if there ever was a day that you should get away...

HEY.

so, i'm listening to Owl City right now. why? this is why:

i have recently started following Chelsea Staub on Twitter. don't judge me for this. she is the actress who plays Stella on JONAS. she's awesome and really funny. (joe+stella!)

anyways.

so, i was on her page looking at who else she follows, and one of them was Owl City. i thought to myself, "oh! that's the band that's opening for Crash Kings and JET when they go on tour together next month!"

i clicked on 'owl city's' twitter and saw that he had over two hundred thousand followers. and then i thought, "hm. that's kind of weird that he's the opener of three bands if he has over 200 thousand followers."

so, i went to his website and immediately a song started playing. and i was like, "wow, he sounds like the guy that sings that song....i'd like to blahblahblahsomethingsomethingsomething when planet earth turns slooowwwlllyyyyy it's hard to stay awake blahblahsomethingsomething"

(clearly i'm awesome at figuring out lyrics)

ALSO - he has the best website ever. it's so cute and sweet and happy seeming. i just sat there staring with a huge smile on my face. it makes me so happy.

anyways. so, i was like, "oh, i'll check out his tour section!" and so i did. and saw that he was going to be in europe mostly throughout march. and then i said, "hmm....that's not right, because he's playing with JET and Crash Kings in NY on 6 March!"

so then i went to the website of the music venue in Clifton Park, NY - Northern Lights - and went to their calendar.

alas, it's not Owl City playing with JET and Crash Kings. it's a band called Owl. just Owl. not a city of Owl's, just one, singular Owl.

THIS BAND OWL is a little scary seeming. they have an owl with yellow eyes flying around their website. it's three guys - Jason, Chris, and Dan. Dan scares me a lot. he is the drummer. and that's saying a lot, because normally i fall in love with drummers.

anyways, it's these three guys and so i said, "oh! i wonder which of them are the brothers!?" as it turns out, none of them are brothers. so, that's too bad.

it's drums, guitar, and an upright bass in this band. really? yeah. the bass threw me off too.

i haven't listened to any of their music yet, mainly because i'm scared of their website. but, perhaps i will. but maybe not.

so then! i thought, "well, maybe i'll start to learn about JET." because all i know are those two songs:

1. 123 take my hand and come with me because you look so fine that i really wanna make you mine! 456 come on and get your kicks 'cause you don't need that money when you look like that, do ya honey?

are those the lyrics? i don't know. i kind of made some of that up.

and,

2. ohhhhh look what you've done you've made a fool of ...........

and then i don't know the rest. even enough to sing 'blah' to. i can't even think of the tune. anyways.

so, i saw the picture of the band and there are four guys. so i immediately thought, "i wonder which two are the brothers?!"

TURNS OUT - there IS a set of brothers in the band JET!!!!! Nic and Chris are the bros. Cam and Mark are the other guys. they are from Australia! who knew?!


JONAS BROTHERS
HANSON
KINGS OF LEON
CRASH KINGS
JET
with special guests
ROBERT and JASON SCHWARTZMAN


yep. the bro tour. i need to organize this immediately.

either that, or organize the "CRASH KINGS OF LEON" tour. yep. see what i did there? i made a mash-up of those two band names. brillz, right? Phantom Planet would be proud. at the end of their concert DVD there's an end bit where they are sitting around in the tour bus doing really long mash-ups of different bands. it's hilarious.

'slick rick james brown'

brillz. anyways.

okay. here's the verdict - all the Owl City songs kind of sound the same. and they're all like, jam packed with imagery and metaphor.

the song 'Vanilla Twilight' reminds me of ........aw crap, what's that song called? by The Postal Service? AAHHHH what's it called?!?! it's in Garden State, but not the Postal Service version. a slow version.

ok, i have to look it up. SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS. phew. i cheated, i had to go to my iTunes. but, it was driving me nuts.

and Iron and Wine does the slow version, fyi.

ok what else can i tell you.

i had an adventure day today. well, kind of. but not really.

