isoform

"this crap" would include cronenberg films and joel-peter witkin's warped stuff, eh?

yeah...

Seriously, I would do this --

LA > SF > bus > LV > Austin > Chicago > Wash D.C. > Montreal > NYC

I haven't even heard of tourists/visitors/travellers taking the bus from San Francisco through the National Parks and the Sierra Mountains to get to Las Vegas--I think it'd be fun.

Las Vegas + Grand Canyon ... I think ppl should do it on their first time in America trips. :] If you had a car i'd also recommend Bisbee, AZ--such a weird and out of the way place, but the drive down is fun(ny) and they sell turquoise and silver pretty cheap.

Austin = you get the feel of Texas which is a... well, an interesting state and very one-side of America... and then there's Austin. Cool city... the only place in Texas I could probably survive w/o losing it.

Chicago over Minneapolis anyday for visiting... Chicago is the most American of cities imo--it has a lot of fat people, segregation, complex and thoroughly "American" history, great food, corruption, and a crazy mashup of architecture, cultures, and people.

Washington D.C; well-worth the visit imo if you're into knowing anything about the US--american ideology, history, government, memorials, classical architecture, civil war era stuff (including the cool old style of some townhomes), and especially Georgetown (visit this place right outside of DC versus Boston)--plus the Metro is very easy to use and everything you'd want to do is accessible by the train system.

Or if you just want to shop, eat well, and see pretty neighborhoods. Dunno how fab the scene is outside of politics and student life, because I only stay there 1-3 nites at a time and it's not for the club/party/bar scene.

Pacific Northwest is pretty and all, but kinda boring and you'd need a car or boat, but I think what was recommended before--Seattle to Vancouver by boat would be very relaxing and nice. Vancouver Island was beautiful, but we had a car--although you can go hiking or to island tours very easily (e.g. no car needed).

Also--don't forget about Mexico.

LA > SF (+ Napa Valley, East Bay) > bus (thru scenic Cali) > LV (+ Grand Canyon) > Mexico City or Pto Vallarta > Chicago > Wash DC > Montreal (+ Quebec City/scenic stuff) > NYC

Puerto Vallarta is on the Pacific side in Jalisco (the whitest state in Mexico) so no white-sand coral beaches, but the city has mountains on one end and the sea on the other, cool french-ish architecture, warped Liz Taylor history, and the best filipino food I ever tasted (and I'm pinay)... but go there when the weather isn't ass humid and hot--during December/January it's supposedly perfect weather--I went there in August and it was hot, but bearable.

Mexico City is cool because, well, it's in Mexico, the capital city, polluted to all hell 'cause it's in a valley, and you get to do the Aztec ruins.

Cancun is ohkay if it's not spring break or ass-humid or hurricane season... I liked it alot mostly because of the Mayan ruins and the not-all-inclusive resort--get out of the city, I say--because it's super annoying and built up to only serve rich American tourists.

I definitely think the time of year shapes if you'd ought to go to Mexico, the US, and Canada at the same time or not--but as long as it's not hurricane season or full-on winter you should be fine.

AND... yeah--if you're not going to have a car... reconsider Los Angeles.

I'm getting excited for you. :]

i just did this kind of trip, except-- i had a few more days, i was by myself with a strict budget. no set agenda (thanku eurail pass--and i really abused it with three 8 hour train rides, lmao--never again!), and stayed over a week in Berlin and another week in Paris.

it was still intense even with the week long "breaks" (Berlin included new year's so it was non-stop for 3 days)... and the LONG, boring train rides were really draining.

Amsterdam -- everyone i knew rec'd The Flying Pig hostel. i stayed in the one downtown and it was pretty solid and memorable--it was close to Centraal, clean enough, logical, and fun plus free internet, nice ppl and staff (but it just occured to me this doesn't help you, haha--sorry! next time mosdef'y stay here!).

