I've been such a slacker! Truly, I have! Tomorrow I start my second week of winter vacation and it totally feels like day one. Last week shouldn't count because it was Christmas week and we all know that is such a hectic week for anyone. I spent four days (entire days) inside a mall. Not just one mall, but quite a few. I couldn't for the life of me find the right gift for my family. I have to admit that this year my presents were not that great. =( They were good, but not great. What can I say? It was hard to get gifts for everyone while being on such a tight budget. Any who, I am hopeful that next year I don't find myself in such a bind and in fact hope to be debt free.
Nate has the vid and better pics.
Woke to 99.8 fever. Not much for most, but I typically run 97.6.
Still "off" but I just COULD NOT stay away from the Macy's after christmas sale.
Oh, and I had a gift certificate (like I kept to THAT amount). :-)
Once back I found "just enough" energy to sort my clothes and reorganize my side of the closet and my dresser.
TA DA. Summer stuff stored away. Things that don't fit, or I don't wear - in a bag for goodwill. Now If I can just get BEN to sort through his stuff! Seems "his" cat peed on this clothes on the floor of the closet. Um. Ben. PICK UP YOUR CLOTHES. :-)
Also got shoot some birds (with a great camera). Ben got a new fancy pants camera with HD video capacity and I inherited his prior fancy pants Canon! He's letting me borrow all his amazing lens (until I prove unworthy). He even taught me a bit about HOW to use the camera. I have not downloaded anything - but I did catch at least one cardinal!
We are waiting for snow. It was SUPPOSED to come today, but no snow. Maybe tomorrow. Should be A LOT of snow.
:- ) I have a new friend with a pair of barely used cross country skis I am likely to buy from her. There should be snow to ski on in the parks and in my yard soon.
Can you tell? I am very very happy here. Even if I AM a tad sick.
Well, it has been an interesting two weeks around this place, that's for sure. I seem to have gotten into the habit of the bulleted post again. Maybe this would be a good point to stop that and just use the standard paragraph. I think I could make that work. First, I'd like to say I hope you all had a wonderful and Merry Christmas. I know there were a few neighbors who experienced some really tragic things and to them, I would like to send out an especially warm (((HUG))) and hope that they can find peace.
Christmas time is also the time that my employer is doing it's maintenance shutdown work. Which means that I ended up working a whole lot just before and right after Christmas. Before Christmas I was setting up projects, making sure that everything was lined up for all the projects we have scheduled to complete. Someone has to help allocate money, people and line up parts for the work. Not to mention all the risk assessment stuff we've been doing lately. After Christmas is the one week period where we have to get all of the actual work completed. So this weekend has been one of hustle and bustle. Tracking project timelines, adjusting schedules and prioritizing work. There is always more work to be done than we can do, so it's a matter of starting with the high priority stuff and working down.
Good news to all the working is that every day worked is paid as triple time, plant holiday pay plus double time. In my case, I have the option to defer the holiday pay and take it as another paid day off later in the year. That means by working this week, I will add another week to my vacation and still make double time doing so. Awesome end to the year. Woohoo. But, in the middle of all that, I needed to shop for Christmas, pay all the year end bills, clean the house, do the baking and cooking adn everythign else. Whew. I made probably upwards of a gross of cookies and still haven't gotten the sugar cookies, the macaroons and the gingerbread stuff out of the fridge. I made the doughs up Christmas Eve, so tonight, the cookies get baked. I'll have pictures to share hopefully soon.
Got the new freezer, but still haven't gotten its new home set yet. The laundry room needs a thorough cleaning before it goes in there. until then, it's still in the corner of the Lego room. And no, I didn't buy that semi truck load of bricks. It's amazing what temptations having money sitting in the bank will bring. Even though I know it's supposed to go for paying bills, I still wanted to buy that stuff. Shame on me. Instead, bills will be paid and paid off. The New year will come in with much less debt than this year had. Almost every credit card will be paid in full too. Now that's a great accomplishment. Of course, knowing the credit card companies, they will lower my limits and/or cancel the accounts which, instead of helping my credit with no balances, will screw it up with closed accounts. Did I mention that I hate credit card companies? Yeah. I do. Like a dog hates a vaccuum cleaner.
