WBNY Alumni Show - Whatever Julia Feels Like Playing

If you had a chance to tune in to 91.3 WBNY this weekend, you would have heard a lot of talented disc jockeys spinning the widest assortment of music imaginable. If you were kind enough to tune in on Sunday between 10am and noon, you would have heard the following music spun by your's truly:

(Legal ID - 10am)
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken
New Pornographers - Sing Me Spanish Techno
(mic break)
Deerhoof - Plus 81
Deerhoof - Kidz Are So Small
Kelly - What R U Guys Talking About? (Canadian Version)
Pizzicato Five - Pizzicatomania
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy vs. James Bond
(mic break)
The Pietasters - Little Engine (live)
Flogging Molly - What's Left of The Flag
Matisyahu - King Without A Crown
Joseph Arthur - Dear Lord
(mic break)
Fountains Of Wayne - Someone To Love
OK Go - Television, Television
The Launderettes - I Wanna Jump Your Bones
The Legion of Doom - Crazy As She Goes
Imogen Heap - Goodnight & Go
Splashdown - Mayan Pilot
(Legal ID - 11am)
Mike Doughty - Unsingable Name
(mic break)
The Format - Dog Problems
XTC - Scarecrow People
Poole - Fall For Anything
(mic break)
David Usher - Black Black Heart 2.0
Tokyo Police Club - Shoulder & Arms
Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
MC Lars - Internet Relationships
Junior Senior - Boy Meets Girl
Mint Royale - Don't Falter
(mic break)
Ladytron - Destroy (Everything You Touch)
The Pre-Sets - Girl & The Sea
Catherine Wheel - Crank
(mic break)
London Suede - Trash
Franz Ferdinand - The Outsiders

Sadly, my tape deck crapped out and I don't have a recording of my show. It was still a great time and I thank those who told me they tuned in.

"I Miss Those Planes!"

One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies. Well.. minus the subtitles.

LET'S GO BUFFALO!

R.I.P - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

A brilliant author has passed on.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. died Wednesday at the age of 84.

2nd Annual WBNY Alumni Bash!

The Second Annual WBNY Alumni Bash will take place this Saturday at Mohawk Place, starting at 7pm and will feature The Great Train Robbery and Nancy's Candy.

Admission is $5 and there will be a ticket auction that features items from Righteous Babe Records, VH-1/MTV, Elvis Presley CDs and DVDs, gift certificates and more. All proceeds benefit Buffalo State College radio station, WBNY.

WBNY Alumni also will be taking over the airwaves this weekend. I will be doing a show on Sunday from 10 to noon. You can listen to me, and others, online. My show will be either a Six Degrees (of separation) of The Cure, Musical Quirks & Smash-Ups, or Whatever Julia Feels Like Playing. Tune in THIS Sunday 10am-noon to find out.

Addendum: Buffalo Rising: Who needs an antenna? 91.3 WBNY-FM streams on-line.
BuffaloRoots: You're Gonna Hear Me On Your Radio

Seven Songs

I was tagged by Galoot (unless he knows of another Julia) on this one.

Pick seven songs that you've been listening to and tag seven friends to share. I tend to not listen to a lot of songs repeatedly due to the wonder of shuffling over 4,000 songs on my iPod. Here are my picks:

1. "Someone To Love" by Fountains Of Wayne - The new single off FOW's recently released Traffic & Weater. It's catchy and caused me to car-dance, much to Matt's annoyance, the first time I blasted it on our way to work.
2. "+81" by Deerhoof - I could listen to the marching band intro over and over again. It's a crunchy song that catches you by surprise. At times I feel like I'm listening to a garage band. Sometimes it seems to evoke video game bleeps and bloops. Then the chorus of "choo choo cho"? I can't tell, but it makes me think of my English AP teacher. Great modern prog rock-ish song.
3. "The Fallen" by Franz Ferdinand - Damned, catchy song with killer lyrics. Plus it mentions Tesco. It's a song that feels smarter than everything around it musically. I keep reaching for the repeat button every time this comes on.
4. "Goodnight & Go" by Imogen Heap - A twinkling song with some curious vocal slides.
5. "Black, Black Heart" by David Usher - The only song I like by him. There's at least 3 different versions of it, and my favorite is the one on his myspace page. Dark, brooding stuff that suits early spring weather.
6. "She Doesn't Get It" by The Format - I first heard this song sometime in November. It stuck with me. I like the line "She doesn't get it, It's all before she's born." Something about turning 30 and the stuff from when you were a kid isn't even a memory for the truly young and hip.
7. "Least Complicated" by Indigo Girls - I forgot about this song for awhile, and then remembered to put some Indigo Girls into my iPod rotation. It's an easy song to sing along with, so I do.

