A Few Random Hours in Seattle (and some in Alaska)

Be warned, there's no real reason for this post, except as an excuse to post older photos that I really like.

I've decided that I'm strangely enamored of the Pacific Northwest.  For the purposes of this post, I'll lump Alaska with the Pacific Northwest.  Hopefully that's not offensive.



I can't explain why.  It could have something to do with the fact that I've spend approximately 95% of my life on the east coast and thus heading West still holds some exoticism for me.  You know, exoticism in the form of tall pine trees and rainy weather and an over-dependence on coffee shops.

When I went to go visit my dad last summer, I had a 6.5 hour long layover in Seattle.  It was long enough that my Seattle friend kindly offered to pick me up from the airport and entertain me for a few hours.


These hours entailed going to see some earthworks...


Befriending some ducks...


Running up this hill...


And staring at this huge-ass navy ship.  Or at least I assume it was a navy ship.  There were men in uniform on a huge-ass ship at any rate.


After bopping around for a few hours and staring at the Puget Sound, I had to hop on another plane to Anchorage...


To Alaska...a land where even your local Wal-Mart looks like it could a part of some epic scenery for a Lord of the Rings movie...


... and where your typical trip to the market holds mystery and wonderment...


... and where former brothels become cherished family restaurants.


Maybe I do need to one day pack up and move out west.  At least for the option of having daily moose sightings.

Existential Kitty

I decided a few days ago that I wanted to start a blog about Jazz called "Existential Kitty".



I'll be too lazy to actually start this blog.  But the idea came to me because I often find Jazz laying on the carpet, looking as if she's discovered some horrible truth about the world.



A universal truth that weighs heavy upon her kitty soul.



What deep, existential thoughts is she thinking?  What mystical secrets of life and death is she pondering?



Or is she simply re-enacting her favorite Radiohead music video?

A Person's History of a Dismemberment Plan Reunion Show

So, as hip as I sometimes claim to be, I was not entirely familiar with much of the Dismemberment Plan's music before I bought tickets to their reunion show at the 9:30 Club.  The D-Plan were a notable DC indie band who broke up in 2003.  The announcement of a reunion tour incited a lot of hype - their first two scheduled DC shows (one at the Black Cat and one at the 9:30 Club) sold out insanely quickly.  When I found out a third date was added, I snatched up tickets right away.  I only knew a few songs from the band, but figured that it's best to seize on hyped up DC band reunions.



I got very stoked for the show last Sunday.  DCist had been blogging about the impending concerts all week.  I'd been listening to their album Change on my iPod (where it had been sadly sitting, largely un-listened to, since college) to prepare and had gotten Emergency & I.

I think I had weird expectations for this show.  Since these DC reunion shows had been so hyped up on DCist and such places, I thought that this was going to be a Big Deal.  On par with inauguration.  Or the Prince William/Kate Middleton wedding.  I thought every famous DC musician ever would be in attendance.  Like Ted Leo.  Or Henry Rollins.  Or all of Fugazi.  

Sadly, none of the aforementioned people were in attendance, as far as I could tell.  That didn't take away from this being one of the more memorable live music experiences I've had in recent memory.

The crowd was awesome and sang along to every song in an enthusiastic, appreciative way.  Everyone was genuinely stoked to be there.  Especially the band.



Lead singer Travis Morrison danced and flailed around.  Guitarist Jason Caddell took a flying leap at one point.  It was so refreshing to see everyone so thoroughly enjoying themselves.



A fact I didn't know about Dismemberment Plan shows is that the crowd is supposed to rush the stage during "The Ice of Boston".



A gajillionty people joined the band on stage to rock out and dance around.  It was something to see.




Even though going to concerts is one of my favorite hobbies, it's been awhile since one has filled me with the same sort of giddiness and excitement I felt when I first started going to shows back in high school.

Thanks, Dismemberment Plan.  It truly was an awesome night.  You should reunite more often.

My Year In Lists: 5 Favorite Films of 2010

In the tradition of my usual top 5 lists, I've decided to give you all my Top 5 Favorite Films of 2010!  I was going to make a more traditional Top 10 list, but I didn't get around to seeing most of the really hyped movies this year, like 'The Social Network' and 'True Grit'.  Oh well.  Plus I'm all about the Top 5 lists, really.  I still saw a crap ton of movies this year, so without further ado, here's my Top 5!

5: A Single Man

I reviewed this movie earlier this year, but I assure you it's still fantastic.  I didn't get to see The King's Speech before the year was out, so this movie is still my top choice for best Colin Firth performance of the year.

4. How To Train Your Dragon

Who ever thought a movie about a viking boy and his dragon friends could be so adorable and heartwarming?  Also, did not have the overall soul crushing-ness that was Toy Story 3.  To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.  This movie was fantastic.  And it makes me just a little sad that I do not have a pet dragon.  Or multiple dragon friends to chillax with.

