November 2009

Saw Deer Tick on Saturday at The Iron Horse in Northampton. The Iron Horse is one venue in my 18 years of living in Western Mass that I never had the chance to check out. Very cool venue overall had a log cabin feel to it IMO.

Deer Tick was a band I always found decent, but never really got into too much. This all changed when JC informed me that one of her friends from back in the days of high school who I know as well is now in the band. So Saturday conveniently while we were both home they played a show... so like we weren't just not going to not go.
Seeing them live was an incredible experience. Perhaps I'm biased because I saw a familiar face on stage but probably not. Every song sounded much better live than the recording. Seeing anyone play harmonica is always cool, and any band that covers Maybelline is cool with me. Really good vibe to this show as well. While I was not in the huge group of people in the crowd dancing for the whole 2 hour set I was observing and it looked like people were having a great time. So props to them.


Monday night I saw Rocky Votolato in my friend Jeff's living room. I have seen Rocky in the past at The Middle East and Harpers, but my friends living room? Pretty cool. Only about 35 people were there and most were friends, some were strangers who had bought tickets online. Rocky played from about 8:15-10. He played a lot of new stuff, then switched it up to songs from Makers and Suicide Medicine. He also covered "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens. Great night.


Tuesday night I went to the Bruins game with Charles and Ryan. I had never been to a Bruins game before so I figured why not. It was really fun. We sat in the last row possible. Interesting characters were there and added to the entertainment. In between periods they had Peewee hockey players play which was really cute. They looked like turtles!

Wednesday night I went to the Celtics game with Charles and Ryan. We really wanted to push it to the limit I guess. We basically sat in the same seats we were in the night before. Good times. Both games were victorious. Can't wait to go to more games this season. I don't even like hockey, or so I thought. I think I could get into it though.

This is my grandmother's ring that I now proudly wear. It's really simple. "CB" her initials (No not Charlie Brown!) and a stone in the middle. I love it.



Growing up is strange. All my life I have been using the same excuse when things I do or try go wrong. I say that I'm young and it's okay. Slowly I'm realizing that this excuse isn't really valid anymore. Fortunately I think I've made progress. I honestly never thought of myself as a good student until halfway through college. It's weird when you look at the person you used to be and don't really understand what the hell was going through your mind at the time. Like I said growing up is strange. I feel old and young at the same time. The thought of being certified to teach at age 22 is really exciting. The thought of moving forward is obviously exciting. I think moving far away would be the ultimate challenge, but I'm not so sure how practical that would be. Lately every time I return to Western Mass I like it a little bit more. I think city life is fun and all, but there's so much more when life slows down once you cut out of town. I'm not so sure if urban living is good or bad for me. I'm not so sure if living in nowheresville is good or bad for me. I feel a bit lame contemplating future plans. It's so cliche to have the whole "when I get out of here..." concept running through your mind, but it exists and cannot be ignored.

I promised JC music.

Frank Turner



God Help The Girl- Thanks Apps for finding this vid..it's precious


Dashboard Confessional :) Where There's Gold


Old T Swift. Definitely one of my favorite songs by her.

"Whatever"

Clare B. Keefe 1922-2009 WILBRAHAM - Clare B. (Bissinger) Keefe, 87, formerly of Burleigh Road Wilbraham died Wednesday November 4, 2009 at Wingate of Wilbraham. Clare, the daughter of the late Theodore and Estelle (Miller) Bissinger was born in New York City, NY. Raised in New York she graduated from the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York City. Clare and her husband Charles owned and operated the Charles Keefe Advertising in Wilbraham since 1957. In May of 2000 Clare began working as an Architectural Illustrator. Clare was a resident of Wilbraham for 45 years and for the past three years has resided in Springfield. A communicant of St. Cecilia's Church, Clare served for the church as secretary on the Long Range Planning Committee, the Development and Building Committee. She was a member and served on the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Springfield. Clare also served on the Board of Directors at the Y.W.C.A. of Western Mass. She was a past President of the Women's Division of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and served on the Board of Directors for the Ludlow Chamber of Commerce. She was a member and corporator for Mercy Hospital, a member of the Springfield Infant Mortality and Teen Pregnancy Coalition, and the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce serving on the Legislative Steering Committee. In addition to her parents Clare was predeceased by her husband of 50 years, Charles A. Keefe who died October 20, 1995. She is survived by a son, Dennis C. Keefe and his wife Jill of Wilbraham; a daughter, Clare Ann Keefe of Belchertown; five grandchildren, Jessica, Caroline, Laura, Christopher, and Geoffrey and four great grandchildren. Visiting hours for Clare will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2009, (TODAY) from 4 to 7 p.m. at Sampson's Chapel of the Acres Funeral Home, 21 Tinkham Road, Springfield. Her funeral will be held on Friday morning, November 6, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. at the funeral home followed by the Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Cecilia's Church, 42 Main Street, Wilbraham. Rites of Committal and Burial will follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 421 Tinkham Road, Springfield. Memorial contributions in Clare's memory may be made to the Y.W.C.A. of Western Mass. 1 Clough Street, Springfield, MA 01118.

