The Return of Jen

Almost three years later, my girl arrives back in the US of A on the 25th. I hope she brings along Hello Kitty and some San-x characters. Me, I am elated.

An Absolute Catastrophe

We didn't talk on air. Tornado warning equated to harsh winds, which equated to having our power knocked out for a hot second. Therefore the soundboard got wonky and our mics were not in sync. A bummer because Branka and I were pretty stoked about this playlist and had plenty to say. Thanks to everyone who tuned in tonight.

Here's what we played during our September 16th show:

1. "RAISE THE DEAD" by BATHORY
2. "SHOT IN THE HEAD" by WEEKEND NACHOS
3. "INVADER" by JUDAS PRIEST
4. "SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENT" by REPULSION
5. "LOCK UP YOUR CHILDREN" by MORBID SAINT
6. "I HATE" by HATRED SURGE
7. "THE LIVING END (JESUS AND MARY CHAIN COVER)" by DAS OATH
8. "ANGELS OF DESTRUCTION" by SYPHILITIC VAGINAS
9. "CIRCLE OF THE TYRANTS" by CELTIC FROST
10. "REVENGE OF THE NERDS" by SCHOLASTIC DETH
11. "BLAP!" by KORO
12. "DEAD" AUTOPSY
13. "SYSTEM STAGNATES" by PISSCHRIST
14. "BURNING AWAY" by NUNSLAUGHTER
15. "SUBJECT" by SNUFF FILM
16. "ALL YOUR SINS" by PENTAGRAM
17. "AMONG THE LIVING" by ANTHRAX
18. "IRON SAVIOR" by IRON SAVIOR
19. "I HATE YOU" by VERBAL ABUSE
20. "THE SAW IS THE LAW" by SODOM
21. "NIH NIGHTMARE" by G.I.S.M.

In the meantime, we're stuck in our studio because building administration is not letting anyone out under the warning. We're going to take a nap before hopping over to the Union for a well-needed glass of Magic Hat #9.

A Blast of the Past

I'm not going to be alive for the next nine weeks.

Thank the reading/analysis intensive 18-hour class schedule, my valiant decision to be lady lord of this student-run radio station, and frantic efforts to raise some money for my anticipated winter return to NYC.

I'm looking forward to reuniting with my summer roommates, the ever-so-critical (in fashion) Justin Fenner, the Baltimore/DC boys, and Jess Blumenshied - who although arrived a week shy of my departure, quickly became my partner-in-crime for TMI discussions and expressing boner moments over the ugliest of music.

Also including in this list are the Ohio-turned-NYC residents, including Jill Mapes and Kelly Kettering, who have been the backbone to my life in the past three years. Now if only Erin Schroettinger considers declining her California girl ways.

But for now I'll enjoy my questionably lesbian relationship with bestie Branka Sormaz - that is, when I'm not knee-deep in work at the library or in my ACRN office. Here's to the next nine weeks, and what better way to clear the mind than get a nice blast of the past.



Including this gem.

The Comeback of Scum

A new year means the resurrection of scum chic - at least for the girls of Absolute Catastrophe radio show, and at least until we meet this generation's answer to Paul Newman (Edit: who was an Ohio University dropout. Too beautiful for college, naturally)... or just getting out of Athens, really. We are eye candy to the max, as you can tell from the photo above.



You can listen to it here. Feel free to join us in your physical form - it's usually a party. Show premieres next Thursday.

Edit: We now have a Facebook page.

Ro-ro-ro Robot Rock

I will pay whatever amount of money needed to fund the electricity bill of Daft Punk's nearest tour stop - DURING THE SLATED 2011/2012 WORLD TOUR.

You cannot watch this and not dance.

The Perfect Fit

Looks like it's a little too late for me to release a clothing line under my own name. My narcissistic self, however, is considering starting a personal collection of pieces from the Rika brand. Irony, much?

Image pulled from Who What Wear

This Happened: Lady Gaga Concert in Pittsburgh

It has been too long since I've gone cross-state from Ohio to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (with a minor dip into the panhandle of West Virginia). The familiar interstates that winds along the Appalachian hillsides, infiltrated with picturesque forestry, made visual love to the bright blue skies - a true depiction of landscape porn, in my opinion. Aside from the occasional wiff of roadside carcasses and animal dung, my nostrils did not once flare in a way they did on the streets of Brooklyn. Oh do I love fresh air.

Branka and I drove up I-77 to whatever interstate shot us through Fort Pitt Tunnel - a major pleasure of visiting Pittsburgh - and into the city. We made a quick stop in Parkersburg, West Virginia for my overdue trip to Gabriel Brothers, at which I bought a pair of Betsey Johnson stockings for $3.00. Afterward, a Taco Bell billboard in Marietta, Ohio had us frantically scoping out for the fast food chain's closest location. Ten McDonalds and three Arbys later, we found one located just 20 minutes from our destination. Let's just say my stomach later cowered over my entrée choice of a KFC biscuit, a baja chalupa, and a crunchy taco. I'm good with Taco Bell for another seven months.






The Gaga concert was apparently the perfect venue for everyone to let their freak flag fly. Pittsburgh's translation of being a "free bitch" composed of tutus, replicas of Gaga's most infamous outfits and accessories - which after a while was a bore to look at, towering heels adorned by those who couldn't handle them in the first place, and DIY costumes made with supplies from the kids' crafts department of Jo-Ann Fabrics. Granted, a small handful took extreme to a more tasteful level. I took a sneak shot of an attendee who dressed to the nines in her Gaga outfit, even having a countenance eerily similar to hers.

Gaga took the stage after a string of peculiar incidents challenged how much "wtf moments" I could handle in the given hour. Photographer Terry Richardson burst out of the doors of the Consol Stadium with two teenage photographers. Gaga's longtime friend and rock and roll DJ Lady Starlight played Pantera's "Walk" (lol) and "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest, during which Branka and I couldn't help but burst out in a sing-along. A dance-off erupted between two people located on OPPOSITE SIDES of the gargantuan stadium, and the wave circulated at least six times through the balcony crowd.

I would go into depths about Gaga's set in general, but it's an experience best felt in person. For some, it was a religious experience in the context that Gaga was surprisingly zealous over the subject of Jesus and his unbiased love for the children of the world - regardless of size, shape, ethnicity, sexual preference, etc.

Personally, I was baptized in the house-heavy interludes that made me jive like there was no tomorrow.






Couldn't help myself: obligatory "dat ass" moment.









Sheetz is the oasis of Midwest road travels. Not only do I admire the gas station's clean, cinnamon-scented bathrooms, but I also enjoy the fact that their selection gives me the option of avoiding unsavory bowel movements. After the near-fatal Taco Bell incident, that was the last thing I wanted. I was able to get my daily fix of coconut water here, though Foco brand surpasses in quality and taste over Naked.

Branka's GPS took us through I-70 into Zanesville, in which we were forced to take the back roads to get to Athens. The Sisters of Mercy provided the perfect soundtrack to the silenced countryside.

School Bag Surgery

The best thing to do to a bland shopper-turned-school-bag: make it evil.

Used: 100% organic cotton shopper's bag gifted from a summer's party, cut-out White Mice t-shirt.

The Kawaii Detour

Originals by Originals Jeremy Scott Teddy Bear sneakers.

Image via High Snobiety