Top albums of 2008!

Since it's the last day of the year, I thought I'd post my favorite albums of the year. The list is much longer, but I'll spare you and only list 6. After leaving my friends in Savannah and moving to a new place, I've really been listening to a lot of fun/dance music and have temporarily ditched the more maudlin tunes of folk music. Since this list is only for albums, a few fave songs are Hot Chip "Ready For The Floor", Ssion "Heaven", Lady Gaga "Just Dance", Tilly & The Wall "Beat Control", Crystal Castles "Good Time", Beyonce "Radio", Brandy "1st & Love"

Janelle Monae "Metropolis Suite" though not an album release, this EP is strong from start to finish. Very reminiscent of Andre 3000's "The Love Below", but better, imo. Check out the video for "Many Moons"

Kate Miller Heidke "Curiouser" is so much fun! This aussie is in top form on tracks: "Can't Shake It" and "God's Gift"

She & Him "Volume One" featuring the vocal talents of the lovely Zooey Deschanel (actress "Elf", and "The Happening"). There's something very classic about her voice. This is actually more on the folksy side, but keeps from getting to heavy. Loves it!

Roisin Murphy "Overpowered" One of my absolute fave's from '08! She's sort of like Bjork, but a bit more for the masses. Lots of dancey tunes, but not shallow like most dance music.

Kylie Minogue "X" Lots of dancey tunes and not much of a message, but with tracks like "In My Arms", "Wow!", and "Speakerphone" this album has earned it's position in my top 5 faves of '08. I just love Kylie. What a great person, and still so beautiful. Check out some of her new vids on youtube.

Cyndi Lauper "Bring Ya To The Brink" is another dance album with (for the most part) a deeper message. From social responsibility to relationships, women's rights, and gay rights this album is one of Cyn's most lyrically creative. Collaborating with acts such as Basement Jaxx, Dragonette (amazing, check out their album "Galore"), and Peer & Astrom, Cyndi has some of the strongest dance songs of the year. The much overlooked DJ fave, "Into The Nightlife", is my #1 favorite song of the year. I dare you to sit down during that song! Other fave's are: "Echo", "Rain On Me", "Lay Me Down", "Rocking Chair".

Disney - Sparkling with Joy!

Well, I'm back in L.A. after spending Christmas week in Tulsa. I'm kinda sad, and am really missing friends and family. I don't have any photos from the trip (yet), so in the mean time, here are some photos from my last Disneyland adventure:
Sleeping Beauty's castle was lit up like a Christmas tree and it even snowed on Main Street!!! Only at Disney!

Cruela DeVille was sassy and made us pose like puppies! Then she skinned us and turned us into a coat.

After being shut down for refurbishments for ages, the Small World ride reopened just in time for Christmas. The whole ride was decorated for Christmas and it was pretty amazing.

Here's Small World after dark. Pretty cool!

Here we are on the tram. Kristin & Kim (yes, they're twins), and Tyler and me (we're not twins, we're just sleeping together). K&K are HUGE Disney fans and this was their first visit to DL, so they invited Tyler and I to join them. Of course, we couldn't turn down an invite to DL!

Guess that quote!

Guess these quotes! Here's how to play: 1point for guessing the movie/show. 1point for guessing the actor/character. Again, these can be either movies or tv shows. Post your answer in the comments section. *Hint* there are two television quotes


"Eat your checkers!"

"Here I am, 5 o'clock in the morning, stuffing breadcrumbs up a dead bird's butt."

"Well, I say we hire a couple'a wranglers to go upstairs and beat the shit out of him."

"In a good shoe, I wear a size six, but a seven feels so good, I buy a size eight."

"I cried when I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet. And then I laughed REALLY hard."

More old Photobucket pics...

Okay Casey, I'm giving you a break (for now). Here are some pics of my friend John. We did a photoshoot mocking our friend Leslie. Let me paint the picture for you.... It's winter, Leslie doesn't like to go out in the cold, and she always wears her Juicy Couture jogging suit while lounging on the sofa. So, while she was gone one night, John and I raided her wardrobe and recreated some of the scenes (and imagined some others). The last one may be slightly offensive.... I'm okay with that.

