Sunday Blues

So I had a swell time Sunday evening at Disneyland. At first, my brother and mom had trouble getting in, so they got an unlimited fastpass [which really was limited to 2 rides, but that's ok cause you can use it on the rides that everyone gets on all the time] I had my Park Hopper leftover from when I went with @lkhattendorf on Spring Break. I had gotten a deal[a 2-day park hopper for the price of a 1-day park hopper] because I am a resident of So-Cal. I ended up going on California Screamin' twice and Tower of Terror once while my mom and brother waited to get in because the people couldn't find her information [she bought a So-Cal Annual Pass where you pay a little bit per month, which sounds like a great deal, except that I won't be here to experience it cause I'll be away at college!!]. I had fun on the ToT. I ended up sitting in the front aisle seat which was really stellar because normally, I sit next to the grate[cage] in the back or middle row and there is more to grab on to and you feel more safe, but this time, it was like I was just sitting in a chair, gripping the bottom with one hand, and then falling from the sky! It was so amazing! i have to sit there again! On California Screamin', the first time I didn't know if there was a single rider line or not, so I continued on in line[it was onl 20 minutes, so no big deal]. After I got the back seat of the ride [which was ROCKIN"!!]. I then got in the single riders line. This is when my roller coaster experience went from a 10+ to a 2, on a scale of 1-10. I was waiting in the little single rider line for like 5 minutes and I was like cool, cause it's definitely better than waiting in the long line. So I had to go up the handicapped elevator and come down on the other side using the other one, and just as I was about to ask for the very back seat, the guy says "row 6 please," and I'm like crap. That was the most boring rollercoaster ride of my life! The best part was when it took off. I couldn't feel one drop the whole ride! I had to pretend I was feeling it just to enjoy the ride! It was SUPER lame but hey, at least I went. Anyways, I had some pictures that were great, so here goes nothing!

Tower of Terror-came out kinda bad


Paradise Pier-I was standing across the way at the new boardwalk they built for the World of Color show




Francis the ladybug. Him and Heimlich were always my favorites


Giant 3 leaf clovers


Tower of Terror sign close up


A very flattering shot of me


Main Street looks magical at night


Fireworks




Jack and Sally looking darling as always


People still get on the ride at this hour?


Mom and my popcorn bucket


Got bored at Pooh's Corner waiting for my brother to get off Splash Mountain


Me in Pooh's Corner


Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

-Laurel :)

Coachella, Concerts, and Imogen Heap- fragments of my Friday evening

OK so at first, I was sad that I didn't get to go to Coachella because I have never been.[I don't get out much. Always wanted to go to a concert but never have the time/money, or they are on school nights/Sabbath] Now I am slightly fuming when I found out that Imogen Heap [I just died on the inside. Immi's music is heaven on earth to me, besides art, reading, and Vogue], Edward Sharpe & The Magenetic Zeroes, and La Roux are going to be there. Sometimes I wish my life was more eventful...like seriously. Now I am considering road trips once I graduate just to add a bit more excitement to my life[of course in hopes that I will get to at least one concert before I decease]...I have been dying to see Imogen Heap in person live in concert. Her music gets me through those days when I don't think that I will make it through. It makes me laugh, and I can relate to it. Especially since Ellipse came out. It's an awesome album. I highly reccommend it[of course, everyone has different tastes, so it will be recieved differently according to each listener]. On a brighter note, the fashion but has bitten me[it came back with a vengance!]. All I did was read the new Teen Vogue and I am sucking up fashion blogs like water! It all started with a little 13 year-old wunderkind blogger named Tavi Gevinson. She was part of the inspiration for Target's Rodarte brand. She skipped school to go to the March Jacob's show[ I believe it was Marc]. Also she gets to go behind the scenes at photo shoots, and, omg I left out the best part, she has AWESOME clothes! She has all the Miu Miu shoes and the cutest skirts, and accessories! I wish I were best friends with her! She is amazing! I feel like only 3 people will read this but that's ok. And if someone wants to judge me for sounding like a crazy person[werido, or over-obsessed fan], go on right ahead, cause it takes one to know one. At least I didn't do all that talking for nothing :) btw Tavi and Imogen's twitter accounts are: @TaviGevinson and @imogenheap


the lovely Imogen Heap


some shots of the oh so cute and tiny, Tavi Gevinson

These little boys can sing--no wait, SAANG!

As I was browsing the web [on Youtube to be exact], I came across a video of these twins named Darius and Demetrice. They looked so cute in their matching outfits, both with a half-eaten popsicle in hand, and then they opened their mouths to sing and I was in shock! I mean they were pretty good for their age![they are 10]They have a lot of soul to them and I can't wait to hear from them in the future!

Done Enough





On the Ellen Show [the song they sing sounds really good!]





So apparently they were on Ellen again [they must be like 11 now] and they sang the Jackson 5's I Want You Back



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myGKu-n6RWw

Anyways, I will leave you to look them up on Youtube. They are so amazing! I will make another post with more child singers, one of which is truly annointed. Until then, keep it real! haha

-Laurel

Speaking of Haiti...

