I Think I'll Head Home

I recently took a trip out to Utah to visit my family because I hadn't seen them in a while and I was missing them. I happened to be in Utah for Pioneer Day. This is a Utah holiday on July 24th -- people have the day off and everything. (Cue History Channel program music) Pioneer Day celebrates the arrival of Brigham Young and his band of traveling Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. This is when he delivered his "This is the Place" line. And now Utah has a This is the Place Heritage Park with a This is the Place Monument, and the state song is "Utah, This Is the Place" (though when I was growing up, the state song was "Utah, We Love Thee").

Anyway, Pioneer Day is a holiday that celebrates "The Days of '47". There's parades, fairs (with funnel cakes!), rodeos, fireworks. Some people walk portions of the Mormon Trail and reenact entering the Salt Lake Valley while wearing pioneer clothes and carry handcarts (excitement overload!). Pioneer Day doesn't hold the same appeal it did when I was a kid. When I was a kid I was so excited to go to the parade and to pick up candy off the ground that was thrown to the crowd (which seems very vagabond-esque, now that I think about it). One year I even participated in the parade and dressed up like a pioneer (in a pioneer dress that my neighbor had made for me for a school play -- because my mom can't sew. She took Latin in high school, not Home Ec. She would rather learn a dying language than to learn how to sew a pot holder. Love it.). I thought I was so cool in my little pioneer dress.

As a kid, I also loved going to the Pioneer Day fair for the games and to see friends from school that I hadn't seen all summer. Now the only thing I look forward to about Pioneer Day (other than my family having the day off) is the fair food (did I mention funnel cakes?!) and the fireworks. Although, about those fireworks -- bless Utah's heart (the best Mormon way to draw attention to someone or something's shortcomings. "Bless his heart, but he is as dumb as a bag of rocks." Just like "She's a sweet spirit" is the best way to draw attention to someone's ugliness and/or weight problem), but those fireworks are pretty paltry and sad. They were always kind of paltry and sad, but I'm especially ruined now after witnessing the DC fireworks -- you know there's no fucking around when it comes to the Nation's Capital Fireworks (capitalization needed).

Speaking of how sad Logan fireworks are, every year Logan has their 4th of July fireworks the day before. So the closest you can come to 4th of July fireworks in Logan is the 3rd of July. They have it the day before because it's cheaper (the group that puts on the fireworks show charges less). Seriously. This year the 4th of July fell on a Sunday. And Utah is definitely not going to have fireworks on Sunday (It's da-day-uh-da-lord). So the fancy fireworks (in Salt Lake City and in Provo at the Stadium of Fire -- which was first created by an Osmond-brother-that-wasn't-Donny) had their shows on the 3rd of July. Which means Logan had theirs on the 2nd of July! Happy Independence Day Minus Two Days!

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I was excited to go to Utah because I got to meet the latest addition to the family: A German Shorthair (German Shorthaired Pointer) dog named Tuck. My parents got this dog earlier this year. He's a very cute and nice dog. He's super fast. And he contorts his body into funny positions when he sits or lays down.

Look at how he likes to sit!

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Another highlight of the trip was the Rocky Votolato house show with Holly and Davis (thanks guys!). What a great intimate setting for seeing Rocky -- just him and his acoustic guitar. No mic, no amp. Just him. He sounded amazing.

The show also made me feel really old (at age 26!). Based on the applause of recognition that would come before songs (and people mouthing the lyrics during the song), it was fairly obvious the crowd first started getting into Rocky when he released his Makers album and didn't know much stuff before that album. In fact, Rocky said at one point, "If you guys don't mind, I think I might play some old stuff. This song is from the Makers album..." And the crowd went wild. While they were going wild, I was thinking to myself "Makers is an old album?!" There were like four full length albums that came out before Makers. I was into Waxwing (Rocky's previous band) in high school and got really into Rocky Votolato's solo stuff my freshman year of college (early 2002). Makers came out after I already graduated from college (2006). And yet Makers was an old album? Ouch.

