Wednesday, December 19, 2012

‘Tis the Season



Because I apparently cannot stand to see myself genuinely happy, I have become worried that I am too materialistic this Christmas. The thing that excites me most is the gifts I will be receiving, not the prospect of seeing family members, not the religious elements. This troubles me. I would like to think of myself as someone who values the intangible, the abstract, and the qualitative in people and things. Instead, I feel like a spoiled child waiting for their pony. (Only my pony has a ten inch touchscreen.)


There are, of course, a few reasons why I should not feel this way. I think I am actually looking forward to giving gifts, for example.

But is that still a focus on the material aspects of the celebration?

Another contributing factor is that I have not personally given any money to charities this year. There will be donations as part of my Christmas gifts, but I have yet to actually take cash out of my own pocket. Part of this is due to my mixed feelings about the Salvation Army, to which I would usually toss my pocket change.

I do not really know where I am going with this post, but writing it was a useful exercise to make myself feel better about my desire for MOAR PRESENTS this year.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Potpourri III


Cap’n Crunch is known infamously as the cereal that cuts up the roof of your mouth. But I cannot stop eating it tonight. It reminds me of the CD-ROM that came in boxes of the cereal for a few months in the 90s: Cap’n Crunch’s Crunchling Adventure. It was a surprisingly awesome promotional game in which you trained a creature called a Crunchling to defeat the evil Crunchium Theives. Crunchtastic! As a bonus, you could insert the CD into a CD player and listen to a story about the Crunchlings narrated by the good captain himself. It was probably the best prize to ever be included inside of a cereal box.


Another delicacy that I am sampling tonight is the “apple pear” which is apparently actually an Asian pear that has apple-like qualities. It is delicious.

I went into BigLots! looking to see if they had any wireless keyboards. They did, and I bought one, but a wireless Bluetooth speaker also caught my eye. This is somewhat frivolous as I already have wired speakers, but the allure of transmitting sound across the room proved too much. So far I really like it. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that this Christmas season, I am spending an awful lot on myself. Pros: joy. Cons: it makes me more materialistic.

Speaking of materialism, I think I am finally okay with idea of receiving a tablet. We are donating to charities already, and I need to give myself a break. Not buying a Nexus 10 is not going to save someone’s life.
Tonight I plan on watching Another Earth. Brit Marling gave a sharp performance in Sound of My Voice, so I am expecting good things from her here.

Two of my friends have worn cardigans around me. I have jumped on the bandwagon.

Just like the Lochtepus.
I had a one dollar credit towards mp3 purchases at Amazon. I purchased My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men, since it was on sale for $3.99. I am not crazy about the album, but I figure that if I can find three songs on it that I really enjoy, it will be worth the money. Their sound reminds me very much of The Head and the Heart and songs like “Little Talks” include sweeping soundscapes, but I have not found the lyrics to be anything to write home about.

Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal: Amazon | Google Play | iTunes

Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Fortress


While looking for something to do, I browsed the app Untappd for local bars. I came across a most curious place in the list of nearby establishments: "The Fortress". Armed only with the address, C/K and I decided to go on a trek to check the place out.

What time is it?

The listing designates the place a “speakeasy,” which I can only assume is a category for modern day bars that are trendy and secretive—the kind with no sign above the door. The address was in a residential area, but not far from IUP’s campus.

On our first pass by, we spotted a house with a back patio lit up by Christmas lights. The house itself was dark and seemingly empty. Clearly this bar was so hipster-y that it was disguised as a quiet house to fool the legions of uncool people who must prowl the area looking for the underground venue.

Trepidation gripped me by the time we had worked up the courage to pull into a gravel parking lot behind the house. We noticed that there were multiple entrances. Apparently, the structure was home to several apartments, also explaining the ample parking. We got out of the car and walked around the building. Seeing no signs of life, we abandoned our quest and retired to watch Scott Pilgrim airing on MTV2.

Further investigation online revealed that there were several spots on Foursquare (where Untappd gets its listings) that were private residences, but given nicknames. Other examples included “B*tch Palace” and “The Cave.” The Fortress’ Foursquare page even listed it as such (while the Untappd page indicated it only as a bar).

In the end, we were gypped. We were duped by college kids “cleverly” naming their (likely uncool) liars. But hey, it was still sort of an adventure.