Week in Review

I defended my dissertation last Thursday. The moment that had been sort of looming in the future for the past 4 years of grad school was over in about an hour and a half. It went well, I think, but was sort of anti-climatic when you think that it is supposedly the culmination of your graduate career. The place where you display your expertise in your area - well enough that they decide it's ok to call you "Doctor." But for some reason, after it was over, it was just sort of...a moment.

And then I went to Sasquatch.

There is much much more to write about Sasquatch. I wonder what this says about me that I have so many more things to say about a 3 day music festival than a dissertation defense. Maybe nothing. Maybe it just means that Sasquatch was 3 days long, and the dissertation defense was 1.5 hours.

Anyway, Sasquatch. It was great. Beautiful location - watching bands perform with this stunning backdrop of the Columbia River Gorge. Fun camping with friends. And a billion great bands. Ok, not a billion... I have a few random thoughts/stories from the weekend that I am just going to list because there is really no order or connection between them.

• When we returned to our campsite Saturday night, new people had set up camp next to us. They were blaring rap music and drinking, and when they saw us approach the campsite with our headlamps on, they started talking to us. Or maybe I should say at us, as we did not really partake in actual conversation. First question from the new campers: "Are you guys seriously wearing headlamps?" Reply: "um, yes...it's dark..." Second question: "Are you guys miners?" Reply: "um, no... We like seeing where we're going." Third question: "Are all you miners going to sleep in the same tent?" At this point, we stopped talking to them. The next morning we were awoken by one of them waking up the others with this fabulous line: "Dude. BEST. CONCERT. EVER. Man, being drunk is AWESOME..........but it also sucks SO MUCH..."
• Two girls made fun of my friend for drinking water. One girl to the other: "He's drinking WATER!" Same girl to Chuck, noticing his lack of a 'Drinking Age Verified' wristband: "You don't drink?!?"
• Speaking of drinking water. I drank over 72 ounces of water on Saturday and peed once. It was so freaking hot and sunny that I think my body utilized every ounce just keeping itself cool and hydrated.
• Speaking of peeing. Sasquatch had the best porta-potties ever. Honey Bucket. They have their shit together. Pun not intended... 3 days of music festival full of thousands and thousands of people and not a single one spelled bad.
• I realized that having great albums does not make a band a great band to see perform. Also, having not great albums does not make a band not a great band to see perform. St. Vincent has a great album out right now called Actor. Live, she is kinda boring. Deerhoof has yet to make an album that I can listen to, but they were incredibly entertaining to see live.
• Of Montreal does not get old for me. This was my third time seeing them, and it was just as much fun as the first. I think it was the highlight of the weekend for me.
• Last year, I saw Girl Talk and lost a shoe and a sweater. This time, I stayed toward the back, and kept all of my belongings. And it was a blast. I was with a friend who has never been very into his stuff, but even she was dancing the whole time. And...she was exhausted and hungover...
• Sound at the smallest of the 3 stages was terrible. I saw 3 shows there. The first (Horse Feathers) was too quiet. Fortunately, that fits their musical style, and it was a small enough crowd that it sounded fine. The second (School of Seven Bells) needed more vocal volume, and could have been a bit louder in general, particularly cause their sound is so intense, but I could at least watch/listen and be entertained. The sound for Beach House, though, was just terrible. There was feedback constantly. They started the first song about 3 times because things just sounded like shit. They were getting frustrated with the sound people, and I think that was affecting their performance, too. Disappointing because I was really looking forward to that show.
• Karen O has the skinniest little bird legs.
• Who wears black tights when it's 85+ degrees out and everyone else is dying from heat exhaustion? Oh, and you're at an outdoor music festival with no air conditioning or really much shade from the sun at all? I saw way more women in tights that I should have for those conditions. I was sort of worried they were going to pass out later.
• A rented RV drove right into the irrigation system on the farmland we camped at. Apparently, people were yelling for the RV to stop. RV stopped, couldn't figure out what people were yelling about, and proceeded to drive straight into it, busting the irrigation system and getting itself stuck underneath. Some farmers came on Sunday to at least the get the RV out from underneath. Did I mention it was a rental RV? I think maybe they need some kind of test before you can rent one to prove that you remember how tall it is.
• During The Decemberists, someone yelled, "Look at the hill!" So everyone nearby, turned and looked, then passed the message on. Suddenly the whole audience was watching a couple up on the hill (outside the fence of the amphitheater) making out, then taking off clothes, and then having sex on the hill. I suppose it's sort of ideal for some people. Good live music. Beautiful view of the Gorge. Sunset. Makes sense. Of course, they also had an audience-full of people watching and taking pictures. A few moments later security interrupted them, clothes were put back on, and then they left. Oh. The Decemberists were playing their new album. Aptly named, "The Hazards of Love."
• Shows that I saw:

