Old Lady Concert Rules: Twirling, Twirling, Gone

Old Lady Concert Rule #15 (maybe): Keep your twirling to yourself!

It's been almost six years since I first put the Old Lady Concert rules to paper. Of course, by "paper" I mean I wrote an Island post about them. The rules have been modified, added to, and discussed at great lengths since that post. Most recently, I created a new rule for wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see after experiencing an entire city of people being that guy. I refer to this modification as "the Tim Rule" because my friend Tim asked about an exception and he deserves one. What I realized recently is that I've never addressed a very important topic in the Old Lady Concert rules: dancing.

I'm an awkward dancer. I took dance classes as a child and I was in the chorus in musicals, but neither one of those things equals confident dancer. I could blame lots of things for this particular awkward trait, but it comes down to self-confidence in my late teens and early twenties. I'm sure others can relate to this. As I've moved into my thirties (almost to my forties), I've decided I don't really care anymore and want to spend my remaining concert going years rocking out and dancing as awkwardly and exuberantly as I can. However, my dancing should not impede the enjoyment of others at any concert. This brings us to our newest Old Lady Concert Rule: Keep your twirling to yourself.

One of my favorite parts of going to concerts is people watching. This is particularly true when I go to shows featuring bands I'm not as interested in as my concert buddy. People watching gives me something to focus on when I don't know the words to the song or don't have a super emotional connection to what's going on. At shows I'm 100% into, it's a fun way to see how other fans of a band or musician I like react to the same music. Is there a lot of close-eyed swaying or toe-tapping? How many white dudes are doing their best to do something with their bodies that sort of resembles dancing, but also might resemble getting dressed in really tight clothing? Concerts are mini-communities and we all have our role to play in those communities. My decision to create a rule about dancing isn't about judgment or not wanting people to express their joy at a show; it's about being socially and situationally aware. Let's face it, an intense twirler can ruin a concert for everyone.

Let's break down my favorite concert dance forms. I freely admit to being many of these, despite my tendency to dance awkwardly in public. Sometimes, the music is in control and you have to let it be expressed through the muse of dance (thank you, Corky St. Clair).

• The Twirler: I went to Lilith Fair in 1997, so I'm no stranger to twirlers at concerts. I was also a little girl at one point in my life, and while I didn't love wearing dresses when I was younger, I did love to twirl. The fun of twirling really can't be put into words; if you've never twirled, stop reading and twirl around wherever you are for one minute. Don't you feel magical? I get it, sometimes the music is so much that you have to twirl. I want nothing more for you than to embrace your inner Stevie Nicks and twirl and twirl and twirl. Except when we're in a small, somewhat confined space, like say the 9:30 Club or most other small, bar venues. Twirling is probably the least ideal dance form in small spaces. Drink spillage alone could cost you hundreds of dollars if the people impacted want you to buy them a new drink. Or you twirl too much and hit someone right in the eye. Twirl with caution, which is probably a song on Stevie Nicks' next solo album.
• The White Dude Shuffle: White dudes dancing is one of my favorite things to watch at a concert. There are many levels to white dudes dancing, but the the White Dude Shuffle is by far the most expressive and fun to watch. The White Dude Shuffle is all about the arms and slight movement from the left foot to the right foot, but it's really about the arms and waist motions. I see this type of dancing at every type of show I go to; it's slightly out of sync with the rhythm of the song. The best White Dude Shuffle happens at punk and hard rock shows when a guy doesn't join the mosh pit melee, but still wants to groove. Nothing says concert entertainment more than a bunch of burly, heavily tattooeed white dudes shuffling to a Dropkick Murphys or Violent Femmes song. (Confession: This dude is my type. I can't help it. If he looks like the diner owner in season one of Stranger Things, I'm done.) The one thing to watch out for is eye closing; for whatever reason, a lot of eye closing happens with the White Dude Shuffle. This could be bad for you if they shuffle too intensely because it could quickly devolve into elbowing and then you're attending a hockey game you didn't want to attend.
• The Swayer: My brother is a swayer. A swayer is a person who sways in time to a song. Swayers are the most unobtrusive concert dancers; they have virtually no impact on anyone else; most of us are a swayer at some point in our concert-going life. Swaying is easiest when you attend a show where you don't have any vested interest in the band because you're involved, but not heavily involved. Where the Swayer becomes problematic is when he or she (I'm sometimes a swayer) gets so into the swaying that they dance dangerously close to the line of twirling. If you see a swayer moving past their personal space, hold your drink and prepare for modified twirl.
• The Air Guitarist/Drummer: When I went to see AC/DC two years ago with my brother, Dave Grohl was in attendance. Dave is from NOVA and is a huge AC/DC fan so it made sense that he'd pick this show to attend. We were directly across the arena from him. This meant we could see a blurry Dave Grohl the entire night. He did what I thought he might do for much of the concert: he air drummed. Air drumming and its cousin, air guitar playing, are a lot like twirling in that they can take up a lot of space and possibly cause injury if no one is paying attention. Both of these activities can be great if a person is at a seated show because they only have some much in which to rock out.
• The Rock Chick from a 1980s Video: Bless the 1980s rock video. Most of these videos have very formulaic plots, and almost all of them involve one "hot" girl dancing for extended shots, usually on the hood of a car. Enjoy Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" if you've never experienced this type of video. Big hair, big boobs, either super tight clothes or flow-y dresses, high heels; these are the signs of this type of concert dancer. These ladies have mastered the fine art of being able to dance to anything. They're why metal fans complained about Def Leppard and bands like Whitesnake, but continued to attend concerts. Dudes were conflicted about how much a band could truly rock if girls could dance to the music (said in a way more colorful way). If you ever need a good pep talk, say one of two things to yourself: "Have the confidence of an average white male" or "Own a room like a 1980s Rock Chick." Both are surprisingly helpful.
• The Headbangers: My brother often leaves his swaying behind and headbangs during very specific concerts or songs. Take him to a Metallica show and it's headbanging all the way. Metal bands tend to have the most dedicated of headbangers; the fast-paced, heavy music is designed for this type of enjoyment. It takes no actual skill, but a strong attachment to the rhythm and feeling of the music. Headbangers have a gentler cousin, who resembles a bobble head figure, and is usually present at rock shows. Do long-time headbangers have neck problems?
• The Music Feeler: At every show I attend, there is at least one person who is feeling the music so deeply that their body takes over and does whatever it wants to do. It could be a combination of every other dancing type listed or it could be something completely unique. At the Violent Femmes/Echo & the Bunnymen show on Wednesday at the Anthem, there was a couple in front of me that both were part of this category. During the Echo set, they had a ton of real estate to themselves and were just feeling it. For the woman, it manifested as a lot of twirling and intense swaying. She was also into the moves of a nearby 80s Rock Chick. The guy was a combo of a swayer, a twirler (yes, dudes can twirl), and a shuffler. Some people go to church, others go to rock shows.
• The Self-Contained Mosh Pit Guy: A mosh pit is a thing of beauty when viewed from several hundred feet above or from the way, way back of a club. I've been to many shows in my life that involved pits, but have always stayed outside of them for many reasons. The pit can be a violent place, intentionally or unintentionally, and is a culture unto itself. This is not about the mosh pit; it's about that one guy (and it's usually a guy) who creates his own one person pit right next to you during a show. This is a guy who employs his pit moves, like shuffling (which can be a thing in the pit), body slamming, and jumping for himself only. I feel some of these guys want you to join in and others just don't know any other way to express themselves physically when attending a show so they default to the pit behavior they're used to. My reaction to a self-contained mosh pit guy is to shove him back and protect my space at all costs. Elbows out, friends.
• The "Dance With Me" Couple: This has the potential to be the saddest dancing at a show or will end up being something out of an amateur porn film you don't want to watch. The woman in the couple always wants to dance. She tries everything to get the guy to dance with her. In the sad version, he completely ignores her or continually pushes her off, and continues his swaying (he's usually a swayer) until she gets so mad she storms off. Or they get into a fight in the middle of the show. In the porn-lite version, he gets into it and the girl becomes an 80s Rock Chick and he's the car hood. Neither is particularly fun to witness.

