If you're in New York tonight !

Things are going to be a bit crazy tonight. Trust me.

Come witness it!

And so it ends.

OKAY, OKAY, OKAY! I know! I'm SO OVER talking about turning twenty-five. It's over, though! For real.

Just one last post. Promise.

These are pics from last week's awesome Trainwreck Tuesday Birthday Party for Keller and me! Jiscilla put up more awesome pics from the night HERE!

The weekend was also mega-fun and epic and I can't even begin to recount it, because if I do, I might just squeal and stay up writing every detail, and that would just bore you! Suffice to say, my family rules, my friends rule, and my fianz rules. I am truly so grateful for everyone in my life, and the word "fun" wouldn't exist without them.

See? -

Also, Erica's arm and elbow were NOT photoshopped.

"Har, har, har, Perry, trying to put the frosting on my face. False."

"OMG IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!"

"Okay, so over it."

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I'm officially starting my twenty-fifth year in existence. I will just add, however, that my antics are still the same. I mean, I followed Katie Brown into the front of the MCS crowd last night during their last song. We were jumping and screaming to "The Future Freaks Me Out." There's no room to be embarrassed by such behavior, even as I get older. I'm young, but I know that there's always room to exploit the fun of any moment I can as much as possible. I am so lucky to be surrounded by my friends and family, and I am ever-so-thankful for all that I've been blessed with. I try to always remember this: to remember the big picture. Sometimes it's hard to not be sad or depressed or angry or removed or hurt or a myriad of other emotions; it's normal - but I'd like to be happy as much as possible. I'm working at a pretty good percentage lately. So far, so good.

Speaking of happy - Jesse left a bit ago, after a wonderfully relaxing day together, but he comes back from tour for good next Sunday, just in time for - you know it - FOOTBALL!

Yes.

Stoked for: getting the day off work tomorrow to spend some nice one-on-one time with Jesse on his day off. :)

The new season of Dexter...and my life.

-- via hip twenty-five top

Jesse gets suited up New England style.

-- via hip pats country top

And gets me into my favourite mood.

If it weren't for the downpour outside, I'd be jauntily skipping out of work today come 5 o'clock. Wait, scratch that. I'll probably still do it, G. Kelly style, because it's the WEEKEND.

What ever am I doing?

Tonight I'm packing up, watching the debates, and going to Jonah's 45th birthday party. I am jazzed for the debates, because it seems like such a finally moment, and I want to hear some actual discourse between the two candidates. But, let's be honest, the real reason I'm excited is because I bought Erica, Jesse, and myself minz American flags a few weeks ago for this exact purpose - so we could sit on the couch and wave them when a good point is made during the debate and say "here, here." We kind of get into it at our apartment; we don't believe in half-assing anything. Even debate-watching.

TOMORROW! Erica, Gaby, and I are heading to Providence, RI! We're meeting up with Jesse and MCS, and my family! I'm so excited! The afternoon will be spent with my parents, bro Travio, and my aunt, uncle, cousin, fianz and friends eating up a birthday meal, and then the Motion City Soundtrack show @ Lupo's, then birthday partying! YEAH. I KNOW. STOKED.

On Sunday, the actual day of my birth twenty-five years ago, I'm heading with Jesse on his bus to New Haven for another show and hangs with Katie Brown & Lauren & continue the general theme of the weekend of YAY! FUN! MY FRIENDS RULE!

And of course, I'm super super super super super super super stoked about hanging with the Fianz. :)

You've made my decision.

As you may remember, last week I wondered if I should even attempt to start reading the Twilight series, so I pleaded for input. And I got it! Quite a bit of it.

Summarily:

Fifteen people told me to read it; of those fifteen, seven suggested I only read the first book, as it is the best. There were very convincing arguments -

Only two people told me to forgo my curiosity and leave it be. One person (who shall remain anonymous) said, "You and I...we don't read those books."

