Further Proof Miley Cyrus should just go Climb a Mountain and Leave Us Alone

I already have this general distrust of any "role-model" Disney stars, but I think that of all of them Miley Cyrus is my least favorite. And it's completely justified. And it's distrust verging on disgust, to be absolutely clear. Besides turning preteens into screaming crazies at her sold-out concerts, (and I know I'm not the first to say this) but she's like an obnoxious train wreck-to-be that keeps yelling, "Look at me! I'm a train wreck!" So I know it seems funny that of all subjects to write about I'm choosing Miley Cyrus, but I think that the more people who realize that there is nothing "role-model"-ish about her, the happier I will be. And I think my happiness is relatively important.

Also, though, I read a lovely selection from Fay Weldon's "Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen" this week where Weldon tells her niece that she has turned to television for her "window into the world" and as a result, "will know more, but understand less...have more information, but less wisdom." I like it. Nice job, Fay...And then, I was immediately half-scared to death in remembering my own younger sister proclaiming Pride and Prejudice as boring, (unless in the Kiera Knightly kind of version). AH! This was said while watching an episode of Hannah Montana. NOOOO!

Really? Really?

"I want to thank God! Helllllooooooo!"

Ugh.

Role Models should wear clothes.

Lots of Love and Venting,

Caitlin

Higher Learning

So my return to my lovely residence on campus was greeted promptly with the smell of marajuana coming from who-knows-where. Super. And quite confusing, seeing as I thought my staff and I were the only people living in the building so far. Before fingers started pointing though, I soon found that the god-awful smell is coming from a friendly (though that is still questionable) skunk that has taken up residence somewhere between my building and our neighbors. I swear that if it doesn't take a hike I will have a few choice words for our little furry friend. Just sayin'. I am glad that no one on staff was lighting up - that would be a little compromising as a RA.

It is good to be back at school, though, because it means higher learning of the less illicit type. Here's a few fun things to check out that are also surprisingly educational:

http://tvtropes.org/ - Ok, this website immediately had me thinking. It explains the various figures of speech and where they come from, specifically their origins and uses in both film and television. Just go in an select the "Random Item" link and it's like an instant conversation topic.

http://www.theintellectualdevotional.com/blog/ - Based on the New York Times best-selling book series, this blog has all kinds of random articles designed to "complete your education" filling in the areas your General Ed. courses most likely glossed over. I like it because it's far from dry. In fact, the books are especially interesting because they feature NY Times articles covering American History, Food for Thought, Health, History, Literature, Modern Culture, Music, Philosophy, Religion, Science, and Visual Arts. I bought the book for my mom for Mother's Day and I like it so much, I want to steal it back.

http://www.iliketotallyloveit.com/ - Everyone needs more semi - useless gadgets to, like, totally love.

Song of the Day: "First Song" - Andrew Bird is so awesome. He is a musical master of violin, whistling, guitar, mandolin, and glockenspiel. He's kinda got the indie, folk rock thing going on - which to me always seems to be the perfect back-to-school genre.

Back to School Bonanza

I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. - Winston Churchill

So true...and yet, I love going back to school. After a long summer away from friends and the pursuit of knowledge (nerd alert) nothing makes me more excited than gearing up for college: round 3. Also, though, the shopaholic in me is in rare form, because nothing is more fun than back to school shopping. Nothing. It may be my unhealthy obsession with art supplies or maybe just the thought of a fresh start - but knowing I'll be moving in this weekend is the best feeling in the world. Hello, long, hot shower! And extra closet space!

