What's holding you back from your dream job?
Submitted by Question of the Day.
Time.
I'm almost 20 and still 2-3 years from starting a career.
I've been in school since I was 2 and it's becoming rather tiresome.
Oh well, can't be an engineer unless I get my degree.
How well does your name Google? Who are you up against? (Celebrities, etc.)
Submitted by Matt Blank.
Damn you Abbie Hoffman!
However, if you type in my full name, the first 7 hits are actually me. Which is pretty cool, if you ask me. And they're all for different things! Holy shit, they have something I made in 6th grade! They're still using it? Jesus. Omg, thank you QotD.
Abbie Hoffman...you have a girl's name
I finally figured out why Muse and MCR went on tour together!
They're basically under the same label. Muse is WB, and MCR is Reprise, which is owned by WB. it all makes perfect sense.
I've been wracking my teeny little brain lately because obviously, Muse and MCR don't fit. and Muse opening for MCR fits worse.
They have completely different sounds. Or at least I think. The only time other than festivals have I seen this mismatching is during the "virgin" college tour or tours put together by big companies or labels promoting their bands. (The virgin college tour put together sugarcult and talib kweli)
Muse failed to mention any of their MCR tour dates on their website and myspace, which I thought was kind of fishy.
My ticket had no mention of Muse. It read "MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE and the black parade" The black parade is their cd, i think. I know it's a song. anyways, everywhere I looked, even on fliers, Muse's mention was miniscule.
When playing, neither band mentioned each other. Usually, you know, they'll be like, give it up for blah de blah and such. however, there was no such mention.
If Muse wasn't friends with MCR (those arrogant brits!) and was basically trying to keep their tour a secret, why would they even bother?
Money.
I'm sure WB or whoever put together this tour handed Muse a HUGE freaking wad of cash to do this. Maybe promotion incentive. Their pushing black holes and revelations like crazy here. No one else to target but the rich, spoilied 13-year olds of america, right? I'm sure they weren't exactly proud of it, thus the secretness of it (I shouldn't find out a band is going on tour through ticketmaster), but I mean, I guess the money is in it for them.
It makes me sad, but at least I understand now. What am I saying? I saw freaking MUSE! AGAIN!
Actually, that sarcastic comment up there about arrogance, upon reflection, is actually a little true. You see, here at umd, we have this student-run group called SEE(student entertainment events) and they do amazing things like put on concerts and have comedy shows and show movies and have famous people come in and lecture. They're my favorite. and if this isn't a surprise, i work for them. only this year, but i've gotten pretty involved.
In all reality, I've only been a die-hard muse fan for 2 years and two years and a month ago(approximation) Muse played(headlining) at the umd campus. I had no idea(SEE doesn't promote off-campus really well) and since I was within weeks of my muse-y revelation, I didn't think to check where they were touring.
Anyways, they play and all that hoopla with me being totally oblivious.
coming onto campus, I found out they had played here and got really excited and asked everyone all about it.
Yeah. fun stops there. They were good and everything, but people working for see remember the crowd and the actual personalities of the bands. The show went on without a hitch. However, muse didn't. I've heard from people they're arrogant and such but I mean, that's all hearsay, so I didn't pay them much mind. However, they way they acted to SEE proved that arrogance. During/Before/After the show, something went wrong and they got all pissy about it, to the point where they're probably not going to play at our campus ever again. Yes, things can go wrong, but remember? we're a student-run group, we can only do so much. We have a budget, we have limited people working for us. Big shows go on in our field house. Sorry if your green room is where the staff of the field house usually store their stuff, but that's all we got. We'll give you chairs tables a bathroom and food, but I mean, we're a freaking college. You would think that might understand that. Things can get hectic and we're still just kids. Maybe a fan snuck by us. Sorry. Your food wasn't right. sorry. you didn't like the green room. sorry. a poor crowd turned up. sorry. We try. we're not perfect. If you want perfection, go to the MCI center or something. However, I'm sure they make mistakes, too, they're just not so easily seen through the masses.
Ha. that reminds me. They feed us before any even goes on, and for big events we get to eat a chiptole-sort array(make yer own burrito). Whilst in line for this delicious assortment, the lead singer of sugarcult comes out of his green room and starts asking us to trade for food, because he was missing his cali home laden with mexican food. chinese just wasn't hittin it for him. The girl in charge of food stuffs and the sort flat out told him he has his own food, but if he really wanted a burrito, he would have to wait until all the staff got their food and then he could have some. 15 minutes later, with burrito settled nicely in my stomach, I see him at the end of the line waitin fer sum burrito.
That's my story. Why can't muse be like them? We work for SEE because we like what we do. It's not for the money(lordy is it not for the money). we're a bunch of students who like putting on and watching shows. Sugarcult understands this. They were meandering around talking to us. They played before Talib and after their set, went to their merch table for at least 45 minutes talking to fans. they're awesome.
Muse, take a hint. I mean, yeah, you're not as big here as you are across the pond, but don't take offense to that. Yeah, Americans have a different mindset, yeah, it's pretty disgusting, but don't lump and entire freaking COUNTRY into one. yeah i lump all mcr fans into one, but I mean, united states?.......mcr fans?.....seriously. There are more than plenty Muse fans(and thanks to me, more that what was 2 years ago. spread the word or the muse!) here. sometimes concerts are just harder to get to. They play almost the same amount of concerts in the UK or France than they do in the US. Yeah, a bigger turnout because people can actually get to you. I had to travel 125 miles to see them for my birthday. I may not be able to do that again(I'm too broke). Even lately, I had to travel a good 30 minutes, and also had to bum a ride from those with cars because where they were playing was completely public transit inaccesible.
I just hate arrogance. Seriously. What band makes you wait an entire hour and a half for them to finally get on stage, but then only play for an hour?
If they weren't so talented in every possible way, I might be a wee bit bitter.
I think that's enough talking.
MUSIC!
things only look so empty because I was directly behind this weird VIP area. I assure you, there were thousands there.
okay. so my videos are crappy. get over it. they were taken with phones.
yay.
Hope that's enough.
So last night i went to a muse/mychemicalromance show. (Muse was opening, unfortunately)
I would like to point out the perfect example of how these two bands should never be together:
Merch Stand.
On the Muse side, there was only two other people in front of me, all over 16, and paying for their own shirts.
On the MCR side, there was a ginormous crowd clamoring to get crap, with 13-year-olds in line choosing what they wanted and their parents waving their credit cards to buy whatever they chose.
It was pathetic.
You think the whole targeting stupid preteens to get their parents money thing is over(bsb, nsync, britney) but it is far from over, it's just now in a different form. 30% of ticket sales had to of gone directly to parents, so their 12 year olds could draw X's on their eyelids and scream to a pitch that just decimates my eardrums.
I am SO glad my parents never did that. yes, i did listen to spice girls, but all i had was a cd. i didn't have any of their 'stuff' i didn't go see them, i didn't dress like them. and my parents had me listen to other music like cake and blink 182 and brian setzer and sam cooke. it did me right.
I guess i'm really also annoyed because these parents bend over backwards for these kids. Grow a backbone, tell them they look stupid. My mother told me what clothes I shouldn't of worn. Thank you, mother.
and that theswe kids act all 'emo' and hardcore but the root of the genre's 'pain' is opression and suffering. these kids live in cushy housing communities, go to rich schools and run into hot topic with mommy and daddy's credit card.
seriously. i was annoyed.
i was also annoyed that even getting there 2 hours early, i ended up sitting with the 'moms' because everyone else thought they could get in the pit (many of whom couldn't handle it and left soon afterwards, but still keeping the pit 'space' they took up) and i was so frustrated that i couldn't think straight and see that there were better seats.
I was ready to cry. i had psyched myself up so much for this concert and dropped an incredible $40 for it, all for me to realize that i was goin to get cruddy seats, which i did, and be surrounded by a type of people that i hate, that i was. however, when Muse came on, their preformance was so mind-blowing that for those entire 45 minutes, i completely forgot about it all. It was all just me and them, baby. Their talent is just insurpassable. Everything. The drums, the bass, the guitar, the vocals. lord, the vocals. I have phone videos but i can't post them now.
Muse rocked my socks. Although they never play a full set, have poor crowd interaction, and NEVER play anything from my favorite album, Showbiz, their talent masks it all. They're just crazyawesome.
After only 7 songs though, I was so blown that they were finished. They didn't even play Hysteria. I love that song.
Did i mention matthew bellamy plays the piano, too? he switches from guitar to piano. it's crazy. and when dom did a solo for time is running out? I nearly fainted. Although it could've been because their speakers were set waaaay to loud, even for a rude girl like me. haha. rudegirl.
