Awesome August : Day 7

There are a lot of things I've picked up from my parents: calling elementary school grammar school; eating peanut butter straight out of the jar with a spoon; using phrases like "put them in the Bizbag;" my love for Mel Brooks; and, of course, my love for The Beach Boys.

One of my earliest memories of me and my Dad involves him cleaning this old hot tub we had while I was in some sort of floaty, and we were listening to the Beach Boys.  I had to have been about 2.  (Strangely, I have another similar memory, only we were listening to "Gimme Shelter," but since that I has nothing to do with this story, I digress.)  And I swear, I knew the lyrics to all their greatest hits before I could speak in complete sentences.  My first CD was their anthology Born in the U.S.A. and it wasn't until Junior High, that I started listening to "my own music," so to speak.

The questions is always The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.  For me, the answer has always been The Beach Boys.

So, when Boyfriend got us tickets to see The Beach Boys as the Mountain Winery, I was beyond stoked.  I don't care if there are only two original members left touring – they're one of my only favourite artists that I've never seen (or if I did when I was younger, which is a possibility, I don't remember them).  And when we got there, we discovered how great our seats were.

Of course, I'll never really know what it was like to see them in the height of their musical careers, but damn, if they were anywhere as tight and impeccable as they were tonight, it's easy to see how they've stayed a touring band for so long.  They played from 7:30 to 10:00, with a brief intermission, and in that time they played every thing I wanted to hear (with the exception of "Heroes & Villains," but I wasn't really expecting that) and stuff I wasn't expecting at all ("Sail On, Sailor," anyone?).  Mike Love and Bruce Johnston are still amazing and their support band is fabulous.

It's strange watching a band that had it's rise and fall before I was even born.  With the exception of "Kokomo" they haven't done much that's noteworthy since the 1970s.  They even made jokes that they must be so popular due to Full House re-runs.  But at the same time, everyone in the audience was singing along and dancing and enjoying it all.  They transcend time and genre.

And that got me thinking, too.  Are there any bands around today, that got their start in the past 10 - 20 years, that could someday be touring for their 50th anniversary?  It seems to me that the longevity just isn't there anymore.  Not with such a large catalog and such a universal love like The Beach Boys have...

What band from today would you see 20 or 30 years from now?  What band that was a favourite of your parents' would you go see today? 

Awesome August : Day 6

Today I went to see Captain America with my Dad, my Stepmom, Bear, and Boyfriend.  It's crazy, but I swear I haven't been to the cinema with my Dad since we saw Blues Brothers 2000!  My Dad is always amusing when we are out and about: today, when getting the movie tickets, he told the guy he needed tickets for "four adults that act like children."

I really enjoyed Captain America.  I loved the aesthetic of the film – it was visually beautiful and it wasn't too campy or overly patriotic. And I loved the references to all of the other films leading up to The Avengers (especially the quick glimpse of my new crush, Loki, after the credits).

If the film had a fault, however, it was not enough Stanley Tucci.  Of course, I generally think that one cannot have too much Stanley Tucci... And this is probably just me, but I felt like half of Hugo Weaving's lines were just the same ones he said during The Counsel of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring, except with a German accent and a World War II twist.  Oh, I totally thought that Dr. Arnim Zola looked like Lionel Twain from Murder By Death (is that too obscure of a reference?), then I found out that Toby Jones actually played Truman Capote...

All in all it was a good movie with good company.  Happy Saturday!

Awesome Auguts : Day 5

Do you guys like road trips?

So often I get annoyed when I have to drive out of my way to go to a store or because plans are changed.  But road trips are different: you get snacks, you talk about crazy things, sometimes there's not even a destination.  One time, before Boyfriend was Boyfriend, he and I took a mini-road trip from Santa Cruz up HWY 1 to The City and we sang the whole way and stopped to take pictures with the dinosaurs and eat at the Taco Bell on the beach in Pacifica. 

But since my Dad and Stepmom moved out of the Bay Area a few years back, I've gotten to take more frequent mini-road trips out to visit them.  They're about 2.5 hours away, which is the perfect length of a mini-road trip. 