Tag: Matt H., Courtney, Stenz, Matt F., Kevin H., Heidi, & Lynn

Guilty Pleasure of the Week: "Because of You" by Ne-Yo. I've overdosed on this song and lost almost all respect from my husband for my obsessiveness about this pop rendering.

Google's April Fool

Here's to a great April Fool's Day joke by Google. The concept of Gmail Paper was heralded on the Gmail log in page. I wouldn't have even saw it if I hadn't logged onto a different computer to check my email tonight. The ludicrous nature of the service raised suspicion and then my suspicions were confirmed when I checked the file name of the image you see in this post: "ss_afj.jpg" (afj= April Fools Joke). I'll be smiling for the rest of the evening.

Addendum:
Apparently there was one other joke that Google had up its sleeve for April Fools. This one is Google TiSP beta. The joke is that you can get wireless internet in your house through the "toilet internet service provider." Heh.

Cradling The Sky

My back felt the curve and sharpness of the brick street beneath me. Tendrils of my hair crept out across the cobblestone as I gazed at the sky, framed by stark tree limbs. A blush of rose spread above as a warm breath of air grazed my cheek.

***

Pearlescent clouds gleamed against a smooth night sky. The moon pulled back and let go of startling burst of light into my heart.

Improvathon 2007

Matt and I will be headed north tonight for Improvathon 2007 (Some details here) at SUNY Fredonia.

Our lovely friend, Jane of The Unexpected Guests gave me the heads-up earlier in the week that five improv comedy groups from around Western New York would be there with a massive Improv Mixer the last hour of the marathon.

It's free and goes from 5-11pm in the Williams Center. If you bring a canned or non-perishable food item, you get tickets for prizes.

All proceeds benefit Rural Ministries of Dunkirk.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This is the cover to the final book in the Harry Potter series. Mary GrandPre' has been known to put clues to the plot on the cover. There's enough hinted about on this cover to set imaginations on fire.

Lost Art of Conversation

I spend most of my day typing snappy retorts over instant messenger, or thumbing in quick text replies on my cell phone. On those rare occasions that I send email, I'll spend a good hour writing it and editing it so it's something akin to a literary masterpiece. For email, at any rate. This usually means it's longer than most of the emails I'll ever receive.

But for all my long-winded electronic replies, quick remarks about everything under the sun in meebo.com, I find myself smiling and blushing as I try to carry on a regular conversation with friends in person. All my wit flees and I dangerously tread on foot-in-mouth territory.

I know there's a few people who would beg to disagree. And yes, I'm quite capable of intelligent and even interesting conversation, but that usually happens because I'm comfortable with the person I'm talking to. If I haven't seen a friend in awhile, or if it's someone I'm used to chatting online with then the cross-over to in person conversation seems to be a struggle. That stresses me out of course because I want to take advantage of every moment I have with my friends.

I know there have been studies about this and the Luddites have loudly proclaimed that the Internet would be the downfall of civilized conversation/letter writing/and traditional means of communication.

I'll continue to ponder that whilst I punch out another carefully worded text on my cell.

Addendum:
I think I have figured it out.

I'm an introvert.

When I get together with other introverts, I'm a regular Chatty Cathy.

When I get together with extroverts who hate any kind of silence, I give them the upper-hand in conversations because it's usually too hard to get a word in edgewise anyway.

I am my best with extroverts who know how to respect an introvert's space, and give me the 5 seconds I need to think and then spit out the brilliant thought that came to mind.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

A friend of mine has the lead role in this play. From what he's been saying, it's going to be a good, thought provoking show. For more information, visit The Scharmann Theatre website.

Fetid Baby Limbs

I created my own Red Meat.

The inspiration comes from any one of Max Cannon's weekly Red Meat strips.

Growing Leaders

A few weeks ago I embarked on a year long course with the Chautauqua Leadership Network (CLN). "What is this?" you ask. The cop-out answer is, "Here, read their mission statement":

"The mission of the Chautauqua Leadership Network is to identify and nurture regional leaders, providing a framework for an emerging network of skilled civic trustees helping our communities to meet the challenges of today and the opportunities of tomorrow."

See if you can pick out which Julia is me in the class pic and where I am on page 8: CLN Newsletter-March 2007

Warren Civic Orchestra Concert - March 18th

The Warren Civic Orchestra will be performing a Memorial/Tribute Concert to the late Dr. Jaropolk Lassowsky at 4 PM, Sunday, March 18th at the Struther's Library Theatre in Warren, PA.

The concert will feature pieces arranged by Dr. Lassowsky including a suite by Debussy, Variations on La Folia, and a Flute Quartet. Also featured will be the first and fourth movements of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Admission is free and a reception will be held at the theatre at the conclusion of the performance.