Besides all that running around and going crazy, it's been pretty quiet actually, except for the huge piles of snow everywhere. Like Springtime in Chicago, only here in Kansas City. People here have a hard time driving in snow too. Maybe it's just me, but there are a lot of people in the ditch lately. Slow down and increase your distance between you. Seriously folks. Just do it. Or better yet, stay home. There, I feel better now. Alrighty, clock says it's time to go, there's an oven with my name on it, just waiting to bake some more cookies. In case I get tied up before the end of the year, I wanted to wish for every one of you to have a wonderful and happy New Year. Keep your underwear on and remain in the (semi?) upright position, at least if you are going to be out in public. Peace, Joy and Hope for the new year.
It's not a very bad cold. In fact it's one of the milder illnesses I can remember... My sinuses are about 40% stuffed up. My throat is just vaguely scratchy. I'm more tired and achey than usual, but not by much. Nonetheless I am taking the cue and lounging on my couch for the 2nd day in a row, swaddled in blankets, books, and handkerchiefs.
Sometimes when I'm sick I will do a juice & tea fast for the day - to keep myself hydrated and let my body concentrate on killing the virus, rather than digesting complicated foods. So today I've had emergen-c, water, yerba mate, and vegetable juice. And I really must not be all that sick, because I am STARVING. I think I will get some extra-spicy thai food for dinner.
And then perhaps I will watch the Dr. Who xmas special AGAIN! I can't believe it's the 2nd-to-last episode starring David Tennant.
I got a copy of The Talented Miss Highsmith for xmas (Patricia Highsmith's new biography). It's sort of fascinating, especially considering that the author seems to hold a certain amount of (justified) disdain for Highsmith. Apparently she was a racist and anti-Semite. Her personal life was chaotic, despite her solipsistic tendencies (it is even referred to on the inner flap as a "Pandora's Box"). She was an obsessive list-maker and left behind 8,000 pages of journals when she died. Her life is a rich territory. Still, this bio is a bit cumbersome... Mostly I'm interested in reading about writers' writing habits.
Being sick is dull. More tea!
00:58 RT @BunnyBarber: I'm so over-dosed on apathy and burnt out on sympathy.
01:07 My measure of the day's laziness: whether or not I actually put on a bra. Today was not a day where I bothered to put one on.
20:46 Why It's Better to Pretend You Don't Know Anything About Computers: bit.ly/680Ajy
20:53 Heh. bit.ly/7ULiWp
21:02 RT @muskrat_john: TSA: Department of Not Actually Closing The Barn Door After The Horse Has Bolted, But Burning Down The Barn Instead.
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Actually, I do. SO glad I bought this stupid "slutty pirate" costume when I saw it on sale. I KNEW I'd find a reason to wear it.
Being cold out, I'm also wearing leggings. And simply flats rather than slut shoes. The first pair of flats I donned had cross straps and I looked like some freaky, BAD, ballerina pirate hybrid. Now I just look like a fool (or a waitress at Jolly Roger's.... are those still around? Anyone else remember them?) and fool is what I was going for.
Gonna grab some cheap champagne and head up to Hollywood and hope this food fight goes off.
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01/22/10
O2 Shepherds Bush Empire London
Discography
01/24/10 Tivoli Utrecht 01/25/10 Luxor Koln 01/26/10 Knust Hamburg 01/28/10 Nalen Stockholm 01/29/10 Parkteatret Oslo 02/01/10 Lido Berlin 02/02/10 Atomic Cafe Munich 02/03/10 Tunnel Milan 02/05/10 Divan Du Monde Paris 02/06/10 Trix Antwerp 02/08/10 Academy 3 Manchester 02/09/10 King Tuts Glasgow
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brettanderson.co.uk ♥ myspace.com
Those who follows our W♥M Podcast, you'll know that between Sally, Kristen, and I, that we really, really love our Britpop music. When Suede burst on the scene, with all their hype*, I was a bit, what's the word? Resistant.
