music madness: spring concerts

Completely diverging from last night's melancholy topic (thank you all who gave advice/support), let's talk about something more cheerful tonight...upcoming concerts!

Once again, the folks over at the Pabst Theater Group have outdone themselves by getting a crapload of ridiculously national acts.

Here's what I already have tickets for:

• March 6: The Avett Brothers with The Low Anthem
• March 19: The Big Pink & A Place to Bury Strangers (This is a $10 show that everyone should go to. I think this was the best album that nobody heard of last year.)
• April 3: Passion Pit
• April 11: Girls with Dum Dum Girls
• April 21: FLAMING LIPS (oohhhhhhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhhhhh)
• May 9: Frightened Rabbit
• May 22: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
  

Here's what I'll probably end up going to as well:

• March 3: The English Beat & Fishbone
• March 22: Temper Trap
• April 4: David Bazan
• May 3: Apples in Stereo
• May 24: Midlake
  

And there's so many other great acts coming that I had to rule out due to price points/ non GA seating / etc.

On the concert festival front, I can only make it to Pitchfork this year and that's just fine with me! Why? Because for my $98 three-day pass I will be seeing:

• Modest Mouse (for the first time since December 2000)
• LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
• PAVEMENT

I breathed such a sigh of relief and yelped for joy when I saw that last one. I'd feared they'd be at Lollapalooza, which takes place while I'm in Europe. Yes, I'll likely miss Arcade Fire and the Strokes, and even Lady Gaga, but with the exception of the latter, I've seen the other two several times, so I'm not too bummed out.

Of course, don't forget my #mkemusic challenge. Though I've hit my February slot by catching Conrad Plymouth last weekend at the MuzzleOfBees.com 5th Anniversary Show at Cactus Club, I am definitely not going to miss seeing a bunch of local acts at the RadioMilwaukee Music Awards Party this Thursday at Whiskey Bar (it's a block from my house, I can't miss out).

And speaking of local radio stations, don't forget to mark your calendars for WMSE's Rockabilly Chili Contest on March 7. It's one of my most favorite days of the year!

What musical goodness is coming up on your calendar?

becoming underinvolved?

As many of you know, or have surmised, I spent the bulk of my 20s getting really involved in the community. I also spent the bulk of my late-20s packing on the pounds while not taking much time for myself.

As I continue to try and lose my last 20 pounds, I also scramble to meet all of my volunteer commitments. It's a delicate balance and sometimes I feel like I'm letting people down.

Does anyone have some tips for becoming less involved? Or balancing self-time with community time?

in the kitchen: frozen veggies to the rescue

I've been meaning to make carrot ginger soup forever. I bought carrots a few weeks ago for the occasion. Well, I never got around to it until tonight. And the carrots were bad. D'oh. I decided to scrounge in my freezer for SOMETHING to make, when what did I find? CARROTS! Frozen in August. Perfect for making the soup with.

I can't praise learning food preservation enough--put it on your list for next summer. You never know when it may surprise and relieve you on a February night.

Oh, and the soup was delicious.

Have you been rescued by the freezer?

weekend preview

While I have to work tomorrow, the weekend started tonight somewhat.

Weather was super killer, so I got in a 3.29 mile run prior to beginning the night's festivities.

I attended the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's Classical Connections series, a nice behind-the-scenes look at Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." After the performance I rushed over to the Bradley Center to watch Marquette's heartbreaking loss to Pitt. I have little hope left for the Big Dance this year, but miracles can happen.

Tomorrow I plan to do lots of laundry after work, then hopefully swoop by MAM After Dark at the Milwaukee Art Museum. It'll be an early night though.

Saturday I'm planning on yoga at the WAC in the morning and then blocking off the ENTIRE AFTERNOON and early evening to clean. Wish me luck.

Saturday night you'll find me in Bay View celebrating a friend's birthday at the Palm Tavern and then heading to Cactus Club for the MuzzleOfBees.com 5th Anniversary Show. I need to blog about it in further detail, but I've started a challenge to attend one local music show a month. If you are doing so, please log your show attendance here.