Paris -- the superfuture city guide is pretty great for shopping. i stayed mostly around the 1st (Louvre), 2nd (Les Halles*great shopping imo), 3rd-4th (Marais), 11th (Oberkampf/Bastille), and St Germaine (extremely posh) neighborhoods.

AND just so you know--France goes on sale around the first week of June i think (and again during the second week of January). So you should definitely stop by the huge department stores like Printemps to see what's up (unintentionally, the two times i have been in Paris were when these insane sales are kicked off--for example, i got a pair of beautiful 200euro french boots for 50euros from Printemps this past trip)--and if you buy more than a certain amt you can get the tax back (but it is limited to certain nations--but I'm pretty sure the US and Canada are included)!

Munich -- ...has great food, but I don't remember the great place/s I ate at because I found them while wandering//i mean being lost//in the city. there's a Free Tour that's given in Munich run by the same good ppl who do Berlin's Free Tour, but I found this out when I was in Berlin, so I don't know how great it is--this is relevant to you because the Free Tour people do a Pub Crawl. :]

Switzerland

Re: Interlaken -- this place is seriously expensive -- i met lots of ppl with similar budgets that ended up just hanging out in their hostel because even snow walking was way too expensive--but i went to Europe in Dec/Jan (highseason), maybe June is diff, but I doubt it.

Alternatives -- Lausanne (beautiful), Basel, or Zurich are pretty cool Swiss cities from the impressions I got -- Basel was unexpectedly very good (the ~8hour train from Berlin to Basel was grueling--especially a bit hungover and w/o a seat so I planned only one night in Basel and to continue on to Luzern, but ended up staying a bit longer due to the many museums within the cute city--well worth it and i would've stayed longer if i had time!).

But if yer going on to Munich, Zurich may be a more practical city to visit.

Still do the train ride through Interlaken because it was really worth it--no need to pay extra for the "scenic" cars because all the views were the same/good enough. :]

...and pick up a Freitag bag from Switzerland (you'll have the most options and it's as cheap/expensive if you get it elsewhere esp. stateside).

Edit:

I spent a total of 2500 USD on this 29 day trip (Ams > Munich > Berlin > Basel > Luzern > Bern > Lyons > Paris)... I was staying at hostels and buying my food from supermarkets and preparing my own meals most days--but was able to go out, shop in Paris, sightsee, and eat well when I felt like it. ...and I went during Dec/Jan (off season) and Berlin was cheap!

(Berlin and Lyon are my new fav. Euro cities :])

other movies that haven't been mentioned yet--

harold and maude

immortal beloved

omfg NEG REP!! your.life.over.

yer obviously really hurt by my minus 1 neg rep. lmao. i'm a peon on these boards...but thanks for noticing.

anyway, really, it didn't take that much of an effort or bunched panties to neg rep you...

saw black lips and the ponys.

yer asking about clothes, correct?

and besides urban and h&m...haha

i guess the easiest place to get to and find = ragstock (one floor dedicated to men), hollywood mirror, and strange cargo. all in the vicinity of the Belmonst stop off of the Red, Brown, and Purple lines. there's another ragstock store on milwaukee (Damen Blueline stop)--and that place is a couple of doors down from another ok thrift store called cross roads or something (you'll pass it before you hit Ragstock).

i mean, there's lots of other spots--but these are easy to get to and have websites w/ maps and shit. goodluck. :]

but it isn't meant to be ironic, for the most part. it is all the fucking jaded post-hipster jerkoffs outside of the scene that view it as ironic, and thus, totally miss the point.

fuck nu-rave (fashion) all the same--it's was curious for a hot minute, but got old fast for me.

what is the point--nostalgia? -- because the full get-up looks awful.

see, i really wouldn't care much but the neon or metallic b.s. from head-to-toe assaults my eyes.