Rest In Peace Grandma. The only grandparent I really got to know. A beautiful woman who was talented beyond belief. A claim to fame I love saying is that she designed Friendly Ice Cream's first menu and the cover of my church's bulletin.

She grew up in the Bronx, NY and studied fashion (dress making). She went shopping in Lord and Taylor everyday to the point where they assumed she was an employee and started to give her the employee discount. She met my Grandfather who sold hats in New York. They married and moved to Boston together living at 310 Beacon Street. Tom Brady currently resides in the same apartment building. Everyday for the time she lived in Boston she would walk my Grandfather to and from work through the Public Garden and Boston Common. Later they moved to Worcester and soon ended up in my hometown, WIlbraham. Together they started up an advertising company. They lived in a beautiful house in the woods with 2 barns and a horse. She devoted a lot of her time to the St. Cecilia's Church, The YWCA and Rotary Club. She loved dark chocolate and always was very enthusiastic about anything I baked- no matter how much it sucked. She also had 2 dogs that I got to know well. She had an Airedale Terrier name Glenn and a German Shepherd named Meichen.

I'm writing this for memory's sake. When people I know in life die I never grasp that they're gone forever, I push that thought away. I feel as if I just imagine those who pass in my life move far away beyond my grasp, but close stay close in thought. Life is strange.

DEAL WITH IT

A Progression



October










MUSIC

Last Monday I went to see Sunny Day Real Estate at the House of Blues. If you want to know how the show was google a review. I had a good time. SDR's set amazing. A band I never had heard of called "The Jealous Sound" opened and perhaps I am late to this party, but I think they are really good. It's always nice when opening bands are actually good.

Heres a "video" of audio of one of their songs. "Hope For Us"


and j4l
a
Denali live video from their reunion last year "Gunner" Maura Davis is a babe.

Sometimes, Like Everytime

Love this song was unaware of a video existing for it...

Thanks for making me aware of this Toomey:

Put On Whatever Makes You Attractive

I bought this dress today at Forever 21 for $24.80 The fit is amazing. The knit fabric is much thicker compared to the summer 2k10 typical jersey cotton dress. This material is refreshing for Forever 21 because it feels like something that will not dissolve after 10 washes. The structure makes this dress a hit on most body types and it hugs where it should. Even on someone like myself who is 5'3 with awkward curves. Also something that surprised me was the length of the dress. Most F21 dresses are very short and require some sort of wind-tunnel-resulting-in-flashing insurance, but this one actually tastefully reaches the mid-thigh region. That is... unless you're a monster. The gold zipper is a nice touch as well!





UMMM




Love these cuties. This vid is old. But God Help the Girl led me to them. "I bet she doesn't even write her own lyrics." great video.



Years later one of the girls Asya sings by far my favorite song on "God Help the Girl" Unfortunately no video, just audio. "I don't want commitment, I don't want the drama. I just want your jeans, I just want your jeans." She's still pretty young too.

The Sky's On Fire Again

Best time of year in New England.




On my walk home from class last week I caught a scene from some Ben Affleck movie being filmed. This was a New England Patriots victory parade. The parade is en route through The Public Garden. The fans go across the bridge and over the pond the swan boats drift through. This would never really happen, but it was entertaining to watch. If I had put more effort into lurking I would have better photos to show. My bad.