She was offended by these two...

Oddly, she thought this one was hilarious.

Casey teaches art!

Because I was going through my Photobucket, which I never use anymore, I was inspired to post a blast from my past. La Casey posing with paintbrushes in her hair during art class. The quality ain't so great... it looks like I had scanned the photo in. When she wasn't tormenting my brother, or the other boys for that matter, she let me take these scandalous photos of her (usually with props). Now, if I can only find the "butterfly picture"!

Don't hate me Casey. I had to do it! ;)

Christmas Tag

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Chocolate...anything chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa is lazy, he let's the store ...er... elves do it for him.

3. Colored lights on house/tree or white? Halloween is really my holiday, so I don't do any traditional X-Mas decorating, but you can see my untraditional decorations further down the list.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I wear it on my belt buckle.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Were you not listening?

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Don't have one. Though, duck would be nice.

7 . Favorite holiday memory as a child? Austin going through my parents closet (they were gone, of course) and bringing/showing my sister and I our presents weeks before Christmas.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Austin told me when I was very young.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Pretty much all of them. Stockings wait til Christmas morning. This year we open gifts on the 23rd, and my bro and sis spend X-Mas eve with inlaws.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Again?!?

11. Snow. Love it or dread it? Love it when I don't have to be out driving, but here in L.A., we just get rain.

12. Can you ice skate? Icing cake? I like that!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Not really, I usually like most of my gifts. Probably anything Cyndi Lauper or Halloween related (yes I get Halloween decorations for Christmas).

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Being with my family.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Mom's chocolate fudge.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Opening presents. What? I'm just being honest!

17. What tops your Christmas tree? Here we go again!

18. Which do you prefer - giving or receiving? I like giving as long as I can find good gifts for people. I also like receiving... I could take this to a sexual place, but I'm not going to.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Anything from Phil Spector's Christmas Gift album, Cyndi Lauper & The Hives "Christmas Duel" is a new fave.

20. Candy Canes. Yum or Yuck? Kinda yuck, but I've had worse things in my mouth.

21. What do you want for Christmas? Didn't have much of a list this year. Couple of sweaters and some DVD's. Mostly, I want time off from work.

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? No

23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear PJ’s? Dress up??? It's not Halloween. Although I have this red velvet thong that ... oh, you don't want to hear about this.

24. Do you own a Santa hat? No, but there's that thong... that's close

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? Mom, Dad, Catie, Austin... would like to spend it with Tyler, but he's in the closet... I mean, Tennessee

Holiday shopping!

Here are two more pics from a couple of weeks ago, when we went shopping in Pasadena. Here we are with a couple of big balls.

And, a big statue. It was cool, and windy, so I took the oppurtunity to wear my favorite jacket. Oh, and Casey, the bag by my feet has a gift in it... just for you (sort of)!

New Console and X-Mas Decorations!

So, I've had this big empty wall in my apt, that I've been dying to fill. When I worked at Arcanum in Savannah, I found a console that I wanted, but couldn't afford. Luckily, I have a job that pays well enough that I can charge this console and pay it off over the next couple of years ;)

It's an antiqued gold frame with a dark shell top. I finally have a place to put my lamps! They've been sitting on my bedroom floor since '87!
We also hung a couple of pictures in our bedroom. I just got so tired of having big empty walls!

I also have my "Winter Tree", I wanted a tree that reminded me of the cold weather, so I bought one without leaves! Not to mention, my fave holiday is Halloween, and this tree brings that feeling into the winter.

So, with uplights and creepy ornaments and birds, I have my Christmas decorations!

Cyndi nominated for a Grammy!!!