When I'm driving to and from work, I mostly listen to books on tape.  No, seriously.  It helps keep my road rage in check (along with my ironic thumbs up method).  Normally if I'm stuck in traffic I get angry and frustrated.  But when I'm listening to a book (and right now it's The Two Towers), it's like, oh good I get to hear another chapter.

I know a lot of people who save their books on tape for road trips, but that's just crazy!  You need music on a road trip.  Rocking, loud music.  Music that makes your wheels turn and makes you want to press down on the gas.  What you need is a good road trip mix.

• Ramble On .. Led Zeppelin
• Look What Happened .. Less Than Jake
• Barracuda .. Heart
• Crazy Train .. Ozzy Osbourne
• Bright Spring Morning .. Suburban Legends
• Romper Stomper .. The Transplants
• Burn Baby Burn .. Ash
• Ticket to Ride .. The Beatles
• Suffragette City .. David Bowie
• Bad Habit .. The Offspring
• Run Like Hell .. Pink Floyd
• Stuck Between Stations .. The Hold Steady
• Paper Planes .. M.I.A.
• Point/Counterpoint .. Streetlight Manifesto*
  

This is just a random selection of my ever changing "On the Road" mix that I update every time I take a road trip.  Between me and Boyfriend we could drive for days with an awesome soundtrack.  I also not so secretly hope that all of my road trips will be like this:

What are you favourite road trip songs?  What do I need to add to my collection.  Right now I have 199 songs in my playlist... What song should push it to 200?

*I tried to make another Grooveshark playlist, but it decided not to work for me...

Awesome August : Day 4

Let's talk about nostalgia. 

When I was little there were three main shows that I watched religiously: Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, and My Little Pony.

Rainbow Brite was my absolute favourite of the three.  I have pictures of me in a Rainbow Brite costume standing in front of the Christmas Tree – like three or four years in a row.  And to this day, I refer to Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer on a regular basis.



Care Bears was the next best and just like Rainbow Brite the movies where the best especially the Movies I and II (and Care Bears in Wonderland which seems to have vanished off the face of the earth, but I still remember the songs).  Care Bears was always Bear's favourite and partially her namesake.



I feel like I should have like My Little Pony more than I did, but I think that it was only interesting to be because the girl who was friends with the Ponies was called Megan (and spelled wrong!).  And the movie – it had all the makings to be good: a oddly large cast, Flutter Ponies, and The Smooze.



My friend Kiwi gave me a copy of The My Little Pony Movie for Christmas a few years ago and let me tell you, it does NOT stand up to the test of time*.  Oddly enough Care Bears does a pretty good job and Rainbow Brite is still top-notch.

Have you guys heard about Teen Nick's 90's Are All That?  They're playing all those shows that I watched when I got a little older.  Besides Clarissa Explains it All, the three shows I remember the most are The Adventures or Pete & Pete, Salute Your Shorts, and Hey Dude!

It's funny, but these three shows from the 90's pretty much play out like my favourite shows from the 80's.

A few years ago I found The Adventures of Pete & Pete on DVD and it's everything I remember it to be and more!  If anything, the show actually got better with age – the story lines are smart and absurd, the acting is quality, and the guest star list is insane.  And it has Artie: The Strongest Man in the World!



And let's be honest – can you find anyone who doesn't know the words to the Salute Your Shorts theme?  I once tried to convince my friends to go as Anawanna campers for Bay To Breakers so we could push a keg in a canoe across San Fransisco.  Everyone loves Salute Your Shorts, even to this day.



aparently due to some law suit, I can't find the video for this...

But Hey Dude!? This show premiered 22 years ago, and I swear I remember liking it.  Or at least I remember watching it.  We found a DVD of the first season at Target the other night and watched the first few episodes.  Oh man, is it painful.  No one can act, it's got a single camera set up, and they apparently blew all their budget on the horses.  And the second –second! – episode is a battle of the sexes!  Ah, 1989 Nick... good for a laugh.




What did you love as a child that does not stand the test of time?

