Sass Talk

summer fun time!

2007-05-09T14:34:00.000-06:00

Well things are finally warming up around here...thank goodness! The warm weather along with the Summer plans I've made this week have put me in a delightful mood. In June I will be returning home, sooner than I had thought, for a belated birthday visit to my mom. Then in July the husband and I will be celebrating our anniversary by seeing 2 shows in 2-weeks. First is the Death Dance Tour with Buck 65, Sage Francis, Buddy Wakefield and Alias. This will be followd up by Sonic Youth performing Day Dream Nation, front to back along with GZA doing Liquid Swords...crazy!
Both shows are in Chicago, which is a bit of a hike, but well worth the drive. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to see Sonic Youth as well as Buck 65. I am over the moon about this!

Ugly, ugly, ugly

2007-04-26T14:11:00.000-06:00

So the other day we wandered into UO for giggles... the place is just out of hand, if people knew the real deal with the company, I don't think they'd be so into shopping there, but I guess in reality it wouldn't even matter to most.

Anywho, I'm just not a big fan of the place, but it's always interesting to see how things filter down to this level and the shopping options here in Madison are pretty limited. Upon entering there were several crates filled with t-shirts and keffiyeh scarves, in this rainbow of colors, a little wrong and telling of how dated this look is becoming. Once inside I was off to the shoe area, happened upon jellies! What is this 1984? I didn't like them the first or second time around and I do believe UO had these during the second revival, what are these left overs? Seriously if I see somebody wearing these, I don't know that I'll be able to resist breaking down and laughing...plastic shoes are just so wrong.

Speaking of wrong, what wolf pack came and did this to the girl's department? Better question, why had nobody bothered to pick it up? I especially like the coffee cup that's probably been sitting there all day.

It's really hard to shop or look at anything when there's so much crap thrown about in what is already an overcrowded store. This is just my opinion, I dig boutiques and shopping on a more intimate level than this I suppose.

Overall I found UO to be a claustrophobic mess. And am seriously questioning their buying direction, they're currently a little too all over the place. You just can't be all things to all people in retail.

It's been a while

2007-04-17T11:45:00.000-06:00

Things have been a little havoc ridden as of late...all made more intense by crappy weather. The sun is now shining and things don't seem quite as bad. I'm alive, as are my friends and family; one does not need much more than that.

Last week I started a post and it was all full of anger and hate, I thought better of posting it and am glad I did. What had me so upset then, just sort of makes me laugh now. I'm a firm believer in what comes around, goes around and what you put out will come back to you. Needless to say the source of my frustration is putting out the bad and in the end that will all come back on them, me putting out hate would've only brought that back upon me and is something I don't want in my world. That and what I was upset about seems so silly in the grand scheme of things, people have bigger issues and I've dealt with worse.

It's funny, I keep looking outside and it makes me smile. Growing up in a sunny place makes you take things for gannet I think. Once that sun is not around, you have a real appreciation for it when it comes back. It just makes all seem right with the world, even if it's not. That and some good old-fashioned punk rock.

The past few days I have been listening to "Punk" (that's the name of the channel) on my Sirius radio. It's funny how a genre of music can bring back so many memories. I guess it's more about the people I hung out with when I was into the music...not to say I'm not into it, in fact I still really dig it. Heck when we got home last night, the husband put on some Minor Threat, on vinyl I might add, and we just sat and giggled, well he sang along and I giggled. I must say there is something really nice about being married to somebody who has a love of music, although we don't always see eye to eye on what we like, we can both always appreciate it.

this will be the best week ever!

2007-02-14T14:08:00.000-06:00

the first week of march is going to be great! on the 6th mickey avalon, dirt nasty and andre legacy= dyslexic speedreaders will be at the metro in chicago. then on the 7th the reverend horton heat will be at the high noon, here in madison. the poor husband is going to be tortured by my musical schizophrenia, but too bad, i am finally looking forward to doing something in the midwest. yay music!

fashionable male?

2007-02-07T13:40:00.000-06:00

ah wisconsin fashion at it's finest. see i'm half joking here, i actually kind of like this guys outfit. heck kids in nyc and la would probably love the hat and jacket if they could get their hands on them. the best part is you know he most likely put no thought into what he put on that day, jacket, check, warm hat, check. this was a man choosing function, not fashion, but that's what makes it so brilliant. i only wish i could've gotten a picture from the front, so you could get the full effect. the guy was hauling butt down the street and well it's too friggin' cold to be chasing people down.

brrrrrrrrr!

2007-02-07T13:28:00.000-06:00

the past few days have been out of hand COLD! i keep hearing that it gets this way every year, but my body is in shock. this just doesn't seem right for it to get so chilly. the sun has been out and one would generally think it would be warm when you walk out the door, but no such luck. the worse part is the phone calls from my mom telling me it's been in the 70's and my dad in nor cal telling me it's been in the 60's almost all winter. he lives in the sierra nevada mountains and they usually get feet of snow. i guess my ca native self has yet to adjust to the thought of my future winters. next year at this time i say the husband and i head to hawaii or something. shouldn't we all?

goodness

2007-02-02T16:53:00.000-06:00

growing up in southern california kroq was a staple as far as radio goes and loveline was a show that i listened to often. they typically had really good guests and there is something oddly funny yet comforting about hearing people talk about their problems. the show is now nationally syndicated, but does not air in madison. anywho, last night their guest was mickey avalon, which quite possibly could've been one of their best as he has been through everything, literally. it was ecspecially nice to hear because he hails from l.a. and is a quintessential hollywood kid. click on goodnes up top should you want to take a listen.

thieves!

