personal

Muppets all up in my world

Sara 1 Comment

Everywhere I turn these days, well in the last few weeks, Muppets seem to pop up. In conversations, on my computer, in bars… everywhere. And by no means am I upset about this. This is a world I have wanted for a long time. Well, what I’ve really wanted is to have a party with the actual Muppets as guests along with my regular friends. That would be cool and doesn’t seem like it would be out of the realm of possibility.

To see what I mean, here are all of the cool Muppet things that have stumbled across my path in the last few weeks.

My son…

…has always loved Muppet Movies. His favorite is the Great Muppet Caper. That is awesome of course as I used to watch that movie over and over myself as a kid. Well, lately we have been going to the library for movies and books and he has discovered The Muppet Show. Although he insists that his favorite Muppet is Kermit (the boy is a sentimental fool), this sketch  with the Swedish chef has him busting gut every time.

Green With Envy…

Yes! Finally! A new Muppet movie.  The title will simply be The Muppets and it is going to be amazing. Some still think that after Jim Henson died there hasn’t been any good Muppet movies. I disagree. Muppets in Space totally rocked and I see this one being right up there.

Together Again…

Threadless threw together a contest to create a design with to coincide with the release of the new movie. Cross-promotion? Hardly, since there isn’t really a link for the movie on their site, but it is still awesome.

Muppet Whatnot Workshop…

I had heard about this before but it was only in New York and definitely online. The Muppet Whatnot Workshop is like a build-a-bear for Muppets. What? Yes, you can create your own Muppet mini-you if you like. Well, if you have about $100 to spare (plus accessories, of course). I’m not sure if I would ever buy one, but I know plenty of folks that would love this as a birthday or Christmas present. If you are looking for the actual workshop, you will find it in NYC at the FAO Schwarz (at least so I heard).

Henson Alternative…

Stuffed and Unstrung… 80 Henson puppets, 6 comedians, 100% uncensored, 10 performances (August 18-27), at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. Damn. I was right there until I saw the location. But I still haven’t ruled out taking a quick trip during the second weekend. It will be sooo good. And it is brought into this world be some of my favorite people at SF Sketchfest.

Mayhem…

Straight up mayhem, I say. A bar. A muppet-themed bar (hell, yes) just opened its doors in San Francisco’s hipsterfied Mission District (SF is being overtaken by the felted types). Check out Gadlings recent review. It still looks like it needs some work, but I’m right there on the concept as long as it doesn’t become animatronified like Chuck E. Cheese.

If you are crazy about Muppets (like I am, to a degree), check out the Muppet Wiki site for news and fun facts.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

Sara 2 Comments

Some cheesy motivational speaker said this once, but it is true. I have fallen out of habit with writing. At this time last year, I decided to write a post a day under the guise of a mini-series called “What I Learned Today…”. For more than a month, I  wrote about the little things I learned from new words to rocks to personal nuances. It was a healthy dose of setting goals and habits that lasted for the remainder year.

I’m at that crux again. I need to kick-start my routine of writing. I have a goal to semi-participate in NaNoWriMo in November. But I’m not going at it without a plan. In the next few months, I will be creating a detailed outline with major plot points, character bios and setting details. The “semi-participate” means that I’m not holding to the start date timing. If I feel like writing parts of it now, I will. My goal is to have everything ready before November 1 and finish a draft of a novel by the end of November.

Lofty goal I know, but if 30,000 out of 200,000 finished a novel in one month just last year, I feel like I can do it too.

Learning to rock, the classic way

Sara 5 Comments

I was born in 1979. Just in time to actually remember the eighties, but quite a bit late to catching anything from the years of pure rock greatness.

It’s just a shame you missed out on rock ‘n’ roll. It’s over. You got here just in time for the death rattle. Last gasp. Last grope.  – Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), Almost Famous

I even missed that. The synth of the electronic drums and keyboards became the ruling sound on the airwaves for a decade of hot pink and leg warmers.

But I have always had a strong affiliation with the seventies, and more than just the attire. The music was known to me great. Names such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, Cream, Aerosmith and more are legends in their own right. They influenced so much more from their work in during that decade. But I always felt I knew of them more than really knowing them, more like an acquaintance than a long time friend. I took a Rock since the 1960’s class in college where I found a deeper respect for producers and Brian Wilson, but other than that, I didn’t gain much else.

So Saturday, Roger and I will be going to see RUSH. Less than a month ago, my only comment would have been, “Yeah, they are one of those hair metal bands from the late seventies/early eighties, right?” I wouldn’t be incorrect, but the depth of my knowledge was only at the surface, barely making a scratch.

Since then, I have had some hard-core training of the best kind. The initiation started with the RUSH documentary. Music documentaries are not foreign in our abode. I feel like we see at least one a month if not more. As documentaries go, this one was pretty comprehensive talking to the band members as well as family and friends. The skill is evident. Mind blowing, in fact (I might be forced to use that term several times in this post). I was amazed by their focus… no after parties, just on to writing the next song/album. Did I mention their skill?

After the documentary, I was ready to take on the catalogue. I loaded all of the albums on my iPod and just listened. Well, I was listening and working. Not the same, at all. It was like I was doing my due diligence. It never reach the veins or the marrow.