Jimmy and I decided, well, more of I told him, that we would watch My Chemical Romance until they played a song I knew, but halfway through the 3rd song, we just left. They were absolutely horrid. They had these stupid getups that were marching band suits in black with white facepaint and black lips, but the lead singer is just too fat to pull it off. Jimmy brought up the fact that he looked like a fat michael jackson, which he did. The band's talent was mediocre, and the lead singer's vocals were almost non-existant. I was trying to get a clip of their performance to compare to muse on vox, but not one song had any parts where his vocals were relatively audible. it was crap-tastic. but the crowd loved it. Even if I was a mcr fan, and i had never heard of muse, i still would've been like: wait a tic, that other band sounded alot better. i like mcr's songs, but they're not that great live.
seriously.
we dipped out to see a 13-year old army of tiny little fists surrounding us. it was sad.
MCR should've opened for Muse. End of story.
(I really hope Suburban Legends doesn't go on tour with Fall Out Boy. that would break my heart.)
What was your worst cooking experience?
DON'T COOK NAKED.
What are the 10 most memorable music performances you've seen? (Remember, "memorable" may not be good.)
Submitted by Bill.
2. Breaking Benjamin. Nov12, 2005. for what reasons? the terribleness of the smile empty soul? the redneckness of the entire crowd, the fact that it would be the first and las concert i will have ever spent in nation? no. it was the fact that i had had mustered up the confidence to kiss my lovely james for the first time. we were watching a band we mutually loved, it was exciting, we were sweaty, and very happy. it makes me giggle. not to mention they were very good. i've seen them 3 times missed them once and i'm goin to miss them again thanks to a final. who the hell gives finals on a saturday? on a saturday night no less. i hate orgo lab.
1. Muse- August 4, 2006. Once again, it all has to do with james. first off, Muse is my most favorite band ever. i love the crap out of them. although incredibly snotty(the unforgivable kind), they pack a crazy amount of talent. Matthew Bellamy's voice is near godly. anyhow, i was all excited that they were finally touring in the us(after releasing black holes and revelations) but of course, they don't schedule a stop anywhere near dc because you know, the nation's capital isn't good enough. the closest they were coming is philly, which is 3-4 hours away.(i don't have a car, that's far) well, august 3rd is my birthday, and a few weeks before that i jokingly ask jimmy to take me to philly to see them. joke turned to reality. for my birthday, his whole family chipped in. his parents gave us a ride to and from philly(they just chilled in philly for 2 days) and jimmy payed for the tickets, the hotel, everything. it was the best birthday present a girl could ask for. however, he couldn't control the show.
although now i say it was an awesome concet because they were amazing and it was exciting and stuff like that, it kind of sucked. for starters, the electric factory is a terrible venue. it's too big. a floor that big needs a divider, ask hfstival. also their air system was terrible to the point where all air flow ceased halfway towards the stage. you know, the place where it would be really nice to get some air because you can't breath? it sucked. also, the crowd was terrible. i've been told it's because of all the stupid south jersey kids, which i can understand because at the 9:30 club, it's the virginia kids who come to act all tough and end up being dumb. we md kids are the cool ones. but they sucked. there is this thing called concert etiquette which they by no means abided by. they got increibly pissed if you tried to push they didn't mosh or crowdsurf or even move. their only movement was to push side to side which is incredibly dangerous and pointless. all it does is push people over and piss people off. if you push back and forth, than no one really falls down and then small ones(like me) can sift through the crowd. stepping over people who you just pushed down is incredibly rude. i hope you get what i'm saying, it's hard to explain.
then muse. lawdy. we waiting a fucking hour and a half for them to set up. they couldn't of been late, either, because they didn't apologize or anything, in fact, we were provided nothing. after waiting almost 2 fucking hours for these guys to go on, their performance was okay. out of 4 cds, they only really played songs off of two. they played absolutely no songs off showbiz, which is my favorite, and only one from origin of symmetry. their set lasted a mere hour. HOUR. you don't make a crowd wait for almost 2 hours and then only play for one. that's just plain rude. and there was absolutely no crowd/artist interaction. the only words, other than songs, they muttered, were "this is our new song" and maybe a few other song introductions. jesus. i mean, fucking offspring will spray their crowd with a giant hose, boysetsfire will jump into the crowd and crowdsurf, same for gym class heroes. less than jake has their crowd by them drinks, dropkick murphys invite kids on stage to dance with them. need i say more? it was definately lacking. Muse turned the day that could've been the best day in my entire life into merely a pretty awesome day. still good, but not quite up to their potential. did i mention their shirts were fucking $40? the tickets were 30. if i didn't buy a thsirt at every concert i go to, i would've spit on them.and now it's too small because it was of an incredibly cheap, thin material and it's now see-through even though i've worn it maybe 10 times. they sang well, though. but that's about it.