I want everyone to enjoy every show they go to. Every time I watch a person dance at a concert, I know in my heart that they are living their best possible lives at that exact moment. Sometimes the behavior awakens my inner Old Lady Concertgoer and I have to work hard at getting her to calm it down. Other times, it makes me joyful and warms a part of my cynical heart. My rule is in place to help us all be the best rock and roll citizens we can be. If we can all work together to be good rock and roll citizens, there's nothing we can't do.

Coming this August: Beer festival shenanigans at a prison, we discuss counter-protesting and the fact that no one should have to have "confronted a Nazi" as something they need to do in 2018, and a random Lazy Movie Weekend will appear. 

Song of the Summer

One of the best things I did for myself during the 2016 election, other than work for a candidate who didn't sell us out to Russia, was to start following a bot account on Twitter called "africa by toto bot." It's exactly what it sounds like: the bot tweets one lyric at a time from the 1982 song "Africa" by the band Toto. I don't know if it's the context of seeing a tweet from this account come up in between tweets from the many politicians, journalists, and activists I follow, or if it's the fact that I love this song, but every tweet makes my day a little brighter and funnier. Sometimes, bot accounts are pure and lovely and not responsible for subverting democracy.

"Africa" was the first and only number one hit for the band Toto. It's a fairly straightforward pop love song, with lots of 80s-tastic synthesizers and a drum beat that I'm sure the band or some producer thought was very "African" sounding, but isn't really. The original video, which you can watch here, includes a very thin plot, which I believe takes place in a library in an unnamed African country (probably Tanzania, given the two geographical references in the song), also includes a lot of closed eye singing, some masks, one of the drummers wearing a blouse, and a search for a book. It ends with a fire and the lead singer sitting on top of a stack of books in a very Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park (the first one) pose, but in a completely unappealing way.

From what I've read about the song, which is a surprising amount, David Paich wrote the song about the continent of Africa. He watched a lot of documentaries about Africa in the period leading up to writing the song, but had never visited and had gone to Catholic school as a child, remembering missionaries going to Africa. So the song is about love of a place and of memory. I can totally get behind this idea. The song was on the album Toto IV. That album and the song "Rosanna" from the album both won Grammys in 1983.