:cough: Rach :cough:

not a music student and i don't know much about classical music period... i just listened to what my aunt used to play on the piano like Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Bach, Chopin, etc. so, yeah, i have a soft spot for piano and violin concertos--and the depressing and/or quiet and not too giddy bits by Mozart are amazing...

i don't have the patience (or know of a good resource) to explore outside of my mother or aunts' collections. :/ i know what they have will be cool, outside of that there's soo much and it really takes time to listen thru pieces. a part of why i really respect Beethoven is because he gets right into it pretty much as soon as the piece starts, rather than 5 minutes or even many more minutes later.

:shrugs:

AvoXgTEaLT8

ps. i hate the term nu-rave and the stupid "ironic" or just plain bad fashion associated with it. uck.

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procrastinated on the three major writing projects i have due the first week of May which I haven't started work on. fuuuucccckkkkkk. i just want to gaduate already.

wow, i really dont feel like reading thru this, but if anyone is into tweepop and janglepop and indietronic:

monster movie

sambassadeur

dennis driscoll

beat happening

helium / mary timony

sebadoh (song: the freed pig) / the folk implosion (song: mood swing) / ... same group of guys

guided by voices

apples in stereo / the gerbils (etc. from elephant 6)

stereolab

thao nguyen

figurine

dunno if these are must-haves, but these are records that have and will stick around my collection/s (some will be sentimental for obvious reasons... :]).

adicts - songs of praise

naked raygun - basement screams

cocteau twins - treasure

belle and sebastien - tigermilk

buzzcocks - singles going steady

gang of four - entertainment

raincoats - s/t

the specials - s/t

x - los angeles

big black - songs about fucking

david bowie - the best of 1969-1974 (if you got to start somewhere, eh?)

new order - substance (another compilation, haha)

jacques dutronc - les playboys

francoise hardy - the yeh-yeh girl from paris

wizzz: psychorama francais 66-71

stereolab - transient random-noise bursts with announcements // or // ABC Music: BBC Radio 1 Sessions

vashti bunyan - just another diamond day

somethings which are much more recent:

black lips - los valientes del mundo (or some such spanish language title....)

the whitest boy alive - dreams

kitsune maison compilation no. 3 (the best kits-comp so far imo)

cibo matto - stereotype A

kahimi karie - kahimi karie

metronomy - Pip Paine (Pay Back The £5000 You Owe)

broadcast - (anything really)

autolux - future perfect

what i second from the previously mentioned (overall mostly good stuff):

television - marquee moon

echo and the bunnymen - porcupine (NOT crocodiles, haaha)

all elliott smith rec's (+ either/or, from a basement on a hill).

the zombies - odessey and oracle (!)

joy division - permanent

full time student.

i have no idea what i'll be doing after graduation because i don't know if i want to go with what i was studying and i hate school at the moment. soooo... there it is. most likely just start traveling and working from place to place--see what's up.

they will stretch...my overdrives (which have only 2% elastine) have stretched in 3 months of normal wear where they're not uncomfortably cutting into thighs or above my knees anymore.

i just got a pair of sz 26 grey colordrives from a person who obviously wore them slouchy so the waistband is really stretched out--so, the material will definitely stretch and not automatically shrink or bounce back...i'm just hoping it'll shrink enough with a wash or even a soak, because i can hardly wear these right now...

*note: my rec's aren't very typical for first-timers to the city//and some places aren't the poshest*

finally some decent reviewish thing.

But still no one answered....

where's the weed at?

or any drugs matter of fact?

all this gang banging, but no slanging?

shit is wack

try the >> near west side << ...heh....hahaha. goodluck.

Wicker Park/Bucktown/immediate area

for where to buy cheap mondays...akira's womens store (east of Milwaukee on North ave) is selling tight black overdye for 35, and a few other washes for 60-65. i have no clue who in chicago is selling april77s.

Jakes, Penelopes, Active Endeavors, and the boutiques all around Wicker Park are--i guess--the places to shop that aren't like, Diesel, and so on.