It's the thought that counts. seriously. wait. this is way more memorable than breaking benjamin.
3. Reel Big fish/mxpx 2005. I just remember this show because it was sold out. it was incredibly crowded when we got there. pure madness. however, as soon as reel big fish was over, the entire crowd evaporated in thin air. i went from barely being able to breathe 1/2 up to strolling to the very front. it means i got nice pics/video of mxpx but the fact that they left was so disconcerting. i got really pissed at their rudeness. if you paid 20 bucks to come, stay and extra hour or 2. it won't kill you, it wasn't a late show. i just remember it so much because it pissed me off.
more?
4. Finch 2005 - at the 9:30 club (x3) it was the last show i saw of them because they broke up. i remember running late and being pissed at jimmy for not showing up because he was sleeping. i also ate 1/2 of his taco that i had gotten him to spite him. however, once there, the concert was amazing. best overall concert ever. crowd participation, hard core but no too violent, finch's energy was just astounding. and i remember beign stuck behind two guys who were about 6'7'" (no lie)who were right next to each other. maybe brothers? members of the 'why are you so fuckin tall' club? hmm?
5. Trustcompany-2002? my friend vicky had won tickets to see them from the radio. she wasn't really into them but i was the only person she knew who was so she invited me. it was the 2nd real concert i had gone to and i was excited. first time at the 9:30 club, too. there had been a recent snowstorm; we had to trudge through snowbanks to get there. that also meant that attendance was wicked low. but i remember. they were really good, too. i have a tshirt.
6. rbf(second) killkillkill-2006. i just remember this one because reel big fish always sells out their concerts. and i never go for them, either catch 22 or streetlight open for them so i go. streetlight opened the first time, catch 22 this time i'm speaking of now, and streetlight again the 3rd time. anyways, i remember this one because i go so incredibly frustrated with the crowd. it was unneccesarily crowded and i couldn't even move and when i tried to get my equilibrium to hold people back, it was interupted. time and again. i go so furiously frustrated that i started actually swinging at people.(i barely remember any of this, which means i was aaaaaaaangry) jimmy saw this, picked me up, and carried me out into the back of the crowd so i wouldn't hurt anyone(or myself). it was more fun in the back anyways. after i calmed down, i kept on wanting to skank. jimmy wouldn't come with me so i stood and watched. there was even a skank circle! a really nice one two. and on the edge, i saw someone with their hand out inviting me in. if i wasn't so loyal to my man, i would've grabbed their hand and skanked right it. it was quite an emotional night.
7. Green Day/Sugarcult/New Found Glory- oct31, 2005. fun times.
i'll finish this later. i'm going to an antiflag concert today(early show, 4:30) and i have stuff to do.
later!
First HFStival
First Warped
Catch 22(recher)
Whole Wheat Bread(black cat)
Living End(black cat)
Less Than Jake
hfstival 2005 (billy idol tilly coldplay pietasters sum41drama they might be giants bravery gc foo fighters]
So i've recently fallen in love with being alive again.
I mean, i've loved life for the past 2years, but sometimes i go through phases where i'm just in love with all the sensations around me and i sit back to take it all in.
However, that also means that i don't want to do things, like homework, or go to class, or sleep.
Is it my fault that the earth can be so beautiful?
I mean, riding my bike through the night air tonight was amazing, even if it was uphill. Cutting through the stagnant, warm, humid night air, creating my own wind and feeling both temperatures mix while i stare at the stars(which is a little dangerous, i must admit) is just astounding.
Or rolling around in the grass underneath blooming cherry trees 50yds from the national monument with the man who's stolen my heart.
Walking around the umd campus in breezy 70-degree weather listening to my favorite music.
