i am sxsw bound.

It sounds really strange. I was born and raised in Texas yet I’ve never once been to SXSW. It just never made sense. Most SXSW-bound tend to make a stop in Dallas on the way so as to make their trip worth the effort. So why bother taking that 3.5hr drive south?

Two things changed my mind this year. One I won’t discuss but the other was the one year anniversary of K2 Entertainment. I mean, now that I can officially say that I’m a promoter, doesn’t it make sense to see what all the hoopla is about and go?

 

K1 and I will be making the trek down there Wednesday, March 18th. K2 + Texas road trip? That alone spells fun. Throw in a fiery redhead named Amber and some of our closest Austin friends and you have pure craziness. None of us have ever been. None of us have wristbands. None of us really know what to expect besides good times, real good times.

I have spent the last couple of days compiling a list of all the bands that I want to see. Again, we have no idea what to expect so we probably won’t get to see half the bands we want. Thats fine. Its a learning experience at this point and the important thing is that we know what to expect next time (cause trust me, next year is going to be where  its at ). Here is my tentative and I do mean *tentative* schedule:

 

Wednesday, March 18th:

8:00pm

Crocodile @ Wave Rooftop, 8pm.

http://www.myspace.com/crocodilemusic

11:00pm to 1:00am

PlanA: Glasvegas @ Vice, 11:45pm.

http://www.myspace.com/glasvegas

Dying to hear “Go Square Go” live.

Plan B: Echo & the Bunnymen @ Emo’s, 12:30am.

I may be crazy for putting Glasvegas before Echo but 1. I’ve seen Echo 2. I’m sure they’ll be back in Dallas and 3. I barely have a chance of seeing Glasvegas without a wristband, I definitely don’t have a chance of seeing Echo. Julliette & the New Romantiques will be playing right before them.

http://www.myspace.com/thebunnymen

http://www.myspace.com/juliettelewis

 

Plan C:

The Grates @ Radio Room, 11pm.

http://www.myspace.com/thegrates

 

Thursday, March 19th:

Peter Murphy @ Elysium, 7pm.

http://www.myspace.com/petermurphy

Young Galaxy @ Buffalo Billairds, 10pm.

http://www.myspace.com/younggalaxy

Sybris @ Prague, 11:oopm.

http://www.myspace.com/sybris

Primal Scream @ Cedar Street Courtyard, 12:30am.

http://www.myspace.com/primalscream …. hopefully.

 

 

Friday, March 20th:

12:00pm: Berlin Music Commission (German music party)

2:00pm - 3:00pm:

Plan A: White Lies. The Whip, Late of the Pier, Razorlight @ Filter Showdown at Cedar Street, 2:30pm

http://www.myspace.com/whitelies

http://www.myspace.com/thewhipmanchester

Plan B: Young Galaxy @ Radio Room, 2:00pm

Plan C: Showcasing Scotland (Scottish music party), 1:30pm

Plan D: Juliette & the New Romantiques @ SXSW Live, 1:00pm

Radio 4 @ Mohawk, 10:30pm

http://www.myspace.com/radio4

11:30pm: Glasvegas & Primal Scream @ La Zona Rosa

Saturday, March 21st:

11:30-2:30: Yorkshire Launch Party

The Whip @ Liverpool Sound City/Best of the Northwest Party, 3:00-6:00pm

7:40pm – 10:00pm:

Plan A: White Lies @ Stubb’s, 7:40pm

Plan B: The Whip @ La Zona Rosa, 8:40pm

Plan C: Anberlin @ Cedar Door, 9:00pm.

http://www.myspace.com/anberlin

11:00pm:

Plan A: The Duke Spirit @ Antones

http://www.myspace.com/thedukespirit

Plan B: The Republic Tigers @ Maggie Mae’s

http://www.myspace.com/republictigers

 

my (not so) guilty pleasure.

I’m not one for reality TV shows but every Wednesday night, for at least the past three years, I have been tuning in to the CW almost religiously for…..  America’s Next Top Model. I can’t help it. I love the hair. I love the makeup. I love the clothes. I am a Girlie Girl.