In the meantime, I've stumbled upon a few websites that definitely appeal to the back-to-school shopper. Check it -

www.modcloth.com - Not only does this site have some of the cutest vintage, Urban Outfitter-esque dresses but the accessories are reasonably priced and quirky.

www.unique-vintage.com - I'm having a love affair with all those flowery, 50's inspired dresses - and this apron. Maybe I'd cook more if I got to wear this. Or maybe not. Also, one of the flapper dresses for Thoroughly Modern Millie came from this website!

www.lifeanddeathclothing.com - Men! I actually found this site while going through expense reports (not so fun) in the Music Circus Costume Shop. But I love that you can choose clothing based on your lifestyle: action sportswear, contemporary menswear, sophisticated urban, nightlife, graphics, and fight show (whatever that is...) Although this website may be contributing to the hipster epidemic, I don't care. A sense of style is always a plus in my book.

www.wakeupfrankie.com - My friend Jenna showed me this site. Though, admittedly, some of the room decor looks like it was designed with Lisa Frank in mind, there are some really fun, if pricey, collections (Shabby Chic Summer Breeze - definitely my favorite). And, there's always the "Men at Work" shower curtain....

www.lulus.com - Back to school clothes! The selection of vintage clothing is impressive. And there are cute belts at great prices too.

Well, I'd love to give a more well rounded, less shopping-frenzied post, but time can not allow - work, work, work! Come see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at Music Circus this week though if you get the chance. I think it's my favorite so far this season.

Lots of Love and Happy New School Year,

Caitlin

P.S.

This website is keeping me entertained:

http://boingboing.net/

and for the more morbid, non-PETA internet browser:

http://crappytaxidermy.com/ - Am I the only one who thinks of The Man Who Knew Too Much?

I'm Keeping My Day Job...

I don't really understand the game of golf - or, better put, I am so terrible at the game of golf, that I clearly don't understand what I'm doing or how to get that little ball more than two feet from my tee. Being stubborn as I tend to be, I recently decided to regularly get dolled up in my golfing gear - which may just include an argyle sweater and plaid shorts or something stereotypical like that - and head out to the golfing range and try to be half decent. I figure that somebody should get my discretionary spending money AND get a laugh out of the deal as well. Also, it drives me a little crazy to have clubs and still be so terrible. So hello, world of golf - I don't know how long I'll be staying, but at least I'm stopping for more than a minute on the golf channel when I'm channel surfing. That's really saying something.

Dear Sushi Lovers: Don't Whine, just dine at Sushi Hook at 807 Howe Avenue. 50% off rolls! What more could you want? I mean, I'm paying to work at Music Circus - so let's be real - the cash flow is close to zero. But, when I have to have my sushi fix I'm definitely coming here. Maybe if I'm tired after a round of golf. I don't know, do people get tired after that? 

Also, I'd like to draw your attention to the link to the right, Sac Coffee. This blogger has seriously reviewed coffee shops all over the Sacramento Area and lets you know just where to find a good cup of joe. So basically, it's a caffeine addict's bible (ahem...like myself). 

Weekend Plans: Second Saturday is coming this weekend from 6 to 10pm! This Saturday, check out all the art galleries staying open late and the cool local entertainment. Try starting on the corner of 18th and L or check out this map for some cool galleries. For more information about this weekend, the Sacramento News & Review is publishing maps and more (out this Thursday).

Graham-A-Rama: Graham Sobelman and his trio host a weekly cabaret featuring local talent at the Geery Theatre on L Street. Tickets are only $15 and the show is on Sunday at 7:00 and 9:00. Mara Davi (currently starring at Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie at Music Circus) will be performing in two weeks! 

Lots of Love and Staying Under Par,

Caitlin 

I have nothing more to say.

When I get home from work, this is the nonsense I look at on my computer before going to sleep. 

Swank Shows and Even Better Coffee

So, I'm in the process of making Music Circus my new home. I think I'll be doing everything but sleep there, which I'm totally okay with. Rehearsals are happening in the pavilion for now, but soon there will be shows rehearsing at the Sacramento Ballet, the pavilion, and Sacramento Theatre Company. The first run through is happening later this week and final dress for Millie is only a week from now! With Thoroughly Modern Millie in rehearsal, I've been working in the prop shop making all sorts of stuff. 1920's replicas of Vanity Fair, type writers, bouquets, and telephones are only the beginning - there's always the ever-present intern responsibility of sorting through random hardware and tools. But luckily, in between the long (long) days at my (unpaid!!) job, I've been able to check out some cool spots downtown as well.