If California is known for anything, it is earthquakes. There have been some pretty bad ones in the past. Now what I would like to know is why there has been a random earthquake everyday since like last Friday[last week not this one that just passed]!! There is this website that I go on that tells you how many earthquakes have occured recently and on Friday, there had been 144 since the Friday previous to it!!! What is going on California? Let's please get it together!! Pretty soon we will be like Hawaii and people in Nevada and Arizona will be buying beachfront property which is not cool!! [not that there is anything wrong with beachfront property, just the way it would be achieved in this situation] Everytime there is an earthquake now, I always stop what I'm doing to see if it is going to be the prophesized "Big One" but it never is. I hate getting all scared like that for two seconds. All of the earthquakes that have been happening have been centered around the San Jacinto fault line[everyone usually relates earthquakes with the San Andreas fault line, not the San Jacinto one] and the epicenter is usually in Redlands which is too close to my house! So it the "Big One" comes and the epicenter is in Redlands, then I hope it happens when I am at college and hopefully my fam will miss me enough to move out there with me so we all are safe! Anyways, I will keep everyone posted about the earthquake status. toodles!

-Laurel

We Are The World 25th Anniversary Re-make

Ok so I just heard this song a little while ago and thought it was an alright take on the original song. I thought that the stars were more distracting than the actual cause, but that's just me. There were just a few things that I think could have been improved or at least done differently. First off, someone should have let the producers know that starting the song off with Justin Bieber was a bad idea. We know you're talented and all Justin, but they could of at least put someone who has been around for awhile, someone who is liked by all audiences. The next thing I noticed was that they had Michael's part in there [the little video snippet of him from the original WATW] and I was like "ok, cool" and when they showed Janet I was like "how nice of them to do a split-screen thing with the both of them!" and then when my eyes traveled to Janet's side of the screen, it appeared to me as though she was lip-synching to Michael's part and I was like "no, that can't be possible, because I read online on a legit site that Janet would be SINGING Michael's part not LIP-SYNCHING" I think that the producers should have at least made her voice discernable from Michael's. I watched the whole video twice through and on the first time when it came to Wyclef Jean's part, my ears were murdered. Now I have heard Mr. Jean sing on some other things and sound decent, and I'm not really a fan, but on this track, his solo did not feed my soul what it needed. It sounded like someone was strangling a goose when he held the long notes. Now the whole deal with Wyclef ties-in with the next thing: Auto-Tune. Why did all the other African-American artists have their parts Auto-Tuned? Now I know some can't sing [Weezy] but that is just one out of the whole bunch! If anyone needed to be Auto-Tuned, it was Wyclef Jean! They could have done a bit better at that part. Overall on a scale from 1-10, I would probably have to give this song a 6.5-7, cause it could use a bit of work, but I hope the effort that was made does indeed help Haiti. The incorporation of new stars into this classic song should be good to encourage people from around my generation and up to be inspired to help the current situation in Haiti. Anyways, I posted the video link for viewing purposes so you all could see what I was talking about!

-Laurel-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI

California-where it never rains

The place where it never rains, yet as I look out the window, you can still see mud streaks from where water was rushing down the street earlier this afternoon. It thundered and there was lightning and you couldn't tell the depth of the curb next to the street...All you saw was water..and hail stones...and more water, and then nothing.

People that don't take things seriously...

So I have a couple of pet peeves. One would be people who don't take things seriously. Another would be people who interrupt while others are trying to learn. With the whole "people who don't take things seriously" thing, that has been on my mind for awhile now, especially after today. I am in the "advanced" choir at my school. I have wanted to be in this choir ever since I heard it for the first time (about back in junior high). I was inspired and touched by their singing the first time I heard it. But what I didn't realize, is that each year, there are a whole new group of people in it. I set a goal for myself to be in this choir before I graduate from high school. I am a senior now and I am in the choir, but slightly unhappy. Why you might ask? Well, for one thing, this years choir is made up of about 3/4 of new people, including me. Ok, so what's wrong with a primarily novice group? Well, they aren't working hard enough. This choir is known for singing well and having outstanding performances, and I know I can't judge this years choir based on last years, but it is hard not to. Just today, our director told us that we might not be going on tour(this particular choir also goes on a tour each year) because the new people aren't practicing outside of school and sound "suckish" (well he didn't exacty say suckish but somewhere around that) I go home and listen to my cd and practice, but I don't know about the rest of the new people. Clearly I have picked the wrong year to be in this choir. This is a perfect example of how lazy people ruin the experience for others(me) who are actually taking it seriously. It just makes me so mad and it's my last year so if we don't get to go on a tour I will be very upset. Especially after I made my down payment for the airfare and it's non-refundable. Now, to the people who interrupt while others are trying to learn. In a couple of my classes (the choir is one of them!), there are a rowdy bunch of boys who still act like they are in elementary school and are just pining for attention when the whole act is really just juvenile and stupid. I am sitting in class trying to learn and they are acting up, making jokes, and talking. And they really don't listen to the teacher. The thing that makes it even worse is that in one particular class, the main ones who act up have a higher grade than me and they don't even have to pay attention because they understand it but I actually have to struggle to grasp the concept. It is so unfair. But hey, life's unfair. When it comes to people like that, sometimes I just wanna knock all their lights out, but then again, What Would Jesus Do? Clearly not that, so I guess I just have to ignore the losers out there in life, cause I know there are more to come!

-Laurel