When this show first debuted I thought it was the most ridiculuous thing ever. A show about the trials and tribulations of the modeling industry. How hard can looking pretty really be? My attitude began to change the more I watched the show while casually channel flipping. I became fascinated with the way the most beautiful girls could take the most hideous pictures and the most plain janes could take the most exotic pictures ever seen. For once I saw that modeling actually required talent and hard work.

One thing that didn’t change, however, was my view on reality shows. There’s nothing “real” about them. Every minute of them is just as planned out as your regular daytime soap opera. None of the girls chosen as finalists were really the top 13 with the most potential to be supermodels. They were the top 13 girls with the most potential for the highest ratings.

But still, I am addicted…. so here we go picking up from Episode 3, the token Makeover episode, with pictures roughly from worst to best:

 

Jessica, she's never been called ugly a day in here life.... till today.

Jessica was to be our token “pretty girl that all the girls hate.” That didn’t last long as with every “pretty girl” she just didn’t have the personality to make it to the next round much less exude any type of emotion in her photographs. During episode one, she greeted the judges with the fact that she had never been called ugly a day in her life. I guess we were all supposed to be secretly glad that she was eliminated during this episode. I think she’s the perfect example of what this show is about. Just because you are drop dead gorgeous doesn’t mean you can take a good photograph. Modeling is about translating your personality to a photograph to sell a product and apparently the judges weren’t buying.

Note how stunning Allison (left) looks in this photo.

The beautiful corpse of Nijah.

Its like someone picked Nijah up and dropped her straight on her back. She was one of my favourites from the first episode and I was definitely hoping for alot more than this from her. Paulina Porizkova nailed it when she referred to Nijah as a “beautiful corpse.”

Sandra, the token bitch of the group.

 

Sandra, the token bitch of the group. She’s the backstabber, the one who’s only in it to win, the one who thinks she doesn’t have any competition, the one who you pray with fingers crossed will be eliminated but secretly you know how boring the model mansion scenes will be without her creating a fuss. For as fierce as she tries to be, you would certainly hope she would eminate more agressiveness in her photos. And why does Kortnie look pregnant in this picture?

 

Tahlia, the token defect.

This girl obviously had no clue what to do. Before I get flamed, let me say that I love Tahlia. Beautiful girl with a normal, healthy looking body. I admire her courage to proudly display her burn scars. I liked how she was upset that she had to walk the first runway fully covered when the other girls got to wear next to nothing. But lets be honest, when you’re posing for a catalog or walking the runway, do designers want you to sell their product by drawing attention to their clothes or your scars? Last season we had a transexual, before that an autistic girl. This year we have a burn victim and almost had an epileptic girl but I guess the producers realized what a liability that might be with the use of strobe lights on the runway. I’m not saying anything negative at all against people with any type of disability or “unusual” characteristic, but its obvious from the beginning that these girls usually aren’t going to last as their self esteem is next to nil, so why bother? Oh yeah, ratings!

Kortnie, the token hot plus size model.

 

What a weird, awkward, almost robotic pose. This is the token plus size model that Tyra throws in every season. This is the only girl of the bunch that every red blooded American guy would stop and drop their mouth wide open for when she walked by. Unfortunately you just don’t get that in this picture.

 

Aminat.... what went wrong?

 

Where exactly is Aminat in this photograph? If she’s supposed to be the center of attention why do I see everyone but her? I think this was just on off week for her. This girl OWNS it on the runway so I’m sure there will be alot more to come from her.

 

Someone had to cry during their makeoever. Why not Fo?

I guess Tyra realized at the last minute that every makeover she did for the girls was actually good and that the possibility of having someone cry and dramatize the situation was slim. So the producers must have slipped Fo some sort of an incentive to create a fuss since her makeover was the most dramatic. What was wrong with it exactly? She looks awesome, alot more edgier and little less safe. Hopefully next episode she will have dried her tears. She’s one of my top favourites. Despite the fact that her shoot was a near disaster, this photo was great.

 

Natalie - Who's that girl?