- i woke up and was content for about ten minutes.
- then, one of the residents CRANKED her hardcore hip hop music and it was so loud, my floor was vibrating.
- then, the two girls started screaming at each other. yes, i could hear all this on my third floor apartment.
- they are screaming. they are swearing. doors are slamming.

JULIE: I need to get out of here immediately.

so, i got ready real quick and LEFT. i felt bad that i was leaving Ruby Tuesday. but, i put her on a chair with a patch of sunlight on it so she would be nice and warm. she doesn't like being in the car anyways.

then i drove to the "sandwich shop" Jake's and got a sandwich.
then i drove down the street to the "coffee shop" Jake's and got a coffee. (the 'Jake's' empire is taking over the Upper Valley. there's also a car wash.)

then i drove to a spot that i had been with my dad while he was staying with me. it's a little picnic area that overlooks the Connecticut River, as well as some sort of power plant that looks like the one from the end of The Waterhorse: Legend of the Deep movie.

there were lots of other cars parked there.

there was an empty picnic table sitting on the icy parking lot and so i said, "well, i'll go sit there." kind of because i knew it would be cold. and i was feeling frustrated and sad and i wanted to feel something other than that. so, i decided i wanted to feel cold.

and i went outside and it was cold. and i put in my ipod headphones and had a lovely, freezing cold, solo picnic.

(listening to Owl City makes me want to do the robot.)

and then i finished my sandwich and couldn't feel my hands anymore. so, i went back to my car. i put my car on the "drive-in movie setting" and was still able to play my ipod through the radio, without running down the battery. brillz.

then i called my mom and we talked for a long time. afterwards, i did not feel any better.

so, i decided that i needed another adventure.

i left the icy lot and drove into Hanover, NH. took a left at the main intersection. drove over the Star Wars bridge. into Norwich, VT. down route 5 south. past King Arthur Flour.

(side note:: if i ever start a flour company, it will be called 'Flowery Flour.' how come no one has ever thought of this?!)

and then i came to the point where i could have turned left and went back home. or, i could go straight and continue to route 4 west, which would lead me to the Quechee Gorge. and i decided that i wanted to see the gorge.

so! i took route 4 west for 7 miles and ended up at the gorge. i parked in the little parking lot and walked across the bridge.

whoa! it never ceases to amaze me! it was gorge-ous. there were two couples walking along the bridge with me. i wondered why they were there. for a day adventure too?

i stayed there for a few minutes. (if you're heading west, the left side of the bridge is better.)

and then i left the gorge.

drove east on route 4. south on 89. then i got off at exit 20, went to the grocery store and got a few groceries, including vanilla soy milk and 100% whole wheat multigrain bread. and coffee.

and then i headed home. there was nobody else in the house when i got back, which was nice because it was quiet for a few minutes.

then i took a really long bath. and i listened to good music.

then i put on my pajamas and went to work.

immediately got into an argument with one of the residents.

i was thinking tonight while i was in the bath, "i need to make a birthday playlist!" i have made one for the past two years. the birthday playlist includes my current favorite songs. it's a good way to keep track of my ever-changing music preferences.

OH HEY - did JET perform at the Winter Olympics? like, last week? because i went to their website and it said, "watch JET perform at the Winter Olympics!" and i thought, "hm."

and since i think i am the only person on the planet who hasn't watched any olympics and hasn't followed any coverage whatsoever.... i figured you might know.

BUT IT'S FUNNY - because Crash Kings should have performed! um, they write the best songs about winter, duh! and the outdoors. i read some Crash Kings fan posts saying that people thought 'Mountain Man' should be the theme song for the USA Ski Team.

HEY! in honor of the 2010 Winter Olympics, i will post some lovely photos that i believe you will enjoy:




it's Kara and I at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. you can read that on the sign. when Kara, my dad and I went on our super huge, super adventurous, super awesome Canadian Adventure a few summers ago, we went to the Olympic Park in Calgary.





for this picture, i was SITTING ON the bobsled track. no way! yes way! and we've all seen the movie Cool Runnings. which is about the bobsled team from Jamaica at the Calgary Olympics. yeah. that's the track. cool, right?




AND THIS PICTURE was taken in Vancouver, at the construction site for the 2010 Olympics! that's happening right now! i don't know which building they were building - but here they are building it! and they are using it right now! that's pretty cool.

yeah. that was an awesome trip.

