Episode 6 is up!!! We discuss The Book Of Mormon, Vine app, Xbox One vs. PS4 and the NSA Controversy. Hope you enjoy : ) 

Off The Grid goes off the grid

I read a study today that suggests the path to happiness is your cell phone. Or, lack thereof. Turning off your key to the rest of the world can actually make your life more fulfilling. Think about it. Instead of sitting with your phone, waiting for texts or notifications, you are actually interacting with society! Who woulda thought?

That said, I am conducting a little test on myself. I am turning my phone off, and only checking it every two hours for texts and voicemails. This is going to be very hard considering I am the most impatient person on the planet and I live for instant gratification. But, believe it or not, I've actually always wanted to go off the grid, and I have tried before, but I always give in. Not this time, nope! We will see how long this little experiment lasts....

Fifth podcast!!! We discuss technology and relationships with Jenny Milkowski. Also a overlook at the HBO show Girls with our friend Krysha. We also have some great music from band The New Diet, which will have an upcoming show on The Fireside Bowl on April 16 @ 7:30pm.

Jenny Milkowski info....
Website: http://www.jennymilkowski.com/
Twitter: @jennymilk

The New Diet info....
Website: https://www.facebook.com/thenewdiet
http://thenewdiet.bandcamp.com/

First Friday Canceled

Since I blogged about this event earlier, I feel the civic duty to let you know that First Friday Wicker Park is canceled. I heard this from one of the artists.

However, if you're still looking to explore your inner artist, I have another event for you to check out.

"Spring Attacks" art show
 Thirteen Pins Tapas & Bar
4202 W. Irving Park Road

Here is the facebook event page for more deets:

Spring Attacks  


See you there!
-Rachel

Are you artsy? Do you pretend to be?

Hey guys, I am checking out First Friday in Wicker Park tonight and I am pretty pumped. My good friend and artist Sarah L'heureux is showing some art. I hope to report back with my review of the event.

See you there?

-Rachel

Event Info: First Friday, Wicker Park

My New Addiction: HBO's Girls

Hi, my name is Rachel. And I have an addiction that runs very deep. Sure, I jumped on the bandwagon a little bit late in the game. But that doesn't make the addiction any less legitimate.

My latest vice is the show "Girls" on HBO. I finally got around to watching it this past week thanks to Comcast's "Watchathon" week, which was pretty amazing, BTW, but really took up alot of my time. I watched both seasons of Girls in 2 days. And then I watched both seasons again in 1 day. Don't judge me, assholes. 

There are alot of reasons why I love this show. The main reason being that it's incredibly thought provoking.  Like more than any other show I've ever watched in my life including California Dreams. After about half way through the first season, I texted several people in my phone "Have you ever seen Girls??! Its insane! We must discuss this show!" I have some seriously strong feelings about every main character.  Here goes.

The worst goes first. Hannah. Hannah is the main character on "Girls" and the show pretty much revolves around her insufferable and destructive behavior. I cannot stand her. There, I said it.  Although I have the feeling I am not alone in that sentiment. I disliked Hannah from the very first episode when she was pathetically hooking up with Adam, who very clearly was only using her for sex.  She kept going back to him - this guy - who was a total freaking tool bag and he wasn't even that cute. Hannah upsets me simply because she is an incredibly weak female with zero self-esteem and lets other people treat her like crap. And while there are times I actually feel bad for her, I mostly want to reach through the TV and slap some sense into her. For example, there is an episode where she receives a text from Adam, which is a picture of his penis.  Adam texts her back moments later, saying that the text wasn't meant for her (which is incredibly fucking rude, BTW).  So what does she do? Does she ignore him, like any self-respecting person would? No. She takes a naked photo of herself and sends it back to him. WHAT??! Who does that?  And then there is the gratuitous nudity.  Hannah is not exactly the Hollywood, cookie cutter, 100 pound standard of beauty that females have been forced fed for years. Which is totally rad and I'm not saying she is super overweight, but she is average looking at best.  So I applaud her for taking the risk and being naked...alot...on this show. However, there is a point where its just too much. I don't care what you look like.  You do not need to be shown playing ping pong, naked (that actually did happen in one episode, and I actually did want to throw up a little). As season 2 went on, my dislike for Hannah actually turned into pity.  She really has some major undiagnosed issues. Seek therapy. 

Speaking of insufferable bastards, check out this guy. His name is Adam and he is an awful human being. He also never wears a shirt. This is the man who Hannah is pretty much obsessed with the entire first season. And I have absolutely no idea why. I guess crazy attracts crazy.  Adam gave Hannah the run-around for months, but that somehow turns into this intense, romantic relationship, which is beyond me. I think the reason I dislike that situation so much is because I've seen it happen alot in my own life.  People regularly give other people the runaround.  That is pretty much one of the worst things you can do to a person. I wish people would just be more straight forward with other people.  Since I have long past learned my lesson in that area of life, all I want to do is slap other people who do this sort of thing (including the person being ran around, i.e. Hannah).  But this is a TV show, not real life, so I cannot do such things. Adam had a few (very few) redeeming moments. There were these moments where he actually came off as being smart and wise and a legit human being. Remember when he said "Don't waste time on guilt, Hannah. Holding on to toxic relationships is what keeps us from growing." You're so deep, Adam. I still think you're a dick though.