There were a few different reactions - Chris didn't offer any opinion regarding Twilight but suggested I definitely check out the new HBO show True Blood, and thanks to him now I have another freakin' show I've been sucked (ha) into. I kid, I kid, Chris. I dig it, thank you. And Jamie would like to read them together and start our own "internetz book club" - obvs, I'm a nerd, and this idea is fantastic if it doesn't remind me of homework. Jiscilla is also quite interested because she just found out Paramore is doing some music for the film version's soundtrack, and because she dug my last book recommendation, The Time Traveler's Wife.

Then, it all came down to a comment I received this morning from dear friend, Katie Brown: "ps- you can add 'katie brought me twilight for my birthday... now i can see what the hype is all about.' in about 72 hours."

Therefore, thank you friends for chiming in: I am reading the first book of Twilight. Thank you especially to KB for actually making it possible. And, I will obviously be recounting my thoughts here, maybe forming a book club, and most likely adding another fictional character to my list of Dreamy Fictional Characters (which includes Mr. Darcy, Logan Echolls, etc.) And I will go see the movie. BUT! The promos make it look like a lame new CW show, like One Tree Hill meets Smallville, just sayin'...okay, I'll stop my stream-of-consciousness opining now and get to the book!

My Top Artists this Week (Sep 15 - Sep 21)

(via my last.fm)

Obviously, last week was Dragonette week. And apparently it's always She & Him week, ever since I got Volume One. It's still amazing. I listen to it every day without fail.

---

Last night's Trainwreck Birthday was so much fun! I am so enamored with my friends and all they mean to me. Some quick highlights (Jiscilla will have pictures soon, obviously!):

- Erica went to the party store and decided to get all BATMAN themed party stuffs. Quote: "You're a bit more Batman than Hello Kitty." It's true, it's true. This included a blue ribbon pin with Batman's face and it said "BIRTHDAY HERO"!!!!! Of course, we forgot it at home. It will be on display a lot this weekend. You know, on my real birthday.

- Margaritaahhhhhs ! & red velvet cupcakes provided via Jiscilla!

- I was a total Betty last night. YEAH! High-waisted dress that hooped it a little bit. And you saw my curled hair and make-up in the last post.

- Co-birthday-er Keller's awesome ladyfriend got us cakes and the bar sang us Happy Birthday!

- A dude I haven't seen since highschool showed up. The first dude to break my teeny heart. I may or may not have relayed that to him last night. Ha! He was very apologetic. :)

- Meik! got me COMIC BOOKS as a present! SO SWEET!

- Perry totes broke out a LAMB watch for me - YES! (see how my friends are awesome?)

- DJs Rob Hitt & Erica Dagley = hearts.

- Green shirt.

- Oh hey, I am understandably angry when a friend lies to me. But, since you're no longer my friend, I guess I simply don't care. I'm pretty sure I never should have in the first place.

- I sat on a couch to rest my high-heeled feet and when I got up, I was wiping crumbs off my seat. When I got home I realized I'd sat in some chocolate cupcake crumbs, and um, it looked like I poo'd. "Poop or chocolate?!"

- Homies. That is all.

- Dancing, nerding out, loving all my friends.

- MEIK! posted a few pics on his flickr!

---

Yay! It was so much fun. This weekend the fun continues...in other states! More on that later, amigos.

And I'm out !

The only good thing about not having your fiancee around for your birthday party is you get to break out the red lipstick. Red lips aren't meant for kissing. :)

Act of Vengeance.

Dear Jessica,

I was adequitely confused by your birthday party flyer. Thanks for sending it to me, but, remember, I'm in the future. I can't go back in time. I thought you were smarter, man. And now I'm bummed cause I'm missing a party. I NEVER MISS A KILLER PARTY.

And yeah, Jon Hamm and I bro'd down on the set of Stood Still Earth..or When Stills Earth... Earth Daze... - whatever movie I did with him. Dude, it's been two years, I can't remember them all. He's awesome. Like, real, you know? And he wasn't lying when he said I have the WHOLE package - it's big, if you know what I mean. You know what I mean?