My Coffee Shop of Choice: Temple Fine Coffee and Tea! I love their chai tea, first of all. But also, you can order tea and it comes in a little kettle, their coffees and teas are rare, organic, and fair trade, and you can order your coffee French Press! Now all I need is to sing on the street corner for a little loose change to buy a cup. Located at 1014 10th Street (between J and K) in Downtown Sacramento.

Must-See Show(s): Forever Plaid at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret just performed its 300th performance last night. It's a fabulous tribute to 50's music and riotously funny - plus, it's totally family friendly. Aaaand, the tenor is incredible! The production continues every night (dark on Mondays) well into July. 

A quick summary:

The critically acclaimed show is an affectionate revue of the close-harmony "guy groups" (e.g. The Four Aces, The Four Freshmen) that reached the height of their popularity during the 1950s. Personifying the clean-cut genre are the Plaids. This quartet of high-school chums' earnest dreams of recording an album ended in death (literally and indeed, symbolically) in a collision with a bus filled with Catholic schoolgirls on their way to see the Beatles' American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. The play begins with the Plaids returning from the afterlife for one final chance at musical glory.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is playing downtown at the New Helvetia Theatre through June 27th. It's a rock musical with a cult following similar to that of Rocky Horror Picture Show, but I've yet to see it. It comes highly recommended by a friend and closes this Saturday! All performances are at the Artisan at 1901 Del Paso Blvd. in Sacramento.

Guilty Pleasure of the Week: Harry Potter the Musical! That's right - it exists. And you can watch the whole thing on Youtube. Here's the beginning of the first act:

Song of the Week: "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac. An oldie, but goodie, of course!

Lots of Love and Random Musical Theatre,

Caitlin

Taylor Swift, what are you doing?

The One I Wrote at 3:30 in the Morning

Yesterday I did something embarrassing - at least something I think many women would never really like to admit they do. I am obsessed with the Nugget Market - especially their friendly employees and gelato. Even more especially their friendly, good-looking employees. And yesterday I bought a grande white mocha just because the coffee guy was cute. Has it really come to this? The stupid part is that the only thing he said to me was, "hot or iced?" Those three words cost me $3.65 and a mediocre coffee. 

Which leads me to my movie pick of the week: He's Just Not That Into You.

It's for boys and girls alike. And it's funny. Plus, maybe it can offer a little advice to those of us still going to grocery stores to meet attractive people. 

Weekday Plans:

Since we all know that construction of the Elk Grove Promenade has stopped, the shopping choices in Elk Grove are still lacking. Apparently the developer of the mall has gone bankrupt - "one of the biggest real estate failures in HISTORY" according to elkgrovenews.com. Bummer.

But there's good news! Old Elk Grove, since being revitalized, is as cute as ever and has a

few surprisingly adorable stores. (Sorry to male readers. Other than the cupcake shop, I'm not sure how excited you will be about the rest).

Lulu's Cupcakes: Complete with custom cupcakes at $3.50 a pop and scoops of ice cream served in oversized teacups - and adorable decor to boot! 

One to Another Gifts & Home Decor: I think that all the students in my mom's class buy her Christmas gifts here. I swear that half the stuff in this store is in our cupboards or in her office. One to Another has a cuuuute little toy section that I will probably revisit next time one of my little cousins has a birthday. They have free gift wrapping, so why not?

Embellish: If I had a house to decorate or had a candle obsession, I would be here all the time. There is a ridiculous amount of cute stuff in this store!

Elk Grove Boutiques: This is a weird little store. It's four different boutiques in one - but they're all in the same room. A little confusing at first. But if I was looking for some bright colored Nike Air Force Ones, coconut purfume, a handbag, or accessories for my dog - then I guess this place is it!