I have loved this song since I first heard it when I was a child. It falls into that category of songs that were on the radio a lot that I will never stop loving. Other songs included in this category are "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)", "More Than a Feeling", and "Low Rider." It's poppy and peppy. There's a marimba! One of my absolute favorite things about this song is the use of "Kilimanjaro" and "Serengeti" in the lyrics. Both words have a lot of syllables and limited rhyming words. I've always been impressed by the band's ability to make the words work in the song. The inclusion of both is the only geographic clue we get in the song; Mt. Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania and the Serengeti National Park is primarily in Tanzania (some of it is in Kenya). As a kid, it was a fun fact to look up. As an adult, it's a funny thing in a random pop song from 1982.

What's fascinating to me is that a little cover of this song by a 90s alt band has become a song of the summer. Not an official song of the summer, but one in my mind. If you haven't listened to Weezer's cover of "Africa," take a few minutes and watch their performance on Jimmy Kimmel's summer concert series. One of the members of Toto even makes an appearance.

The whole thing started with a 14 year old girl named Mary. She started a Twitter account directed at the band and used it to try to convince them to do a cover of the song. Weezer does a far amount of covers, so it's not unusual for them to add a new song or two into the mix. They teased fans with a cover of "Rosanna" first, eventually releasing "Africa" in May. Of course, the Internet was designed for this event. The song is playing in heavy rotation on the radio. NPR wrote a story about the song and people's uncomfortable relationship with Weezer and with the song. My favorite line in this story, "Weezer, the Los Angeles-based quartet that emerged in the 1990s with bemusingly catchy hits like "Buddy Holly," is one of a handful of pop-punk bands that, like Wooderson in the movie Dazed and Confused, keep getting older while a good chunk of their fan base stays the same age — 14."

I was 13 or 14 when I heard my firs Weezer song. It was "Buddy Holly" and I remember the seeing the video for the first time on MTV. I was obsessed with the chorus:

Woo-ee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly
Oh-oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore
I don't care what they say about us anyway
I don't care 'bout that 

Yes, I am so very Mary Tyler Moore. Thank you, Rivers Cuomo for getting it. The Blue Album, which included "Buddy Holly," will always be my favorite Weezer album. "In the garage" and "Say it ain't so," also on that album, are two of my favorite Weezer songs. I lived in Hawaii when "Island in the Sun" was released and loved driving around Oahu with my windows down, blasting the song. I like to listen to "Everybody Get Dangerous" in the middle of a workout. I'm not a huge fan of their newest album, but that's okay. Rivers Cuomo isn't always my favorite person, but again, that's okay. 

 I've never seen Weezer live, but that has now been remedied. Weezer is on tour this summer and I went to the show last night. They happen to be touring with the Pixies, one of my favorite bands of all time. It's been almost ten years since I last saw the Pixies, so I was excited about this concert. Unlike my experience at the Indigo Girls concert, I entered this concert experience with expectations:

• Enjoy Paz Lenchantin as the bassist for the Pixies. Yes, I grew up on the band with Kim Deal, but Paz is an amazing bassist.
• Songs I need the Pixies to play: "Gigantic", "Hey", "Wave of Mutilation" (hopefully the slower version), "Indy Cindy", "Here Comes Your Man", "Planet of Sound", "Letter to Memphis", and "Velouria." 
• Songs I need Weezer to play: "Buddy Holly", "In the garage", "Island in the Sun", "Say it ain't so", "Hash Pipe", "Everybody Get Dangerous," and "Holiday." (I'm a Blue Album fan if that wasn't obvious.)
• "Africa" must be played. 

I was not disappointed. Although the Pixies didn't play all the songs I wanted to hear, most surprisingly no "Here Comes Your Man," they played a great set that included a good mix of newer songs and classics. Paz is a great addition to the band; I'll always be a Kim Deal fan, but she made her choice and the band continues on. 

Weezer puts on a great show. Yes, their fans stay the same age, on many different levels, but who cares? It's a great rock show. They didn't play all the songs I wanted to hear, but they played songs I didn't know I needed, like an acoustic version of a-ha's "Take on Me" and a mash-up of the Turtles' "Happy Together" and Green Day's "Longview". Who knew that would work? The best moment of the night was Rivers Cuomo in a boat in the middle of the audience doing a great acoustic version of "Island in the Sun" and looking super ridiculous in a captain's hat. This the kind of show that reminds me that rock and roll doesn't always have to be so serious or take itself so seriously. Sometimes, it's a dude in a hat in a boat singing an a-ha song and sometimes it's a band singing an almost note for note version of a classic 80s pop song because a fan asked them to do so.

And yes, they played "Africa." It was as glorious live as I thought it would be. I'm trying not to take photos of concerts anymore and my video didn't come out great so enjoy this guy's video from last night. The sing-a-long moment is on my list of favorite concert moments. Tell me Brian Bell doesn't look like one of the members of Toto during this song. It's the tucked in shirt.

Just in case Weezer's cover isn't your thing, enjoy this version of "Africa" created in Mario Paint (apparently Mario Paint videos were a thing in 2010.).

Concert Buddy Chronicles: Closer I Am to Fine

Old Lady Concert Rule #12 (probably): Always have a concert buddy.

Concert buddies are an important part of the concert going experience. Even for me, a person who enjoys doing things by myself, concerts don't fall into the group of activities that are more enjoyable alone. I would add sporting events, protests, holiday parties (particularly for work), and weddings to the list of things you should never attend alone. The safety factor is one part of this, but honestly, concerts are just more fun when you go with other people.