Margies on Western and Armitage is a decent spot for desserts if yer already in the Wicker Park area (go north on Milwaukee)--and there's a more than decent 24hour Mexican place across the street which has this cool freaky blue lighting at night and live music sometimes (these are where normal ppl go, they're not necessarily overrun with tourists or yuppies...eh.).

Southside

Pilsen when it becomes warmer out is an interesting visit as well (there's the Mexican Fine Arts museum and a gallery walk on the weekends)--also the buildings around there are older than the sewers which is evidenced by the second floor of most buildings being at about streetlevel--plus one can get a sense of how Chicago once looked like...

for something out of the way and if you've got a car and are bored... Historic Pullman is an interesting half-day trip. haha. it's on the far southeast side of Chicago--so just driving down may be an adventure and a tour around a Chicago most ppl don't normally see (even lifelong resident northsiders like myself).

another somewhat out-of-the-way place to visit for historical stuff and sightseeing = Bronzeville (cool to visit if you're going to the southside anyway--it's the part of the city where working class to middle class Blacks moved to during the Great Migration from the south).

the Museum of Science and Industry has a nice park behind it--and it's the site of the World's Fair if anyone gives a shit--so it's historical and all that...and there's a ghost or something that haunts the park...haha. you'd also be very close to U of Chicago which has an ok campus--but is truly an island in a sea of poverty.

for driving around the city--the boulevard system is pretty... especially when you go thru certain parks. The system is flanked by old mansions most of the way thru and all that--but it cuts through some of the rougher neighborhoods (westside) of the city, so do what you will. the Lake Shore Drive when you get far north enough is kind of pretty...(do it if visiting Evanston--Northwestern U's spot).

Lakeshore

the paths and beaches around the lake are worth walking i suppose (start at the northend tip of Michigan Ave and walk north--Mass Trans in the form of busses and the Redline are fairly close by all the time). it's a feature that lots of cities don't have.

you can end at the free Lincoln Park Zoo and then wander around Lincoln Park or whatev and catch the redline or a bus back to Downtown.

...and i agree, the view on the strip of land jutting out from the Field Museum is the best place to view the downtown skyline.

if ppl are into architecture there's a ton of stuff to do in and close to the city... there's the CAF architecture walking tour downtown (*really good), the mansions directly south of the loop (the homes of Chicago's most rich and powerful during the turn of the century), the frank lloyd wright houses/tours out in Oak Park.

whatever... most of my recommendations are, like i said, not for the day trippers or first timers. i personally think the coolest sightseeing stuff after the obvious things downtown are on the southside--then again, it may be because I don't get down there too often. :]

yeah as i live in the UK it is pretty much essential viewing , btw it gets a LOT better as the series goes on, epsiode 8 - which is about effy is brilliant.

i just finished watching ep8 ...hah... it was good--but i think the best one i've seen so far is the episode about Chris (ep 4). i'm not sure how much i would believe this is realistic for most british youth, but...uh. i can see how it's realistic for a few there and a few over here in the states minus the nurave fashions--at least here in Chicago...thankgoodness.

anyway, the series uses that Gossip remix way too much. it got annoying real fast.

just saying...

racist skins are idiots.

so if these assholes want racial and cultural purity it'd make some sense to quit ripping off black folks.

anyway, i quite like the skinhead, mod, and rudeboy look, people who know or aren't just informed or swallow everything they see on tv won't automatically associate skinhead-fashion with neonazis.

I guess almost anybody who has to use prescription glasses and/or contact lenses daily would second that.

anyone who isn't a fashion victim would second that.

for anyone else's information -- i just paypal'd for the April77 colordrives in grey. (i post this to avoid double booking these jeans...)

or scan pitchforkmedia.com every once in a while.

the overhaul would be helpful to me--especially if formatted as jpgm detailed.

jacques dutronc - les playboys

black lips - los valientes del mundo nuevo

the adicts - songs of praise

naked raygun - basement screams

shugo tokumaru - night piece

lazy sunday, staying around the house... and yay for an elite page.