Another indicator of how old I was in comparison to the crowd: After the show, people were coming up and talking to Rocky and one girl said, "I love you so much! I've loved you ever since I heard you on The OC!" I was waiting for her to finish that sentence with "...when I was in middle school." But I'm glad younger kids are liking excellent music.

Regardless of feeling out of place age-wise, it was an amazing show and I'm so glad I went. He played for about an hour-and-a-half and he played songs from several of his albums (even the old, old, old ones). I've seen Rocky in concert so many times and this was probably my favorite concert of his.

So good

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While in Ogden for the Rocky concert:

I forgot how ugly and retro the Mormon temple in Ogden is. Yuck. I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that the least amount of people get married in this (Utah) temple. And if they do, they drive to another temple after the ceremony to get their pictures taken.

What a weird patriotic horse statue. Who thought it would be a good idea to paint the founding fathers on a horse?

The painter must have had a real problem with John Adams if he placed him on the ass.

And how bizarre that the statue-maker felt it was necessary to include the penis and balls on this horse. Were they worried that some passerby would say, "Hey, where's the penis?! This horse isn't anatomically correct. Sure, George Washington is standing up inside the horse's stomach...but I take real issue with the horse not having a penis and testicles!"

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I do miss the mountains. And having this in my backyard:

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The best part of the trip, of course, was seeing everyone that I miss. Annnnd eating at my favorite restaurants.

The Interconnected World of Indie Dating

I was riding the metro today and The Elected came on my ipod. This band was a side project of Blake Sennett's from Rilo Kiley. Hearing the song made me think about how Blake Sennett was once engaged to Winona Ryder (they eventually broke up. You think Winona could actually be in a longterm relationship?!). And then it got me thinking about how Winona and Conor Oberst (from Bright Eyes) had dated before Winona and Blake did. And Blake and Conor are friends. They appear on each other's albums. Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes were both on the close-knit Saddle Creek Records label. Then I started thinking about all the indie band relationship connections (and how 'incestuous' indie dating is). And then it soon spilled over into some actors who seem to enjoy dating indie musicians. So I pulled out the magazine in my purse, found an ad page with open space, and then started drawing a diagram connecting indie musician relationships. Once I got home I transfered the diagram to some notebook paper to make it look neater.

Here's what I came up with:

(Note: Some of these relationships might have just been gossip/rumors, but, regardless, I heard they were in a relationship and that's good enough for me.)

Black lines = Relationship (dated/married)

Blue lines = Musical relationship (in a band together/collaborated (i.e., appeared) on each others albums)

Double lines (black and blue line) = They both dated and had a musical relationship

And these are just the connections I'm aware of and could think of off the top of my head. There definitely could be more.

Detailed Explanation of the Diagram:

Conor Oberst (from Bright Eyes, his solo work, Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band, Monsters of Folk, to name some) dated Maria Taylor (from Azure Ray and her solo work, to name some). Both Bright Eyes and Azure Ray were on Saddle Creek Records. Conor and Maria often made appearances on each others albums.

Maria Taylor was in Azure Ray with Orenda Fink. Orenda Fink is married to Todd Fink (né Baechle), the lead singer of The Faint. The Faint were also a Saddle Creek band. Todd grew up in Omaha with Conor Oberst. They were in the band Commander Venus together (also a member was Tim Kasher from Cursive/The Good Life -- two more Saddle Creek bands).

Conor Oberst also dated Neely Jenkins (from Tilly & The Wall). They grew up together and actually lived next door to each other. They were both in the band Park Ave. Also in the band was Clark Baechle (he also is in The Faint. And he's the brother of Todd Fink) and Jamie Williams. Neely and Jamie eventually formed the band Tilly & the Wall.

Jamie Williams (now Jamie Pressnall) dated fellow Tilly & the Wall bandmate Derek Pressnall, and now they're married.

Conor Oberst also dated Winona Ryder.

Winona Ryder also dated Ryan Adams (from his solo work and Whiskeytown).

Ryan Adams is married to Mandy Moore.

