I am fascinated by mash-ups.

First of all, let me explain my top interests in life. 1) Ice cream 2) Music 3) Clothes 4) Pop Culture 5) Woods Hole

So when I say mash-ups fascinate me, I am really really really into them.

I can attribute my discovery to Ellen, who sometime last June introduced me to GirlTalk while we were studying for our trigonometry exam (and playing Rummi for hours.) I was hooked instantly. I rediscovered them over the summer at a party when I was fooling around on some guy’s computer (I have no idea who this kid was, but I was in his sick ass bed room, playing with his MacBook.) When I got home from the Cape, within 24 hours I downloaded all the GirlTalk I could find. I listened to it non-stop.

I still know all the words to Night Ripper and Feed the Animals.

And my lack of transportation in September had me downloading more music than ever (and being disconnected from computer technology for the previous three months.) Slowly I discovered other artists such as dj BC, The Illuminoids, etc. I flooded my music scene with mash-ups. It was bliss.

People were commenting on my cool music when they checked out my iPod, and slowly they grew to like it as much as I did.

Today I made a fantastic mash-up discovery: Bootie posts all their Best of Bootie albums online. FO FREE!!!! Check it out!

As I type I am listening to the Best of 2009, and downloading all the others. It is great.

Best of Bootie 2009

While I am not technologically savvy enough to immediately master the programs and whatnot that are involved in making a mash-up I:

a) hope I one day am exposed somehow to mash-up software and can make my own mini mash-up.

b) date a DJ who can hook me up with more unlimited music.

c) get to be surrounded my some form of really cool and/or creative media like music when I am older. I think that will be the right career path for me. (SIDE NOTE: I can’t wait for this internship!!!!! I hope I find something about it that I absolutely love so I can focus my college selection/major selection a bit better.)

d) am anxious to get all my music onto my new laptop so I can finally jam to those jems that I have stored away.

e) get to go to Bootie one day and dance all night.

Warning. Stop reading if you have a penis attached to your body. This will not interest you and will probably just gross/freak you out. Move along males, nothing to see here.

I am never late. Not to meetings. Or to parties (much to the chagrin of the party thrower). Not to movies. Not to menstruating. Every 29 days. Clock work.

The first time I was “late” I didn’t even have a chance to be “late” because I already knew I was pregnant. I know my body. Nothing surprises me*. A week before my period was due I was shoveling oatmeal in my mouth, hoping it would stay down and mentioning to a friend that I thought I could be, even though I already knew I was. So at 3 days before my period was due I was not surprised that the pregnancy test came back positive. And when I took the test again at 2 days until it was due I was not surprised. When I paid the extra money to get the digital test (with words instead of lines) and it came back “pregnant” I was not surprised. I was not surprised at the results of any of the 5 tests I took.

And when a few weeks later my symptoms disappeared overnight I was not surprised that I started bleeding.

That was two years ago. Every month since then has been an emotional roller coaster ranging in size from a Little People roller coaster (that would be very small) to a Kingda Ka roller coaster (0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds and catapulting you 45 stories into the sky before you plunge vertically into a 270-degree spiral. In less than a minute.)

Every 29 days for the last two years my pre-period symptoms almost *exactly* match what my pregnancy symptoms were. I don’t remember that happening before. Maybe it did. But. No. It didn’t.

Every month is the same:
“am I?”
“nah”
“bummer”
“am I?”
“no”
“oh thank God.”

I really don’t spend a lot time thinking about it but it does randomly flow in and out of my brain. Helped, in part, by well-meaning and inquisitive friends, many beautiful babies/toddlers/children and pregnant friends in our life, and the way too frequent “mommy blogger” conversations around these here internet parts.

This month I was 6 days late. And I had all the symptoms. I’m used to that. I have grown accustomed to the nausea, the sleepless nights, the frequent urination, heightened sense of smell, the feeling of glass shards grinding into my nipples (that should yield some interesting search results leading people to the blog.).

Having the symptoms was normal. Being late was not. The other thing that was just off this month was that I totally lost track of when it was due. Really unlike me*. I had to go back through my calendar and look at the events and try to remember if I was on it at any of them. That method worked and I realized I was late.

huh.

So last night, 6 days later than expected, I sorta kinda started my period. But it’s different. Different color. Different consistency. It starts, it stops, it starts. It was LATE. There are no cramps, none of the other pains that normally drive me to tears and to bed. It’s just different. So even though I was already bleeding I decided to test. I knew it would be negative but sometimes, even when you lose the pregnancy, the test will be positive and I figured I should know for future doctors’ visits*.

Negative. The test was negative. I figured it would be. I had all of those symptoms but they went away the same time they normally would have.

I feel like it could be time to make some decisions. I feel like this was some sort of sign. I’m going to be 37 in 60 days ** and I’m not getting any younger. Husband’s not getting any younger and he’s 7 years not getting any younger than I am! We’re one of those annoying couples who is “not trying yet not not trying” either.

So. Either we need to try. Or we need to stop not trying. Is it time for that decision?

It was also a sign that I need to continue making improvements to my health but that is for another post because this one is already over 700 words. sorry about that.

*I’m really kind of a control freak
** I like South American dark chocolate and the color red

related – I should probably not be allowed to blog when Husband is out-of-town.