2007-02-01T17:03:00.000-06:00

today i saw one of the most blantent acts of art theft.
( images and info found here )

the first image is the original, done by mike giant and the other, produced as a t-shirt for profit was done by this guy. he has already pulled the shirt from his site, but this does not excuse what he has done. look not everybody was meant to be an artist, it's o.k. to be a "normal" guy, go punch numbers, drive a bus, whatever, but don't pretend to have talent you don't. to take something that somebody else has done and pass it off as your own, is just ugly. the guy didn't even try and change it! the amusing part to me is that when the husband was attempting to show me how to use illustrator, i used this image to practice on. that being said i was just messing around and having illustrator by no means makes me a graphic designer. stop fronting people!

coffee and originality

2007-01-27T15:30:00.000-06:00

on our way to where we go, coffee is sometimes a must to make it through the day. the healthiest addiction i've ever had!
while waiting we saw the creative idea of a star wars parody, are we serious? how many times must this be done? anybody ever heard of spaceballs? not to mention the countless other parodies that have been done on the subjuect. really there must be other things of interest that people in madison have created and put on the web. in fact there are a group of film makers, brick house. at least there is some originality to what they are doing.

beyond home sick

2007-01-25T16:25:00.000-06:00

so it has been almost seven months since last i saw home, or what was home, well i guess it always will be home. i can't begin to say how much i am missing it right about now. i long to see the ocean, put my toes in the sand and of course see family and friends. i have met a few cool people here, but am still on the fence with this place and the people in general. there is this high school element amongst people, clicks and what not, which i find strange coming from people no longer in high school. i miss going out and seeing familiar faces, dancing until all hours. heck i miss being able to go out to eat after said dancing. i miss the city, shops and the grit of the streets. i never thought i'd miss the things i'm missing, but i do, there are no words. i do so want to like this place, i'm just finding it hard lately. i know that once i go home, i'll remember how much i hate the traffic, smog, how expensive everything is, the general arrogance of people and my personal favorite newbies claiming to be locals and knowing more about the town you grew up in, but right now i long for it all, good and bad.

nothing to do, but...

2007-01-23T15:54:00.000-06:00

sunday morning i awoke to a lot of snow, as did anybody that lives here. i wasn't really happy about it because it's a big ol pain in the butt to get around in and there's not much to do unless you ice fish, sled or cross country ski, none of which i do. i suppose if i was super desperate i could go snowboarding, but the amount of time i'd sit on the lift versus the minute it would take me to get down really doesn't appeal to me. sorry but i'm used to big mountain riding and i hate parks and half-pipes. it sucks because i have bindings that are still in the box! oh well.

so to pass the time away, we rented some movies. two to be exact and we have only watched one, the matador, it was decent, a few funny moments. the other is the black dahlia, which i have heard good and bad about, but i am really into the story it's based on. i love all that old hollywood babylon stuff, murder and intrigue. i just haven't been in the right mood to watch it, maybe tonight.

what the heck?

2007-01-20T13:41:00.000-06:00

last night i was getting my haircut and we were discussing madison fashion, or lack there of and jarred letto in crocks came up. let me first start by saying crocks have to be the ugliest footwear ever created! unless you are gardening you should never, ever wear them, ugly, ugly, ugly! so i know that the whole jarred letto wearing crocks is old news, and he had apparently hurt is foot, but there is just no excuse. this boy was once so beautiful to the point of ridiculous, (i have interacted with him up close, pre rock star stage and he was prettier than most girls), but has fallen apart as of late and the footwear choice just makes it more apparent.
so people please, save us all from having to see you wear these atrocious shoes for yet another summer. oh and to all the parents that have put these on your children, who have no say in the matter, you’re just cruel.

annoyance

2007-01-18T13:37:00.000-06:00

for those that don't know, here in madison there are two major free publications, which are somewhat like the l.a. weekly, back home, the isthmus and the onion. the onion is pretty much satirical in nature, with headlines like, "rumsfeld leaves most recent job off resume." whereas the isthmus is much more your standard weekly news publication.
so anyway i read both, being new to the area, i like to find out what people are about, going-ons and such.

the isthmus has column, "shopping, my favorite things" written by ann levihn. now i have absolutely no idea who ann is, her age, what else she may do for a living, but from the majority of the places that she favors and the items she picks, i'd say she is in her late 40's. how she assumed the position of writing about shopping is beyond me, because she has to be the laziest shopper around, i mean from the looks of it she lives on the westside and never goes past the square. if a store is not located on monroe or state streets, more than likely she won't write about it. i could be wrong, but considering for the past 8 months, those are the only areas she's paid mind to, i don't think that i am. maybe it's just that going into a store that she doesn't quite understand or doesn't think she would like makes her uncomfortable.

can you please point out the obvious, jack’s shoes for converse, wow really? it's sort of annoying. not to mention what i read in this weeks column, thanks for explaining what atelier means, oh and shrugs are of the moment? are you kidding me, what is this 1994?! wait i forgot to mention, said shrug sells for $189, yeah right, if i was smoking crack i'd buy a shrug for $189.

this most likely won't be the last time i mention said column, since each one i tend to find a whole new aggravating thing said or explained to me. not everyone that reads your words grew up in a small town or never traveled anywhere else. dumbing it down for the masses....

muse

2007-01-18T13:31:00.000-06:00