3. Scott Pilgrim vs The World

This has pretty much everything I could ever want in a movie.  Comic book-ness, video game-ness, an awesome soundtrack, lesbian ninjas, Aubrey Plaza, vegans with superpowers...seriously, what's not to love?  This was the most stylistically fun and enjoyable movie I saw all year.

2. Animal Kingdom

This movie came out of nowhere and really blew me away.  Truly outstanding.  The story revolves around a criminal family in Melbourne, Australia.  A teenage boy, after the death of his mother, is welcomed into the fold by his uncles and grandmother and has to deal with what he discovers in their world.  Jacki Weaver, who plays Smurf, the matriach, deserves major props for her performance.  Every time she so much as smiled I got the chills.

1. A Prophet

This stunning crime drama by Jacque Audiard is about the steady rise of a young criminal, Malik, in a French prison.  The film masterfully follows his journey from scared new prisoner to a person to be reckoned with.  DCist wrote a much better review than I ever could.

Honorable mentions: Black Swan, Somewhere, Ondine, Inception, Waiting For Superman, Tangled

A New Addition To The Family

Right before Thanksgiving, my mother decided to get a new dog.  A friend of one of her co-workers was trying to find a home for their dachshund puppy.  I guess my mom decided that having one short dog wasn't good enough - she wanted another, even shorter one.  So she decided to take in the weiner puppy.  His name is Ryder.  Him and Shorty have become fast friends.

Shorty even puts up with Ryder's constant attempts to bite his face.

But they bond over epic wrestling matches.

Shorty makes a good older brother-figure for the puppy.  They make a good pair.

A Brief Look at Experimental Music

Back in September, I attended part of Sonic Circuits, which is a DC area experimental music festival.  Experimental music, I learned, encompasses many things.


There was the Cornel West Theory, a DC hip-hop group with an angry political bent.  I liked them a lot.  However, they were the most "conventional" of all the "experimental" bands that day.

There were several jazz ensembles.  I forget which one this is.  Their entire set consisted of one 30 minute improvisational song.  They played an encore afterwards, which I didn't stick around for because the first song was so exhausting.  I can only assume it was a trillion years long though.


Here is Astma.  They came all the way from Russia.  They had a guy on guitar and a girl who howled and screeched into the microphone while playing drums.



RDK + Insect Factory was quite good.  They were intriguing enough that I bought a CD of theirs, though I can't really describe how they sounded.  Very atmospheric and cool.  Also, the guitarist reminds me of Sergio Cilli from infoMania.

My favorite act of the day though was Fuse Ensemble.

This whole performance was called "Usina Mekanica" and it is the work of local composer Gina Bever. It consisted of several musicians playing a variety of instruments, both conventional and unconventional. There were the tiny toy pianos, pictured above.

There was also the creative use of wind-up toys to add another interesting layer of sound.


There were the more conventional string instruments..


And there was a mechanical table.  You know, every band needs a mechanical table to hoble around during songs.


And, of course, every band needs a wind-up punched paper playing do-hickey.  Do these things have a technical name?  It created a sound similar to what you would hear from a music box, so I'm guessing it's the same technology.


Overall, I can get behind any group that includes guys in grey jumpsuits and wind-up toys.

The Santa Claus House

Just north of Fairbanks, is the small city of North Pole.

The North Pole, while admittedly very, very north, is nowhere near the actual north pole.



North Pole is primarily known as the home of the Santa Claus House.



The Santa Claus House is a store/kitschy tourist attraction.  It sells all manner of Christmas and Santa-related items.  It might be the biggest Christmas store you've ever seen.  It was founded in 1952 by Con and Nellie Miller.  It initially began as an ordinary trading post.  However, Con Miller loved dressing up as Santa every Christmas and got an idea.  And thus the Santa Claus House was born.

Also, the town of North Pole takes this Christmas stuff seriously.  Many of the main streets have Christmas-y names (like St. Nicholas Drive, Santa Claus Lane, and Kris Kringler Drive).  And the street lights are shaped like candy canes.


The Santa Claus House does have reindeer, which I didn't take many pictures of because I was reindeer-ed out from going to the reindeer farm twice in one week.

Also, at the Santa Claus House there are only 3 reindeer.  Which, if I'm following my Santa Claus mythology correctly, is not enough to fly his sleigh.


One cool thing about the House is that it receives letters from children all over the world addressed to Santa.  If you ever have a hankering to write to Santa Claus, send it to the address above.

Your letter might get an illustrious spot on this wall.






The Santa Claus House also has a Santa and a Mrs. Claus.  Who were sadly not there the day we visited.  It was their day off.

I feel a little cheated.  Because I wanted to meet Santa and tell him what I wanted for Christmas.

You know, like a puppy and a nice pair of boots and for the Afghan Whigs to get back together.  And a trip to India.  And for everyone I love to be safe and happy.

But no, it was Santa's day off.  I guess even Santa needs a day off.

I'm glad I went though, and if you ever find yourself in the Fairbanks area, pay the Santa Claus House a visit.