Oh, the Big Easy. I don’t even know where to start, the New Orleans Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon was the most fun I’ve had running. Wait… what? Mardi Gras… Rock N’ Roll. 22,000 people, a beautiful day and beer. I’ve run two marathons prior to this race that served beer, maybe one single beer station along the course. In New Orleans, not only were there multiple beer stops along the course, the toga party at mile 15 consisted of music, food, togas of course, and people holding trays of little martinis (you pass it twice because of the loop on that part of the course). Why not? So I admit this was not my most competitive event, but it without a doubt my favorite.

In my opinion, some negative aspects:

• Virtually no course spectators miles 20-24, the hardest miles of the race
• Half marathoners seemed to outnumber full by a large ratio
• Starting line corrals took forever

The night before the race was cold and windy which had me worried about the weather the next day, especially with winds coming off Lake Pontchartrain (perfected the spelling during the run) which we ran from miles 16.5 or so to a little after 22. But the weather couldn’t have been more amazing, which made the after party even nicer – I even got tan lines from my arm bands (aka “shooting sleeves”). The course as a whole was pleasant and flat. The only incline was near miles 17 and 22, up a bridge, down, around and up the other side, not too bad. I enjoyed the few back and out parts of the course; I saw the badasses miles ahead of me going one way and all the people who were behind me coming back.

Overall, I don’t know how I feel about the Rock N’ Roll as an event… As a runner who likes to use my iPod anyway, I’m kinda underwhelmed with the whole band thing. Don’t get me wrong, it was cool when they were actually playing when you ran by, but that was probably less than 15% of the time in my case. Also, they take every chance to get money out of you and it’s kind of annoying. No, I do not want a 16×24 laminated poster of my race picture. There were three differently priced packages for parking and shuttles to the start/finish but you didn’t need any of it. Everyone has to walk to the finish line anyway and shuttles are free after the everyone has crossed the start line.

So all that to say, every race will be different and that’s half the fun in running multiple marathons. It was definitely a first for me to finish after 2 martinis and 2 beers…

Funniest signs:

• The Kenyan broke his foot, you could win this!
• This Parade Sucks!
• Run, Bitch, Run!
• Free Nipple Massages at Finish
• Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon

Funniest T-shirt:

• Feel Dat Brees? (You Just Got Passed)

Note: I passed her.

John Densmore, The Doors drummer, upon meeting grammy winner, Skrillex: “I’ve never heard of you, but my son wants your autograph.”

It’s a great time to be alive. Now more than ever, we have the ability to use technology in a way that can catapult our innate creativity to new levels. I am truly enlightened and inspired by the Re:Generation Music Project. It charmingly encompasses my thoughts on my generation, how we use influences of the past to introduce new creations and our responsibility to society to define the future.

Electronic-based musicians Skrillex, Pretty Lights, DJ Premier, The Crystal Method and Mark Ronson collaborate with veteran artists like the surviving members of The Doors, Martha Reeves and Dr. Ralph Stanley to name a few. They’re all fish out of water: Skrillex takes a stab at Rock, Pretty Lights is challenged with the country western genre, DJ Premier learns classical music and conducts an orchestra.

Not everyone will have the same transcendental reaction to this film as I did, but it’s interesting to watch the creative conflict that comes with the generation gaps. I can understand how people in older generations can look at this project and think it reflects badly on the younger one, tainting music they hold as legendary. All I can say is that innovation is about having an open mind, transforming something that already exists and making a new product out of it – sometimes even, dare I say it, a better one. There’s something quite awe-inspiring of the younger generation’s ability to view music in a cross-boundary kind of way. We can keep legendary music alive by having a fresh, modern take on it. In fact, one of the notions I extracted from this film was the willingness of new artists to look into the past in contrast to the veteran artists’ rejection of new approaches and the relevance of DJs in today’s music industry.

See for yourself, it’s free on hulu.com

In October 2011, I ran my second marathon in Atlanta, Georgia – two years after I ran my first, making it seem like it was the first time all over again. After recovering from a mid-foot sprain that kept me from running for more than 8 weeks, I started training slowly again and finally made it for my first out-of-town race.

By the time I got to the expo the day before the race I knew I wouldn’t ever wait that long to run another marathon again. I ran faster than in Memphis and felt substantially better the entire race. The course took us under the Olympic rings, past Turner Field, through Centennial Olympic Park, past the State Capitol, the Georgia Aquarium and many other landmarks of the city. Seriously, running somewhere is the best way to get to know a place.