I would love to hear your thoughts… either in the comments or email via cindy[at]girlvaughn[dot]com or below through the contact form

. You’re the best and that’s not just the wine talking!

Well i’m welcoming myself to the world of blogging.

I’ve read many in my time… followed friends blogs… and subsequently been inspired by a certain raconteur.

So decided to start my own!

Beauty or brains that is the question… I am definitely not a shallow person and can over look someones physical appearance for something much more intrinsic. I have dated guys that have been absolutely gorgeous and yes that is text book gorgeous but equally i have dated more average looking guys. I would say I am an attractive person and sometimes i have “punched below my weight” as they say… Why do women do this? You often see beautiful women with kinda average guys! Is it for the money? Is it because he doing something right in the bedroom? Is it because she’s slightly insecure, and this insecurity does not come from her feeling unsure about herself – she does not get approached often by hot guys which in turn sets of this feeling of insecurity so therefore if she accepts the offers of someone who does not rank as highly on the beauty scale she may be loved more? Understand please that i certainly do not say that this is fact. But it is a possibility and yes this is how women think! Ive been one all my life…I should know!

So I met this guy through a friend a “close” friend take that how ever you wish! And now I really like him… it is just I am attracted to his intelligence…however he is not geeky he is just niche but still strangely well read on EVERYTHING and I find it enormously fascinating and inspiring at the same. I feel like I really want to overlook his looks, but in the long run i’m not sure if I can… but when he talks I just find it all so compelling.

He’s very physical too and it comes so naturally to him. We had this insane connection when we met up and it was just us conversing with this nexus drawing us into one another. INSANE. He says insane a lot…But seriously we had a connection that was just on another level – he was totally speaking my language! And he knows how to handle a woman. He looks the part – totally my style.

So ladies…(and gents if you’re reading)

Beauty or brains?

Hollaaaaaa with your thoughts!

Hi you!

We will return with alot of posts! Stay tuned!

Kisses!!! XXX

Tatiana & Nadia

If you’re at all interested in remixing, mashups, copyright, RiP: A Remix Manifesto is a must-see film.  It follows mashup artist Girltalk and goes in depth about the mashup culture.

From ripremix.com:

“Immerse yourself in the energetic, innovative and potentially illegal world of mash-up media with RiP: A remix manifesto. Let web activist Brett Gaylor and musician Greg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk, serve as your digital tour guides on a probing investigation into how culture builds upon culture in the information age.

Biomedical engineer turned live-performance sensation Girl Talk, has received immense commercial and critical success for his mind-blowing sample-based music. Utilizing technical expertise and a ferocious creative streak, Girl Talk repositions popular music to create a wild and edgy dialogue between artists from all genres and eras. But are his practices legal? Do his methods of frenetic appropriation embrace collaboration in its purest sense? Or are they infractions of creative integrity and violations of copyright?

You be the judge by watching RiP: A remix manifesto.”

You can watch it for free at Hulu.com or download it here and pay what you want for it.

The coolest thing about this film is that you can contribute to it, remix it, etc.  For example, they had a times square clip on their website that they got people to remix, and then used it in the film.

Today I love…

1. Flying across the dance floor

2. RM’s magic hat

3. Girltalk with HR

Hi everyone!

I know I’ve been a bad updater lately but 1. I haven’t had a computer and 2. I’ve haven’t been home. NOW I’m back in Sthlm. Lux was awesome btw.

Today I went to see Jenny and Vofflan in their new flat! Vi baked scones which we ate with cream cheese and marmelade. With that we drank a big, delicious and well-foamy  cup of chai latte ! No one seems to understand my love to foam, Jenny is now officially my new-found-foam-soul-mate! The scones were delicious and real easy to make, I’ll see with Jenny if I can let you guys in on the “secret recipe” !

At the moment I am at home, trying to get myself a decent looking header for this blog. As you all can see it’s not really going very well!

GB! <3 T

“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.” – Bo Derek

Everything’s so heartbreakingly pretty!

From: http://www.modcloth.com/

You know those quotes that just jump off the page at you when you’re reading… this was it for me this morning:

“The [Israelites'] 40 year journey in the wilderness wasn’t just the long way to the Promised Land; it was the best way for them. The same is true for me. Each obstacle, challenge, disappointment, victory is only the ‘wilderness’ to me. My loving Father is making it a bountiful garden.” ~A note from “Kathy”, Grace In a Recession, Girltalk blog

Hello. I woke up this morning at 5AM for no reason.. again. I’m thinking it could have something to do with sleeping on the couch. I have no blogged in ages.. literally ages. Well things got a bit crazy this summer when Adriana, Nicole, and I moved into anpartment together in Allston. There was much drinking and partying and absolutely no sleep. Had a great time and it was probably the best summer of my life.. thus far. I wish I had blogged about it though. There would have been many funny drunken tales to tell you.. I can’t remember much now.

