Again and again and again and again… or: How to Support the Arts from your Bedroom

I totally have not been supporting the arts lately. I know I know, it’s horrible. I blame it on my three addictions, 1.) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , 2.) selling stuff on ebay, and 3.) etsy.com. If you haven’t checked out etsy.com you should. Like right now. Everyone should buy handmade. Why? Because I said so. And mother earth will like you that much more.

So I know you’re totally asking yourself, why is Tatiana posting if she has nothing to tell us? Au contraire, mon chere! Although I have not been supporting les arts (I don’t even speak french, but it just feels right), I have beaucoup recommendations pour vous. I have pretty much been addicted to these bands for the past few weeks, and I think it’s time I shared them with you. I introduce you to your new favorite bands. ) Or at least I hope…

Tokyo Police Club – Cheer it on

This is probably my favorite TPC song. I also appreciate their dedication in this video. They look like they’re really cold.

Grand Ole Party

So, usually when you go see a band you never really expect the opening acts to be any good. Right? I was totally underestimating the opening acts for the Rilo Kiley show I went to last week. Holy moly. Grand Ole Party was first up, and holy crap they were amazing. This was the best quality video I could find on youtube. Hopefully it does them justice. I <3 Grand Ole Party.

The Bird and the Bee – Again and Again

The Bird and the Bee also opened for Rilo Kiley, and like I told my concert buddy Hava, they were like the band version of a Disney cartoon. They were so magical, and dressed in bright colors. They just made me happy. And this song is probably familiar to you diehard Grey’s Anatomy fans. They put on a great live show that is reminiscent of the girl groups of yesteryear. The classic sounds of the piano paired with the in-your-face style lyrics make for the perfect listening experience. I think a dancing teddy bear onstage would have sealed the deal, but that’s just me.

Add me on lastfm! Let’s be friends. I like to see what everyone is listening to. I’m nosey.

A chance to meet the experts…

The sewing and quilting experts, that is. OMG. I can’t even begin to express to you how excited I am about this festival.

So, Sunday afternoon I moseyed over to my favorite fabric store of all time (M&L Fabrics in Anaheim) with my friend Hava. As she was paying for her fabric, a bright pink flyer caught my eye. The flyer was advertising none other than…

The Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival



Where?
Pomona Fairplex
101 W McKinley Ave
Pomona, CA 91768
When?
October 18-20, 2007
Thurs.-Sat., 10am-5pm
How much?
$8, but $7 with coupon …one time admission good for all 3 days of the show, so save your ticket!
I STILL don’t get it.
This festival will consist of exhibitors who will fill us all in on the latest and greatest supplies in the quilting/sewing/crafting world. In addition, “Make and Take” workshops and free educational seminars will be available. I’m a beginner when it comes to quilting, so I think this will be a great opportunity to see quilters in action and get some tips from people who have been doing this stuff for years (probably even before I was born… maybe even before my mom was born). Anyway, it’s hard to learn how to quilt by reading about it. So go check out the festival and learn some quilting tips that will impress your grandma like whoa.

“It only costs $1 to see the giant horse!”

So the roommate and I decided to embark on the crowd attracting phenomenon that is the Orange County Fair this weekend. Because I don’t do fair rides, my main thrills come from the abundance of greasy, caramel-coated and fried foods. Oh gluttonous gluttonous day. Makes me feel gross just thinking about it; but hey, it’s not everyday I eat 10,000 calories in the span of 3 hours.

Other than the junk food, I always love the contests. Mainly, the quilting contest. One day I will enter in it, but for now I will just continue admiring. Also! Added bonus… some amazing person embroidered a picture of none other than Elizabeth I.

One contest I was very confused by was what seemed to be a “stuff” contest. Really. Display after glass display of themed stuff. Beach Boys stuff, Elvis stuff, a collection of Heinz cans?! My first thought was, ‘oh! They’re installations of some sort. Ready-made art! I get it…’ but no. I don’t think it was that complicated. So Kendra and I decided that we will enter in this “stuff” contest next year. She is probably the biggest collector (at least that I know) of Vivien Leigh memorabilia. And I am a moderate collector of Lucille Ball memorabilia. We’ll see what happens. It’s on!

We then headed over to the photo and painting exhibit, where we continued to be amazed and inspired. This piece was probably my favorite. It also reminded me that I need to do laundry.

The last adventure that we embarked on was the animal section. I am not a big fan of farm animals because, well, they smell. But I did see a cute bunny. That was neat. That area was mostly just sad. I know the animals are probably taken care of considerably well (especially since I saw a few PETA signs here and there), but their cages were so tiny. Main complaint: Why the hell did it cost $1 to see the giant horse? And more importantly, why was said giant horse in the smallest tent imaginable, with barely any sunlight? I mean, yeah, that was a huge friggin horse. Wow. But, after being in the tent for 10 seconds I started feeling really bad for this horse, and so did the 7 other people in the tent. Kendra wanted to bring it home with us, but I told her that it wouldn’t even fit in our living room. Ultimately this horse made me think of the following scene from the critically acclaimed film, Follow That Bird (1985):
Big Bird: Say, there’s a lady named Miss Finch who’s chasing me. Do you mind if I hide in your fun fair?
Sam Sleaze: Why, no, not at all. We have the perfect place for you to hide. Right here in our hiding cage.
Sid Sleaze: You’ll be safe here.
Sam Sleaze: Yeah, real safe.
Big Bird: Gee, thanks. Oh, gee, I sure am a lucky bird.

Are you crying yet?