I hafta say, the route of the Atlanta Marathon was more exciting than Memphis, but it was very hilly and didn’t compare in terms of crowd and support to what I saw for the St. Jude in 2009. The finishing medal from Atlanta was way cooler.

Next up, I’ll be running the New Orleans Rock N’Roll Marathon. MARCH 4, less than a month away.

This was a really fun project. If you’ve seen any trailer mash ups before, the goal is to take parts of a movie and design a trailer that creates a completely different plot than the original. For this project, I watched the whole film Marley and Me, taking notes of segments I could pick apart to manipulate the story. I edited clips using Final Cut Pro and added the theme song from Reqieum for a Dream…creepy song.

MARLEY is the result. Enjoy.

I knew I wanted my logo to resemble an icon, like most successful logos do. Something that looks like I could easily make a stamp out of, and works well in color as well as black and white.

I found a font called Cyclo and saw some potential. I downloaded it and created outlines from it in Illustrator. From there I squared off the rounded edges and started playing around with my initials. I came out with the first stage of my design that like my goal, was iconic but looked almost a little too much like the Chanel logo or something that had already been done before. What I did like about it was that I could have played around with the diamond symbol that it made when the letters overlapped.

My final design is similar, but with the letters just backed up touching. I like this one better because it is simple and to me, looks like a designer logo.

Miles 1-3: Adrenaline pumping like crazy, I eased through the first miles. Crowds on the sides of the road cheered so loudly and the energy was so positive, I think I even smiled as I ran. As a first timer, it’s hard to remember that it’s best to take those miles slowly. It was funny to watch runners throwing their jackets, scarves and gloves into the air while running down Beale Street so early in December.

Miles 4-9: During training, the first three miles usually challenge me the most, then I’m good to go. I ran miles four through nine with confidence and ease, with of a pace of about 8:50 according to my Nike sport band.

Miles 10-16: Around the tenth mile, I hit my first hurdle. The smell of disgusting McDonald’s had me nauseated within seconds. Ew. It was hard to breathe normally without wanting to vomit.

Miles 17- 23: At every mile, volunteers pass out water or Gatorade and runners gulp it down as they continue – most of them throw the paper cups aside. On the 17 mile aid station, there was water everywhere and I slipped on a sewage gate in the road and twisted my ankle. {Curse Word} My legs tight and ankle screaming, I made the decision to walk (not smart). Less then a mile later I realized if I didn’t start running again, my legs would tighten up too much for me to continue running. I couldn’t stand it anymore and out of sheer determination, resolved to suck it up and keep running to finish.

Miles 24-26: After my injury and slowing my pace, I managed to block out the pain. The last couple miles I felt numb and almost delirious with willpower. Then like I was dreaming I saw the sign that read Mile 26. Thank God.

At Mile 26 with only .2 miles left, I had one last incline into Autozone Park for the big finish. Really? Incline to finish? That’s just mean. Excited, relieved, happy, accomplished — all understatements. Running a marathon was so much more than I expected it to be. Even though I made some mistakes and my legs felt like stacks of bricks the rest of the day, I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I ran 26.2.

Not that I got there in time to see the opening act, but from what I heard from @therealgirltalk the day of the show, Penguin Prison couldn’t make it to open because of illness. Junk Culture, also on the Illegal Art label, filled in.

Girl Talk started around 9:30 and the first thing Greg Gillis did was invite people on stage. This essentially created an iPod ad on steroids as the dancing people were silhouettes against the bright neon flashing lights. Memphis definitely showed up at Minglewood to see Girl Talk; it was a sold-out show and everyone was decked out in standard show gear — funky, weird, neon, 80s club style.

The layered party mix that is Girl Talk totally revved up the crowd — the energy was like nothing you would see outside of this kind of show. He played from the newest album, All Day, which was made with the intent to be played continuously, as if the whole album were one track. Gillis switched it up on the fans, playing the songs out of order, which was pretty genius in my opinion. It was amusing to me how everyone can sing the words out loud, admitting that yes, we may not be proud of it, but we all know the lyrics to that Kelly Clarkson song. Looking around, all types of people in attendance meshed together just like the different song genres mashed up. Everyone united for a great show, glowsticks and giant confetti filled blow-up balls. The only unfortunate element of the whole show was the long line to get drinks.

Bottom line, it’s hard not to just let loose and have fun at a show like this. Although you may lose something, sweat like crazy, get bumped into and tossed around, it’s definitely an adventure I would recommend. Basically, if you don’t have a good time at a Girl Talk show, it’s your fault.

You can still download the album All Day for free at illegal-art.net/allday.

If you really like mash-ups, try camelbackmusic.com.