on the left was given to me by Loghman for my 18th birthday. This necklace got lost, I thought permantly, on the desk in my room at home. You see that desk was like a black hole until my Mum cleaned out of pure frustration with how messy it was. Anyway, I hadn't seen the necklace in quite a long time and now that I have found that I haven't lost it, I've started wearing it again. Back when Loghman gave it to me I wasn't particularly found of it because the chain was so long. But now that I have it back in my life, I wear it almost every day. I've been wondering why that it is, and I've come to following conclusion as to why I wear it so often: it reminds of someone who cared about me and liked me knowing full well that I was crazy. Back when Loghman gave me the necklace I was even crazier than I am now, and so wearing it reminds me that there has been someone in my life who cared about me selflessly (which in Greek translates to agape [thanks literature and religion!]). Given the events of last year, I need a reminder of that however I can get it.
Th necklace on the right I bought for myself about a month after the ex broke up with me and was gotten as a reminder that you create your own luck. At the time it was a sentiment that I grasped onto like a life boat because not only had the ex dumped, and had very quickly gotten back on the horse as it were, but my social and academic life seemed to be going down the drain. Wearing a necklace every day that reminded me, in essence, that I created my own fate, was helpful and reassuring during a time when I needed to be reassured of something.
Of the two necklaces, I value the one on the left more than the one on the right because of the sentimental value it holds. I just felt I should let the world know that about me.

Dumb Making

Oh dear readers, I have done a very stupid thing. In an effort to confirm something that I thought I had seen, I went to the Kaiser Chiefs' Summer 2009 picture gallery. Which was when I saw this* and died. Just died really. Further explanation could be given, but that's not the point of this entry. The point is that you, my dear readers, need to remind me not to do stupid things like look at overly attractive men. Work on that telepathy and psychic abilities people! Otherwise this blog will be entirely gibberish and insane ramblings...or at least more insane and gibberish-y. And now, I'm going to try and scrub my brain clean of that image. Maybe...**

*Normally, or at least a few years ago, I would have posted the picture. But now that I'm slightly less insane than I was a few years ago (and I like trolling through my more recent posts), I decided against doing that. Because really a daily (or every other day-ly) dose of dumb-making isn't necessary. I can do that by just going to school.
**This doesn't have anything to do with brain scrubbing, but this week was the last week of Mock the Week and during the final round one of the unlikely situations was "Lines You Wouldn't Hear in a History Documentary." Guest panelist Milton Jones said the following thing and I just had to share it: "1547, Nostradamus predicts the rock group the Kaiser Chiefs. He also predicts a riot." Now back to the mind scrubbing.

Uncomfortable Realities

So the long tortuous week is finally over. I survived with most of my sanity and integrity intact and didn't have to "choke a bitch" (I may have lost my ability to spell though.) However instead of writing about this past week (which by the way, will never happen), I'm going to write about my school newspaper's sex column. I promise to make it PG-13, but the hints might be TMI, so you have been warned.

When I started college I was absolutely sure I was going to be a journalist. In that vein I started avidly reading the school newspaper, waiting for the day I would be in the by-line. It never happened and I turned to radio as my preferred venue to brain wash the masses. However I continued to read the newspaper, enjoying the typos and grammatical errors to the fullest extent that one can enjoy such things. There were (and still are) two featured columns that I particularly like and even if I don't read any of the articles, I always read those two columns. Susannigans delved into the life and opinions of one the cooler people on campus (at least in my opinion) while Sexclamations was like reading a weekly brochure on a foreign country (even when I was in a relationship.) I read Dan Savage's weekly sex advice column, but Sexclamations provide a female perspective without somehow being associated with Dr. Ruth. It was real and founded in the college life. However at the beginning of the school year, the regular writer left Sexclamations leaving a hole in my weekly reading habits. Today, while flipping through this week's issue of The Bullet I found out who had replaced the old writer: My ex and his horny friend.
There's an odd trend that I've noticed about sex. Most perspectives on sex, at least in the media, are written from women well past their prime or men. What I liked about Sexclamations is the woman who wrote the column was neither of those things. Now that it is being written by "two (possibly) over-sexed idiots" I'll only have the advice of a gay man to tell me how sexual relationships work (not that Dan Savage isn't more than adequate or capable, but even gay men have testosterone.) While I will concede that my ex and his horny friend's opinions are valid (in that they are their opinions), what made Sexclamations great was that it was the from the view point of a horny woman something you don't hear about very often in the world of college (horny guys on the other hand are a dime a dozen.) Of course some might argue that I'm biased against the new writers because I'm currently not on good terms with my ex (and never really liked his horny friend) to which I say, yes. I am biased against both of them. But even if the column had been taken over by two guys I didn't know, I would still be disappointed. I just happen to be predisposed to disliking the two who have taken over writing Sexclamations.
And now that I have nowhere else to go, I'll leave you to mull over the opinion I have set forth. See, this is why I'm not a journalist.