Mandy Moore also dated the musician Greg Laswell.

Winona Ryder also dated Blake Sennett (from Rilo Kiley and The Elected. He also was an actor).

Blake Sennett also dated his Rilo Kiley bandmate Jenny Lewis (also from The Postal Service and her solo project. She also was an actress).

Jenny Lewis allegedly dated her Postal Service bandmate Ben Gibbard (who also was in Death Cab for Cutie, as well as other projects).

Ben Gibbard is married to Zooey Deschanel (along with being an actress, Zooey is in She & Him with M. Ward. He also is in Monsters of Folk with Conor Oberst).

Zooey Deschanel dated Jason Schwartzman (in addition to being an actor, he was in the band Phantom Planet and has a solo project called Coconut Records).

Jenny Lewis is currently dating indie musician Johnathan Rice. They're also working on an album together. (Johnathan Rice also recently went on tour with Ben Gibbard)

Jenny Lewis also dated Jake Gyllenhaal.

Jake Gyllenhaal also dated Kirsten Dunst. Kirsten Dunst is dating Jason Boesel (from Rilo Kiley, The Elected, Bright Eyes, and Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. He also played drums for Johnathan Rice. So there's connections to Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Conor Oberst, and Johnathan Rice). Though, I haven't heard recently whether Kirsten and Jason are still together or not.

Jake Gyllenhaal also dated Natalie Portman. Natalie Portman also dated indie musician Devendra Banhart.

Kirsten Dunst and Natalie Portman also both dated Andy Samberg. Andy is dating indie musician Joanna Newsom (though I haven't heard recently whether they're still together or not).

Kirsten Dunst also dated Ryan Gosling (in addition to being an actor, he's in the indie band Dead Man's Bones). Ryan Gosling also dated the actress Michelle Williams.

Conor Oberst also dated the actress Michelle Williams.

Michelle Williams also dated the director Spike Jonze.

Spike Jonze was married to the director Sofia Coppola. Sofia is dating (and has children with) Thomas Mars from the band Phoenix. (Sofia is also cousins with Jason Schwartzman)

Spike Jonze also dated Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

In conclusion, Conor Oberst seems to be the center of the universe when it comes to indie dating (that man-slut/music-slut!). He is the Kevin Bacon of this diagram.

Who's Left to NOT Be a Guest Star?

I keep hearing entertainment news about X actor joining the upcoming season of Dexter or Weeds as a guest star. Showtime is going a little crazy with the guest stars. Yes, John Lithgow was an amazing guest star on Dexter playing Arthur Mitchell/The Trinity Killer (and he won a Golden Globe for the role. And was also nominated for an Emmy). But that doesn't mean you need to go hog wild on guest stars for the upcoming season, Showtime. As for Weeds, yes, this show is getting crazier and crazier every season (aww, remember when Nancy was just a little ol' pot dealer in the suburbs? My what a long journey she has been on...), and yeah they've jumped a couple of billion sharks, so I guess the thinking is 'What's the harm of a couple of more guest stars?!' Regardless, I'll still watch both shows loyally.

So, from the latest gossip I heard, the following people will be guest stars on the upcoming season of Weeds or Dexter (some were guest stars last season as well):

Dexter

Julia Stiles

You might remember her from 10 Things I Hate About You, Save the Last Dance, Mona Lisa Smile, or those Bourne movies

Jonny Lee Miller

You might remember him from Hackers, Trainspotting, or the TV show Eli Stone. You might also remember him as Angelina Jolie's first husband (back when hardly anyone knew who Angelina Jolie was).

Shawn Hatosy

You might remember him from The Faculty, In & Out, or John Q. He's in a bunch of random stuff, but you don't really remember what.

Katherine Moennig

You probably only remember her from The L Word, if you ever saw that Showtime show. Oh and it seems like every time I see her name mentioned, they bring up that she's Gwyneth Paltrow's cousin.

April Lee Hernandez

I don't actually know who this is. But apparently she was on ER. And in the movie Freedom Writers.