The Red Door Antiques: The fact that I didn't know this store existed before last week is sad. Now we know that what few dollars I manage to earn this summer will go towards buying teacups from this place. Thanks a lot, Red Door Antiques, for taking my money in exchange for old stuff. Albeit, really, really cute and entirely necessary-to-purchase old stuff.

Bjennin: This is my favorite. Vintage and designer clothing for way awesome prices. I think every dress I buy in the future will come from here. And I'm not joking.

Album of the Week: Bounty Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

My friend, Jared Isham, is a director/writer/gaffer/moviemaker extraordinaire and his movie, Bounty, is now on Netflix. But that's not all! You can also buy the soundtrack (which I listened to today on iTunes). It's classical! It's from a western film! I'm buying it once I'm less of a broke college student. Lets hope that is soon. For now, I have to settle for listening to it 30 seconds at a time. 

Song(s) of the Week: "Shoes" by Tre Burt and a Big Gust of Wind. Okay, definitely promoting another friend, here. But really, Tre has some pretty serious poetic chops - and he's not even legal yet. His music is good and the lyrics are even better. Chicka-yeah.

"Cities Burning Down" by Howling Bells (they're touring with Coldplay and they're Aussies)!

Advice for the Day (and I don't usually do this): Don't listen to Tim McGraw or Garth Brooks too much in one day. It leads to something I'm going to call Country-Induced Nostalgia. We all know that too many songs about lost love can't be healthy. "Red High Heels" by Kellie Pickler pretty much turned my day around. Maybe I'll wear some next time I go grocery shopping.

Lots of Love and Grocery Store Successes,

Caitlin

Good morning, starshine! Google says hello!

On Wednesday, Google unveiled at Google I/O their ambitious new communication platform using the HTML 5 standard. Check out the preview video of all the cool things "Google wave" will be able to do.

The website wave.google.com explains that:

A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.

A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

The video below is lengthy, but cool. I have to say - I'm so excited to finally have an e-mail designed for modern users...I will be the first in line to ditch my hotmail account. My favorite part about Wave is that an e-mail conversation can turn into an instant message if both participants are online. For a summary of Google Wave's many features, check out this article from TechCrunch.com.

Lots of Google Love, 

Caitlin

The Tony Awards have my full attention.

I'm sure there are people in the world who are greater theatre fanatics than myself. You know, those people whose homepage is broadway.com and know every play Sir Ian McKellen (most of us mere mortals know him as Gandalf) has ever been in? I'm not exactly one of those. But at the end of every Broadway season, a transformation occurs. Broadway.com is my new best friend - and all because of the largest event in live theatre - the Tony Awards. 

I'm especially excited about this year's Tony Awards. Here's my favorite part - the performance lineup:

Billy Elliot, The Musical
Guys and Dolls
Hair
Next to Normal
Pal Joey
Rock of Ages
Shrek the Musical
West Side Story

Jersey Boys

Legally Blonde the Musical

Mamma Mia!

Each of these musical performances have been nominated for either Best Musical or Best Revival. There will also be performances from currently touring shows. Plus Elton John AND Dolly Parton - are you kidding me?! Check out the nominees and presenters too! All of them will be at the Tony Awards airing June 7th at 8:oo pm Pacific Time on CBS.

The performances are fine and dandy, but nothing excites me more than this year's host, Neil Patrick Harris. Not only is he a stud muffin in a tux - he is fuh-nny. You might recognize him from How I Met Your Mother. His more recent popularity, however, has been brought on by the cult phenomenon in the form of his webisode, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. The show won numerous awards and all while being written and produced during the writer's strike. After a number of friends sent me links, I finally watched it and wasn't disappointed. After watching, I became sure Harris was the best choice for this year's host. 