I've attended a few concerts by myself over the years and it's not nearly as much fun as it should be. Most of the shows have been at places like Ram's Head in Baltimore and the 9:30 Club in DC, which are both standing room only venues. Take the fun factor out of the mix for a second, logistical items like getting a drink or going to the bathroom are much more difficult because there's no one to protect your space. Despite my height, I prefer to stand at the back of the club, so it's a little better for me, but it's still annoying. If you don't make friends with your neighbors, you're out of luck. I lucked out at the last show I saw alone and made friends with the two people standing next to me. They protected my space and I did the same for them. We were all wearing the same shoes, which is why we started talking. Granted, it was a Green Day show so the odds were in my favor that at least half of the crowd would be wearing the same shoes as me, but they could have been jerks and then I would have been out of luck.

That's been my experience at most of the other shows I've gone to by myself. People around me weren't the most pleasant or just kept to themselves, which is 100% acceptable. At a Patti Smith show a few years ago, I got into an uncomfortable discussion with two drunk, older dudes next to me about how everything was better before I was born. They had seen her in the 70s in New York and it was so much better (obviously) and I was so unlucky to be born when I was born. I told them to stop talking like a bunch of elitist concert-going assholes. They were one step away from telling kids to get off their lawns and turn that racket down. This could have gone very bad, very quickly, but instead they apologized and offered to protect my space if I wanted to go get a drink or anything. They were polite to me the rest of the night. I could tell they were also annoyed; such is the delicate ego of a 70s "punk" dude.

These experiences aside, going to concerts with friends is funner. There's no other word to describe it. From the waiting to get in or in the parking lot to the people watching to the actual concert itself, the experience is better with other people. Having a concert buddy is actually how the Old Lady Concert rules became a thing; I started complaining about people standing at a seated show, which led to me discussing my old lady tendencies with Anita. The rules were born and we must abide.

My older brother, Scott, and my friend Anita are my concert buddies. I could add my dad here as well since he did take me to my first two concerts, but I'm not sure that counts. Both Scott and Anita are ideal concert buddies: we like a lot of the same music, but also like different musicians so we all get exposed to new bands because of the other person. I took both of them to their first Decemberists concert (different shows) and Anita went with me to Wilco last summer. Scott and I tend to go to metal shows or we travel for shows. He's the kind of concert buddy that replies, "Memphis" when you ask where he wants to see the Foo Fighters.

This brings me to the Indigo Girls.

I have to admit something about my life as a 90s girl: I only know three songs by the Indigo Girls. Not only do I only know three songs by the band, they're the songs that everyone knows, "Closer to Fine", "Galileo", and "Elizabeth." I'm sure I know other songs by the band, but I couldn't name them if you paid me a million dollars. They're just not my jam. However, it doesn't mean I don't appreciate their music or their talent. Amy and Emily are amazingly talented and also happen to be exceptionally cool human beings. They're activists and have been successful both as a duo and as solo artists. They were also hugely popular at a time in my life where so much good music was coming out. As I always tell people, you can't listen to everything. While I never disliked them, I was more into Tori Amos, Liz Phair, Riot Grrrl bands like Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney, grunge bands, Green Day, and hard rock from the 70s. I listened to R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs and Fiona Apple. I was "discovering" Big Star and the Velvet Underground and enjoying a bunch of really terrible one-hit wonder songs from bands whose names I can't remember. The 1990s were an amazing time for music.

Anita, on the other hand, is a huge Indigo Girls fan. She's now seen them in concert 15 times. She knows all the words and all the guitars. So when she asked me to go with her to the concert (which was last week), of course I said yes. That's what concert buddies do. I'm also never going to say no to going to Wolf Trap, except for live theatre and the Grease sing-a-long. Trust me on both of these things.

It was a great show. The opening act, The War and Treaty, were super fun. They reminded me of a few bands I used to go see in New Orleans. They're a husband and wife duo and are maybe the most adorable human beings I've ever seen on stage together. They came out later to join the Indigo Girls for "Closer to Fine," which closed out the encore. The Indigo Girls tour with a band sometimes; this is not that tour. It's the two of them and a violinist (Lyris Hung). They switch out guitars for almost every song. Anita told me it's a system the band has had in place for years. She told that there was a time in her Indigo Girls fan life where she could have told me the song they were about to play because of the guitars. That is a true fan.

What I enjoyed most about this concert was that I had no expectations at all. Normally when I go see a show, I stress about whether the band is going to play my favorite song or if they're going to be play too many new songs. With few exceptions, new songs aren't always the best songs (I'm looking at you, Bob Dylan on the Modern Times tour). Concert anticipation is both a blessing and a curse; it can often lead to a horrible let down. I didn't have to experience that at all with the Indigo Girls. I figured they'd play "Closer to Fine" and "Galileo." I wasn't going to be disappointed if they didn't play "Elizabeth" or if they only played "Closer to Fine." My stake in the concert game was low, and it was amazing. I spent time watching Anita and other fans experience their favorite (or a favorite) band. It was nice to just listen to very talented musicians do their thing and fans enjoying themselves.

If that's not a perfect summer concert, I don't know what is.

 Next time on the Island: Another concert, the song of the summer, and why sometimes you need to follow really innocent accounts on Twitter.

Set list photo

Baseball cats

Back in August 2017, a kitten ran onto the field at Busch Stadium during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals. The cat ran onto the field right before Yadier Molina hit a grand slam, and a poor member of the grounds crew ran out to get the cat. You can watch him get clawed here. The Cardinals nicknamed the cat Rally Cat, and were interested in adopting him/her as a clubhouse pet. They lost the custody war with a local humane society, Feral Cat Outreach, who felt the team was more interested in publicity than the welfare of the animal. I don't know if the Cardinals had the cat's best interest at heart, but I do know were I a resident of the greater St. Louis area, I would go to a heck of a lot more baseball games if I knew the team has a clubhouse cat. It's the sort of thing cat people like. I mean, Rally Cat did his own bobblehead, so it can't be all that bad.

In addition to running his way into the hearts of baseball fans, Rally Cat's appearance at the game led to the creation of Rally Cat Appreciation Day and many other baseball stadiums have followed suit, holding their own themed nights for cat lovers. I attended my first "Caturday" event at Nationals Park yesterday. While I have some feedback for the event planners, overall, I enjoyed my first Caturday. As a cat mom, I often feel left out of public celebrations for my pet, so I appreciate an opportunity to come to a game, hang out with some cat/baseball fans, and enjoy cats puns alongside of a baseball game. It makes me feel validated as a pet owner. It has also led me to discover a community of cat lovers I had no idea existed.

This is the look I got when I arrived home last night. Full of #catitude.

When I first started working at my new job last summer, I spotted a coffee mug in one of the kitchens.

I didn't meet the owner of the mug for another few weeks.We met one morning in the kitchen as we both prepared our morning coffees. She's a lovely human and the proud cat mom of three cats. She told me about them and gave me a baseball card of one of her cats...because her cats are rally cats. She has the most delightful Twitter account featuring her rally cats. It's through this account that I discovered an entire world of rally cat Twitter accounts. I had no idea this was a thing, but it seems like every MLB team has at least one fan who has devoted an account to his/her cat and favorite team. I truly believe this is why Twitter was invented.

I love many things about the rally cat community (and it is a community). They take care of one another and seem genuinely supportive of one another. One of the cats is sick and the parent is trying to raise money for care, so all of the rally cat accounts rallied to spread the message. The accounts are funny and creative, from cat-astic puns to fun promos for teams. Some of the cats will even let their owners put them in team clothing, something that Keely is never going to be into. The cats provide excellent color commentary on games. Honestly, I'd rather listen to a cat "tell" me what's happening than some of the broadcasters who call baseball games professionally. Of course, I follow my co-worker's account on Twitter and whenever she interacts with other rally cat accounts (I don't know that they actually describe themselves as such, but it's easier for my purposes here), it makes my heart happy. It's delightful.

Now some of the accounts are political too. Not overtly so, but the cats lean way more to the left than not and have taken some pretty firm stands on topics like gun control, immigration, and women's healthcare. Not all of these accounts are run by women, but they're all pretty unified in their dislike of the 45 and their desire for us to not be a dumpster fire country. I came for the cats and I stayed for the politics.

I didn't get to see my co-worker at Caturday, although I know she was there (she posted in the Facebook group and on Twitter). This might be one of the fails of Caturday: it didn't really feel like an event as much as a marketing moment. Yes, we got a Catitude t-shirt and were treated to some delightful cat puns throughout the evening, but other than that, it felt flat. Our seats were in the section under the scoreboard, so any fun thing that was posted, we didn't get to see, including the cat photos that were running before the game. I submitted a photo of Keely, but I have no idea if it was used. The Presidents Race featured a cat (Teddy had a lot of pets) and that was sort of fun. I wanted more. This is an organization that allowed Bryce Harper to come up with Rat Pack Night as a theme (which was terrible; I was at the first one) and does a great Star Wars Day, so I expected more.

Money from each of the special tickets benefits the Humane Rescue Alliance, a local rescue group supported by the Nationals. They were on hand yesterday for the event; we didn't go into their mobile adoption van. It looked busy, so I hope some lucky cats and kittens got adopted yesterday too. The Nats won the game 18-4; Mark Reynolds had 10 RBI in the game (tying Anthony Rendon's record from last season) and Trea Turner had eight. It was a good night for baseball.

Here's the photo of Keely I submitted. He's doing his best Derek Zoolander. I don't know if he can turn left.

Isn't he handsome? You know he was on the scoreboard because of his handsomeness. Hopefully, the Nats have another Caturday and I'll submit another photo of him and actually get to see it on the scoreboard. Until then, I'll be over here enjoying the rally cat community and trying to get Keely to turn left.

Lazy Movie Weekend: Comfort Movies

I never thought that I'd feel the way I feel about January about the month of June. June is my birth month, peonies are in bloom, and a hint of summer is in the air. If we lived in a normal world, June would be the absolute best. But seriously, it seems like June is going on forever. Every day some other terrible thing happens and just when you think people can't get worse, they do. It's overwhelming and depressing. I try not to get caught in the dumpster fire that is Twitter, but I follow a lot of political figures, activists, and regular humans who comment and I can't look away. It's not healthy; I know, but I can't help myself.