Peter Weller

or

You probably remember him from the Robocop movies, Buckaroo Banzai, or the TV show 24.

Weeds

Jennifer Jason Leigh

You might remember her from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, or Margot at the Wedding. You might also know her as the wife of director/writer Noah Baumbach. Or the daughter of Vic Morrow, the actor that died on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie due to that tragic helicopter crash.

Alanis Morissette

You Oughta Know her from her music. She was also on Dogma, the TV show You Can't Do That On Television, and that episode of Sex and the City where she kissed Carrie in a game of Spin the Bottle. You might also remember she was once engaged to the actor Ryan Reynolds (who is now married to Scarlett Johansson. Talk about a downgrade. Haha.).

Richard Dreyfuss

You might remember him from What About Bob?, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or Mr. Holland's Opus.

Linda Hamilton

You might remember her from The Terminator and Terminator 2, Dante's Peak, or that weird Beauty and the Beast TV show with Ron Perlman. You might also remember her as James Cameron's 4th wife (he's now on to wife #5).

Mark-Paul Gosselaar

You might remember him as Zack Morris from Good Morning Miss Bliss, Saved by the Bell, Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style, Saved by the Bell: The College Years, and Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas. He was also in Dead Man on Campus (where he debuted his dyed-black, instead of blonde, hair. Scandalous!). Then he was on a bunch of bad network TV shows where he seemed to always play a lawyer or a cop.

Peter Stormare

You might remember this creepy Swede from Fargo, The Big Lebowski, or Dancer in the Dark.

Eric Lange

I have no idea who this guy is. But apparently he was on the TV show Lost. Also, according to imdb, he's been on one episode of pretty much every TV show: Angel, Firefly, The Shield, CSI, The West Wing, JAG, Judging Amy, The Bernie Mac Show, Without a Trace, ER, CSI: NY, NCIS, [This is starting to look like a stock market ticker], Cold Case, Ghost Whisperer, Burn Notice, Entourage, Boston Legal, Criminal Minds, Bones, Numb3rs, My Name is Earl, Monk, Law & Order: SVU, Modern Family, and Dark Blue. Wow. Now add Weeds to that huge list.

Deal Breaker?

A.V. Club recently had a piece on couples that have disagreements over their tastes in movies/tv shows/music/books. For example, a guy not understanding how his wife didn't share his love for the Beastie Boys and another guy being annoyed that his girlfriend reads so many young adult novels.

It got me thinking. I'm not one of those people that would write somebody off for their pop culture tastes. I wouldn't dump a guy because he hated Dolly Parton (though I would seriously consider it...). I wouldn't ditch a friend because they like the TV show Reba or The Bachelor/ette. But I am one of those people that could build a friendship on similar tastes.

I wouldn't defriend you because of your tastes, but I might befriend you because of your tastes. When I meet someone new at a get-together or a party, and we soon find out we have a similar pop culture interest (or interests), that can become a good icebreaker. That can get the conversation going. Discussing the medical bills we've accumulated due to the heart attacks caused by Breaking Bad can be a great way to start a friendship. If I find someone that says High Fidelity is one of their favorite movies/books, then they have my attention. Finding a shared love of Rocky Votolato results in album reviews (and our preferential ranking of the albums) and concert stories, which leads to discussions of other bands that toured with Rocky, and on it goes until you get married (ok, maybe that's a stretch).

And while not everyone that has similar tastes end up being a good match for you -- I've met assholes that like Elliott Smith and annoying people that like David Sedaris -- at least it's a good starting point to see if there's potential.