****

I approach every concert with some trepidation. As stated many times, I'm not overly comfortable performing, even with a group. Practicing generally doesn't ease my worries. Invariably, I will take my seat on stage in my concert dress and I find that my fingers have turned to ice, accompanied by sweaty-palm syndrome. My throat dries up and my jaw clenches with concentration. Fortunately, I have found one thing that manages to relax me some, but doesn't look so great to the audience. Chewing gum. A year ago, or more, I found that chewing gum helps my jaw relax and allows me focus better on the music in front of me. This goes for rehearsals too. I prefer Orbit because the pieces are not so small that they evaporate in my mouth, and not so large that it seems like I'm gnawing away on my cud.

****

This concert is a week later than originally scheduled. It would have been today, but due to several rehearsals being canceled due to our glorious winter weather, it had to be moved up a week. Assuming there are no further plans for ice, snow, and winter malaise this coming weekend, my parents are coming down to hear me play and bringing two Great-Aunts. Due to the distance of Warren from Rochester, NY; they've never heard the Warren Orchestra. I'm guessing they will be delighted. I also have a couple friends in Warren that are hoping to come as well. It's always nice to have familiar faces in the audience and it's also nice to have newcomers there as well. I invite you to join the crowd for this free event!

Riding My Chariot

Gravel and dirty snow rumbled under the wheels of my car as I drove to work. Two morning doves waited at the side of the road until my car approached. They took flight, hovering in front of my car. Imaginary harnesses grew behind them and attached to my red chariot, pulling me into the air. I bid adieu to pot holes as we glided over tree tops and punched our way through the cloud puffing from the smokestack at the power plant until my car thumped to the ground at the garage entrance for work.

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Cold Warming

Everything I see, hear, and smell while walking around downtown Jamestown gives me the sense of being in 15 million different worlds all at once. I waited for the light to change at the corner of Third and Main Streets while cold air threatened to freeze any open passage-way into my lungs. I crossed the street as a red light and "walk" sign turned in my favor. Sunlight moved across my face as I passed from the shadow of the buildings lining the street.

NorthernExposureCalvin&HobbesHotCoffeeAlbanySpringtimeSkiing
My mind floated above me, touching the branches of the trees in the walkway. The snow squeaked beneath my feet.

Caffeine Sabbatical

I've been drinking a fair amount of caffeine-fueled products over the past couple of months. The last two weeks I've noticed that my increased intake hasn't necessarily resulted in that buzz or energy boost that I'm accustomed to getting. And then I read a a post by Gen X at 40 that may explain why.

As discouraging as the news may be, I think I might be able to pare down my intake of teas/coffee enough so that I make my body think it's getting something new and exciting in its system when I do have a treasured cuppa. The trick is cutting back. March has been quite frigid and I love my hot mug of tea during cold spells like this.

Twitterings

My hands are bouncing up and down lightly on the keyboard to the music on the jazz channel. Sometimes they press the keys, sometimes they just move in time with the snare drum.

***

I wear a red hat that I found at an import store in the mall. Friends and people around downtown recognize me by the hat, even if they can't see the rest of my face. The fuzzy angora catches snowflakes as I walk briskly down the sidewalk to deposit loan checks at the bank.

"I love your hat!" people exclaim.

I smile, "Thank you!"

Todd will tell me, "Lana said she saw you Saturday night. I told her she couldn't be sure it was you until she interrupted me, 'The girl was wearing that red hat that Julia wears. It had to be her!'"

I enjoy the eyes the follow me down the street from someone looking for a parking spot.

***
Like my grandmother did when she was sick, I often lay in bed and think about all my plans for our house. Ceilings are restored, crawl spaces cleared out and insulated; wallpaper gives way to rich color, and small nooks transform into libraries or office space.

The furniture moves around and unused pieces trudge up the stairs leg by leg to find refuge in the attic. New pieces are welcomed by books and decorative bits that arrange themselves on the shelves.

Even our yard joins in the effort with grass sprouting up from hard ground. Bushes stubbornly resist uprooting, but even they cannot hold back the shovels attacking the earth around their base. Raised flower beds and a fence spring to the surface allowing our dogs find new and exciting things to sniff without being constrained by leashes or tie-outs.

***
I carry a cup of coffee away from Timothy's Cafe. Grey slush splooshes underneath my boots, but I don't notice its cold wetness. The aroma of cinnamon, nuts, and cream waft toward my nose. I inhale deeply from the opening in the lid of my paper coffee cup. I'm no longer walking to work in my mind. Instead I'm listening to a live jazz quartet noodling along some line they seemed to have surprised upon. My paper cup is a sturdy, white mug of coffee warming my hands and filling my mouth with spice and lively bitterness.

Instant Karma Coffee House

The first time I ever was on the radio was in December 1994. Ryan Casilio was my trainer on WIRQ and was pretty cool about letting me pick out some music to play during his show. In between stumbling over public service announcements and announcing a request for the one friend who was listening, I found this gem of a tune by Loud Sugar (a commercial precedes the video):

Loud Sugar - Instant Karma Coffee House
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