1. Blind Pilot: beautiful as usual.
2. Passion Pit: much better on the EP and album than live, but still danceable, which is sort of my criteria for that kind of show.
3. Animal Collective: I shouldn't really say that I saw this, as I chose to lay in the grass while this was going on. It seemed a little boring, and reports from friends seemed to confirm.
4. The Decemberists: I mentioned this show already, but the standout of this was Becky Stark. Not because she has an amazing voice. Sure, it's nice. But she wore this flowy green dress and did ridiculously silly dances. It could have been entertaining, except I think she was serious about it. So...not ridiculous? But still ridiculous. So, just sort of uncomfortable and awkward...
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: I love their new album so much that I was bound to enjoy this show. Other than the guy in front of me who kept leaning back and the drunk guy next to me who kept wanting to rub shoulders with me (I would move back to avoid contact. He would move back. I move up. He moves up....), it was great. Karen O is just really great to watch.
6. Kings of Leon: I do not like their music. I did not like the show. But others did. My camp neighbor called it the best concert ever, so I guess it was good for some people.
7. The Walkmen: I am not a huge fan of their music. I don't NOT like it. It just don't love it. I felt exactly the same about their show.
8. Calexico: I wasn't really paying attention during this - it was another lay-in-the-grass show...
9. St. Vincent: sort of boring...but ok.
10. TV on the Radio: Better than when I saw them last September. I think the combination of the better venue and more of their stuff off of Dear Science contributed to that fact. A friend decided that Kyp Malone, the vocalist with the beard, needed to come out of his shell a little, and that would improve their show. I really like Tunde Adebimpe, so maybe that makes up for anything lacking by other band members.
11. M83: I like their music on their albums, but I don't listen to it all that much. This show, though, was great. Everyone was dancing, and it had a really full, great sound. These two guys in their 50s were standing in front of me at one point talking about shows they had seen so far and which ones were their favorites. One of them said M83 was their favorite so far, and I do agree that they were pretty great.
12. Of Montreal: I already commented on this. Best show of the weekend for me...
13. Jane's Addiction: Oh man, Perry Farrell. He is one of the crudest people I have ever seen. He could not stop talking about cocks and sex and drugs and alcohol. I guess that fit with his personality, but shit... At one point he suggested that everyone go back to their tents after the show and go to their neighbor's tent and "get out your cocks and look at them." That was somehow his segway into a midget joke about fisting, which was equally disturbing. I just wanted to hear Been Caught Stealing, Jane Says, and Summertime Rolls. I heard the first one plus a bunch of crap.
14. Lock Lomond: Fun and quiet and cute and nice.
15. Deerhoof: I do not like their music. But at one point she put on a tiger head and jumped oddly up and down. And I was thoroughly entertained.
16. Grizzly Bear: Nice. Nothing that blew me away, but it was good. I think I would like them better at a smaller venue.
17. Horse Feathers: Quiet, but good.
18. School of Seven Bells: Pretty true to recorded version - sound quality was poor, but they were good. Also, they are beautiful people...
19. Gogol Bordello: I do not listen to their music ever, but this concert was tons of fun. Everyone in the crowd was dancing - and we were, too.
20. Fleet Foxes: Similar to Grizzly Bear, I enjoyed them, but would probably like them better in a small venue.
21. Beach House: Terrible sound made for not good show - completely not their fault, though.
22. Girl Talk: I already talked about this one...but it was a great way to end the weekend - with just tons of dancing.

Overheard at the Student Union

There was some sort of middle school field trip at the university yesterday, as evidenced by the hoards of smaller humans all over the food court at the student union. As I was getting cash from the ATM, I heard this from one of the small ones: "Dude, I got a water, a bag of chips, and a giant cookie for lunch. This place is awesome! It's like paradise!"

And we wonder why we have an obesity problem?

My Liberal Self

This is a quick "grr" moment. Apparently the House Republicans have introduced a bill to Congress called, "Keep Terrorists Out of America Act." It basically says that any detainee being held for terrorism could not be transported to a US state without the approval of the state's governor and legislature. I get it. I understand their point. But it also bothers me how selfish we are. Plus I have another nit-picky complaint about it.

I'll start with the nit-picker: America is more than just the United States. America could be all of North America. It could be North PLUS South America. It could mean Central America. So the name itself is a total misnomer... It should also say "terrorist detainees" rather than just "terrorists" because even if the bill passes, it would not ensure that terrorists would not enter "America."

Now for the selfish part. Why is it so wrong for terrorists to be held in our own country? Let's turn this around for a minute. Let's imagine that Cuba is fighting terrorism. They have a little spot of land in our country. They use it to keep those they decide are the worst of the worst. How would we feel to have (1) terrorists and (2) detainees not even captured by us held on land that is right by the rest of our country? Why is it ok for them to be there, but not here? Fear of escape? Maybe in Cuba, they aren't as likely to get into trouble, but if they escape in the US, they could kill people? It just seems highly unrealistic. The bottom line is that they have to stay somewhere, so why try to put them off on some other country? Why not develop a humane, but secure system to deal with terrorist detainees - and if it's truly secure, then why does it matter if it's in, like, rural Montana or something. How is that worse than keeping it on the island of Cuba? Sure worse for us versus worse for Cubans - but are we seriously that selfish?

Things I learned in Vegas

1. If you go to a show on a Wednesday night at 10:30pm, chances are good that it will be a low-selling show, making them close down the balcony (where the cheapest seats are), and thus upgrading everyone with cheap tickets to the most expensive seats. When you get a student discount on top of the cheap ticket with low-sell upgrade, you end up with seats that you paid less than half price for...

2. At clubs, groups of guys will pay $100s of dollars for a table reservation with bottle service, while groups of girls will get in for free. I know this is not really news to most people, but I had never witnessed it with my own eyes before. Also note that when the groups of girls are not attractive, they do not get the special treatment of quick lines and free cover, even when they have big boobs and wear low-cut dresses.

3. As classy as some casinos try to be, they are only as classy as their clientele, and seriously...there are some majorly unclassy people in Vegas. I saw more douche-bag looking guys walking down the strip than I have seen in, perhaps my whole life. It was sort of amazing.

4. If you aren't paying attention, you could end up with someone else's room key. Was someone trying to hit on my friend Matt by slipping him their key? How would he know which room to go to? Was this their only key and they spent the night drunkenly attempting to talk the front desk into issuing them a new one?

5. In less than 48 hours you can: see a show, go to the pool for 5 hours, see lions (not to be confused with sea lions), eat fancy dinner, go to a ridiculous club, walk the strip and see flashy casinos, ride on a roller coaster, see the water show at Bellagio, and probably more things that I cannot quite recall. Why would anyone need to stay there longer?