ANYWAYS. it's 12:37am and i have to eat supper now. and go watch more of The O.C.

YEAH. THE O.C. i started watching it. i'm five episodes in. um, it's great. it's turning out to be way more bromantic than i expected. Seth and Ryan? yeah. total dude-bros. they're really cute. Seth overall is amazing. he's really funny.

i wish Rachel Bilson wasn't so annoying because she's so cute. and i wish Mischa Barton was a better actress.

but! in the very second episode, she's in the car with Seth and Ryan and Rooney is playing on the radio! and she says something like, "oh, i love this band!" or something like that! and that made me really happy and excited BECAUSE she dated Taylor Locke for a long time! the guitarist for Rooney!! who i was making eyes at during the Rooney concert in december! and then he held my hand for a minute during the meet-and-greet. yeah. it was more romantic than it sounds, trust me.

so that made me happy.

and i kind of semi-forgot that Phantom Planet did the theme song. so, that's really exciting. ESPECIALLY in that second episode because Phantom Planet and Rooney are brother bands. each one separately started by a Schwartzman brother. (appearing on the Bro Tour 2011!)

(i figure we'll start scheduling for 2011 because i'm kind of assuming Crash Kings are booked for the rest of the year.)

anyways. i like The O.C. so far. i mean, i'm five episodes in and:

- a house has burned down
- someone has been shot
- cocaine has been done

so, yeah.

OH! i wanted to post a link to THE CHAIR I AM GETTING THIS WEEK!!!!!

yeah, i'm getting a new chair. it's going to be a desk chair for the front room of my apartment with the desk in it. i'm very excited about it. kara is coming to get it with me and we're turning it into a Sister Adventure.

perhaps we'll photo-tweet the day. that sounds fun.

anyways, okay. i think that's all. writing this has put me in a good mood. i think it's a pretty good blog post. lots of links to different things. i like it. and some photos! hopefully some humor. some inspiration. some useless information. the norm.

alright. have a wonderful monday. just imagine the kind of possibility this week holds for us!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY WEEK!!!!!!!!!

okay, now i'm really excited. MY BIRTHDAY!!!! the best day out of the whole year!

i love going out places on your birthday, because to everyone else, it's just a normal day. but it's not! because it's YOUR birthday! anything but normal! it's like an immortal person walking amongst mortals. they probably look the same, but they're not, because they're immortal.

i might look the same as everyone else on 25 february, but i'm not! because it's my birthday!

i should really get some kind of shirt that reads, "it's my birthday today" or something. or, "today is my favorite day of the year. ask me why!" i like that one.

this year i'll be 24. 24 on the 25th.

NEXT YEAR - 25 on the 25th. yikes. that's a big one. where your age is also the number of your birth date.

i should have a huge blow-out party.

maybe the Bro Tour 2011 will start on 25 February. then i can go to the Bro Tour on my birthday. THAT would rock.

oh man. KEVIN. ZAC. TONY. ROBERT AND JASON.

and the opening band for the Bro Tour could be called the Non-Brother Band, and it could be composed of the non-brothers on the Bro Tour.

example:
Jason, from Crash Kings is not a brother of Mike and Tony
Cam and Mark, are not brothers of Chris and Nic in JET
Matthew, from Kings of Leon is not a brother of the other three

that's a four-man band. it could work. i only know that Jason plays drums. i don't know what the other guys do in their respective bands.

wow. i think i have a really good idea. this is gonna rock.

AND THEN - in the big finale of the Bro Tour, ALL the bands could come out and do a huge cover of 'Get Together' by The Youngbloods!!!! "smile on your brother, everybody get together, try and love one another right now!"

oh wow. this is great. so great. how clever am i? i am so clever. there will be so much love on the Bro Tour. just imagine all those moms! of all those bros! their moms will be so happy.

okay. enough. i'm excited now. so is Ruby Tuesday because she's running crazy around the house.

okay. have a great day. i'll talk to you all later.



if there ever was a day that you should get away
i feel it in my bones, i think today's the day



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