Sharing a bowl of delicious bread pudding with jimmy in my favorite restaurant with an adorable baby (which considering how babies are usually ugly, is remarkable) giggling at me from across the room with no time constraints.
Staying up until 4 arguing about things we agree about until we curl up and pass out.
Hanging out my 7-story window to better capture the beauty an ice storm has created on the campus
Growling back and forth with a cheetah in DC.
standing and watching the kites sail around the monument.
even just the beauty of what we do in orgo lab (set up of experiements, colors of reagents)
It's mostly DC. I am absolutely in love with that city. I secretly call it my hometown, even though i'm techinically from MA.
The combination of architecture and nature is just crazy. Yes, there are run down parts, but they're beautiful in their own way. I love downtown, though, because it's not set up like a typical city. there are no skyscrapers. there are tall buildings, but they don't look so corporate and daunting. or maybe it's because it's not monotonous. i can't pinpoint it.
probably the whole corporate thing. DC was built to serve the country, not the capitalists, and you can see it. i love it.
and i've been getting into music again.
I keep on falling deeper and deeper in love with Suburban Legends, but
digging into ska, i've discovered more bands to like.
Like the Dance Hall Crashers. a little nasaly, but good entertainment.
Five Iron Frenzy is the shit. seriously. i love me som FIF.
Also, i love anti-flag. their music is good, but i love what they stand for. it's about time we have pacifist punks. and their from pittsburgh, how could i not love them?
and this Gym Class Heroes song has been played on my computer more than needed:
but I can't wait to see MUSE! gah!
(i've forgotten what it's like not to be in love. and i'm glad, because i'm pretty sure it was really lonely.)
When is the last time you stayed up all night?
I, in my 18.5 years of living, have only stayed up all night 3 times. Surprising, but lord, do i love my sleep.
Last time was grad night. time before that was prom night. time before that was a UUMAC. I think 2003. It was beautiful.
I've stayed up until 4:30 a few months ago, but I had a serious paper to write. be jealous, I guess.
What's the infamous story people tell about you?
Submitted by Cherney.
I never find the drunk stories funny because you can only attribute your actions to alcohol. That's not crazy super awesome.
(as you guess, i don't get drunk)
Anything mentioning how i dance would probably be quite the memory. especially if it involves david.
um, my mother always tells me how i was an eco nazi when i was 3 and would shame people into picking up their trash by telling them they're killing my planet and ruining my future. i was hardcore.
I don't think any of my friends will forget how i completely stole the ERHS 2006 Science fair (although techinically maia won grand, but i got runner-up and another award that no one else got) which is an incredible acheivement considering it was of over 300 entries and half these kids had internships(not me =( ) but when we went to regionals, I recieved nothing, to everyone's surprise. It was just memorable to everyone because the pg area science fair was conmpletely rigged. i have never seen such an unfair contest. everyone was unhappy and my project was the best example of how we weren't judged on our projects at all.
it's sad, there are many strange things that i've done with all my friends, but they have the respect not to tell everyone.
I always tell people about how Jimmy and I started dating. You should see how he giggles when i mention breaking benjamin.
Vicky will never let me live down when i tried to treat her for her 17th birthday but ended up making her eat chicken on friday(during lent) and having her slice her arm on an 8-foot fence i could jump and she couldn't. she still has the scar/
oops.
I'm sure Laura won't let me forget when i made out with her step-brother.
Lauren and I will never forget when we chased by a moose at the grand canyon or how i scared some french people off when i brought out my ghetto in las vegas. UN. DEUX. TROIS!(separate story)
my grandparents won't let me forget when we went to a restaurant when i was 14 with a lowcut shirt (i'm sorry, but i was still an a, i could pull it off) and our server kept oggling me and then i wanted to keep my steak bone for my dog india, who was at home, 500 miles away. i was so naive.
is that disorganized enough?
instead of homework, i'm packing.
i'm not moving out for two months.
i'm crazy.
What's one family recipe that you wish you knew how to cook?
My great-aunt Helga's eggnog recipie. Only she and her daughter know it and it's going to stay that way.
It makes me sad because it's the best thing i've ever tasted. well, best eggnog. most potent stuff my parents ever let me drink before i was 16.
that sounds bad.
i mean it's some stuff.
some yummy stuff.
and i like making drinks so it makes me sad.

you sir, have not lived. read more
on muse v. my horrible romance