*Please note that I am NOT talking about the new My Little Pony youtube sensation.

Awesome August : Day 3

For Lent this year, I gave up shopping.  I actually managed to go 40 days without shopping for myself, with the exception of a pair of shoes I bought for my cousin's wedding.  However, I feel like I totally missed out on this very cute yellow spring trend that seemed to only be a trend during the 40 days I was not shopping.  Go figure.

Since then I've had a yellow cardigan and a pair of yellow shoes on my wish list.  Every time I would come across a yellow sweater it wasn't the right yellow – I wanted baby duck yellow, not greenish-yellow or orangish-yellow.  And every time I saw pair of yellow shoes, the price just wasn't right or they weren't in my size... in terms of shoe size I'm totally average – somewhere between a 7.5 to a 9 depending on brand – so by the time I get to a pair of shoes I like, my size is usually gone.

Then the other day when I was at Target, this pair of dark yellow wedges that I had been eying were suddenly on sale – $12 and in my size! 

It's funny, but I used to have this weird irrational hate for wedges.  I'm not sure why because I'm a nightmare in heels unless they have a ankle strap of some sort... Then I got a pair of TOMS wedges and I was converted.  These ones aren't great for running, jumping, or climbing trees or anything, but damn do I look good walking from my desk to the water cooler.

Shop: Similar pair from Target

Awesome August : Day 2

Giraffes are one of my most favourite animals ever.  If you ever are in a situation where your life or thousands of dollars depends on knowing how I feel about giraffes, for the record I find them majestic.  And have you ever seen them fight? Damn!

I think my love of giraffes comes from these wooden giraffe statues my mom has and this painted giraffe art I've had in my room since I was a baby... But I had no idea so many people were on board with this giraffe love.  For example, I recently acquired a Kate Spade iPhone case that has giraffes on it!

Boyfriend once got me a book called "Giraffes? Giraffes!" by Dr. Doris Haggis-on-Whey, which documents the history of Giraffes.  This is the best book of all time and you should read it right now.

So, including the iPhone case that I carry with me all the time, I had 3 giraffe things in my outfit today.

The earrings were another birthday gift from Bear.  They are made of wood ad so light I can't even tell that I'm wearing earrings.

This amazing giraffe shirt was passed on to me by my dear friend Indiana, who I was lucky enough to spend a few hours with last week.  Indiana and I went to college together, but hadn't seen each other in 3 years!  We walked around our old stomping ground catching up, talking about The Lord of the Rings, and marveling over the fact that she has a baby now!  And then in our typical way, I left and drove an hour and a half home with her wallet in my purse, which she needed for her 5:00am flight the next morning.  But in between all that craziness, she gave me this much admired shirt.  It's adorable and probably would be even if it wasn't covered with giraffes!

So, I know Indiana loves animal clothes and accessories, and as you can see, I'm a sucker for giraffes (and I still have a new giraffe scarf to rock soon).  Do you like animal print or animal inspired designs? What animal do you love enough to base an entire outfit on?

PS.  Please excuse the amazingly grainy photo booth pictures...

Awesome August : Day 1

Every year, the week leading up to my birthday, I celebrate the WOM – the Week of Meg.  This basically gives me an excuse to be sorta selfish and demanding, but also do a bunch of fun things before my actual birthday.  Usually this includes going to my favourite restaurants, seeing my favourite people, and getting pedicures.

Anyway, I'm usually in such a good mood during that whole week that I figured, why not try to keep it going.  So, I'm going to try Awesome August : 31 days of awesome things.

As we know, my love of Harry Potter is no secret.  But what might not have been well known is my love for the Malfoy family.  I happen to think that Draco, Lucius, and especially Narcissa are some of the most interesting characters in the story.  So, when my sister, Bear, went to get me a Harry Potter related birthday gift, Draco came to mind...

This is part of the first sentence of Chapter 10 Halloween from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and it's actually cut from the book itself.  The first word is Malfoy and the M can also double for Meg... So nerdy and narcissistic – just like me!

What book would you wear an except from around your neck?  I know Bear's holding out for The Lord of the Rings...