Pitchforkin’

Posted on July 21, 2011 by

Hey geeks! Well, it’s here: the post about Pitchfork I promised you. Before I get to that, let me just share with you my reaction to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2…

“(Sob) It (sob) …pretty much (gasp) perfect (sniffle)…Snape (sob)…Alan Rickman (gasp)…Oscar (sob)…(incomprehensible muttering).”

You get the gist. Full, less emotional reaction/totally unbiased review coming your way later this week, probably after I see it again.

In the meantime, I have plenty to write about—Pitchfork Music Festival, and my 5-day stay in the Windy City. A quick recap of some trip details before I plunge into the bands: we took the MegaBus to Chicago from Iowa and stayed with some new buddies, courtesy of Couch Surfing (a great way to meet fellow awesome people & nerds alike).

We arrived Thursday afternoon, and after being greeted warmly by our awesome Couch Surfer hosts, we hit up the beach near Loyola for a few hours before making our way to B-Dubs and the (squee!) Harry Potter premiere, decked out in all our Potter glory.

The next day, we headed to Union Park for Pitchfork. As such happens with all music festivals, we did not see everyone play, but I’ll give you the lowdown on who we did see. First band we hit up was tUnE-YarDs, the nearly one-woman band dreamed up by Merill Garbus. With a little help from Nate Brenner on electric bass and a sick sax solo from Matt Nelson, the tUnE-YarDs killed it. Their set was dance-able while still managing to mingle dissonance and soaring harmonies, all courtesy of Garbus and her loop machine. Garbus’s voice, though, was the highlight for me–I loved her throaty yet eclipsing vocal style. And for some reason I never dig chick singers.

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Hurrying for Harry.

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

Hey geeks. Not a lot of time to type, but I wanted to update you on the reason for an absence of recent posts and why I don’t have a lot of time to type. My guess is you might already know one of the reasons…

SIX DAYS UNTIL HARRY POTTER.

If you don’t think that warranted caps, then I don’t know if we can be friends. Just kidding! …sort of. (Full countdown to the film at Mugglenet.) Plain and simple, my fellow geek-culture enthusiasts, with the announcement of Pottermore (a social network/RPG/lexicon all rolled into one?! Hello, new home page. Sorry Yahoo.), the upcoming LAST MOVIE, and my impending annual vacation to Chicago with my best friend, I’ve been busy.

That’s right—next week I’m heading to Chi-town for the Harry Potter premiere AND for three days of hipster-watching at the Pitchfork Music Festival. And I’m trying to reread all of the books, as I do every year, before the movie. I’m currently halfway through Chamber, but to be fair I just started Tuesday night and have only gotten about 5 hours of reading in total. Here’s hoping I can ignore the rest of my life enough this weekend/early next week to plow through the rest—at least to book 6. (I’m a very fast reader, so, as Ron Weasley might say—doubters, bugger off.)

On top of reading and wallowing in misery that Harry Potter is going to be OVER (thank J.K. Rowling for Pottermore), I’m going to be packing and getting ready for the trip. I don’t think I’ll have a long post for my reaction to Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. In fact, I can pretty much predict that it’ll be all in caps or completely incomprehensible. Either way, I’m sure I’ll love it. But after that, don’t worry—like previous years, I will try to write daily reviews of the goings-on and concerts at Pitchfork (last year was Lollapalooza). Depending on how the weekend goes, I might have another little something to write about. Here’s hoping!

For now, enjoy this Harry Potter featurette that’s been on the web for a few days. That and visiting EW (they have a lot of awesome of stuff on the franchise over the years) should somewhat satiate our Harry Potter sweet tooth till the loooong six days are over:

What about you, geeks? Are you as excited as me for Harry Potter? Is that even a question? And, like me, will you have to see the movie multiple times because you will have bawled during the entire first viewing (and, well, why not?)?

Let me know in the comments!  I’ll catch you a little later next week with loads of content. For now, have to get back to Gilderoy Lockhart. SIDENOTE: Anytime I read Harry Potter or get heavily into anything uber-British, I start talking in a (relatively poor) British accent. Does this happen to anyone else or am I just a bit off my rocker (See!)?

May the geek be with you,

Lindsay

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Self-Indulgent Sunday: My 5 Recent Celebrity Crushes

Posted on June 13, 2011 by

Hey geeks–you ready for some major self-indulgence? Well, good. This week I’m going a little shallow with my post and naming my 5 recent male celebrity crushes. Don’t worry, they’ve all been chosen for more than their looks–although that definitely helps!:

5.  Tom Hiddleston

Where you’ve seen him: Thor as Loki
Upcoming Projects: The Avengers

Is it just me or was Loki kind of hot? Chris Hemsworth got all the attention as the hammer-wielding  Thor, but for me, it was all about Loki’s cheekbones. In all seriousness, though, this previously unknown English actor will probably jettison to stardom due to his memorable take on evil brother Loki in Thor and the upcoming Avengers. Reason I’m crushing: Thor’s hot and all, but it’s one thing to create a super-sexy villain–it’s another thing to make me empathize with one.

4. Darren Criss

Where you’ve seen him: Glee as Chief Warbler and Kurt’s boyfriend, Blaine
Upcoming projects: More Glee and the web-series Life of Leopold

Good news, ladies—though he plays one of the best gay characters on TV, Darren is into the ladies in real life. Thank goodness, right? Reason I’m crushing: in addition to playing the sweetest and sexiest singer on Glee, Darren is also known for originating the role of Harry Potter in the Youtube sensation “A Very Potter Musical”. We already have so much in common.

3. Adam Levine

Where you’ve seen him: As the lead singer of Maroon 5 and current coach on The Voice
Upcoming projects: Hopefully winning The Voice with one of the members of Team Adam and touring the U.S. this summer with Maroon 5. I’m still waiting for a follow-up album as good as “Songs”.