It's in times like these that I find myself turning to my old standby to make myself feel better: I watch funny movies and shows that make me feel better. I like to call these movies "comfort movies." A comfort movie (or show) is like mac and cheese or warm brownies; they make you feel loved and cared for no how you really feel.

I encourage you to enjoy some mac and cheese or brownies while watching my Comfort Movie Marathon. You'll thank me for this later.

1. To Wong Foo,Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) Admittedly, I could write an entire post about this movie, but I feel strongly that it should be included here first. This movie has everything: drag queens, Robin Williams, small towns, strawberries, Chris Penn at his Chris Penniest, RuPaul. In 1995, a movie starring Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo as drag queens seemed revolutionary and odd, but in a great way. I will watch this movie anytime it's on and laugh as much as I did the first time. Swayze and Snipes play Vida and Noxxema, two queens on their way to a national drag competition in Los Angeles. They take Leguizamo's Chi-Chi, a less experienced queen, under their wings. On the drive to L.A., they come up with the four rules to becoming a drag queen, look flawless even with the top down, and change the lives of an entire town. There are some wonderful moments and also some problematic things (particularly the racist language toward Chi-Chi and the gay man savior plot line), but all in all, it's a fun movie. Blink and you'll miss Lady Bunny. 
2. Waitress (2007) I saw the musical version of this charming movie back in May and have been thinking about the movie ever since. If you haven't seen Adrienne Shelly's quirky comedy, stop what you're doing right now and watch it. Shelly was an indie movie staple in the late 90s and early 2000s; Waitress was her final film (she was murdered during the film's production) and she wrote the script while pregnant with her daughter, Sophie. The film centers on Jenna, a small town waitress and baker with a terrible husband, who finds out she's pregnant. She spends much of the movie making up pies and writing letters to her unborn baby. She's less than thrilled about becoming a mom. Even if you've never had a baby or a bad husband, there's something so relatable about Jenna and her situation. Shelly plays Dawn, another waitress, who almost steals the movie from Keri Russell (post-Felicity). Andy Griffith plays Old Joe and Nathan Fillion is Jenna's doctor. 
3. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) Diane Lane stars as Frances Mayes in the movie adaptation of Mayes' memoir. After a horrible divorce, Frances goes to Italy at the encouragement of her best friend (the wonderful Sandra Oh) and ends up buying a villa in Tuscany. You know, as one does. She sets about renovating the villa with the help of a rag tag group of Polish workers, learns about olives from her neighbor, helps two star-crossed lovers find happiness, buys a white dress, and creates a family for herself in Tuscany. One of my favorite characters is Katherine, an aging actress who evokes the elegance and beauty of 1960s Italian cinema and inspires Frances to live her life. I'm not usually a fan of the whole "woman makes over her life in another country" genre (I'm looking at you Eat, Pray, Love), but I can't help loving this movie.
4. Shaun of the Dead (2004) The first of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy movies, Shaun of the Dead is one of my favorite zombie comedies. It has the creepiness and gore of a traditional zombie movie, paired with the humor of every British comedy I love. This is the movie that gave the world Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright. Pegg plays Shaun, a lovable loser, who has to save his sort of ex-girlfriend, his mum, and his friends when a zombie plague hits London. One of my favorite parts of the movie is the fight sequence set to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now." It's genius. The whole Cornetto Trilogy is worth watching over and over, but Shaun of the Dead will always be my favorite. 
5. GLOW (2017) Season two of the Netflix series just dropped this week, so I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I loved the first season and the documentary about the actual Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling show. It's funny, empowering, and has just enough nostalgia. Come for Alison Brie, stay for Marc Maron. My plan is to binge watch season two this week. The neon is calling.
6. Thor: Ragnorak (2017) I'm a big Thor fan. The Thor movies are my favorite standalone Marvel Universe movies. The first movie of the three is the best one, even if Natalie Portman is the worst. Dark World isn't as terrible as everyone makes it out to be; the Viking funeral is one of the most beautiful scenes and scores in all of the Marvel movies combined. Anyway, Thor: Ragnorak is like living in a 1980s arcade game; it's bright and loud and super fun. The movie was directed by Taika Waititi, the genius behind What They Do in the Shadows. In addition to Thor and Loki, we get a Valkyrie, a bizarre Jeff Goldblum, and the return of the Hulk. Oh, and Hela arrives and destroys everything, as she does. This movie is a set up for Avengers: Infinity War, but what movie in the MCU isn't these days?
7. Queer Eye (2017) If you didn't watch the original Bravo show back in the day, get yourself over to Netflix and watch the new series (seasons one and two are available now). The premise is the same: five gay men spend a week helping a nominated man (in all but one case) turn his life around. This includes a makeover, life coaching, and home renovation. I liked the original show, but love the reboot. There's an emotional element to the new series that didn't exist as strongly in the first series. This show is doing more to help combat toxic masculinity than I ever imagine it could do. The men the Fab Five help show emotions and open up in a way that's powerful and uplifting. There are moments that are stressful, like in season one when the group is pulled over and it doesn't seemed planned and moments that are hilarious (basically anything involving Jonathan). It's a power show on many levels; one of my favorite episodes focuses on a transgender male, who underwent top surgery six weeks before the Fab Five appear. It's an unexpected episode on many levels. Make sure you have Kleenex handy when you watch the show. 
8. Best Worst Movie (2009) Summer is the time to watch a documentary, right? Best Worst Movie is a documentary about the making of the cult movie Troll 2. Troll 2, like most cult movies, is terrible. The plot centers around a family who moves to the country and becomes the target of vegetarian goblins who want to turn them into plants so the goblins can eat them. I saw Troll 2 when I was 11 or 12 and thought it was hilarious, but terrible. The documentary is directed by Michael Stephenson, who starred in the movie as Joshua, the youngest son and hero of the movie. Despite its cult following, Stephenson was embarrassed by the movie, but came to love it after discovering the rabid fan following the movie has. You don't have to watch Troll 2 in order to watch Best Worst Movie, but I would highly recommend watching them together.
9. Brooklyn (2015) I'm going to admit that I have not read the book this movie is based on, although I do own it. It's currently sitting in one of my stacks of books to read around my apartment. I love the fashion of this movie (it's set in the 1950s) and it's beautifully filmed. Eillis comes to America from Ireland to work in a department store and find a new life. She meets a young man and falls in love. Brooklyn is comfort and love and possibility.
10. Girls Trip (2017) I love this movie so much. I missed it in the theatre when it originally came out, and regret that immensely. It's hilarious and raunchy and fabulous. It's everything wonderful and painful about female friendship. And it takes place in New Orleans! Tiffany Haddish is life in this movie; I don't know how they made it through filming some of her scenes without laughing the whole time. Four college friends reunite during Essence Festival under the guise of a girls trip. Of course, they're all going through things in life and need one another to make it through. Queen Latifah, Jada Pickett-Smith, and Regina Hall round out the group and they are amazing. If you want to laugh out loud a lot, this is the movie for you.