I went to Bonnarooo Music Festival with Adriana, Nicole and Katie. We drove  down to Tennnesse from Boston. It was a 17 hour drive. We amused ourselves by staring out windows at green pastures of NOTHING and also by singing along extremely loud and absolutely serious to our favorite bands, MGMT, Chairlift, Cold War Kids, Dirty Projectors, Radiohead, ect.. you get the point. Did anyone know that Virginia is the longest state to drive through.. EVER? I felt like we were there for centuries. The south is so different. Some of the people are kind.. but a bit slow and others weren’t too fond of us “Yanks”. We all experienced Sonic for the first time.. and than for the second and third time. It is actually delicious although I’ve recently started to loathe fast food. Anyways, the festival was INCREDIBLE. It was four days of music and camping in a massive field with thousands of people. Everyone living in harmony like a hippy tribe. It made me feel like that is what the world should be like: one big hippy festival with music and love and forests. The enviornment just had the best, most positive vibes. People just having a good time, getting fucked up, and seeing awesome bands perform live. The line up this year was EPIC.  We saw MGMT, SnoopDogg, Chairlift, Phoenix, Passion Pit, Yeasayer, Animal Collective, GirlTalk, SantoGold, Beasie Boys, Paul Oakenfield.. Mhmm at the moment that’s all I can think of.. White Rabbits, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kaki King, Dirty Projectors, Nine Inch Nails, Coheed, ect.. but some shows we missed cause they conflicted with others. All the bands we saw did amazing live performances. Caroline Polachek of Chairlift started their set with a cover of SnoopDogg’s Sexual Eruption.. it was super. The night we saw GirlTalk they played at 2:45AM.. and from the front row of “That Tent” the chicks and I popped some E pills (in the spirit of festival fun) while watching them. Gregg of GirlTalk always amps up the crowd super hard and by the third song he was telling people to come on stage. I’m not sure the security was cool with this but me and the ladies hopped the fence and joined the crowd with him on stage. It was a seriously crazy ass moment. The next night we were determined to get front row for MGMT’s 2:45AM set. We waited in “That Tent’ for about 7 hours. We were all feeling rather exhausted from the wait and not sleeping. Other kids had started to show up to over time and we held our spots in front. There wasn’t much going on over there for a while. We engaged ourselves in conversations with strangers: “Where you from?” “Have you ever seen MGMT live before?” The time was getting close and all of us were weary. Me and the girls had noticed that MGMT members Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser were doing a soundcheck on stage.. I took pictures. The crowd quickly caught on to what we were staring at on the stage. By that time the small gathering of people had turned into a sea of “Kids” waiting anxiously for MGMT to take the stage and blow their minds. At 1AM Yeasayer went on. They are a great band and their lead singer has really intense stage presence. I just love their sound. During their set we decided to pop some more E pills (once again in the spirit of festival fun and psychedelia). I started to feel it during their last song.. “Sunrise” I think it was. They thanked the crowd for their support , said “Our friends MGMT are coming on next.” (As if we hadn’t been waiting there for this reason) and than rushed off. Equipment was moved, things were taken out and replaced.. than MGMT was about to take over Bonnaroo. Frontman Andrew Vanwyngarden emerged from the right of the stage bare-chested, wearing a green jacket, black jeans, and a colorful scarf tied around his waste as a belt. He was glowing. His new haircut complimenting him in the spotlight. The roaring sea of fans was so loud you could barely hear VanWyngarden’s soft voice talking through the microphone. They opened with Desstrokk, one of my personal favorites. The E was starting to come over me now. Intense joy and the music flowed through my ears like a river of silk sounds. They than played Future Reflections, 4th Dimensional Transition, and Pieces of what. The mass of people in “That Tent” sang along and totally vibe’d out to the music. Andrew’s soft voice found it’s way through the noise of the masses and he said “This is a song called Dan Tracy from our upcoming album.” Everyone responded quite well to their new sound. I was in a complete MGMT trance. Of Moons, Birds and Monsters. Their light show was trippy and I felt their music deep in my veins. Then they played Weekend Wars and Time To pretend (which is their “hit” so you can imagine the crowd was super super amped and psyched on it). Next was Electric Feel. Probably my favorite song of all time. My heart was pounding to the beat of the song and I had such a feeling of ecstasy flush over my entire body. The break down part, which is my favorite part sounded other worldly and beautifully in sync. I wanted to cry I was so happy… lay off the drugs. As if that wasn’t huge Caroline Polachek of Chairlift took the stage with MGMT sang a cover of “Voices Carry” with Andrew. The sound was incredible. It blew my mind. Caroline’s voice is just so grasping and unique, as is Andrew’s. Together it was pure magic.. really, I’m serious. She left and then they played another new song off their upcoming album called “It’s Working”. I liked this one a lot too.. their new sound is fresh, kind of Beach Boys meets Electric Prunes. After that they played The Youth.. the crowd went equally insane for this one. I would say another one of my favorites, but lets just face it I love every one of their songs whole heartedly. They played the Handshake.. which sounded so crisp. They rocked out for a very long time at the end of the song and everyone was feeling it. After the journey into the psychedelic sounds of Jame’s solo-ing on guitar and Ben jamming on the keys the crowd was eating out of the palm of MGMT’s hands. Andrew said thank you after they finished the song and the band rushed off stage in a flash. I missed them already. Was that really all they were going to play? I questioned and so did the girls. The crowd that was once a cheering MGMT army of Indie Rokkers was now confused and disappointed. I figured that they were trying to make a statement by not playing Kids. That they are growing as a band and want to be recognized for their other songs. MGMT took the stage again and the crowd became enchanted by the MGMT charm again. A feeling of share Andrew joked that they were only kidding and than they quickly began to play another new song called Teen-age Lust. Everyone was really into it. Finally Andrew put his guitar down and Ben emerged from behind his keyboards. I could feel what was coming.. and then the beginning of Kids came on. Everyone went crazy. That went for Andrew and Ben as well. Their energy was high and captivating as they ran around on stage singing. At some point Andrew jumped down off the stage and was singing into the crowd. Sounds of girls screaming could be heard through “Control yourself…” AHHHHH “..take only what you need…” AHHH. Soon Andrew was directly in front of me. I pretty much freaked out. The music, the lights, the gorgeous man singing in my face.. it was all to surreal to comprehend. It was epic. It was… it was.. MGMT. After that energetic performance of Kids they finished with Congratulations, the title track of their upcoming album Congratulations. This one is my favorite. I love the words and I love the sarcastic tone Andrew writes his lyrics with. I’d like to say to them “Congratulations on The Handshake, boys!” The rest of Bonnaroo is a real blurr. We drove 17 hours straight home from TN and it was like coming out of a dream. I was dazed, confused, and exhausted.