This one’ isn’t technically new, but the rekindling of an old flame. I’ve actually crushed on this “Sunday Morning” singer since seventh grade, but sort of lost interest after two weak albums following “Songs About Jane”. Reason I’m crushing: thankfully, his current stint on The Voice brought us back together—even if he does only date twiggy models (yeah, I’m jealous).

2. Michael Fassbender

Where you’ve seen him: 300, Inglourious Basterds, Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class
Upcoming projects: Shame (2011), Prometheus (2012)

I remember dear Michael from 300 but he didn’t really hit my radar until I saw him as Mr. Rochester in the recent adaptation of Jane Eyre. Those 19th century tight pants? Smokin’. Reason I’m crushing: if you thought he couldn’t get any hotter, go see him in X-Men: First Class (currently in theaters)–he plays Erik Lensherr, or a young Magneto. Let’s just say Nazi-hunting and controlling metal has never been sexier.

1. Eoin Macken

Where you’ve seen him: Centurion, BBC’s Merlin
Upcoming projects: More Merlin as Sir Gwaine (Gawain in Arthurian legend)

This talented Irish model/actor/director caught my eye when I saw him as Sir Gwaine in BBC’s Merlin. Reason I’m crushing: it’s pretty hard to outshine both Colin Morgan and Bradley James, but somehow, Eoin did it. I don’t know whether it’s his scruffy good looks (totally my type) or his winning performance as the roguish but lovable Knight of the Round Table, but all I can think is: yum.

Well, geeks, hopefully I’ve turned you onto some new (and handsome) emerging talents (crushes). Till next time!

May the geek be with you,

Lindsay

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Everyone Loves Masks and Magically-Tight Pants.

Posted on June 5, 2011 by

Slightly different post for you today, geeks. Be warned: this may be the single geekiest (and most fangirl-esque) post I have ever written, except for perhaps that little one about why Zutara is better than Kataang and if I ever meet Bryan and Mike I am complaining.

Ahem. Anyway. The post. As a geek myself, I tend to have friends with similar interests. One of my friends pointed me in the direction of two hilarious Deviantart comics when I was in need of some humor and something nerdalicious this semester (thanks again, Natasha), and since then, I’ve been pretty much hooked. If none of you are familiar with Deviantart, it’s a hosting site for artists, who post original work and fanart. So, if you’ve ever wondered how Harry Potter might play out had the trio been allowed internet, now you can see it–illustrated beautifully, might I add (Meanwhile, I find a lot of art reimagining a better ending to Avatar: The Last Airbender).

The comics I’m buggin‘ over are “Roommates” by artist AsheRyder and “Girls Next Door” (GND for short) by artist Pika-la-Cynique, and their comics pretty much progress narratively in conjunction with one another. The premise: One apartment building. Sarah Williams from the film Labyrinth and Christine Daae from The Phantom of the Opera musical live together (forget issue of generation). And guess who lives upstairs? Why, none other than the two lovely ladies’ spurned admirers, Jareth, The Goblin King of the Labyrinth, and Erik, or, The Phantom, who are also roommates. Well-drawn hilarity does ensue. Here’s a taste of each (though it’s important to note that these screen shots are taken out of context of the plot):

If that’s not enough fandom awesomeness mish-mashed together for you, just wait. It gets better. If you’re a fan of anything–and I mean anything–I’m sure it will eventually pop up in one of these two comics. It is one crowded, magical, someone-must-own-a-DeLorean apartment complex. A few of my favorite characters (and their respective fandoms) that pop up: Capt. Norrington (Pirates of the Caribbean), Legolas Greenleaf (Lord of the Rings), The White Witch (Chronicles of Narnia) as Jareth’s mom, and best of all, Howl (Howl’s Moving Castle) as one of Jareth’s distant magical cousins (I KNEW IT).

So, if you’re searching for a little mischief, masks, and magically-tight pants (mmm, thanks, David Bowie), then go check out either of these lovely ladies comics at Deviantart.

May the geek be with you,

Lindsay

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We Are One: U2 Thrills in Denver, CO.

Posted on May 24, 2011 by

Bono is a freakin’ rock star.

Hey geeks—sorry for the bluntness, but it’s just the only way to put it. Let me explain. This past week/weekend I traveled to Denver, Co. with my family for my cousin’s high school graduation, and basically, an all-expenses paid vacation (thanks, Mom & Dad). That included a ticket to see the long-delayed U2 concert at Invesco Stadium.

Now, I’ve never been a particularly big U2 fan. I like Bono’s politics; in fact, I thought that would be addressed a lot more during the actual concert, but overall, he mainly spoke broadly about love rather than preaching, though I would’ve been fine with either (in fact, go sign up like I did for the One Campaign here if you’re interested). I’m also fond of his Irish accent. Regarding music, though, I get the worship of all that is Bono, and pre-concert, I thought I had heard enough of them to understand why U2 is considered a pretty decent stadium band. Well, I at least got why my dad was as excited as a preteen in the midnight release line for the new Twilight book.

So I don’t know if it was the wait—the concert was delayed last year because of Bono’s back surgery—or if I just didn’t fully prepare myself for what I knew was a guaranteed spectacle, but man. The concert rocked. I’ve been to a pretty decent amount of shows, big and small, for someone my age, including, as some of you may know, Lollapalooza last year and Pitchfork the year before that. I’ve seen some pretty big acts, the biggest probably some of the groups from Lolla last year, but seeing a band like U2, whether you’re a fan or not, is absolutely without a doubt worth every penny (especially if you’re in the nosebleeds, like I was).  Continue reading →

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