I eventually got over it when I heard Metal Mickey, a nice rock n roll glammy track with aggressive Butler guitars and Anderson's unique voice. The songwriting duo of Anderson/Butler did not last for long, and Butler's replacement, Richard Oakes, seems only a pale copy of the original. I think everyone knew that, and eventually, Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson got over their differences and re-united - but not as Suede... they were then The Tears. I think everyone was confused on how to interpret it at first (personally I think it's like tears/crying, not ripped/tear).
The Tears didn't live for very long, and by 2007, Brett Anderson releases his inevitable solo self-titled album. I never bought his solo stuff, because I don't think his music post-Suede's Head Music** were ever re-release or re-marketed to the US audience, so the few promo downloads that he's made available for free, I wasn't so impressed with. I remember thinking his debut solo album was trying to be orchestral (based on what I've heard).
Imagine my surprise when I got a chance to listen to a few tracks from his latest album, Slow Attack, officially via We7.com. It was all very operatic, almost minimalistic in its approach of piano and percussions. I did like that it brings out Anderson's voice loud and clear, but it generally made all of his music to be on the sadder end of the scale.
While I think one or two slow songs would be OK for a full length, all of the tracks I sampled were in that very similar tone. Kind of ballady and depressing. I kind of miss the old Suede stuff. The only redeeming value is that at least, his voice isn't altered/over-produced as with Suede's Head Music and Coming Up.
I suppose, Anderson's much older now, wow you can see his cheek bones sticking out of his face... such a difference of imagery, from a time when mean-spirited fans were calling him "fatty" (we all kind of knew it was the getting off the drugs that was causing the weight thing... allegedly).
Anyway, if you were looking for the glory rock days, don't bother looking into Slow Attack. If you're a hardcore fan, chances are you probably own the limited edition anyway. The album will probably not be released in the US, as were all his previous releases. Import costs are generally cheaper these days, but expect to pay about $20 for an import album (Amazon is listing $19).
Brett Anderson is touring in 2010, so if you live in the UK, you can relive your youth days. If he were touring the US, I might leave my hibernation to see him. As you know, I've met the band before at a special "after-party", I'm sure he'll have no idea who I am.
* "Best Band in Britain" before releasing their album? Really, Melody Maker, really??)
** Suede's last album, A New Morning was never released in the US.
TRUE NATURE
truenatureband.com ♥ myspace.com
As you know, I also run a website on artist George Perez, and it's rare when my music and comic website mix. How does True Nature and George Perez cross paths, you ask? The cover artwork for True Nature's EP, Feels Like Centuries, stars actress/model Tonya Kay (with some artwork and directions from Glen Wexler).
Perez, through his associations with Fetish Con, have actually drawn Tonya Kay as a print, for Fetish Con's "Who's the Best Bondage Super Heroine?" contest. The original artwork was auctioned off for charity.
CREATURE (Tonya Kay) (2008), art by George PérezSo, there's the connection. As for True Nature's EP, Feels Like Centuries, based on the cover artwork, it looks like they're also marketing themselves as somewhat of a spiritual rock band. I reckon if you like classic American progressive-type rock, you might enjoy this EP. Despite having only five tracks, the EP is "centuries" long (so long that it felt like a chore to get through). It's not that I dislike singer/songwriter, Lou Barlow's vocals, it's just really not the type of music I enjoy.
Their best track is the opening song, "Truth I Have To Steel (Simple Heart)", which started off strong and remain steadily so throughout the song. You can sample the entire track on their official website.
You can pick up Feels Like Centuries at CD Baby or Amazon. Although, not really my thing, I'm glad that there was at least a common connection for me.
12/26/2009 19:48:38 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
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