Well I am so tired from writing all this stuff.. I’ll post some pictures for you to check out. Next time I’ll tell you about seeing MGMT & SUckers at Prospect Park in Brooklyn and other fun fun fun adventures in New York.

Feel free to suggest any topics that you would like to discuss. I might not listen to you, but it can’t hurt.

GFG

Alright. Let’s be honest. What girl out there doesn’t think about weddings?? I certainly do. I always have.  Anyone who reads this blog will very quickly come to realize that I am a girlie girl. I was thinking about weddings before I even understood what the word marriage meant. However, when I turned 25, things started to change. Instead of simply dreaming about my future wedding, aspects of it started to get very real for me. For one, my parents started talking about “the wedding fund.” I wasn’t even aware there was a wedding fund!!  Moreover, what I can only describe as non-interest in the mundane aspects of wedding planning (insert any financial costs here), became very interesting indeed. I’ve never been a tv junkie either, but suffice it to say that the string of wedding oriented tv shows are much watched by me.  In sum, my future wedding is no longer just a dream, it has become a reality. Interesting thought, considering the fact that I’m not even engaged!! 

To give myself a little credit here (and nothing against you single wedding-obsessed ladies), I am in a serious and long term relationship. We’ve been dating for five years, and we’ve both decided that finishing our professional education is our priority right now. Nonetheless, the reality of a wedding is there in my near future. Only a few years ago, thinking that, nevermind puting it in writing, would have caused me a mini panic attack. As I said before, I’ve been thinking about weddings for a long time, but the face of my prince charming never really mattered. I was more concerned about the dress, the venue, the music, etc. Come on, it’s not like I was seriously contemplating getting married. I’m a woman of the 21st Century. I am training to be a lawyer. I want to travel extensively. I want to enjoy my relationship without the burdens of so-called marital bliss…

All I can say to you now is to repeat that things have changed. My unpleasant little panic attacks still happen when I think of marriage in terms of losing my freedom and life long, leg shackling commitments. But the thing is, I rarely think of marriage in those terms anymore. In fact, they’ve kind of started to appeal to me. Gasp!!!

Maybe that’s growing up, or maybe that’s just the result of being in a happy and loving long term relationship at my age, or maybe I’m just ready. Who knows?? 

On the bright side, I have happily coming to terms with the inevitability of a wedding in my future. Read: I am now well and truly wedding crazy!! While we’re content to delay the actual event for a year or so, I’ve begun to organize all of the information that I’ve gleaned from the tv shows, my wedding experiences, wedding magazines, and everything else wedding.  So lookout for a wedding idea symposium in the near future.

GFG

06-12-2309

On the second day of the festival, I woke up to the cry of the evil magpie, awake at the crack of dawn and willing to share the experience with everyone. I looked up at the already illuminated world with dirty, bloodshot eyes. To my right Leona, still immune to anything audio, was well asleep. To my left Brick was still snoring away, like a shield against any noise that could potentially wake him. I envied his defense as I rolled over and covered my head with the sweatshirt I’d used as a makeshift pillow.

I couldn’t tell if I actually rested over the next two hours, or just tossed and turned myself around one little nap, but I didn’t start getting up until the others did sometime around 9 in the morning. We roused ourselves slowly, eating what we could find appetizing that early in the morning, which wasn’t much more than a PB&J sandwich and a granola bar. We were anxious to meet up with the other group, so we briefly washed up and got on our way to find us a map.

We got our first taste of the strange world around us. Passing by a small pocket of food stands apparently on loan from a carnival, with flashing lights and an iridescent paint jobs, we found ourselves on the paved road we’d used to drive in last night.

“We should probably head that way,” Brick was pointing opposite of the way we came in, the direction everyone else seemed to be traveling in.

“Looks good to me. Do you think that giant question mark will be of any use to us,” I asked, noting the floating white balloon nearby to our right.

“Couldn’t hurt to check,” Brick shrugged as he started to lead the way.

The giant question mark was labeled well enough. There they filled us in on all we needed to know, handing us each a map plate with the abbreviated concert information contained. Before getting back to the road, I used the map to locate the closest water station to fill up with fresh water before searching for my brother’s camp among these thousands of other camps.

“Good morning,” I said spitefully over the phone.

“Oh, hey. What’s up?” my brother simply responded.

“…Not much, where can we find you?”

“Uh, well we’re….you can…if you…well right now…” he continued, unhelpfully.

“Heavens, man! Where are you?” I was past impatient with him and I hadn’t even seen him yet.

“Balloon three. We’re by balloon number three right now, ge-” I cut him off after I heard all I needed to, hanging up the phone and pulling the map out of a cargo pocket to find #3.

The plastic card, loaded with a single program, displayed an aerial view of the 700 acre farm, broken up by a score of streets and avenues. The camping areas were in yellow, themselves each containing a dozen smaller lanes, and the 100 acre event center was in white at the south side of the farm, boasting 5 main stages, several small stages and hundreds of artisans and vendors–according to the info bubble.

The green circle with a “3” in it was located very close to the entrance of Centeroo, marking east-most secton in the first ring radiating from it. We ended up at the far end of the thoroughfare and could see the green balloon tied off somewhere ahead, and even further off, the very tip of the entrance arch visible over the top of the swarming crowd before us.

All three of us, the Martian and both Earthlings, marveled at everything we passed on display. Bags and blankets, with intricate, trippy patterns woven of hemp. Flowing hippie skirts and tie-dye shirts and accessories. Incense and burners of each shape and size, made of wood, stone and ceramic. Of course, there were the pipes and bongs, but most of what we saw looked thin and generic, nothing truly outstanding that called to us to waste our money on. They also sold food of the strangest types, brought in from all sides of the solar system, and all supposedly healthier for you–well, not the funnel cakes.

They definitely appeared to be on something when we found them. In an apparent daze, staring about and confused by their surroundings, was how we spotted them, loitering about a food stand. Rip and Zech were brightly colored, each with curly messes of hair atop their heads, cut by the same barber. Minkus was uncharacteristically bald, and appeared bruised about the eyes and forehead, like he’d been in an accident, or bar fight. He was bobbing up and down, singing back the name of his order to the beat of a nearby band playing when we sauntered up to them through the mud.

“Blue-Berry-Pan-Cakes! Blue-Berry-Pan-Cakes!” he went on in a deep voice, mimicking the bassline.

“What up, motha gorkas?!” I shouted sliding in when they hadn’t noticed me yet.

“Blu-Oh hey, what’s up!?” Minkus said, giving me a hug.

“Hey, man!” Rip was next, throwing an arm around me.

I stepped up to my brother, glaring at him for a second, before hugging the little guy. Well, not so little anymore it seemed, though he was only two years younger than me, it was strange to see he was as big as me now, and had more hair on his face. “Hey bro,” I finally said.

“What’s up, man?” a voice from behind me asked.

I turned to see Eli standing there, apparently having been there the whole time. “Whoa, I didn’t even notice you, man. How are you?” I asked, embarrassed I didn’t see him. He just shrugged.

“Hi guys,” Brick said, clearing his throat from behind everyone.

“Oh right, everyone this is Brick and Leona. They go to school in New Tros, and Brick‘s from Olympus county, he knew Linda,” I said to my old friends, who each nodded in understanding. “Guys, these are Rip, Minkus, Eli; they all went to school with me, Mink goes to school up north now, too. And this fuzzy guy is my brother, Zech.” I felt like I’d introduced everyone well enough.

After Minkus had received his blueberry pancakes, singing the theme song between each bite, we began the short walk to their camp site. Literally just around the corner from where we were standing, it didn’t take long at all for all seven of us to reach the nose of my brother’s supersized SUV. They opened the hatch to reveal a few seats on the tail and also pulled the cooler around for another.

“Sorry, we haven’t had this many people here. We didn’t realize we wouldn’t have enough seats,” Rip said, apologizing for his camp.

“No worries, I think I can fit up inside the hold, are you guys gonna be ok?” I asked my two companions.

“I’ll be fine for now, Leo?” Brick passed the question on.

“Yes, for now. I’ve got a folding seat back at our camp I could bring here. And a lamp for later at night,” she added, not noticing any of the tarps or lanterns you’d see accessorizing the other sites.

“You guys may wanna head back pretty soon and take care of that while it’s still early. It gets kinda hard to go back and forth all the time with this many people here,” Rip advised.

“Yeah, but first things first,” I insisted before anyone started moving.

“Hey, he’s right. You guys haven’t smoked yet right?” Minkus asked, his mouth full of breakfast.

“Oh, right on,” this convinced Brick to get comfortable and he sat down on the cooler, offering the other half to his roommate. Rip began to remove his box of goodies, a strange variation on the multi-pocketed case he usually carried his accoutrements.

“Check this out,” he said to me, removing his brand new teal blue pipe and handing it up to me on the tail.

“Wow, is this a…ah…what the gork? This is amazing, man,” I said, admiring the unnaturally blown glass with shock.