Last weekend, I took a trip to Phoenix, driving all the way… solo. Desert road trips solo seem to constitute finding myself. This time, I wanted to find the deeper connection to the music that only had skin deep meaning from the era of true rock n’ roll. I had Roger stockpiling my car with recommendations on where to begin. So here are the bands/albums, that reached my ears…

  • Black Sabbath: Paranoid
  • Rush: 2112, Moving Pictures, A Farewell to Kings
  • Heart: Greatest Hits
  • Alice Cooper: Love it to Death
  • The Who: Who’s Next
  • Led Zeppelin: III and IV (to be fair, I already knew and love these albums)
  • Creedance Clearwater Revival: Not sure which, might be a hits album
  • Aerosmith: Toys in the Attic
  • Cheap Trick: Greatest Hits

I covered a lot of ground, both musically and literally. Listening to these albums straight on the open road is a similar experience to strapping on headphones and just listening, no distractions. Rush’s 2112 took my ears by storm. Seriously, it may have just knocked Jeff Buckley’s Grace right off the pedestal. I was surprised to find out how much I liked Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. Maybe I’m turning into a 13-year-old boy for my new-found love for these albums, I don’t care. I know that I will be soaking it all in on Saturday, praising to the drum god Neil to send some of that skill to my boy.

Back to reality

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My life is slowly getting back to normal as is my over-taxed body. The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind so much so that I just realized that I forgot to press “publish” on the last post I did for a band. Now I need to update it with new show information (Sorry, Emily).

If you have been in a cave, you may not know that last weekend was the North Park Festival of Arts… the festival I work on with a team of awesome, committed individuals including Liz and Amy from North Park Main Street, Rosey from San Diego: Dialed In, Dang from Bar Pink, Kathryn from Stage 7, Anna and David from A7D, Natalie from McFarlane Promotions and Svea from San Diego North Park Craft Mafia. Also we had a great media partnership with FM94.9 for the Craft Beer Block that allowed us to expand the block by about 100 ft. I hope you made it out to see the incredible diversity of art, dance or music. The weather was perfect and drunkenness was kept to a manageable level. Good responsible drinking. Even Mayor Jerry Saunders and his wife Rana Sampson made it out for some beer tasting. Apparently, SoundDiego has photos, but I have yet to see them posted. Anyhow, overall the event was a success and I look forward to doing it again next year (after some rest).

Another event that happened in the last couple of weeks as the TEDx Amercia’s Finest City at the Scripps Seaside Forum in La Jolla. It was an awesome opportunity to meet people who are seeking to drive change and make a difference in the world. The theme was “Get Your Fix” which each speaker took at from a different angle.  Barbarella hosted the as 15 speakers as they each had 12-18 minutes to share their point. Despite technical difficulties, the event ran well and it made me want to get moving on making a positive impact for social good. Yes, I realize the festival qualifies as a positive impact to the North Park community, but I feel like I could do more. And I might just get my chance. One of the event organizers of TEDxAFC wants to collaborate with me on developing a follow-up event with the same sort of theme to continue the momentum of bringing people together creating positive change. We shall see what becomes of that, but it shows promise.

Oh and there is an exciting derby bout this weekend that you do not want to miss. I will be there, but no skates. Skating has taken a back seat to all of my community and family work. Trading love for love. So that is the world of me right now. I hope to be seeing you around!

A beer flowing weekend

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The weekend was full of fun and that malty, hoppy, yeasty good stuff. Our #couchellasd party on Saturday turned inadvertently into a bit of an IPA Fest. I thought I would take a moment and share the list of IPAs you could have found in our fridge that night…

  • Lagunitas IPA
  • Full Sail IPA
  • Stone IPA
  • Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA (bottled and in growlers)
  • Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
  • Widmer Broken Halo IPA
  • Ballast Point Big Eye IPA

And if IPAs weren’t your thing, there were a few choices lying around including some awesome sangria that the boy was immediately attracted to. No worries, the grown ups saw to it the sangria wasn’t wasted on the youth.

The next night was my dad’s birthday party. His wish? To have a beer tasting party. I wish I got photos. Bottles and the rinse vase on the lazy susan, and my sister’s crazy note taking system involving X’s, stars, arrows and circles. I hope she can read in this morning. We had two rounds of tasting with dinner in between and dessert after. We tasted 19 beers with 12 participants. The following list is in order of the beers that were tasted last night including some of my notes.

Round 1

  • Asahi
  • Kronenbourg 1664: bland tasting
  • Raspberry Framboise Lambic: I expect to see this at more family gathering now
  • Rogue Dead Guy Ale: carmel flavored
  • Anchor Steam Ale
  • Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale (7.2%)
  • Dogfish Head Midas Touch Ale (9%): tastes of honey and saffron
  • Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron (12%): brown, woody malt

Round 2

  • Duchesse de Bougogne (6%): sour beer, but less sour than on tap
  • Ballast Point Big Eye IPA (6.8%)
  • Alesmith IPA
  • North Coast Pranqster (7.6%): Belgian-style ale
  • La Chouffe Belgian (8%): light hefeweizen taste
  • Duvel Belgian Strong Ale (8.5%): quote of the night “I hear it is the champagne of beer drinkers.” My sister passing on the knowledge one minute after hearing it.
  • Alesmith Crand Cru (10%)
  • Alesmith Wee Heavy (10%): heavy it is
  • Allegash Curieux (11%): oak aged, dill aftertaste
  • Rogue Chocolate Stout: thick with a burnt coffee taste
  • Mississppi Mud Pilsner/Porter

I had the last two switched, but others convinced me to taste them in this order. I believe I should have stood by my original order. Either way, it worked out to be an awesome evening. I understand my family’s taste buds better and will be less wary about bringing over a new beer.

Photo courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar