Gwyneth B. McGlinn

I’m listening to Modest Mouse We were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. It’s  keeping me company as I browse for vintage/thrift shops to visit. A long time ago I ended up in Buffalo Exchange on The Ave. At the time I just thought it was a neat place. Now I keep reading blogs where people have actually bought cool stuff there. It inspired my wish to go back.

I also must make it to Crossroads Trading Co. I need to get shoes for Halloween. I’m going as my favorite Vampire from Buffy. I’ll leave you guessing until the 31st.

On and exciting note Tagtober is coming back for 2009. Once again I’m toying with the idea of shooting instant film. Maybe the best idea is to throw in one or two instant pics and do the rest digital.

Last night we had a lot of fun getting sushi and hanging out with friends. We even met two friends in person for the first time. Then we went to the falls and back to Michael’s packed apt. There isn’t much room inside for the 5 occupants + 1 cat.

After we dropped Tom off in Capital Hill I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep. It was worth it though!

Listening to Royksopp on vinyl with Milo. It’s a two record set. I just love how side A starts off with Royksopp Forever. The whole vinyl album seems to have a better flow than the digital one. Simplistic is not the right word but it’s how the music sounds.

Thanks to last weeks sidewalk sale at Sonic Boom Records our collection has grown 53 or so. I’ve decided there is little point to buying CDs because I never get around to listening to them. My poor Portishead P3 album has been collecting dust just inches below the turntable. It’s stuffed in the 5 disc changer with some other great CDs like the latest Secret Machines and Air.

The feeling of putting on a record is superior to pushing a button on the remote. Yes it’s crazy, but there is something about the feeling of the record and having to get up and turn it over.

I’m currently saving up for a Portland trip. That means lots of vinyl shops so I must save up. There is something really exciting about going out of town and getting a different take on vinyl and coffee.

I’ve been doing a lot of blog reading lately. My current trend is daily wear bloggers. Girls who put together interesting outfits that don’t quite fit any popular trend. They blend well together though. Since I have a very dull clothing style I will spare you the same but I do think I have pretty good taste in vinyl.

One fashion thing I do have to note is that I am totally lusting after a pair of Kenneth Cole New York Stripe Less shoes.

Now you must all check out the hotness that is The Impossible Project. People in mass can do nifty things.

Time for side C of “disc 2″ that cracks me up.

The skies opened up
Silence isued
Suddenly I’m back in dance class dancing to Bad.

Original Zoka is playing Backstreet Boy. Today is a good day.

The best album of 2007 so far is The Shins Wincing the Night Away. I got it a few weeks ago at Sonic Boom Records. It was so cool. It came with free mp3 downloads. I know a bunch of albums out there do but this was the first one I’ve purchased.

I listen to it all day at work and often put the album on when I get home. It’s really good. You should check it out if you don’t have it yet.

Yesterday I finished off the Colombia Llano Grande, Cup of Excellence 2007. It was the best coffee I’ve had in a long time and was well worth the $20/lb. Tom got us a grinder as a wedding gift and it was a perfect first grind.

To replace it I’m trying the Colombia Huila El Palacio. Jeff endorses it so it is well worth a try.

Recently I hauled out the scarf I started years ago and gave it another try. This time I got good results. I’ve moved on to making one in the basketweave stitch. This one hasn’t been quite as easy. Front and back keep getting switched. So it’s just a dry run for the real thing. J.P. has asked me to make him one.

Next weekend I plan to go to the Village Yarn and Tea in Shoreline. They’re having a yarn sale. I’ve got J.P.’s scarf and another project to work on. If those go well I’ll try to make leg wamers and then hopefully a sweater. I’m looking forward to fall so I can wear my creations.

Job ends this Friday. We’ll see what comes next.

Important things:
The Shins
The Shins on Sub Pop
Sonic Boom Records
Colombia Llano Grande, Cup of Excellence 2007
Colombia Huila El Palacio
Village Yarn and Tea

Friday was my bachelorette party. Marina was trying to keep it a secret but on Thursday she couldn’t want to tell me.

We went to the Can Can in Seattle. It’s in a basement space at Pike Place Market. I had so much fun!

Marina, Fran, Sam, and Kris were there. We ordered calimari and a spinach salad for appetizers. Then it was macaroni and another pasta for dinner. They all had brought me gifts. I hadn’t expected that so it was a great surprise.

The best part was the show. It was a group called Cabagazm. I’d describe it as trip-hop and dance music. The style was burlesque and cabaret meets Michael Alig done in interpretive/modern dance.

The music was a little too loud but that is typical. There wasn’t any nudity but there was plenty of nearly naked men and women with pasties. I can’t even really describe it other than to say there was dancing, lip syncing and a contortionist. I ended up missing that bit because I went to the bathroom but Sam got a couple pictures of it.

I would totally recommend the place. Coming sometime soon they’re doing Cabagazm II. It was too bad a couple people couldn’t make it but I’d go again if anyone is interested.

Sam was kind enough to post some pictures. You can check them out Here.

After the show Marina and I went to pick up her roommate. So we spent a little time in a club with a salsa floor and a hip hop floor. Once we managed to leave we ended up getting tacos at the stand next to Wenchels doughnuts. I ended up getting home around 3am. J.P. was still up so I showed him the gifts I got.

Important things:
The Can Can
Cabagazm info
Cabagazm II

Last weekend J.P. and I made a trip up to Bellingham. We saw a speaker at Linuxfest NW and picked up a little cool schwag. That was J.P.’s fun. We got some neat pictures of the Bellingham Technical College campus. The were various sculptures and flowers.

Since we went up there for him I wanted to do something that I would enjoy. My idea of fun was to go music shopping. I was in need of some new vinyl. I’d looked up the address for Everyday Music and had it handy. We dropped in and browsed. The store was in a pretty good location. It was on a corner with street parking. We parked about two blocks away.

When you walk in the whole right wall is filled with bins of Vinyl. The first little section is new vinyl. That’s where I started. They had a pretty good selection. My mistake was not taking a list of artists I was looking for. I ran across a lot of names I knew but I didn’t remember if they’d made it through the selection process. I was going to buy The Decemberists but they didn’t have the new one.

I’ve been listening to Modest Mouse a lot on Betty this past couple weeks so I did buy their new one. I’ll post a review soon. I’ve only listened to it once so far. It is pretty cool though..80 gram vinyl.

I picked up a record with Mono and someone else, but decided not to buy it. I should see if I can listen to it online. I also considered buying Camera Obscura but again they didn’t have the album I wanted.

From there I moved onto the CD section. I’ve been trying to find Cibo Matto. So I hit the C section and there they were. I got Viva La Woman!. There was also a greatest hits with b sides and bonus tracks. I decided against it. Not only was the one I got used (aka cheaper) but I wanted to experience the music in the way the artist or someone wanted me to hear it.

I looked around for some vintage Nerf Herder but they didn’t even have their newer stuff. That was a bit of a letdown. I spaced and didn’t look for any Sprung Monkey. It would have been sweet to get them used too.

The significance of those three bands is that they’re all on Buffy. Nerf Herder did the theme song, Sprung Monkey is the band who’s songs are used for Oz’s band Dingos Ate my Baby, and Cibo Matto is in an early episode.

Important things:
Everyday Music

Last week Betty got her much anticipated upgrade.  A new battery and an 8 gig CF card later and I’m pleased to say she is doing quite well.

Her previous battery suffered from severe lack of battery life.  It would shut down after 5 minutes or less claiming it was drained.  If you waited 5-10 minutes you could get a repeat performance.  This lasted for a couple encores before it just wouldn’t play.

Additionally, I kept having to make room for new music due to lack of space.  Now I can put twice as much on it.

I was borrowing J.P.’s iPod while Betty was being upgraded.  Old school at it’s best!  I had fun listening to the hard drive which was eager to be heard.  Betty’s hard drive was never that loud.  It was a nice break from the usual but I’m happy to have her back.

Tomorrow I’m going to start a time trial with a fully charged battery.  I know the new battery lasts a lot longer than the old one, but how long is the question.  Once I get that figured out I can plan the amount of music I need on it.

If she ever gets another  upgrade I plan to call her Betty Mark III Celebration.  It’s a bad joke but I couldn’t resist.

I must be getting used to the liquid they pass off as coffee at work. I’ve been putting less sugar in. I’m nearly down to a normal (for me) amount.

Music I must get- Death Cab for Cutie’s Translanticism. I heard Expo 86 on the radio this morning and recognized the voice so I looked it up. Guess there is a reason that album is already on my list of vinyl to buy.

I didn’t buy a dress yesterday. I meant to blog about it when we got home but that didn’t happen. We ended up going out to dinner with Ben and Sam instead. We had mexican at Jalisco’s in Kirkland. It was pretty good.

Tonight we went dress shopping. I found nothing. We’re going to try to get to Bellevue Square tomorrow. I found something good looking on Arden B.’s website so hopefully they’ll have it in the store.

Important things:
Death Cab for Cutie
Jalisco’s
Seattle’s Best Coffee
Arden B.