Nore's [Fill in the Blank] Radio Show

Every week I do a brief (hahaha) run down of my radio show over at wmwc.umwblogs.org so that people who happen to know about that blog can catch up on what I did during my show. I've recently added links to videos on YouTube to make sure I can still do basic html while typing (I can). Because I haven't written in this blog in a while, I'm going to copy this week's entry to this blog, so you too can enjoy my show without having to actually listen to me nattering away and forgetting which song is next (because my Zune still hasn't shipped). Have fun!

This week's show was made in the face of much opposition. This week's show was created out my sweat and tears as the last thread of my sanity went down the proverbial drain. This week's show happened in spite of the fact that no one did a thing to speak of. This week's show was created because I care about all of you. This week I'll give you both the talking points and videos. Don't expect that kind of respect next week. So now for the dets.

Playlist [There were two minor revisions from the original playlist, but no worries, I wrote everything down this week]

1. Morning Light - Ida Maria
2. Ignore the Ignorant - The Cribs
3. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
4. Rudie Can't Fail - The Clash
5. Right Where They Left - The White Rabbits
6. Can't Stop Feeling - Franz Ferdinand
7. Just - Mark Ronson
8. When The Cows Come Home - Blur
9. French Navy - Camera Obscura
10. London - The Rumble Strips
11. Mouthwash - Kate Nash
12. Waiting - Cake
13. Good Days Bad Days - Kaiser Chiefs
14. F*** You - Lily Allen [This is the explicit version, so be warned]
15. Seattle - The BPA
16. Young Love - Mystery Jets
17. Burial - Miike Snow
18. Fire - Kasabian
19. Grounds for Divorce - Elbow*
20. Wait For Me - The Pigeon Detectives
21. Low Rising - The Swell Season
22. On the other side - The Strokes
23. Blue Skies - Noah and the Whale
24. Can't Say What I Mean - Kaiser Chiefs**
25. Golden Years - David Bowie***
26. We Are Golden - Mika
27. Ulysses - Franz Ferdinand

The Talking Points

• Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard tie the knot
• Many bands and artists, including Thom Yorke, sell their souls to the Twilight franchise
• OK Go, go on tour in the UK this January
• Canada awards its version of the Mercury Prize to punk rock sextet F-ed Up
• Ted Leo signs to Matador Records and everyone hopes he's not actually a black widow in human form
• I expounded on the illegal download policy situation in the UK. Here's the end result (4 paragraphs in). Further updates will be given if I don't get to tired of reporting on it.

Releases

• Mum - Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know
• Rufus Wainwright - Milwaukee at Last!!! [Deluxe Edition]
• Baseman Jaxx - Scars
• Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk

Well that's it for this week. Next week is up in the air, though there will defininatly be music, I can promise you that. Until then, don't panic.

*As with last week I'm featuring Elbow backed by a full orchestra. The first link is to the official video, the second to the Abbey Road session. What can I say, I'm a sucker for orchestration.
**This is me, dragging you into my sad obsession. I apologize.
***Whenever I hear this song, I think of the big dance scene from A Knight's Tale. So in choosing a video link, guess what I went with. The big dance scene from A Knight's Tale.

