Pumped Up Kicks

Last Thursday, I awoke to one of life's simple joys: Calendar Reminders! Only this time, instead of reminding me to send an email, cancel an appointment, or call the damn landlord again, I had a reminder about a concert that I had bought tickets to back in May. After a long, cubed up work week, I was ready to play with my inner hippie and sway to the good beats of Cut Copy & Foster the People. Then I noticed something - this concert was in Brooklyn. Prospect Park to be exact. I must admit now, I have not yet made it to Brooklyn (unless one very stressful Ikea trip counts) but the idea of an outdoor concert in hipster Brooklyn sounded like an ideal Thursday night. As twilight fell across Manhattan, I made my way with three girlfriends across the river and into the hip, up and coming, wildly talked about borough.

The park had been roped off into a smaller area and the lines for beer were of course, ridiculously long, but it was a sight. Faint sunlight filtered in through the shady trees casting a glow across all the happy hipster faces. And then I heard the sweet tunes of Foster the People (the real reason I came to this concert) and I was enchanted. If you have not pleasured your ears with their new album, Torches, get on that. Better yet, if you have not joined the Spotify user database, do that first. My obsession with this new application has made cubelife painless (well, almost). Ever since the Corporate Crackdown, the likes of Pandora and Grooveshark were rudely taken from me. So, Spotify.

Anyways, Foster the People, their cool, subdued sound brings you back to another era. The beats create a spark of energy through your body so that first you're tapping your foot, rolling the shoulders...and then BAM! You are full body concert dancing. The pleasure is all in the music. They are fabulous. Cut Copy, as always, are a solid act bordering on the techno genre. They are more of a mood band where as Foster the People, you can stick them in your pocket (i.e. ipod) and wander the city feeling enlightened by their sweet voices and cool notes. Into the night we danced, mouthed words we didn't know, and watched the sun glide into twilight and slip quietly into darkness....

My advice: for a summer twilight experience, go see a concert outdoors and let the music and the fresh air revive you from all those office AC freezers.

Grab Your Wii, Save the World

While lounging around on a lazy Sunday, flipping through my July issue of Elle Magazine, I came across an article that grabbed my attention. I am talking "I see new fall boots and chunky sweaters in my path" kind of attention, "Hunger Game trailer & Cast" kind of attention, and in this day in age, that's pretty legit attention. So when Jane McGonigal's profile was suddenly in my reading path (yes, I like to read magazines from front to back, no detail is spared on me) I sat up and really started reading. Note: Usually Fashion magazines are meant for perusing the latest looks, ripping out items to covet, and overall aesthetically please me - EXCEPT for Vanity Fair which I will argue always has great news stories that are truly informative (Plus, Little Gold Men Blog, what's not to love?). Anyways, I digress, let's talk about Jane's ridiculously amusing slash rather persuasive theory - "Gaming Can Make a Better World"

I kid you not - this woman is arguing that video games will ultimately teach gamers and therefore society how to overcome disastrous scenarios such as Hunger, Poverty, & Lack of Resources (check out her latest gaming feat 'World Without Oil'). Yes, the video games you watch your little brother playing endlessly engaged in some kind of epic war battle or all important football game, those are the games she is referring to. Video Games. Xbox, Wii, Playstation. These machines that have sucked the life out of boyfriends for hours and pimply teenagers in basements, they are going to save us all from our self destructive path in REAL life.

So what did I do mid article? Well I of course ran to my iPad, lightly touched my TED app, and immersed myself in her 15 minute speech about why this theory works. Why playing video games turns gamers into highly motivated, self confident, trusting individuals who make strategic decisions in confined environments. The more I listened, well, the more I believed.

But check it out yourself. Meanwhile, it's time for me to buy that Wii since it will eventually teach me the skills to survival in a world with dying resources. Jane McGonigal - I am a believer.