I have meeting late Sunday afternoon, but hopefully I can use the day to rest up. Or, if it continues to be nice out, log some more miles!

another friend in the 30s pool :)

Just a quick post tonight, as I'm exhausted after a loooong day.

I wanted to give a birthday shoutout to my best friend, Kathleen. You may remember my post about her incredibleness last year. Well today she entered a new decade -- welcome to the thirties Kat!!! I hope it's as awesome for you as I've hyped it up to be.

Every word in my 2009 remains the same, although I think our friendship has continued to grow even stronger since. We are so in tune sometimes it's almost freaky. I am so grateful to have such an amazing friend in my life.

Happy birthday! MWAH!

lenting it up: resolutions

There's something a little bit more stomachable with Lenten resolutions vs. New Year's. A mere 40 days doesn't have the permanency that a year does. Easter is just right around the corner, and then you can indulge until next year. That's what Jesus taught us, right?

At any rate, here are three things I would like to focus on this Lent:

1) No chocolate for 40 days. Yes, it's going to be hard. But I feel like chocolate is keeping me in this mini-plateau that I've been battling for the past couple weeks. I'm losing weight still, but slooooowly. Not snacking in the candy bowl should help with that. And what better way to see me out than homemade eclairs from Brooke & Craig? Mmmm.

2) No credit card purchases, except for emergencies. Hopefully no emergencies arise. I just paid off one credit card with my tax return and am hoping to make dents in others this year. I am sticking within my budget, or bust!

3) Doing one nice thing a day. It's important to remember that Lent isn't just focusing on the negative. If you're Christian, it's about reflecting on what Christ did for us. My version of Christ is the ever-loving, tolerant one. So in that spirit, I'd like to do something nice for either friends or strangers every day during Lent. Whether it's sending a gift or leaving a Facebook comment or just a smile on the street, it never hurts to act kindly.

What are you doing for Lent this year?

girl on film: avatar, antichrist, almovodar

Although I have a lot of films to catch up on, I have managed to catch three flicks so far in 2010. I wouldn't see any of them again, but for very different reasons.

First up was Broken Embraces, the latest from acclaimed director Pedro Almovodar. This is one of those movies that would've been "good," if you did not know that the director could do way, way better. When someone has created incredible films like All About My Mother and Talk to Her, it's understandably hard to match that with every movie. I'd definitely recommend this one as a renter to folks, but if you've seen this director's better works, rewatch them instead of settling for this somewhat predictable and disappointing film.

The next one I caught I knew would disturb me before I went. In fact, I went to see Antichrist solely for the fact that most reviews said it would be the most f*cked up thing I ever watched. That was an understatement. Lars Von Trier beyond outdid the shock value with this one. And unlike a cheap horror film, which this easily could've turned into, the startlingly raw performances from Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe add an extra element of terror to the whole thing. I could not in good conscience recommend that anyone see this movie, unless you too want to experience replaying the most graphic images you'll ever see in your mind for about the next week straight. My yoga meditation was definitely tainted.

Finally, I gave into the hype and sucked it up to contribute .0000000000000000001% of the earnings of Avatar over the past weekend. I should've listened to my initial gut feelings to avoid this movie like the plague. While I agree the visuals were absolutely amazing, that is the ONLY redeeming quality of the film. The writing and acting in this one-dimensional crapfest makes Titanic look like Citizen Kane. James Cameron's cliched and predictable special effects wank-off is a total insult to those who love the complete magic of the movies. I don't know why anyone would buy this on DVD, because once you strip out the 3D and big screen stunningness you're left with nothing but a terrible movie. Needless to say I wouldn't recommend it. Mainly because I'm afraid that if you like it, I may lose some respect for you.

miss me?

I took a hiatus apparently, so for Lent I'm going to give up not blogging. It's just difficult to try and find the time to fit it in when I have so much else going on.

So now that I'm back, what do you want to hear about?