My New Apartment Part 2

Here are the rest...

My favorite part of any room...My desk and my computer....


The closet...which is inside of the bathroom...


Annnd, the bathroom.


Well, that was terribly exciting. Now I'm off to watch 30 Rock. An exciting life I lead. I'll try and take some pictures around the (very cool) Warner Brothers office and at Jimmy Kimmel, etc.

My New Apartment

Okay, so I'm a little late with the blogging thing, but some friends/family have been asking about my experiences in Los Angeles, so I figured I would just update this from time to time with new information.

Below are pictures from my apartment. It is small. It is outdated and rent is about 5x more expensive than it would be in KC. Yay! But, it is also very clean, very safe and very close to my internship. Without further ado...

The shower. Unfortunately, there's no light, so you have to shower with the curtain open...It makes kind of a mess...


A fully stocked cabinet. Thanks Dad!

My dining room table. Interesting tidbit: The door has to be closed in order for two people to sit down.


This is my "sitting area"


Ok, so I'm not necessarily the cleanest person...


Apparently I can't upload any more pictures. More to come!

Music Review: Lady Gaga "The Fame

In a lot of ways, Lady Gaga is Justin Timberlake’s new, female counterpart. Like Timberlake’s 2006 release “Futuresex/Lovesounds,” her album The Fame is a futuristic voyage of spaceship rock, full of electro-pop hooks and dance floor come-ons.

By now, most are familiar with her fabulous first singe “Let’s Dance,” an instantly catchy track that’s nearly impossible not to dance to. There are many more like it on this almost entirely upbeat album (The only slow track is the electric guitar and piano driven “Brown Eyes.), including the easy to sing along to “Boys Boys Boys,” Mariah Carey-esque “Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say), and “Starstruck,” which features an obligatory rap for an album like this from Flo Rida.

While the album is great for a fabulous night out, it does leave the listener with the sense of an void, similar to one someone might feel after a rough night out. On the surface is glamour and intrigue, but there is nothing but an empty hole as listeners delve a little deeper. The music, just like one of the song titles, is all about feeling “Beautiful, Dirty and Rich.” The Fame is the Paris Hilton of albums; it might be a good time for awhile, but ultimately people will move onto something else.

Can P!nk Be a Rock Star, Please?

I love Ann Powers. She's the main music reviewer at the Los Angeles Times and every time I read one of her articles, whether it's a review of the Kanye tour, a preview of Kelly Clarkson's last CD or something in between, I always feel that she's able to say exactly what I want to, but in a much better way. Therefore, I'm posting a recent article she wrote about P!nk's 'rock star status" to go along with my review, which can be found in the blog below...

Pop music is a crazy, mixed-up confetti pile, best when it's brimming over with colors and textures and shiny bits. That's why pop artists so vehemently fight being categorized; not only does it hurt their egos by shoving their precious self-expression into a box, it's bad for business. The truly super pop star leaps across radio formats and sales charts in a single bound; Lil' Wayne benefits greatly from being the only rapper on a Joe Nickelback fan's iPod, and John Mayer makes bank as a fantasy date for ladies who love Mary J. Blige.

That said, categories do matter. People build their wardrobes, calendars and chosen families around them. Loving a kind of music becomes living a kind of life. The messages that artists send out about matters that go beyond rhythm and noise -- like what it means to be a man, for example, or how a woman should behave -- influence fans' thinking beyond the reach of their headphones.

The rest can be found here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2008/10/can-pink-be-a-r.html

Music Review: P!nk "Funhouse"

Below is a review I did for my college newspaper. It is not one of my more well-written reviews, but I really enjoyed the CD, so I wanted to post it. There's just a lot to talk about with this album, from her desire to focus on slower songs to how her divorce affected the lyrical content, etc. One thing is for sure; it's not nearly as upbeat as her previous releases, though I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Anyway, the review is below...

After listening to the infectiously catchy first single, “So What,” off of P!nk’s fifth album Funhouse, one would expect her new CD to be a mix of party anthems and post-divorce tunes. (She split from husband Carey Hart earlier this year). While there are plenty of tracks about the divorce, P!nk’s playful side, so prominent on past releases, is sorely missing on this album. Funhouse is deeply introspective and often focuses on personal issues instead of the outside world and her partying lifestyle.

One of the best tracks on the album, “Sober” features minimalist instrumentation, something that is a theme for much of the album, but it is a great showcase for P!nk’s fabulously gritty voice and sometimes uncomfortably personal lyrics, dissecting why she sometimes feels better sober now.

Other standouts are “I Don’t Believe You” and “Glitter in the Air.” Heartbreaking tunes clearly about her divorce and her sadness in its aftermath, the song’s melodies are the best on the album; easy to sing along to, highly memorable, and they do a great job of showing of the versatile layers of her voice.

While most of the tracks on the album are well-written and interesting melodically, something seems lacking by the end of the disc. P!nk just couldn’t live up to the party girl image she’s cultivated for herself on previous records; it’s clear that the party is over for her. While writing music based on life experiences are always a good idea, so is offering catchy, upbeat music to the Top 40 audience she’s cultivated for herself.

Music Review: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

There have been a lot of comparisons between last winter’s surprise smash hit Juno and the recently released Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and rightfully so. Both star Michael Cera, both feature hipster kids falling in love, and both have killer soundtracks made up of great bands most mainstream music fans have likely never heard of.

While Juno’s music was centered on The Moldy Peaches, which made them popular, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist soundtrack is much more diverse and gives exposure to a plethora of up-and-coming bands. The movie focuses on a night of seeing bands in New York City, and the album is full of indie rock and electro acts that would likely be a part of just such a night.

Standout tracks include the very catchy Bishop Allen and Richard Hawley tunes “Middle Management” and “Silvery Sleds,” “Negative,” a song by Project Jenny, Project Jan that features amusing and slightly inappropriate lyrics, and the lazy, happy, electro melody of “Nick & Norah’s Theme” by Mark Mothersbaugh. Indie rock fans should also be excited about tracks from Vampire Weekend, We Are Scientists, Band of Horses and Shout Out Louds, all favorites among the hipster elite.

The only unfortunate track is by The Jerk Offs, Cera’s character’s band in the film. The track is clearly weaker than the rest and sticks out like a sore thumb.

It’s nice when a good movie is paired with a good soundtrack, and Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is up there with the soundtracks of Garden State, Dan in Real Life and, of course, Juno.

New Blog: Cake Wrecks

I am a huge fan of food. All kinds of food. I love spaghetti, asparagus omelets and cheese enchiladas, just to name a few of my favorites. I also love cakes; Funfetti being a particularly successful option. As such, one of my favorite shows on television is Ace of Cakes, a show about some insanely creative cake designers. The Ace of Cakes blog http://www.charmcitycakes.com/, which is a great read in and of itself, lead me to my new favorite blog of all time!!! CAKE WRECKS! http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com

The blog shows some truly horrible designs. My favorite of which are the ones that show the picture from the cake book and then the final product. I had a bad experience recently when I found myself in this very same situation. My Aunt and I were in charge of the cake for my great-grandpa's birthday. We picked out, what we thought was, a very respectable cake with a good color palette and some pretty abstract designs. What we got was an abomination...I'm sad I don't have pictures, but I do have some pictures from Cake Wrecks that I thought I'd share.

From the book:


And the result:


Once again...From the book:


Annnnd...The result:


The site also posts some cool cakes. Here are a few of my favorites...