“Look what I got,” my brother chimed in from behind, displaying his bizarrely stretched pipe. I rolled the sturdy thing over in my hands, inspecting it.

“Well done, this one is perfect. I’m really impressed with these guys,” I passed both on to my original companions to appraise them.

“And I got this thing,” Eli said, leaning back from one of the front seats with a small blue chillum in his hand, still loaded with what looked like a ball of resin.

“Wait a sec,” I said, smelling something familiar before even taking the piece out of his hand. “Is this opium in here?”

“Yeah, son!” he said, excitedly snatching it back and removing a lighter to hit it.

“Pipes, opium…” I started

“Midies,” Minkus added, holding up a large bag he’d brought in.

“and Heads” Rip finished, producing a jar of what looked like purple and a bag of something orange, as well as the small baggie of black tar.

“Gork, how did you guys get all this stuff, you’ve only been here a day,” I was understandably impressed.

“We willed it all to us,” Rip explained in a deep, mystical voice as he clutched at an invisible ball of energy at his chest. I laughed a second until I noticed the deadpan expression on everyone else’s face.

“No really, we did. We manifested our desires,” Minkus said, usually skeptic of these sorts of things.

“Wait, really?” I was in disbelief.

“Yeah, it started when I sent Rip to find something for us to do,” he went on, “I was just telling Zech that I’d love to try chasing the dragon, and then bam, he appears again with opium.”

“Then I wished that we had something to smoke out of, besides the little thing I bought my mom,” Rip continued. “Then a glass blower wandered in and sold your bro and I our new pieces.

“Yep, then I wished for some dank, and someone came by to deliver it to us in moments,” Zech said. “Craziest thing ever, man.”

“Does it work with anything?” my mouth was agape as I looked about, marveling at the possibilities.

“Everything we’ve tried so far…here, hold on,” Minkus said, passing a freshly packed bowl to me to start. He stretched his arms for a second as he stood up, flinched his head a few times and cleared his throat before saying, very loudly “Man, I could really use some pussy!”

Everyone held their breaths as they waited to see if it would work. Would a desperately, attractive girl come running out of nowhere? Would a naked hooker fall from the sky? Would a kitty cat appear? After a minute it was apparent nothing would happen.

“Maybe it only works with drugs,” Brick suggested.

“Maybe everyone only gets one wish,” Leona said, looking around to everyone contemplatively nodding to her answer.

“Well, I don’t want to waste a wish, so somebody hand me a lighter,” I said, eyeing a green bowl in front of me.

After we were thoroughly baked, we wend our way through the other camps to find our own. Brick, Leona, Rip and I arrived back at the b-site in near no time, bringing with us a sleeping bag, pillow and jacket more suitable for Earth’s moist climate. We made sure to prepare everything we thought we’d need for the day: sunblock, water, snacks, maps, cigs, and a few umbrellas and ponchos incase the rain made a second appearance tonight. I grabbed my guitar to leave at the other camp and we were back on our way and harassed by the pushers in no time.

“Rolls, rolls, rolls,” some people would say under their breath as they passed. ‘Dust’, ‘Meteor’, and ‘Ultima’ were also whispered in such a way. The most common messages shot out this way were just initials like ‘K’, ‘H’, ‘X’, or “Q”.

“Lucy? Who was looking for Lucy, I found her,” another would say, less subtly. Girl’s names like ‘Molly’, ‘Stella’, or ‘Helen’ were often used, but sometimes over played, so people would start to get creative. ‘Kaleidoscope Eyes’ and ‘Chocolate Covered Shoelaces’ were obscure choices, but not as confusing as ‘8 Medal Olympian’. Eventually, you just assume anyone speaking in your general direction as they pass is trying to sell you something.

“I’ve got acid, 5 bucks a hit,” the most indiscreet of the salesmen would tell you as you walked by them. So forward and honest it was truly surreal, one had to marvel at it. What an amazing place where you can be so straightforward with your clients, and even haggle back with your vendors.

“Cookies. Five dollar cookies,” one kid with a large tuberware said passing by. I could see Rip straighten to attention, his antennae perking up a bit.

“C’mon,” he said back to us with determination as he sped up, tapping the kid on his bare shoulder and inviting him to take a walk down the nearest lane, away from all the prying eyes of the street.

“Alright, how many do you guys need?” he asked, getting his wallet out and opening the lid by rote.

“Uhm, well let’s see,” our Ionian-Davidian representative spoke, for us, turning to count heads real quick. “What if we get a bunch, will you cut a deal?”

“Yeah, just hurry up, what are you thinking, five for twenty? Six for twenty-five?”

“How about eight for thirty?” Leona chimed in real quick. I was already handing Rip 10 from me and another 10 from Brick to add to the pool. The salesman locked eyes with her for a second and then saw Rip handing him 30 dollars.

“Alright, alright,” he said, scooping out eight sugar cookies, benign enough in appearance, and trading them for the cash. “Pleasure doing business, gents. Enjoy,” he said, and returned to the real world.

“Ok, who wants how many?” Rip asked as he took two for himself and offered the other six.

“Oh, I don’t want any yet, thank you,” Leona politely turned it down.