Anyway, so, is he coming to your party? Since you were all talking about hanging out with him in October, I figured he could at least make an appearance. I mean, I would, if I could...but I can't, so I won't...that's a song, right?

So, I'm not going to say Happy Birthday because it's not your birthday, but - admitted - having your birthday rager in the middle of the week is a pretty stellar party risk. Only the solid people will make that, and that's all you need, dude!



Regards,

Keanu


PS Do you know what I mean?

Don't forget !

My head's a mess today; trying to keep things straight. Tomorrow's festivities excite me. And yes, I have a dress. Did I go Betty or Joan? Jiscilla will have pics, I'm sure :)

TOMORROW NIGHT @ TRAINWRECK TUESDAY !!!
FREE SPARKS 1030 - 1130 !
KELLER AND I BIRTHDAY IT UP!
DJS ROB HITT & ERICA DAGLEY
(and some dude from some band I don't listen to.......!)



Here are some pics from last week's fun !

Let's act cool.

"First, I'd have to disabuse you of the notion that you were ever cool."

No, I don't know when Steve started this look either.

I'm excited to celebrate! If you're in New York - all are welcome! Though my birthday isn't until this Sunday, it's quite alright, I figure, to go big five days before. Not like I'm turning 21 here, kiddos. Yeah, I don't know where that came from.

The beginning of what's yet to come.

Adam captured Martina doing her thing on Thursday night; I quite like this picture. You can see what I mean about her performance, a veritable strut.

Today's Monday, which means things are a bit more intense at the office, but I have things to post. I have a brain-list...which does include my decision (yours?) on the Twilight debate.

My blogger dashboard just told me this would be my 705th post. Woah, right?!

Tomorrow, she won't feel half of this.

Sometimes there's those days (or whole weekends) where you feel entirely helpless.

A quick recap of last night.

Basically --

Santogold disappointed. The sound was less-than-stellar. As in, I could hear the conversations over the music. Fail.

Perry and I went ready to dance. We didn't. Fail.

Keller and I had a totally nerdy moment in a Walgreen's. Perry captured us being dorks. Slight coolness fail.

We made it to Le Royale just in time for Dragonette. AMAZING. Seriously, they're a lot of fun live. And Martina's brazen-ness also has a Peaches quality to it - but not raunchy and not electroclash. Hard to explain. Literally, I just tried verbally explaining it to Erica to no avail. They both have this strutty confidence. I love that in female vocalists during live shows. Everybody is dancing and jumping around and Martina was looking at us like, "yeah, I know you like it," but at the same time totally gracious that we were... I will stop. I can't even TRY to explain this. I fail, Dragonette WINS ALWAYS.

(Martina on Thursday night via here)

Then I dance, dance, danced in my electro-blue tights and headed home.

Today was slightly productive: I did a lot of ironing and cleaning. How boring! But remember, tomorrow = football. Until then...

Keller and I after Santogold in a Walgreen's.

-- via hip http://andrewdkeller.tumblr.com top

Requested.

So, I decided to get a little decked out tonight. Yeah.

And I'm off!

Got some hearts that I'll be breaking.

Oh hey, apparently I'm going to TWO shows tonight - SANTOGOLD as well as Dragonette. Tonight was already epic; now I might just explode!

A girl with true ambition.

I've been scouring the internet for a picture from last night's Dragonette show at Mercury Lounge, but I can't find any yet. This is beside the point.

I will tell you, that for me to really and truly fall in love with a band, I need to see their live show and that show needs to be fantastic. My favourite bands put out awesome live shows: No Doubt, Motion City, Monty Are I, etc. Fortunately for Dragonette, THEY BLEW ME AWAY!!!

Seriously, I couldn't believe how awesome they sounded and my hips were shaking the entire show. The best thing is that I get to see them again tonight!