This piece also got me thinking about my own personal relationship. Luckily, Eagan and I have very similar pop culture tastes. I don't find myself having to compromise and go see Transformers 2 in the theatre because he really wants to (because he doesn't). I don't have to fill my ears with cotton balls because he's listening to Kid Rock in the other room (because he isn't). We pretty much like the same music, movies, TV shows, etc. But that's not to say we have all the same likes. We have our differences -- luckily we don't have disagreements over them or anything. We might give the other a hard time, in jest, but that's about it. It more results in a situation where when one is not around, the other will watch the movie they know the other wouldn't want to see. Or when we're in the car together and something comes up on my ipod that Eagan doesn't like, he just changes the song (and I don't mind). Here are some of our differences:

Musicals. I like musicals. I'm not one of those people that love all things musicals and have seen every single musical. Far from it. But I did watch a lot of musical movies when I was growing up (some of my favorite movies as a little kid were Grease, Sound of Music, and the Wizard of Oz). My aunt is a choir director and singer and she exposed me to a lot of different musicals when we would visit her. Furthermore, I took piano lessons when I was a kid and my teacher would often assign me sheet music from musicals and I fell in love with some of the songs (songs from Les Miserables are really coming to mind). Since I grew up with musicals and was exposed to them by an aunt I was very fond of, I have a special place in my heart for them. Eagan didn't really grow up with the same exposure.

Also, Eagan is opposed to the idea of musicals. I'm not turned off by actors suddenly breaking out into song and dance -- I actually like that -- but that's a deal breaker for him. I get super excited when Sound of Music is on TV, while Eagan groans. This also translates into my love for the TV show Glee, which is not Eagan's thing. He agrees the show is funny and has smart writing, but the singing and dancing does him in (which is pretty much the whole show).

Speaking of dancing, I love So You Think You Can Dance. Like with a passion. Eagan doesn't care for it.

Another reality show I like that Eagan doesn't watch is The Biggest Loser. Eagan thinks it's funny/cute how much that show makes me cry (it seems like just about every episode makes me cry. Once Jillian corners them outside the gym to talk about their feelings, look out tear ducts!). Though one thing is for sure, Eagan loves the theme song! He does a really funny over-the-top impersonation of that terrible song ("What have you done today to make you feel proud...").

Another reality show is Survivor. Although he doesn't watch that show, he pretty much watches it because I say stuff to him like, "Oh my god, you will not believe what just happened on Survivor!!" and then I proceed to describe the whole hour of the show. So although he doesn't watch a single episode, he knows who's still in the game, what strategies they've played, and who I want to win. Like he knew Russell didn't deserve to win because he doesn't have a good social game -- and that's a huge part of winning Survivor (!).

Eagan pretty much doesn't watch reality shows. Luckily for him, the above shows are pretty much the only ones I watch. The other reality shows I watch, Eagan actually watches with me and likes -- Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, Top Chef, and Project Runway (though the past 2 seasons were kind of boring and we didn't really watch consistently).

Another point of departure is 80s movie (some would say 80s girl movies). For example, Dirty Dancing and John Hughes's Molly Ringwald Trifecta (Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink). I could watch that shit over and over and over again, much to Eagan's dismay. I think Eagan would admit these are decent movies and that there are some merits -- but these aren't movies he loves to watch or would watch on his own accord. Although I did in fact convince him to go with me and a friend to see the 20th Anniversary screening of Dirty Dancing in the theatre! But I think he was more going for the interesting/crazy experience than for the movie itself.

And then there's the sentimental-crying-movies-about-women. Eagan actually doesn't mind these as much -- he acknowledges that Steel Magnolias, Beaches, Terms of Endearment, Boys on the Side, etc. are good movies (though, some more than others). But, like the 80s movies, these aren't movies he's dying to watch (no pun intended!!!). As for me, I cannot tell you how many times I've seen these movies. Especially Steel Magnolias. I first saw it when I was about 4 (I saw it at my Southern aunt's house) and I've loved it ever since. I pretty much have the dialogue from that movie memorized. Despite the number of times I see these movies, they always get me. I'm drenched in tears by the end of the film. I cry until it hurts ("It hurts! The bee stings!" -- That's another good crying movie).

Speaking of Steel Magnolias, I have a deep love for Dolly Parton. I've loved Dolly ever since I was a little girl. Both of my parents love Dolly's music, so I grew up listening to Dolly records. One of my favorite records as a kid was Trio -- a supergroup, if you will, consisting of Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt. My parents loved all three singers, and often played their records, so I grew up listening to and loving all three. So when those three came together? Daaammn. Listening to Dolly music was a huge part of my childhood.