Cyndi Lauper's latest album "Bring Ya To The Brink" has been nominated for a Grammy in the Electronic/Dance album category! This is great news, although her song "Into The Nightlife" should have been nominated for best dance song. In her nomination category, she's up against Robyn (Swedish pop star), Kylie Minogue (for her amazing album "X"), Daft Punk (blah), Moby (blah), and the Brazilian Girls (they have some fun songs, but don't think they should win).

Hearst Castle

Here are some photos of our drive up to Hearst Castle last weekend. We drove up the PCH and it was quite lovely. Here's a pic of a vineyard we drove by. If I'd had it my way, we would've stopped and gotten drunk...I wasn't driving.

Here's the ocean. If I'd had it my way, we would've stopped and gotten in the ocean after having drinks at the vineyard.

Here's a horrible picture of me with some other people. Okay, that's Tyler on the left and Adam in the middle. At least if I'd had those drinks I'd have an excuse for why I look like two scoops of fruit loops.

This is a pool (yes, there was also an indoor pool) at Hearst Castle. I wanted to go swimming so bad! Except that it was pretty cold, and you know what cold water does to boys!

Ah, the warm...er interior of the castle. It was very pretty.

The Christmas Duel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My5Bzf0PQhc

The above link will take you to the new Christmas song, sung by Cyndi Lauper and The Hives (perhaps I should say, Cyndi VS The Hives). I've been listening to this over and over (available on iTunes now). Lyrically, it's not the most family-friendly X-mas tune, but musically, it's very similar to Phil Spector's "Christmas Gift". If you enjoy the classic songs, "Marshmallow World" by Darlene Love, or "Sleigh Ride" by the Ronettes, you will enjoy this song. Slightly... okay, completely offensive lyrics and AMAZING vocals definitely make this an original holiday tune.

Thanksgiving photos

RE: My earlier post - Here are the pics from Thanksgiving! The first is from dinner. Me on the left, Tyler, Crazy Chris, Adam, and Crazy-faced Gabe. Jess was behind the camera. She also cooked most of the food and it was yum.

The below pic is actually from the day after Thanksgiving in Pasadena. Again, Jess was behind the camera. Me on left (again), The twins (Kristin & Kim), Gabby, and Tyler. And a really big tree! You probably can't tell from this photo, but my hair was killer that night.

There will probably be more photos to come...

Long weekend... not long enough

Well, Thanksgiving is over and I had a full weekend. After spending the holiday with friends and eating lots of food, we did a bit of travelling. Friday night, a group of us took the metro into Pasadena for the tree lighting ceremony and some shopping. It was a lot of fun, and a stranger flirted with me, which is always nice. Saturday, we woke up early and drove up the coast to Hearst Castle. We took a tour of the castle at sunset, which was amazing, and then drove back to L.A. Finally, on Sunday, we went to see Milk at the Arclight. For those of you that don't know (you know who you are ;), Harvey Milk was the first openly gay person elected to a government position in the U.S. It was an AMAZING movie, and was oddly relevant to today's issues (Prop 8, etc). And, if you're wondering why there's a picture of Doris Roberts above, it's because she was eating at a nearby table at the Arclight cafe. We tried to get a picture of her, but it was too difficult.

Confetti

It only took a week, but here are a few pics from my Palm Springs/Pasadena weekend... plus an extra pic from Halloween!
Ooo...the famous grass bench! Not really.

Look! Another bench! Palm Springs is filled with old people so they need lots of public seating. The spider veins will burst if they stand for too long.

Tyler and I at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. One of the biggest monthly antique shows in the nation. I saw a lot of really neat things. Of course, the one thing I wanted, an antique asian console was $1,400 (a little out of my price range).

I really like this pic. My friend Jess was photographer.

I know he's trying to tell me something

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvD8WcrdK5o

I wasn't able to embed it, but here you go...

I'm baaaack!

Well, the computer did not recover, so I had to get a new one. Oh well.