We all need to take a break from the news and being part of the resistance every now and then. Comfort movies (and shows) will always be there for you. Embrace the comfort movies!

Coming soon to the Island: more from the front line of being a good citizen, I attempt to get back into writing at work, and the old lady concert rules come out in full effect. Summer is the greatest!

Your Resident Single Friend: Are pet registries a thing?

I've been to Target three times in less than 24 hours. I've never spent that much time in a Target in a short time period. Even when I moved into my apartment last year, I only went to Target twice over the course of a week. Is there a limit to the number of times you can go to Target in a 24 hour period before they get suspicious?

What's taken me to Target this weekend? Well, friends, I adopted a cat yesterday. I've been slowly working my way to finding a new pet friend. It's not a small thing, looking for a pet.Visiting the Cat Cafe was a first step, and since my visit I've been checking out area shelters for my new cat. Earlier this week, the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria posted the most adorable video on Instagram of four new kittens available for adoption. It's kitten season after all, so the babies are out in full force. I decided to go on Friday after work to see if one of the kittens, a dilute tortoiseshell, was still available. I went with the knowledge that said kitten would probably not be available and that I'd spend time with the other cats.

I was 100% right about the kitten. Three of the four, including the one I was interested in adopting, had been adopted. I made the rounds of the other younger cats, meeting Claire, Mercy, Gloria, Naomi, and Callie. None of them were my cat, but they were all super sweet and adorable. At least two of them were adopted yesterday too. I was making a final walk around when I found him...my cat. A handsome, but shy gentleman, I stepped into the cage and he immediately started purring. He let me pet him, scratch under his chin, and then fell asleep on my hand. I was a goner after that.

Introducing Keely!

 Look at that face! He's so handsome.

I'm not going to pretend I'm not nervous about adopting a new cat. It's a stressful experience on multiple levels for both of us. Keely's been in the shelter a little over a month, so moving from one strange place to another is stressful for the little guy. He's got to figure out his litter box, his food, and where he can nap comfortably. So far, he's figured out his food (ate a full dinner), fun places to laze about on the floor and on the couch, his scratcher, and how to jump on the sink in the bathroom. He's also begged for my dinner and made a face at me when I wouldn't give him Goldfish crackers. It's been a very exciting day.

Me, I forgot three things on my list, lost the cord of cell phone charger, and didn't click the delivery button when I ordered food so I had to leave him for 30 minutes to go pick it up instead. That's how I'm reacting to our new situation; forgetting stuff and losing things. What am I going to do when I leave him for a few hours tomorrow? Or a whole day on Monday?  Are pet registries a thing? I could totally do with a pet registry right now. Being a pet parent is stressful.

Stressful, but worth it. Keely is super affectionate when he wants to be, weaving around my legs, laying on my feet, and rubbing his little face on everything. Currently, he's laying under the window in my bedroom. It seems that he's settling in, little by little.

Thank you to the friendly staff at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria for helping me find Keely. Go visit them if you're looking to adopt a new pet. Enjoy some photos of Keely's first day in his new home. I'm sure he'll be back on the Island soon.

Erin has a vision

One of my favorite quotes from the incredibly quotable film Waiting for Guffman, is when Libby Mae (Parker Posey) explains what Dr. Pearl (Eugene Levy) will come to realize once he starts working with the Corky (Christopher Guest) on the Blaine musical:

"Corky has a vision."