Now we have Marnie. Marnie is one of the characters I can actually sort of relate to.   Marnie is the cookie cutter, rule follower, in a long-term-relationship kind of girl - but neurotic on the inside (like most women).  She is also kind of drab and dull. She is dating Charlie, and decides after 4 years she is bored with the relationship and not in love with him anymore (he is super awesome and hot so I don't know what her problem is).  So she dumps him, but then freaks out when she sees Charlie is actually moving on and dating someone else (cue my life story). Marnie does some out of character things, such as show up at Charlie's work unexpected, and show up at his work party and drunkenly sings karaokee to Kanye West's "Stronger" ("Bow in the presence of greatness. Cause right now thou has forsaken us. You should be honored by my lateness. That I would even show up to this fake shit.") Marnie is clearly unstable without having a boyfriend, but I feel like alot of people have been in that position, especially after breaking up with a person after a long term relationship. So in that sense I sympathize with her because it really is hard to adjust to life in general after getting out of a LTR. So, in the long run, I am okay with Marnie, but I wouldn't necessarily want to be her friend for life because she is slightly neurotic and a total control freak. Also, why is she BFF with Hannah? That bitch cray. 

Which brings me to Charlie.  Charlie is legit the most normal person on "Girls." And he is super fucking hot but that is not the point.  I just learned today that Charlie quit "Girls" because of some disagreements with Lena Dunham.  I am not one to speculate (wait, yes I am), but I am fairly certain that Dunham was being insane and I totally take his side regardless. Anyways, Marnie kind of treats Charlie like crap.  They break up, and he moves on. I don't blame him. But then Marnie plays mind games with him, and they actually end up getting back together (sorry guys, spoiler alert). But now that he is leaving the show, I am super curious to see how they write him off.  Hey Charlie, since you are currently an unemployed actor, come on over boo, lets hang. 

I would now like to discuss Shoshanna. I am pretty sure I am Shoshanna. And I picked this photo because this is from the episode where she accidentally smokes crack and ends up running down the street with no pants or skirt on.  That pretty much sums up Sosh, and that is definitely something I would do, and probably have done, now that I think about it. Anyways, Shosh is the virgin of the group (she ends up losing her V-card but whatever) and is super innocent and naive. She also has major anxiety issues which come out when, in general, she speaks. At all times. But she is hilarious and I really really love her. She is super nice. She ends up dating this guy Ray, who, I will talk about later, but I like him alot. But he is just not her type. And that sucks, but Sosh deserves someone who can appreciate rainbows and pillows and ribbons. And that person is not Ray. Sorry, dude. 

And last, but certainly not least, is Ray. I really like Ray because he is someone I would never date, but I would definitely be his best friend, based on the fact that his bad attitude about life is merely comical. He is a crotchety old man who would scold a teenager for being on his lawn. But for some reason I find that hilarious.  The reason I like him is because he seems like a genuinely good guy. I was super happy when he started dating Shoshanna but I soon realized he wasn't the man for her because they are totally opposite of each other. While he is hilarious, he is also a very negative person, which can be very hard to deal with. Trust me, I have dated some negative nancies in my lifetime, and that is very hard to deal with, especially for a person like myself, who has a hot pink unicorn tattooed on my upper ass (yes I do, I will show you if you ask politely). I think he will someday find love, if he takes that stick out of his asshole. 

Wow, I will completely admit I almost forgot to write about Jessa. That shows you how much I care about this character. Jessa is Shoshanna's cousin, which is funny because they are so totally opposite. Jessa is the British, abortion-having, crazy cousin who randomly gets married to the dude from Bridesmaids (not Jon Hamm but the other guy).  She is the "wildcard" who travels randomly and is completely unstable. Her character is pretty attractive in the sense that I have always wanted to just not give a shit about anything and travel the world without a care. But honestly, who can actually live like that? Who can finance such a trip? Let's be real. But I like Jessa because I honestly respect people who just do not care and do whatever.  In a perfect world I would drop all my belongings and travel the world. But then I remember I actually have a life and responsibilities. But at the same time, I see she has no real relationships with people, and I believe she comes and goes as she pleases because she feels no real connections with people. And that, I do not envy. One thing you can count on though, is that her unpredictability is pretty damn predictable. 

So that does it for my character synopsis of the show "Girls." I am very excited for season 3, despite the fact that Charlie will be gone.  I hope for many more thought-provoking episodes!

Oops!

I just want to let everyone know that Soundcloud only allows us to post two podcasts at a time, which is why episodes 1 and 2 aren't up. We are considering upgrading our account, however, so we can post them all.

-Rachel