More than a thousand words

Apparently, pictures can be worth a hell of a lot more than a thousand words, at least to some people. I sat in on a conference call at work yesterday where a lawyer explained how fragile and tricky the policies are regarding copyrighted materials. She spent most of the time discussing the use of music in advertising, but there was a lot of talk about online policies as well. Because this blog is linked to Mix 94.5's website (which ultimately has commercial goals), it falls under the same rules. So...all the photos that I didn't take with my own camera had to go. I confess I use Google Images ALL THE TIME. Who doesn't? Oh well - I just went through all my entries (glad this is relatively new) and got rid of images that could cost the radio station (and me) big bucks. I guess not showing Gaga riding in her egg isn't the end of the world. It makes for a pretty bland-looking blog, though.

You're killing me!

Anyone who cares about Illini basketball is a nervous wreck right now, watching Illinois battle Kansas. It's been a pretty amazing game, with a 4-point difference at halftime. DJ Richardson just sunk a 3 with 7 minutes to go, and it's a 7 point game. Wow. I'm proud of these guys. No one even thought they'd make it to the NCAA Tourney, and they're putting up a fight against this 1 seed.

I wasn't here in 2000 when Bill Self left, so I don't have those emotional scars...but he sure does look smug to me.

In related news, my bracket is a disaster. No shock there.

Yikes, I got distracted and it's suddenly a 13 point lead. : (

Friday!

" subpar production values, grating hooks and extraordinarily stupid "

Mike Cation knows that I can be a bit square, and he was right when he sent me the You Tube video for 13 year-old Rebecca Black's "Friday." By the time I saw it, 18 milion other views had been racked up - apparenly everyone else in the world had seen it BUT me.

If you don't know what I'm talking about (that IS possible), click HERE to watch.

I watched the video last night. My first thought was that it was catchy and cute (ala Justin Bieber, Rebecca's idol)...then I heard the lyrics and thought, "okay, this has to be a joke." I read today that some people suspect it could be a viral prank, along the lines of Joaquin Phoenix's so-called performance art. "Nothing this perfectly horrible could be unintentional," one commenter recently told Rolling Stone. The lyrics are so dumb they're funny:

"Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?"

I also love the part where she runs down the days in order.

"Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today i-is Friday, Friday...
Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes after...wards"

Haters have posted vicious things about the 13 year-old and the song. It's disgusting how the anonymity of the internet brings the worst out in people who'd NEVER (have the guts to) say anything face-to-face. But Rebecca has her share of fans, too. Chris Brown: "Honest opinion? It was great. I'll be jammin' to it on Friday, Friday," he sang. Simon Cowell called the song "brilliant." I think he's mostly just enjoying how angry some people are at its success.

How did "Friday!" come to be? Here's how it all happened, according to Bohemian:

The answer is Ark Music Factory, a Los Angeles-based company operating as an industry hybrid of Maurice Starr and John Bennett Ramsey. Their casting calls are perfect bait for starry-eyed parents: “If you are a great singer without any material and you want to get discovered,” one reads, “then Ark Music Factory is looking for you.”

The formula is simple: They’ll fly your child between the specified ages of 13-17 to Los Angeles, write her a “hit,” record it in super-compressed Autotuned production, shoot an edge detection-overlay video and BAM! Maybe your kid can notch up a couple thousand YouTube views while you watch your dreams of being a pop-star parent percolate.

Does that explain Willow Smith?

So, all that aside - what's to say about the song/video? It made me smile and even laugh a little. Totally ignorant, but fun. I might even put it on my MP3 player. I don't care how it came about or what her parents' motives are - we are in the age of self-promotion and internet superstars. Plenty of people rely on auto-tune because they're really not very good underneath all the production. The girl is THIRTEEN! What do you expect, really? Charlotte Church?

Just laugh and sing along. If she becomes a star, it's because we bought her crap and allowed it to happen.

Spring is in the air...

While I think Nicole from WIXY is a bit ambitious with her flip flops and short-sleeved shirt, today is INCREDIBLE! We've waited so long, suffering through a miserable winter, that this St. Patrick's Day feels like Christmas. We could hit 70 this afternoon and I plan to celebrate with a walk to Refinery and back (from work), so I can do my cardio outside. Yesterday was my first long ride (well, to the library and back) on my scooter. I think I've mentioned it before, but here's a pic. If you see a giant egghead riding it around C/U, that's me. I am really disciplined about wearing my helmet, even though lots of people think it's silly on a scooter. Ummm, it goes 40 mph! I'll look silly.

Get outside today! It feels too good to be true.

Progress

Sorry if the nail biting stories are becoming tedious - I just want to update my progress and mention that thanks to the shellac at BJ Grand Salon, I'm having continued success, although my three dreams about biting indicate I'm still stressed about it. It's IMPOSSIBLE to bite or even chip the stuff. I have finally met my match! I went into the salon yesterday (after 2 weeks, typical) and Lisa removed the clear shellac with acetone - the only thing that will safely and easily take it off. Since I'm starting to have some length (on ALL TEN!) I went with bold color - a purple called "Rock Royalty." Heck yeah! All the compliments I've gotten prove that Lisa was right when she said it's BJ's most popular color.

I smashed my finger between 2 shopping carts.

I took like 18 pictures before I was satisfied - I hate how old my hands are starting to look. : ( My mom always used to say that a woman's hands and neck give away her age. As far as I can tell my neck is still okay, thank God. (That always makes me think about Ally McBeal and the waddle...)

I also had a hydrotherapy treatment AND a massage at BJ yesterday, but I'm still too relaxed from them to type much more. I'll tell you about that another time.

Put me in, Coach

I noticed tiny shoots popping up in my yard yesterday, amid the sad brown and yellow grass - tulips on the way! Shouldn't these 30-degree days be done by now? Some parts of Missouri got as much as 6" of snow this morning, so I guess I shouldn't complain. But I am. I'm ready for warm weather and colors in the yard and SUNSHINE!!

It's definitely time, because I realized today that my first softball game (at Dodds, by Parkland) is a month from today. Wow! Time will fly and suddenly it'll be June and we'll be in that summertime going-in-a-million-different-directions mode...and this long, miserable winter will seem like it couldn't have possibly happened. At least I hope it feels that way. I'm ready for a HOT summer. (yes, I said it)

Congrats, Illini

To quote the Fighting Illini website:

"The University of Illinois men's basketball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening and will face No. 8 seed UNLV in the second round on Friday, March 18 in Tulsa, Okla. Illinois is the No. 9 seed in the Southwest Region."

Time to start my tourney research, if you know what I mean. I love sports and March Madness is awesome, but I'm never very clued in when it's time to make predictions. Sometimes I read a ton online and go with that - other years I've just played my hunches or hurried through the bracket. Regardless, it's such a fun time of year!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's a bit suprised that we got a bid, but I won't dwell on negativity. My volleyball team wins all season long then loses the tourney at the end (cough! RINGERS!), so who knows?

My cousin Nick was really wonderful at Caffe Paradiso on Friday, by the way. He'll be playing there again as part of the Boneyard Arts Festival - Thursday, April 7, 2011: UI Campus (education day).

Rest of the Festival:

Friday, April 8, 2011: Downtown Champaign
Saturday, April 9, 2011: Downtown Urbana
Sunday, April 10, 2011: Out & About Champaign County

Wow, I'm all over the map today! It has to be the time change. Toss in a goodbye party for a favorite coworker at Esquire last night (love those seven and sevens) and a cloudy day, and I'm sort of fuzzy. But I think Sunday nights are perfect for that - chili for dinner, an afghan on the couch, and something on Netflix! Yay!