Yay! We'll obviously be re-visiting this subject after tonight.

In other news, I plan on getting a lot of things done this weekend. It's starting to get cooler out, and it might just be the right time to re-evaluate my closet and get rid of things. Also, I just bought the first two seasons of How I Met Your Mother, so we'll see how that goes! Erica and I watched the pilot last night, and it's looking promising.

Sunday is football (and the Emmys!). Obviously. And despite all the alcohol in the last post, I haven't had a drink since. Sometimes the body needs a little refresher. PLUS, next week's my birthday. Celebrayshunz. Speaking of, due to the awesome Dagger-fresh flyer, I want my birthday present to myself to be a sweet Mad Men-inspired dress. Inspired - I don't want to be costume-y. But if I find a sweet and hoopy Betty-like dress, or a slinky number I could see Joan parading in - I'm buying it! Unfortch, just because it's my birthday doesn't mean I have the dinero to buy a designer confection. The good thing is, the show has definitely inspired a lot of fashion trends lately, so I have high hopes to find something cheaper. A lot of magazines have editorials inspired by Joans and Bettys lately...

Okay, that was starting to turn into a ramble. Last thought - I'm really excited for this autumn; it's always my favourite time of year.

About last Sunday...

Ah, Sean, always so shy about how much fun he's having. A few things about this:

1. BL Limes are cheap. And awesome. Some might say better than a Corona and lime. Certainly better than a Corona without lime.

2. You'll notice a different bottle in one of those six packs. That is something called a "Miller Chill." None of us had heard of it that past Friday night, until someone (who shall rename nameless), came with us to the store to buy the BL Limes and compared it to a Miller Chill. We scoffed. We bought a bottle and proceeded to conduct a blind taste test at our apartment - yes, as in coke v. pepsi. I poured shotglasses of each beer and Adam, Erica, and Anonymous were the subjects. Not only could they discern the difference, but everybody liked the BL Limes better. Next, we're going to put it up to the test with a Corona & lime. The Miller Chill shall never be spoken of again.

3. This is Sean after a few beers. In a couple of weeks, I have to take care of this dude post-wisdom teeth extraction, drugged. I have to lead him back from the Manhattan dentist's office to Brooklyn, via subway, and safely. Ha. I plan on making him comfortable on the futon while re-watching Pushing Daisies on Blu-ray.

4. I'm re-watching Pushing Daises because it came out this week and should be delivered on Friday and the only time I've seen it has been on my computer. I'll probably watch it eight million times before its premiere in October, if only to sigh at the wistful gazes between the Pie Maker and Chuck. My obsession is coming out of hiatus. For real.

Ah, and now we come to our subjects Gaby and Eli. I felt like Gaby was an undercover reporter that day. Stealth and behind-the-scenes. The Enemy (as Jeff Bebe might say). Quiet, alert, and asks questions politely. I mean, she might have been a little scared, with four Patriots fans riled up and yelling on beer and chips and new quarterbacks and very old, old quarterbacks and toxins. Speaking of toxins...

Erica Dagley, and her concoction of death. It looks so unassuming and delicious - and it was, it was so delicious - until the end of the night, far past the game's victory, and we all found ourselves sitting somewhat shellshocked on the couch, staring at something on the tv, but not sure what. Seriously, that HBO show True Blood was on and we just started watching from the middle of it, and I think all of us were in a sangria coma. Well done, Dagger, well done.

Until next Sunday, when the Pats play at one pm, and it starts all over again.

My Top Artists this Week (Sep 8 - Sep 14)

(via my last.fm)

I knew I'd get obsessed with Dragonette when I first heard them! I've been listening non-stop and I Surrender will be releasing it in the U.S. on October 14th digitally, and in stores on October 28th. On my last recommendation, Paula of Insert My Blog Name Here bought the album (she's in the UK, where it was already released) and became a fan -

Get into it before everybody else does, right? ;)

I'm also so totally stoked for tomorrow and Friday nights because Dragonette are playing BOTH nights and my friends and I are ready to dance. I'll obviously let you know how they are live - I have high hopes and I don't think they'll disappoint.