“Really?” Brick asked. “Ok, I’ll take two then, Klay?”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll take two and we can give one to Mink and One to Zech,” I said taking my two and leaving the remaining pair for Rip to pocket. “I could always give my brother one of mine… or half of…naaaah,” I said, deciding to eat both as we hiked back.

I handed Eli the guitar, who graciously snatched it and disappeared for a while to play by himself, somewhere still in earshot. The rest of us discussed the plan for the remainder of the day.

“So what are we taking tonight?” Minkus asked of Representative Gozo, distracted by the act of packing his pipe.

“Hmm. Not sure yet,” he stopped everything to ponder. “I’d like to find E or Molly, maybe even 2CI or B. I think any of those will make this night most enjoyable,” he threw in.

“Well, you guys have fun with that, I think we’re gonna call it a night after Karp,” I said, speaking for the rest of the other camp, looking to them for confirmation to see they already looked ready to pass out.

“Aww, but you’re gonna miss Cedarpleat if you go to sleep. And Shiney Dots,” Rip said.

“Yeah, and GuyChat, dude; so sick,” Minkus added.

“Don’t you at least wanna see Ferrous Fortress,” my brother asked, insisting.

“You know, I’ve supposed to see them in Olympus two times already, I’m sure I’ll have another chance to when I’m less sleepy,” I said, received with a general shrug from the others.

“Hey did you ever finish all those flowers you guys had?” Zech queried. Brick and I looked at each other and shuddered slightly, remembering how close we came to dying that night.

“Yes, I think we’ve still got about an eighth left, I’m sure we didn’t eat anymore than a half each. They’re probably just in the cooler, too, Klay.”

“Do ya…want them?” I asked.

“Yes! What, you don’t?”

“Heavens, no. Please, you’d be doing Brick and I a favor.”

“Hey, can I have some, too?” Minkus asked my brother and I, whoever was in charge of doling it out.

“Yeah, and me too?” Eli wondered, miraculously appearing at sound of a new drug.

“Yes–gorkin’ vultures–you may. But I’m not just getting it for you. Follow me if you want the Flowers of Taurus,” I declared standing as I flipped my yellow scarf dramatically, and turned to lead them away.

“Wait, we’ll have to head to the shows soon,” Rip shouted to stop me.

“Hmm, well what do you suggest?” I asked, stopping mid-step.

“Well I think we were gonna go find some food,” Leona said, looking to Brick who nodded back, hunger behind his eyes.

“I guess I’ll go looking for tonight’s main course while the rest of you are gone then. Rendezvous here at 1500 hours?”

“When?” Zech asked facetiously.

“40 minutes, bro; let’s go.”

And so we split into three different missions, like in some RPG where all your characters separate to go on their own quests somewhere early on–so early you don’t get to choose who you take in each of your new parties. Brick and Leona’s goal seemed easy enough to handle by themselves, and Rip was leveled well enough to make it on his own. I, as the main character, felt like I was just dragging along a few expendable NPCs.

We got to the camp sometime after 2:30, the tent and crawler already hot to the touch from the unrestricted sun. I thumbed the keys in my pocket to open the door and began digging in the cooler for the psychedelic remnants.

“Hey, any of you guys want a beer? They’re still ice cold.” They all asked for one and I handed them out, they’d need something to wash what I removed next. “Behold!”

“Coffee?” Minkus asked.

“Chocolate truffle coffee?” Zech asked, looking more closely at it.

“Shut up,” I began to open the package and dig around the finely ground stuff with my wet fingers. I sighed, wiped my hand off on my pants, and poured half Venusian bean on the ground. I stopped when the baggy fell out.

“Behold,” I said again, retrieving it for them. “It’s up to you guys to decide how much you each get,” I handed the flowers to my brother. I grabbed myself a snack and popped open a beer while I watched them divvy up the larger pieces of heads and stems, then take pinches of the bluish powder at the bottom.

It’s always amusing to see people react to the filthy, mucusy texture when eating them raw. I happen to like it; it reminds me of the taste of sunflower seeds. The two blonde Earthlings grimaced and cringed with each tangy bite, immediately washing it down with a big swig of lager when they couldn’t take it anymore. The dark haired one, face shaded by the brim of his baseball cap, ate it like candy, delighting in the end of the bag when the others didn’t want anymore. We grabbed another round of beers before heading off to join the other parties.

After our rendezvous, we made our way to the event center. The lanes and roads were well established by sandled foot by now, the main streets slick with mud from runoff at all the water stations and cafes, laid over with hay that too had saturated and slipped under foot. Rip had to head back before filing through the security checkpoint into Centeroo, he had to drop off the pure MDMA he’d just bought himself and the others who were staying up late tonight. We entered separately but managed to reunite again at an easy enough landmark, a blue pillar with a hood over top like a mushroom cap that dispensed water.

The first band I saw was Mammal Commune, one of the prime names on the ticket for me. Unfortunately, it was mostly stuff of their new album; more mellow than their typical lineups of the past, and was too relaxing of a show to start my concert off at. Brick and Leona were willing to stick around with me while I waited for them to play something I liked, the other four went to see some other sets and promised to meet back up at the same place to see the next band on the same stage.