The Feeling is Gone, Only You and I

Dear Blog Readers,
I'm not going to be updating for at least another week. My life is incredibly stressful and thinking about it makes me sad. Also, I have no social life outside of school work, so unless you really want to hear me moan about how stressful school is (which I'm sure you don't), I'm not going to be updating until next week probably. Also, normally I would say I'll be updating this weekend, but this weekend is Family Weekend here at school, so let's all imagine how stressful that will be. Imagined it? Yeah that's why I won't be updating until next week. :sigh: Just remember: This means nothing to meeeeeeeee!!! Oooooooh Viennaaaaaaaaa!
Sincerely,
Nore
Tuesday Night Edit: As I told my roommate, I'm coming very close to reaching my stress threshold, which means pretty soon I'll be cranky as all get out and won't have any kind of patience for anything that disrupts my pre-ordained schedule/daily patterns. Also, my Zune hasn't been shipped (even though the billing information was received last Friday), so I have nothing to help alleviate the stress when I'm not in my room. Sadly, over eating has lost it's charm (feeling nauseous doesn't help anymore) which means I might have to choke a bitch pretty soon.

BBC Press Release for Never Mind the Buzzcocks

BBC Two's irreverent pop quiz, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, returns to our screens this autumn with a brand new line-up.

Joining the panel this year as team captain, alongside the ever repressible Phill Jupitus, is Mighty Boosh star Noel Fielding.

Following Simon Amstell's departure after three successful years, the new series will be presented by a string of guest hosts including Alex James*, Dermot O'Leary, Jack Whitehall**, Rhod Gilbert, David Walliams***, Frank Skinner, James Corden and Mark Watson.

As ever, celebrity guests from the world of music and entertainment will join team captains Phil and Noel as the guest host each week navigates them through a number of musically based quiz rounds.

With the show's reputation for the unpredictable, guests are always primed for the occasional embarrassment and harmless ribbing as their knowledge of music is put to the test.

Noel Fielding said of joining the show: "I am so excited about Buzzcocks. I am leaping across the Camden rooftops dressed as a small white kitten."****

Never Mind The Buzzcocks will return to BBC Two from Tuesday 29 September.

*Yes, Alex James is the same Alex James I've been mocking mercilessly for the past four years. I'm ecstatic.
**He was a guest this past week on Mock the Week and if I had known he was younger than me I would have been slightly more impressed (and I was impressed to begin with.)
***He annoys me for the most part, so you can look him up yourself.
****I can actually imagine him doing that, which either says something about me or about him, I haven't decided which yet.

A Weekend in Brief

So my plans for this weekend didn't exactly go to plan. For instance yesterday I spent three hours a birthday party I had no idea was happening. So let's star there.
Yesterday morning I woke up with a definite plan in my mind: Go see A Mid-Summer Night's Dream and do fuck-all else. And then I checked my email and saw that a friend of mine had sent me a message over facebook. So I started checking the message when I saw that the header was "Hunter's B-day?" I stopped reading the message and concentrated on doing things other than reading the message. The weird/crazy thing is that when I was setting up my schedule at the beginning of school I was convinced something was happening on the 12th. I was right, just not about what was happening. Anyway, I put off reading the message until I had finished checking everything else on the internet and then finally read it. I had, hesitantly, been invited to the ex's 21'st b-day party by a mutual friend. I then preceded to freak and call home to get advice on what to do. My sister said to not go, but Mum said to go and stay at least a half hour. I ended going and staying three hours. The mutual friend was glad I came and I got to spend some quality time "learning" how to play Risk and talking to another friend of mine. I barely made I contact with the ex and didn't say goodbye or happy birthday. I got cake as well, so a fairly good time was had by all. I didn't do anything rude (like neighing under my breath) and didn't do bodily harm to the VIP. So, in short, it was an unplanned success.
Today didn't go to plan either really. I didn't see A Mid-Summer Night's Dream mainly because I'm lazy, but also because it would have been hot and I would have been eaten alive by the bugs. Mostly though I was just lazy and ended up spending the majority of the day rewatching episodes of Ashes to Ashes. I also started finding the disparate pieces for my Halloween costume, wherein I will dress up as Old Gregg to either complete failure or semi-success. I've also decided that if Old Gregg doesn't work out, I'll be the Moon. I've also started working on my study abroad application once again. I'm turning in the application request for an official transcript tomorrow, but the big thing I'm worried about is the personal essay. How do I explain my reasons for wanting to join the study abroad program without sounding crazy (or really pathetic)? I might be posting a dry run through up here, but we shall see. I've got a month to finish everything and have it shipped to Westminster, so you can see why I'm a little worried at the moment. Still I have one radio show edited and ready to send off and I'm going to go talk to my advisor and the IAS people tomorrow, so at least I'm making some good head way with this. :sigh:
So there's my weekend. Not a complete dud and definitely less depressing than last weekend. Let's hope the trend continues.