Whenever I get random ideas or schemes, I can't help but think of myself as Corky St. Clair, visionary, creative, and a tad bit delusional. Isn't that the definition of genius or something? I've been doing a lot of creative projects this year, coming back to embroidery, painting, and crafting as a way to relax and try new things. I host a regular Wine & Crafts gathering with friends and I try to spend two nights a week doing something creative (one night on writing projects, one night on some other project). This is how one finds balance...or at least that's what I tell myself.

My friend Anita was cleaning out her basement last week and unearthed a box of cassette tapes from high school and college.

Many of these gems were created by me; remember that true music love never dies. I'd still include these songs today were I making someone a mix tape. Anita still has a tape deck, so she can listen to these tapes should she be so inclined. Some, however, aren't worth keeping. This lead to a text conversation between us later on in the week about how to recycle or reuse the unwanted tapes and some VHS tapes she wants to get rid of too. We came up with a bunch of ideas including cases, purses, business card holders, collage art using the liner notes, and weaving a purse out the tape ribbon. Then I made this statement:

"I wonder if one could embroider with the tape ribbon." 

Or in Waiting for Guffman speak, Erin has a vision. Yes, I can look up on the Google whether someone else has figured this out already, but where would the fun be in that? Like that time I made a purse out of Legos, the fun in this idea is not only in the final product, but in the process of figuring out whether or not it will work. (You can read about my Lego purse here, here, and here.) Throughout the week I came up with five possible options for using the tape ribbon as embroidery thread:

1. Stitch over the tape with regular embroidery thread, like you might do to add embellishment to regular ribbons.
2. Shred the tape (by half), use the thinner strips as thread. Stitch as normal.
3. Stitch with full tape.
4. Fold and stitch.
5. Twist and stitch. Basically, braid two full size pieces of the ribbon and use regular thread to connect it to fabric and to add additional detail.

Before I get into each technique, here are some other things I discovered:

• Shredding tape ribbon is a pain in the ass. I used an Exacto knife, a pair of embroidery scissors (similar in size to manicure scissors), and a quilting edge and none of them were great. The scissors worked best, which was surprising to me. This step would also prove to be completely unnecessary, but I didn't know that at the time.
• People are fascinated by this idea. Possible reasons for this: people want to be environmentally conscious, nostalgia, they think I'm super cool and creative. 
• Consensus amongst some of my crafty friends is that embroidery probably isn't going to work and I should pick up weaving as a new hobby. Sigh.
• I spent a lot of time thinking about this project during the week. I had sort of a weird week and having this to focus on was helpful.
• I may have figured out the theme of my Badass HERstory project. More on this in a future Island post.

Now to the important question: Did it actually work? YES! A resounding yes! Now, not every technique I thought of worked, but I have figured out how to use tape ribbon for both embroidery stitches and cross stitch.

The two best techniques were options one and three; stitching over the tape and using the full piece of tape as thread. The shredded option proved to be too thin; it easily snapped into smaller pieces when trying to bring the "thread" through the fabric. Option four was unnecessary after option three proved to work beautifully. Option five is fine, but I wouldn't call it my go-to way to accomplish what I want to accomplish.

I started with stitching over the full piece of ribbon with embroidery thread. I like the contrast this creates with the colored thread. Tape ribbon comes in black and brown, so using the thread helps add some pops of color. This technique would be best for creating an object to be displayed, maybe adding it as an edging to a larger piece or as the center piece for a project that will be under glass or not moved very often. The ribbon is delicate and tears easily. Stitches can't be too close to one another, as I experienced, since that shreds the ribbon and leads to tears.

I didn't mark the tape for this option. Were I to do this technique again, I would probably mark it lightly to make the stitches more even and consistent. A straight stitch or a chain stitch are probably the only two stitches I'd try since they don't rely on moving a needle through the same spot on the ribbon. I used tape to secure the edges; this helped a lot.

Using the full proved to be the most effective, and frankly, most satisfying option. I tried to use the shredded ribbon first, but it was too delicate and easily destroyed. I tried on both cross stitch fabric and plain cotton fabric and the result was the same. When I switched to a full piece of ribbon, it worked beautifully on both types of fabric. As you move the needle in and out for each stitch, the ribbon becomes more like thread, getting thinner with each pass. The brown tape, found in the Sony tape I was using, does this faster than the black tape from the Memorex tape Anita was using to braid the tape. She made some rosettes out of the braided tape.

For this technique, I tried a straight stitch and a cross stitch. Both work well with the ribbon. The texture is fun and the "thread" is glittery. This is one of my favorite things I've hand-stitched in forever:

I'm obsessed with this little practice piece. The photo doesn't really do it justice; there's something dreamy about the stitches. I want to make an entire piece in this way, rather than the planned nature of most of my embroidery projects. It's whimsical in all the best ways. I'm pretty sure a back stitch would work as well, but didn't try it yesterday. Next time...

The cross stitch was also a success. This technique creates a cool texture, whether it's one line or stacked lines of stitches. I'm pretty sure this would be a cool lettering technique too.

I could have cross stitched with tape ribbon all night, but I'm an old lady and eventually needed to go to sleep. I decided my collective stitches were like a modern day sampler; maybe one day some random person who inherits my possessions will find this and think to themselves, "So that's what you do with tape ribbon. This lady was a genius!"

Time to figure out what to do for my first full tape ribbon project. Maybe something fun to display in my cube at work. Just remember kids, Erin had a vision and it worked.


Image
Cassettes image by Anita
Other images by me