In addition, me and my siblings pretty much watched anything Dolly was in. We absolutely loved Steel Magnolias, Smoky Mountain Christmas (that's another one of those movies that I've seen so many times that I've lost track), 9 to 5, and Straight Talk. I even remember loving this Dolly Parton TV special where she went to Hawaii. Dolly could do no wrong. Unfortunately, Eagan doesn't share that same love for Dolly. I think I just have to live with the fact that very few people share the same deep love I have for Dolly.

And then on the other side, there are certain things Eagan enjoys that I don't care for as much. For example, there are certain sci-fi or horror movies that Eagan admits look terrible, and he would never see them in a theatre or rent them (in other words, wouldn't pay to see them)...but if they're on TV one lazy Saturday, he'll watch them. Now I've never seen these movies, so I can't say for sure -- they could actually be amazing (...) -- but they look pretty bad in my opinion. I'm talking about movies like 13 Ghosts (oh, I meant, Thir13en Ghosts. My bad.), Resident Evil, The Core, 28 Weeks Later (I did like 28 Days Later). These are definitely not his top movie choices -- it's more like one of those situations where you find yourself at the end of the moving saying "wow, I actually watched that whole thing." I don't find myself doing that too much. I usually watch with a purpose. If I stumble upon a movie on TV and I watch it, it's actually one I've seen before and like -- like 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up, which TBS seems to play all the time. So we differ in our levels of tolerability when it comes to those so-bad-they're-almost-good-no-actually-they're-not-good-at-all sci-fi and horror movies on TV.

Another thing we don't have in common is Star Trek: The Next Generation. Eagan liked the show as a kid, but it seems like his love for TNG really started to blossom in college. A philosophy professor of his played an episode in class to discuss the issue of cyborgs and humanity (I think?). Anyway, after that, Eagan realized the show had some smart writing. Then his love really took off in grad school. Some channel, maybe Spike, seemed to play TNG episodes all day, every day. He would turn on the TV when he took a break from stressful grad school work and the show was always on. And then he was hooked. I would be in the other room working on something and I would hear the faint hum of the TNG theme song playing in the other room, and I would say jokingly, "Eagan! What did I catch you doing?!" When I go out of town, Eagan puts TNG episodes at the top of our Netflix queue.

The other day I read Eagan a comment I saw online, one person said something like "Let's start a nerd fight. Fact: The Millennium Falcon is a better ship than the Starship Enterprise." And Eagan quickly retorted with disgust, "NO WAY!!" and proceeded to go into the technical specifics of why the Starship Enterprise was better. I got very concerned, while at the same time being very impressed. He concluded his argument with something along the lines of: "I'm not saying the Enterprise is better than the Millennium Falcon, just that in a direct fight the Enterprise would win. I have no doubt the MF would be better for smuggling, running a blockade, or any number of tasks. But the crew of the Enterprise is in the thousands, whereas the crew for the MF would be less than ten, maximum. "

vs.

I've never really seen a whole episode of TNG. I think it's because TV shows set in space just don't seem to pique my interest (haha. Great answer!). I wouldn't say sci-fi/fantasy is Eagan's favorite genre, but I think he has more appreciation for it than I do. I do like some sci-fi/fantasy stuff, I just tend to not give that genre much of a chance ('What? It's in space? Takes place in the future? Has futuristic weapons? No, thanks.'). For example, I love the Star Wars movies, but didn't see any of the movies until I was almost in college -- because I never gave it a chance. In fact, my family even owned a copy of Star Wars: A New Hope. My brother checked out that movie from our local library in Connecticut, then my family misplaced it like they always do, and then we moved to Utah. Then when we were unpacking the boxes in Utah, there it was. So we had "Star Wars: A New Hope (Property of the North Haven Public Library)" in our collection for years and years, and yet I still never saw it. So could it be that I would like TNG if I gave it a chance? Possibly. But, then again, it does takes place in space...