So, I was feeling a need to get out of the city over the weekend. I went to Palm Springs on Saturday, and to Pasadena on Sunday. It was a lot of fun, and a nice change of scenery. Some of my friends took pics, so when I get those, I'll post them.

spy vs. spyware

It appears that I have spyware on my computer.  It keeps shutting itself down, and I keep getting pop-ups, so I think I'm going to have to take it in for maintenance.  Hopefully, by monday everything will be fixed.

It's a nice day

The sun is warm and the breeze is cool. It's a nice day out, so I thought I'd post a couple pics of my office and the view...

You can take a cow out of a cage...

California can vote for a black president, compromise their own food regulations for the sake of animal cruelty, but they insist on keeping gays as second class citizens. I guess I can't be too bitter, we did win the election with Obama and help prevent animal cruelty, but I can't help feeling a little sad. It's no wonder I've been driven so far away from the church. Look who was backing the Prop 8 measure: The far right, the Mormons, and Christians. I just don't see how they can be so full of hate. The Christian Coalition had the following to say:

"The American people are proud of their fellow citizens in the states of California, Florida and Arizona for upholding traditional marriage between one man and one woman. Christian Coalition of America will continue to fight to ensure that government serves to strengthen and preserve, rather than threaten, our families and our values."

Karaoke, and something about James

James moved back to Colorado yesterday, well, he stopped in Vegas last night, but the point is that he left. So, on Sunday night we had one last karaoke night in Korea Town. It was a lot of fun and a lot of people came out. We almost had to cancel because James' sister was flying in and her flight was delayed two or three hours. But, luckily, she arrived just in the nick of time.


James was the star of the show, singing some Madonna, Abba, and several duets (including "Morning Has Broken" with me).

Here is James' sister, Christine, dancing on the table while Tyler sings, also on the table. She said she wasn't going to sing, but after a drink or two she was showing us all how it's done!

Here I am with the group singing "Girls Just Want To Have Fun". We will miss James a lot. As much as he despised Los Angeles, we had a lot of fun together. My heart will be heavy for a while. But, hopefully we'll see him again soon! He does still have that Disneyland annual pass!

Halloween party pics! FINALLY!!!

As I promised, here are the pics from my party. I dressed up as a scarecrow, a costume that monopolized most of my time in the past few weeks. I used corn husks, burlap, etc. and sewed my own costume. Below are pics of decorations followed by pics from the party.

Here are a couple of spiders who took up residence in the living room. That's a pretty big egg sack! I had rigged the spider in the back, so that when the front door opened, he would drop down from the web. It was pretty creepy!

Here's my Halloween tree.

Old, tattered cheesecloth surrounded the entrance to the dining room. You can't tell much from this photo, but Tyler had made a nice spread on the table.

Here's the cocktail table, also draped in old cheesecloth. Lots of candy, and a book of witchcraft.

Here's my candy cauldron.

Here's the cauldron (minus the flash from the camera). I put orange lights under the cauldron (inside of a branch wreath) to look like a fire. and I have a little fog machine that lights up (hence the purple light inside the cauldron).

Now, for the party pics! here I am sneaking up on James.

James and Kristin as Justin Timberlake and Madonna from the "4 Minutes" music video.

Adam and Jess as "Deadites" from one of my favorite scary movies, "The Evil Dead"

Here I we are again. The burlap and corn husk mask was incredibly itchy, so it had to come off.

Tyler went as a deadbeat 50's husband... although some people thought he looked like a 70's porn star. It was a cute costume.

And, finally, a group shot. There were more people at the party, but I haven't gotten everyone's pics yet. In addition to the people above are, Kim (anime witch), Gabe (Elliot Ness), and Gabby (in the back as a hippy). It was probably one of the best parties I've had. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and then we went dancing afterwards.

Disney on Halloween

Well, my dear friend James is moving back to Colorado today, so last Friday (Halloween) we made our final trip to Disneyland. Here we are with Jack Skellington and Sally. They were only in the park for a couple of weeks, so the line to get a photo with them was ridiculously long.


Here we are with the queen/witch from Snow White. She told (well, mimed) to James that he was puny, so he told (mimed) to her that she had a stank face. Good times.