By the way, Trainwreck was a great success last night, and due to the word getting out about tv cameras in the midst of AK every Tuesday, the place is more packed than ever! Also, Ryan (Take the Crown) is in town visiting Perry, and stepped in to guest-DJ as Hi Deaf. Rob and Erica obviously continue to dominate the dance party jams! AND, surprise, surprise, I got a call from Steve (Monty Are I) yesterday, my dear old friend, and he was in town for the night, so I made him join the fun. Great to see him, as always; I'm super excited for the new Monty Are I album, which the band will be recording in LA for the next couple of months. The great night continued when I got home and got to video chat with Jesse, which hasn't happened in a while due to Fail Internet, but I fell asleep smiling per usual.

And, OH HEY, guess who's having a joint birthday party next week?!?!

PS, thanks for all the feedback regarding my last post and Twilight, I'm still taking any opinions, and will be tallying it soon to see if I read or not. Again, lots of polarizing feelings about this series exist!

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For the benefit of my brain.

I'm torn. It's about something mighty trivial - to read or not to read? - but, there are SO MANY fans out there, I know at least somebody will lay down their opinion.

This concerns TWILIGHT. That book series. I don't know too much about it, but from the snippets I've gathered, I'm undecided as to whether I should read them. I've heard some polarizing opinions. Initially, I was curious and ready to pick one up, because I love tales of vampires because they're all sexy and crazy and have cool powers but inner turmoil and I loved Buffy and Christopher Pike's The Last Vampire series.

In fact, Christopher Pike was my favorite young adult novelist, and I'd say his most famous books are the Last Vampire ones. I haven't read them in a while, but I remember the heroine, Sita (the titular last vampire), was awesome and kicked butt but had to deal with how she might not actually be the last vampire because her centuries-old lover was out to destroy her. There was a lot of myth, action, and sexiness for a young adult book. Which is why I don't know if I want to read Twilight because it's written by a Mormon who apparently makes a lot of "moral value" allegories in the books. (Nothing against Mormons, love them, I just don't like them selling me on their religion or views in the form of entertainment, like any other religion.) So, I read things with messages, but I'm well aware of them and can usually look past it in most circumstances. However, I'm not into reading preachy books - is it preachy? That's why I'm asking you.

Furthermore, my favorite site, Jezebel, offered a pretty negative post regarding Twilight, and included this -

This is actually the book's biggest problem. It's 754 pages long, its heroine's dominant personality trait is low self-esteem, and, as Amazon reviewer Eventide points out, nobody really has to give up anything. Even the tedium of immortality is glossed over — these vampires just keep busy with their hobbies. If I had an eternity to read, I still might never pick up this book again.

Their powers are glossed over? A heroine who wallows and doesn't kick ass? This is a vampire book, really?

I've also heard it doesn't have the best prose: Stephenie Meyer isn't a great writer. But again, I enjoy some books with awful writers. I think the most awfully written book I've read in recent years was The Devil Wears Prada; literally I groaned every five minutes. That was not enjoyable. But Christopher Pike was, and he's not winning any awards. So, is the writing distracting? Or is the book so captivating that I won't notice or care?

I've also heard good things! A lot of my friends are OBSESSED with it, apparently Meyer thanks Motion City Soundtrack in the latest book as "musical inspiration" (hey oh! points, points, points!), and my obvious curiosity in books that translate to film. Twilight will be hitting theaters this winter, and that cast has already done tons of press. It's a popular book, there has to be a reason, right? Also, let it be known that I did not read any of the Harry Potters, and could care less about that series and the movies.

SO, dear readers and/or lurkers, should I read it? Or skip it and just re-read my beloved Last Vampire series? Comment or email me. Literally, I'm leaving this up to you.