The Week in Brief

I got mentioned in my school's newspaper today. The online edition doesn't show it, but in the hard edition (which takes drugs) there's a neat little column that recommends some shows to listen to. And guess who get's her own category? That's right, Nore! I was in the Washroom (which is like the Student Union on most campuses) and I just about flipped out when I saw it. "Brit-pop: Nore [Last Name]- Wednesday, 8-9 p.m." So what if the show is actually from 8pm to 10pm? I am my own category. I'm thrilled. I'm keeping the article forever. It's the capstone to what started out as a pretty shit week. So let's start from the beginning.

Monday
I woke up tired. I woke discouraged and slightly depressed. My Zune sat in it's little package waiting to be sent off to Laredo, Texas and it dawned on me, completely, that I would have no portable music, and with my schedule, no music most of the time. It was gloomy and I had nothing to perk me up. Ultimately Monday wasn't that interesting. My religion lit. class seems to drag on and on, but at least the reading material is interesting. Mu Phi had it's first meeting and I wrote a resume for Jean-Baptiste Lully. I went to bed tired.

Tuesday
I woke up tired again. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the worst because I have a class at 8:15am and I am the least morning person alive (though, actually that's not true, but I digress.) Tuesday was another gloomy day and to add to the despondancy, the one artist who I hadn't heard of won the Mercury Prize. Band killed my soul and I started dealing with music withdrawal symptoms (namely going insane.) I made a fairly successful playlist for my radio show and went to bed with hope that Wednesday would prove to be a better day.

Wednesday
It wasn't. I told a class of wannabe elementary school teachers not to treat learning disabled students like idiots and got a $5 Starbucks gift certificate for the effort. I sweated like a crazy person and my nerves stayed with me the rest of the day. I polished off the talking bits of my radio show and realized how very dependant I am on listening to music in between classes. And then the program I use to record my radio show from the internets didn't record the whole thing. Which is fine in a way because I wasn't even sure I wanted to use the show for Westminster (which is the reason I record the show) but now I don't even have the option really. I went to bed tired and hopefully about the next because I had an appointment to socialize.

Thursday
The day didn't start sunny or end sunny. But it was a good nonetheless because I hung out with some friends and had good food (Thai is lovely.) Classes weren't stressful, band set-up wasn't stressful, the brass section sat in the correct seats, and I tried in vain to defend Henry Purcell's one try at opera. I worked my lab hours and then went off to socialize. It was fun, though I now have blisters on the balls of my feet. I totally freaked my roommate out (who's insane by the by), but that was okay. I had had a good day.

Friday
Basking in the glow of the previous day, I didn't really have many expectations for today. I caught a glimpse of my ex during psych and spent the rest of the class trying to act like I hadn't while taking notes on the brain and neurons. And then I found out about the WMWC article and the rest of my day was made. Not much else happened really. The DW club (which is what it will always be) didn't have a meeting meaning I didn't have to see my ex, which in my opinion is always a good thing. I had frozen pizza for dinner and everything is good. Very zen. I also spent way too much time fretting over when my Zune will get to Laredo, I want it back so desperately! But it's not scheduled to arrive until the 15th, which probably means it won't be delivered back to the house until the 20th, maybe the 25th. Still, hope springs eternal that I will have my portable music back by the end of the month. We shall see.

Alright, I'm going to go to bed now. The massive amounts of diet coke I drank tonight coupled with the sugar I have digested is making me jittery and sleepy. I'm going to see an outdoor production of A Midsummer Night's Dream tomorrow and may or may not do quickie reviews of the new Arctic Monkeys and Cribs' albums. I'll just say one is good and one is trying to hard (it's up to you to guess which is which.) Now, I will worry about breakfast for tomorrow and sleep. Until then.