 

After Hugh Jackman's phenomenal performance as the host of the Academy Awards, Neil Patrick Harris has a tough act to follow. Audiences won't soon forget how Jackman brought musical numbers and sexiness back into Hollywood's biggest awards show and made the Oscars watchable again (although I'll admit Ellen the year before was still pretty fun). But anyways, I'm pumped for the Tony's and can't wait to see what Harris has hidden up his sleeves. 

Song(s) of the Day:

Ingrid Michaelson's The Way I Am

Okay, so the clowns in the music video aren't my favorite, but this song it too sweet to resist. Also, who wouldn't want to relax in the summer sun listening to this girl! So great!

Also Check out the Yeah Yeah Yeahs new single Heads Will Roll.

Musical Obsession of the Moment:

Legally Blonde - I know, I know. But you have to admit, the songs are catchy! Plus you can find the entire musical online! It aired on Mtv and is now on tour. 

Click to watch:

• Part One
• Part Two

Lots of Love and Show Tunes,

Caitlin 

Bring me Java! Bring me JOY!

Oh, hey. It's been a while. So begins the second installment (if you could call it that) of my attempt to shed light on the things I'm doing, the cool people are doing, and people from the capital city, in general, are doing this summer. I just finished college: year two. I learned a lot about how to survive on the dangerous streets of stockton. I also discovered the importance of Jack-in-the-Box in any college student's diet. Or I guess, the important role it plays in completely ruining any semblance of a diet you might actually have. And of course, I have the usual assortment of books, movies, music, museums, shows, and events to recommend and/or mercilessly tear apart. This summer I'm working at a wonderful little place called Music Circus, located in the heart of downtown. So, hopefully, I'll have a little more info about midtown here than last summer, too. As a part of my Operation: Occupation plan for this summer I'm starting an effort to move on, do fun things, and become interesting enough to catch the eye of the lead singer of this band. That's all I ask.

But in all seriousness, there's so much to be excited about this summer - from the perfect weather we've been having to the cool stuff happening around town (shut up, you central valley nay-sayers). Let's start with movies. We all know Harry Potter is going to be great (plus, they're releasing book 7 in two parts! Yes!) But let's be honest - it's way more fun to see the great movie no one is talking about yet, to get in on the ground floor before all the hype begins. That's why I'm keeping an eye on these Indie Sleepers. I'm particularly excited about Away We Go from the director of American Beauty and Revolutionary Road. And also, what sounds like a perfect summer film, 500 Days of Summer with Zooey Deschanel (gah! Love her!) Plus, sounds like a great soundtrack. 

Hello Summer 2009! 

Quick!
•Don't forget to check out Concerts in the Park again this summer every Friday night at Ceasar Chavez plaza.
•The Farmer's Market Returns!
•The Lion King is coming to town!
•The Tony Awards are on June 7th!

Songs (and more) of the Day:

• Cough Syrup by The Jakes! Yes, I saw them perform. Yes, they're as cute in person. Yes, they're going to be BIG!
• Also, I'm obsessed (And I don't use that word lightly) with Super Mash Bros. Their funky combo of 90's hits and today's popular hip-hop and rap is pretty much the greatest dance party material I've seen in a long time. 
• And I have to plug a great new Producer, Malek, responsible for many of the songs I give out on mix CD's. The cool part is, I know him. The cooler part is, he's won all kinds of beat battles, even appearing on BET. (Justin, if you're reading this, I swear I'm not a creepy groupie). Definitely check out his CD on iTunes, Life in 3D. It's pretty sweet, especially "Crazy Chick," his debut single. 

Books I'm reading:

Persepolis (finally)

A Thousand Splendid Suns (yes, finally!)

I love Khaled Hosseini. Not just because he writes bestsellers - but because these bestsellers are actually good. Book clubs and Intellectuals and World Travelers alike will like his books. Of course, Kite Runner was a tremendous success (both the novel and the film). He was quite the champ on The Colbert Report. Love it. Love him. Love Stephen Colbert for his inappropriateness. 

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Khaled Hosseini
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Gay Marriage

Lots of Love and Summer Fun,

Caitlin