Chatting . . . with Alison Peterson

Slow summer, yes. But this needs to be shared:

Background: Our DVR has been messing up and just recording blackness.

Lindsey: The DVR messed up everything last night. I rebooted it and hopefully that will help.
Alison: Ok, I can take a look too. Crazy DVR.
Lindsey: It's probably mad we've been watching dvd and now it's rebelling.
Alison: It's only natural to feel threatened.
Lindsey: Plus, DVD slept with DVR and never called again. Betrayal.
Alison: hahaha. technological romance.

Lindsey: haha. dvd is sick of being on top. i foresee a torrid romance. one interrupted by router and/or speakers.
Alison: hahaha. DVR complains that DVD isn't innovative enough.
Lindsey: plus dvd is always sticking its tray out.
Alison: sometimes prematurely.
Lindsey: bahahahaha
Alison: dvr is sick of dvd's insecurities. dvd is threatened by blu-ray.
Lindsey: dvd remembers when vcr left him. he's insecure. there was a time they worked as a team. then it all fell apart.
Alison: It's a wound that will take awhile to heal. dvr has seen laptop hanging around. begging to be "plugged in." everyone's insecure.
Lindsey: hahahaha. laptop and tv have a new thing going. dvd is jealous of that too. it's new though, so they are still feeling each other out.
Alison: hahaha. lots of new emotions. new techniques. love is a battlefield.
Lindsey: haha. which cd player plays sadly in the background.
Alison: hahahaha. while itunes plays the sharper remix version.

...
Alison: the laptop has lit a newspaper on fire. a riot has broken out.
Lindsey: bahahahaha. books jump out the window.
Alison: hahaha. there's a skeleton of a radio.
Lindsey: haha. with a bottle of poison leaning against it.

Too amazing not to share...

Courtesy of Adrienne.

Part I

I Swear from adrienne a on Vimeo.

Part II

I Swear, Part II from adrienne a on Vimeo.

Good times fellas

Hilarity

This video has provided no small amount of amusement to me and some friends. I thought it best to share so everyone can enjoy. The accent really makes it from just funny to HI-larious. I just read that this a few years old, but I guess I'm late to the party.

Unwigged and Unplugged: Beacon Theater

An amazing thing happened yesterday. I was completely spontaneous and it all worked out perfectly. Having read that the lead players of Spinal Tap were going to be performing sans costumes and electric instruments, I thought I might like to go but funds for such things are low on my list as of late. However, when the show presented itself again, day of show, for some reason I flew into action. I went to Craigslist, found cheap seats, e-mailed and secured tickets in one hour's time. It couldn't have been easier. So to my joy, that is how I found myself sitting in the incredibly beautiful Beacon Theater for a night of comedy/rock. The trio did songs, all acoustic, from This is Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind and some choice cuts from Waiting for Guffman.

Highlights:
•An earlier promise of famous faces was doubly paid off when the trio was clearly gearing up to play the classic, "Gimme Some Money"—choice lyrics: "Don't get me wrong. Try getting me right. Your face is OK. But your purse is too tight." Instead of launching into the song themselves, they brought out a guest vocalist in the person of ELVIS COSTELLO. Elvis sang the entire song with gusto as the trio backed him up. The entire theater was shocked and elated.

•As a breather between songs, the trio read verbatim the original censorship notes made when NBC decided to air the film in its entirety for the first time. Sample notes: "The lyrics 'my baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo, I'd like to sink her with my pink torpedo' are unacceptable." "The entire song 'Sex Farm' is unacceptable."

•I feared Stonehenge wouldn't be as wonderful without the mini-Stonehenge and dancing midgets. However, I was proven wrong when on the screen behind the trio, an even smaller mini-Stonehenge was lowered down on a string while two disembodied hands (which I later found out belonged to Jamie Lee Curtis) made two Troll dolls dance around. It was the Spinal Tap equivalent of the dancing manatee. Brilliant!

•I wasn't expecting any songs from Waiting for Guffman since the other two gentlemen weren't involved in that movie, however, I was pleasantly surprised when Christopher Guest and a guest female vocalist sang a touching rendition of "A Penny for Your Thoughts," complete with toe touch at the end.

•I also wasn't expecting to hear my favorite song from A Mighty Wind, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow, since it's Eugene Levy's shining moment in the film. However, apparently Michael McKean and his wife wrote the song and so fittingly performed it, complete with kiss at the end.

•The performance of "Big Bottom" was done with just bass and snapping fingers, which is probably how I'd prefer to hear the song from now on.

•They took some time between songs to share two of their favorite fan-made music videos to Spinal Tap songs. Here is my favorite:


•The evening ended on a high note with "Old Joe's Place," reminding me how much I enjoy A Might Wind and must rewatch it as soon as possible.

•Overall, I was really impressed with how talented the men were as musicians. Christopher Guest can play guitar as well as anyone I've seen. And although they are all in they're 60s, they played for two hours including two encores. That's more than I've seen much younger musicians do.

Lowlight:
The definition of douche that was sitting a row ahead of us. Not only were they clearly wasted and talking over the music so loud that the girl next to us loudly (and rightly) called them douches, when the trio was introducing the song "Corn Wine," the douche felt it appropriate to yell out "Cornhole!" Not amused. Thankfully, they stumbled out (or were kicked out) shortly after this incident.

Golden Globes

Best part of the night.



This and Kate Winslet talking more about her love of Leonardo DiCaprio than her husband. For which, I do not blame her.

Quotable #2

Location: gChat

Players: Me, Autumn

Scene: Autumn and I were on gChat discussing our plans to try and go see Shakespeare in the Park's production of Hamlet.

Autumn: Weird but last time I went to Shakespeare in the Park I saw Heath Ledger there!

Me: Oh, that's right. Maybe we'll see his ghost there.

Autumn: Maybe he'll play the ghost in the play.

-Scene-

Note: Yes, we're aware that this is equal parts offensive and equal parts hilarious.

On the bus

Cichelli and I were on the bus today and we had a driver that thought he was quite the entertainer. After I entered, he inquired why I hadn't brought him a milkshake, since I was enjoying one myself, and I casually chuckled and scurried to find a seat. But he was just getting started.

As the bus made it's journey up Amsterdam, he decided it was time for fun and games. He got on the speaker and asked the passengers to yell out all the body parts that had three letters.

Naturally, this started innocent enough. "Eye, lip, ear, toe!" The passengers yelled out.

Then some wise guy in front had to go there. "Ass!" Hilarity ensued.

As if this wasn't enough, the driver had one more joke up his sleeve. As he was driving he said, "Ok, get ready, I'm going to teach all of you that are standing the first step of the merengue."

He then slammed on the brakes, thrusting all who were standing forward in a seemingly choreographed "dance move," and he chuckled to himself and drove on into the night.

Quotable #1

Location: My room, 123rd and Broadway

Players: Me, Aggen

Quote: "Will you dustbust my crotch?" Aggen says.

Action: I went to the bathroom to retrieve my Kone dustbuster (great design and functional, thank you Target). I proceeded to do as asked and in turn had to place the dustbuster in awkward positions

Response: "That dustbuster just violated me," Aggen says.

—Scene—