This was the ‘Which Stage’, the second main stage of Bonnaroo. The first was called ‘What Stage’, and there were three smaller tents called ‘That’, ‘This’ and ‘The Other’. Then, on top of that, there was a series of smaller, even harder to remember venues, and if you think this explanation is confusing, it’s not any easier when you actually have a map.

We sat on our blanket, amidst dozens of other groups of happy concertgoers similarly seated, surviving only on frozen lemonade treats after the Mammals were over with and we waited for the others to get back in the afternoon sun. A few minutes before The No No Nos were about to go on, Rip and Minkus returned. They had no idea where Zech or Eli were, lost somewhere in the mass of others aimlessly crowding all of the paths.

“It’s fine,” Rip said, packing the pipe he snuck in. “We’re each getting our own versions of Bonnaroo. If your bro’s ever not enjoying himself, he can always leave and go see something else, or even just find us,” he finished, handing it to me. I hit it as the band started, their female lead as hot as ever, seeming to be making love with the very air around her. I would have been content to stay and watch their entire set, no matter how repetitive it would have gotten, but after the first few songs we packed up our spot and began to find our next event.

Rip chose Sinisilver, the spunky Neptunian-Earthling girl who’s gotten real big just over this past year so. She was really fun to watch and had amazing report with the audience. After Eli had met up with us, my original party retreated with me to grab some food somewhere still in earshot of That Tent.

The three of us made it on to Art Blue, the old fellow at What Tent. None of us were particularly fans of his, or really all that familiar with his body of work, but we knew he had been popular since before our parents were our age. It was also amusing to see what kind of a crowd the soul singer drew, until we got too much a taste of an old couple in front of us.

It was just painful to watch one purple guy dancing with an over enthusiastic lady, double fisting two empty beer bottles so he wouldn’t actually have to lay his hands on her. We also tried to keep our eyes off the cellulite wedgie-matic, or the man dancing with another girl that continued to pick it out for her no matter how many times it lodged itself between her cheeks. For a while I wished I had gone to see 3D on the Teli with the others, but I’d already been unsatisfied at one of their shows.

We were so relieved when Art finished his set and the crowd had dispersed. We picked up our stuff and eagerly made our way a little closer to the stage, setting back down where we could see the stage and both of the building sized screens on either side of it. We were joined by someone, Minkus I believe, shortly after the start of the next band.

The Devlish Dudes, long lasting cult icons of rock, hip hop and rap, weren’t doing too bad in their old age. In their lengthy set they managed to play all of my favorites, a truly wholesome lineup they could have easily gone out on. Minkus departed before the end to meet up with the others at the main camp, just before the band began to fall apart. They managed to sabotage one of their most famous songs, but for our sake attempted to get it right instead of giving up.

When they’d given their bows and cleared off, Leona, Brick and I moved up even closer to the stage, but not by much. We still remained far enough back where we could set up and take a rave nap while the next act got ready. It was the main event of Friday evening, the recently reunited Karp, who got back together shortly after the leader’s year of court ordered rehab.

Either he had relapsed or never needed them though, because they still put on a satisfyingly psychedelic performance. During the first song, at every crescendo and turnaround, a wave glowsticks and other illuminated objects erupted into the night sky. The audience was truly participating, small pulses rising consistently at every beat and more swells emerging every couple of measures. The screen showed the band’s incredulous reaction, staring out under the hundreds of bright lights to see the multicolored swarm hovering over the crowd. You could tell they were enjoying this show too.

The crowd’s enthusiasm dwindled reasonably, settling in to enjoy the extended jam sessions that stretched each song to at least 10 minutes. We ached where we stood, our bodies requesting sleep from us as we tried to enjoy the rest of the show. We made it to the end though, a couple grueling but enjoyable hours later. Satiated, we grabbed our belongings one final time and trudged our way back to the camping areas along with the rest of the slow moving crowd.

Just outside of the gates we ran into the others, on their way to take molly and dance their asses off to the evening lineup for another 4 hours.

“Hey Zech, gimmie your keys, I wanna grab something from your truck on the way back,” I said, stopping him for only a second as he shouted back.

“It’s open. The batteries dead so the doors won’t lock. Just don’t lock it or we’re gorked,” he warned, running to catch up with the others.

At his quiet campsite we collected the items we’d left there over the day, sunglasses and hats, our battery powered lantern and the green that Brick had found earlier. I also grabbed my brothers new pipe, since none of us had anything appropriate with us, and they had others to use if they so need to tonight or in the morning. I had a feeling I would likely be its custodian this summer, or at least at just over Bonnaroo, so I tucked it with care into my pocket as if it were my own.

Back at our camp, we immediately climbed into the crawler and sunk into the seats, turning on the AC even though it was night time, just to cut through the layer of humidity stuck to our skin. Brick turned up the music, Leona passed us beers from the back seat, and I packed a bowl at the end of the second day.

“The moment we glorify ourselves, since there is room for one glory only in the universe, we set ourselves up as rivals to the Most High.” — Charles H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, p. 458 (taken from www.girltalkhome.com)

Today I love…

1. Listening to Grinnell alumni recount their life experiences…and their ridiculous Grinnell memories

2. Hotel beds–soooooo comfy

3. Girltalk with B, AL, and HR until the wee hours of the morning.