So fetch.

I've decided to enjoy the new Facebook. Erica and I were sitting on the couch tonight yelling profanities at each other, as we're prone to do, and then we were laughing for a good long time when we read our "wall-to-wall" conversation on Facebook. Thought I'd share the classic quips.

Classic Casey & Mom Show.

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Well. That's enough fun for tonight.

Intelligence is relative.

On Friday night, a few friends and I enjoyed the latest Coen brothers film, Burn After Reading. It was typical Coen fare, in that it's oddball hilarious with bursts of violence. I think anyone who can appreciate the directors' style will enjoy this movie, but I can see where people might despise it. However, let's get to the important thing here: George Clooney can sell me on anything. His character wears a gold necklace, and he's still gorgeous. Sizzling. Amazing. As Rachel Zoe might say, "bananas amazing." Gold necklaces are somewhat of a dealbreaker for me. (Not that I'm in the market to be making any deals!) BUT - George is always charming, endearing, sexy, and BANANAS AMAZING.

After the film, I think Gaby could particularly sense the effect George has on me. I get caught up in it, I get hyper and giggly. Schoolgirl status, if you will. And when I said George can sell me anything, I meant it; his character has a lot of downgrades/dealbreakers. But, whatever. The cast of the film was brilliant; they're all great actors from Tilda to Frances to Brad. But my heart always belongs to George.

(But not in real life, obviously, obviously, obviously.)

Anyway, Saturday was spent lazily and with little activity - it's nice to do so. And if you haven't seen the amazingness that was the Fey/Poehler Palin/Clinton opening sketch of SNL, PLEASE DO SO. Quite hilarious. The rest of the episode hosted by Michael Phelps bombed, as SNL tends to do these days. And you know why this particular one was less than impressive? MICHAEL PHELPS IS A SWIMMER, not an actor, and certainly not a comedian. I can only hope Fey continues to come back to portray Palin, as her impression was dead-on from her look to her accent - and dare I say, the things that came out of her mouth... Sometimes it's frightening how close satire is to reality.

Yesterday was Football Sunday. We've ushered in a new season, thus, Erica, Jesse and Jessica's place is THE place to be for televised Pats games each Sunday. Cause, y'know, we have the 52" HDTV. Whatever. Erica concocted a brilliant sangria for the Pats v Jets game, which the Pats won triumphantly, and we watched with our heads in a tizzy via Erica's drink. (You could probably equate this feeling to post-Clooney intake, as well.) I'll say it now: Erica's mixes are always delicious, and this one even had an ingredient called Venom.

Now it is Monday, and the calm of the weekend has vanished.

A study in cranial sizes.

Jonah, Trevor, Jesse.

Jonah Bayer: tired, irritated, makes fun of me.

-- via hip he's the one who's running a 5k tmmrw top

Who let the nerd in on Tuesday?

My eyes, they hurted! But now you know why I couldn't very well say hi to Adrian Grenier. C'MON! Check out the cooler people in the rest of Jiscilla's pics HERE!

Would've made for decent fiction.

Adam caught some great shots last Sunday in Wading River. These are obviously far better than my sidekick photos, so I wanted to share them. They span the whole day from the motel hangs to the video shoot at the beach. Good job, Adam! You can see the rest of the set on his flickr!

Jesse, contemplating.

We are the best spokespeople ever for Bud Light Lime. Us and Santogold.

I love this shot of Beth. Mainly because this is probably after we just saved two bees from drowning in BL Lime.

"Oh hai. I like ur faze."

Bocce on the beach!!! In my wind-blown dress.

Jessica, contemplating.
(Probably about how the wind + my dress makes my body look funny.)

Justin, doing the thing.

Tony, beach.

Justin, squint.

Matt, wings.

I waved goodbye to that heart of mine.

Here are all the girls on the bus watching the Jonas Brothers on the VMAs. The men left the lounge in disgust!

Don't forget to check out the rest!