Big Block of Stress

This week has been insane. I've been trying to do things in the in between times that exist in my schedule and the bitch part is that every office on campus closes at 5pm (or 4pm if you're the post office) so I've been trying to get all of this stuff done before 5pm. It's insane and sweaty and I hate feeling like a headless chicken. And then yesterday, to top off this insane week, my Zune fell in the toilet while I was changing for bed. I'm going to be without my Zune until at least late September and possibly until the second week of October. This of course puts a major wrench in my radio show/demos for Westminster because without my Zune I have to rely entirely on the songs that I can burn onto a CD (or two) which is severely limiting because I don't actually own that much new music. I mostly just own old-ish music. I can't use my computer either because I have to use that to record the show in the first place and I don't want to try playing and recording the music at the same time because of feedback from the speakers and the whole thing just imploding. And it's just all so stressful. I hate stress. I also hate being mean to my roommate for no reason. She was pointing out to a friend (who's over in England) that I basically just sit on my bed and nothing else. So tonight I've been harping on that, which I recognize as being emotionally manipulative and that she's absolutely right. I do just sit on my bed and nothing else. But it's not like I'm proud of the fact that I'm a hermit. Sure I act that way, but I know it's strange and outside the social norm to prefer sitting on my bed and watching Kingdom to talking to people and going out and all that. I'm not the going out type. It's aurally overwhelming to do that and life in and of itself is already aurally overwhelming enough that when I don't have to be in classes and the like the last thing I want to do is go out and party or something. And then for some reason I felt compelled to tell Stephanie all about my auditory processing disorder. What was interesting though was how she immediately latched onto the idea that it would be hard to concentrate in class, which can be true if I'm bored/tired. So that's my life at the moment. I am the perennial chicken without a head. Thank God for Stephen Fry or I'd really be losing it.

When I Woke Up Tonight

The other night I put my ticket wall up and I must say I've been to a great many rock shows in my time. Many have been good. Some have been only so-so (I'm looking at you Sonar). But only four have been truly great*. Sadly I don't have a ticket for the first really great concert I went to, but Sophie and I have determined that half of the really great concerts I've been to have been at Merriweather Post Pavilion (which has horrible parking by the way.) The first (and only time) I saw the Killers and Keane was amazing. I stood on the lawn grinning like a complete idiot during the Killers' set and Keane were amazing (though I had no clue who they were, so it was a bit different.) Since I've only been to Merriweather Post Pavilion you can guess what the other brilliant show I've seen is.
I got into Franz Ferdinand in 2005(ish). I was a year behind then and rather unfortunately when I stepped on the completely trashed lawn of the West Stage of this year's Virgin Free Fest I was 5 years behind in gig-going. Up until this past Sunday I had been unable, for one reason or another, to attend a Franz Ferdinand show. Needless to say I was really excited and wasn't exactly sure what to expect.
They were amazing. I smile just thinking about what a great show it was. Sure they didn't say a lot, but even Bob (the bassist) had a certain energy that was just irrepressible. You couldn't help but rock out has hard as is physically possible (or at least I couldn't help doing that.) It was a tight little set that fooled you into thinking it was shorter than it actually was (encore included I would say it was an hour at most.) It's hard to properly describe something that was so...almost spiritual (how overwrought, eh?) Still, it was a brilliant show and the sore neck and throat, the sleep deprivation and insane schedule I put up with in the aftermath was worth it a million times over. After a string of mediocre and lack luster concerts, it was really, really brilliant to see a show so wonderful. As a person I once knew said, if you get the chance, go see Franz Ferdinand.

Set List

1. No You Girls
2. Dark of the Matinee
3. Do You Want To?
4. This Fire
5. Turn It On
6. Tell Her Tonight
7. Take Me Out
8. Ulysses
9. What She Came For
10. Outsiders

Encore

• Michael
• Darts of Pleasure
• Lucid Dreams [a strange combination of the single and album versions of the song and at the end, one by one they left the stage]

*The four best concerts I've been to in chronological order: The Killers (June 8, 2005); 1st Kaiser Chiefs (Jul. 22, 2005); 2nd Swell Season (May 17, 2008); Franz Ferdinand (Aug. 30, 2009)