There is absolutely nothing memorable about Natalie. I wouldn’t have remembered her name if I didn’t just look it up. There’s nothing special about her in judging but she takes amazing photos and I suspect this will come up soon.

 

Celia, the total package?

 

Before I discuss Celia, look at Sandra. Could she look anymore bored? Celia is the total package. She owns the runway, dresses perfectly for judging, and takes phenomenal photographs. I suspect the judges (and producers) will get tired of saying good things about her and will give her the “you photograph old” comment given to Melrose and Renee in previous seasons. But so far this girl is something to watch out for…..

Teyona.... as graceful as wind in your face.

I love the effortlessness of her pose in this photo. The length of her arms to the strength in her jaw to the position of her feet. I definitely did not expect something like this when I saw her in episode 1.

Allison Alien.

I am in absolute love with this girl’s eyes. The size, the closeness, the shape… its amazing and apparently ANTMs makeup artists recognize this with their gratuitious use of black eyeliner. This is the token awkward model only I think she has enough confidence to pull this off to the very end.

 

London... America's Next Top Model ???

The only model who got it. The one who understood the fierceness and risks that were supposed to be involved in this photo shoot. She’s my choice for number one. She’s just a bit rock and roll without being overly punk and for once, I can actually say that I like the personality of one of the models. She’s outgoing and friendly without being obnoxious. She seems to be a genuine human being. Oh…. and she’s a Dallas/Fort Worth girl! DFW girls represent!

why get married? i already know it all.

from pulpcards.com

 

My life goals are as follows:

1. Move to NYC in 2010.

2. Continue booking and promoting for K2 Entertainment, eventually furthering the company to where it will be my sole source of income.

3. Visit Sweden and the U.K. often.

4. Adopt two kids, preferably special needs children.

5. Retire and live in the U.K. or Sweden.

 

By the time I finished telling people this I’m usually met with a very puzzled look. “Don’t you need to get married first?” As little girls, most women fantasize about their wedding day, who they will marry and what they will wear. I fantasized about my funeral. This wasn’t my morbid side rearing its ugly head, just my common sense. Everything not go as planned on your wedding day? Don’t worry, there’s a 50/50 chance that you’ll be making that trek back down the aisle and hopefully you can get it right. Until science improves, you only get one chance at a funeral. With the changing roles of women and views of religion, marriage just isn’t necessary anymore.

 

If pop culture is any clue, life is not a Chiffons song. Pop singers no longer extoll the joys of having a boyfriend. Instead, its “where are my keys, I lost my phone.” The career and lifestyle options for women are limitless. They can run their own companies, travel the world, and go out till all hours of the night without the fear of being stigmatized (to a certain extent, that will probably be discussed in a later blog). Sometimes, marriage just doesn’t fit on their “to do” list. Nor is it entirely necessary for them to live a quality life. Over fifty years ago, marriage was the only way to get a woman out of her parents’ house. It was a necessity for a woman that wanted to survive in a society with limited work for females. Decades later after women’s rights movements, this is definitely not the case. So when bogged down with running a company and maintaining their own household, who needs the added nuisance of a relationship?

 

The increasing secularization of the world is also contributing to the death of marriage. Marriage is a religious institution. There’s emphasis on the word religious because the US government somehow thinks they should have the ability to regulate it and determine who can marry who. Do you sense another blog coming? I do. Religion is the only thing that gives us our free will and seperates us from animals (again, another blog). The only reason people have to engage in a monogamous relationship is for the sake of their chosen religion. From there its simple math: no religion = no monogamy = divorce, or it at least increases the probability. Decades ago one would practically be placed with a scarlet letter for having a relationship that wasn’t a marriage, especially if children were involved. Today its still somewhat shunned, but slowly becoming more commonplace as religion becomes less of a determining factor in one’s habits.

“There’s something about th’kinda women that want you but don’t need you,” and maybe when men and women alike realize that, the institution of marriage will be resuscitated and given new life. When the idea of marriage becomes less of a necessity maybe then will the changing roles of women and religion have less of an effect. Only then will fewer people be walking down the aisle to divorce court.

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