Speck Of Texas

Thursday, September 28, 2006

second try for this post

This week has been crazy! Mon-Wed I worked over 12 hours each day, and today I did 9.5. Tomorrow I'll be at work late too getting payroll partially done so my boss will only have one week to do while I'm gone. I'm not exactly packed yet, but I have everything laid out. I don't think I'm forgetting anything. I just hope it all fits. The four of us are putting all our toiletries in one bag and checking that. This way we'll carry on our clothes and the important stuff we don't want to chance losing. Also, we can use the toiletry bag later for souveniers. I'm not planning on buying much, but I do want to get something from Venice, or maybe some artwork from a street vendor. We'll see. I can always mail it. It's going to be weird. This is the first trip in a long time that I'm not going to visit someone. Japan was to see Randy, England was to see Kris, and any US trips I've taken have all been to see family or friends. It's been a long time since a trip has purely been for myself. Ciao!

be back in a few

This week has been crazy! Mon-Wed I worked over 12 hours each day, and today I did 9.5. Tomorrow I'll be at work late too getting payroll partially done so my boss will only have one week to do while I'm gone. I'm not exactly packed yet, but I have everything laid out. I don't think I'm forgetting anything. I just hope it all fits. The four of us are putting all our toiletries in one bag and checking that. This way we'll carry on our clothes and the important stuff we don't want to chance losing. Also, we can use the toiletry bag later for souveniers. I'm not planning on buying much, but I do want to get something from Venice, or maybe some artwork from a street vendor. We'll see. I can always mail it. It's going to be weird. This is the first trip in a long time that I'm not going to visit someone. Japan was to see Randy, England was to see Kris, and any US trips I've taken have all been to see family or friends. It's been a long time since a trip has purely been for myself. Ciao!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

ACL

Saturday Nathan and I went to ACL - Austin City Limits Music Festival. It was the first time I'd gone, and really enjoyed it. Luckily the weather wasn't bad - just a little hot, but it was overcast and had a nice breeze, so definitely manageable. We got there around 1:30. ACL is set up so several stages are playing at once. We first checked out I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, cause, really, that name just cracks me up. But, they didn't really do it for us, so we mosied on over to Phoenix, which is a French band. Normally, I think the French are a bunch of pussies, but this band was pretty good. I got their CD, and it's decent. We also saw a jazz band called Galactic which was really entertaining. After that we tried watching Nada Surf (band from the 90's - remember Popular?) but after a few songs we were bored so we wandered around. Ended up gravitating toward a band called Ghostland Observatory (http://myspace.com/ghostlandobservatory) which I'd never heard of. Turns out they're local. I picked up one of their CDs and really like it. It's like electronic/funk/alternative. I thought the singer was a female - tight pink shirt, long hair in two braids, and we were far away....but turns out it's a guy. Heh. I'll try to catch them next time they're playing in town. Their myspace page has a few of their songs. After that was The Shins, which Nathan really wanted to see. They're not particularly my favs. The music just doesn't pull me in. Then watched The Raconteurs (which has Jack White from the White Stripes). They were awesome! Incredibly good performers. I would def recommend their live show. Very energetic. (oh my god...check out their site http://www.theraconteurs.com/ It's like an old computer from the 80s where you have to type the command! That is so cute!) We left before Willie Nelson came on - just didn't want to deal with the crowds. Got back to Nathan's around 8:45. Tony had made us dinner - leek & chicken soup which was amazing, homemade cheesy bread, AND HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS for dessert. I've never had homemade cinnamon rolls before. I'm usually all about Pillsbury. But, holy cow were they good! I asked Tony to marry me if he'd cook for me everynight, but alas, was turned down. Too bad I don't live closer, I'd be coming over more for homecookin'!

Sunday I woke up late and went to a last minute b-day party for Annette (one of the people I'm going to Italy with). When I got there she, Matt, and Mike (her husband) were getting ready to put up a new fan in their living room. I'd put up a few in my house, so I gave some pointers while the men worked and the women watched. :P After that we went to dinner at Dominicks - a local Italian eatery where the owners are immigrants from Naples. I was able to practice my Italian a little. I'm actually kinda intimidated now about trying to speak in Italy. I'm really rusty, and my listening skills have never been good. They just talk so fast! I'm sure I'll muddle through. After that we watched 40-yr old Virgin, which none of us had seen yet. Funny! Very enjoyable.

Monday Melanie came over after work and we finshed Lost. That's right!!!! We are finally done!!! All I can say is What. The. Hell.??? Very strange finale. It starts Oct 3, and hopefully my DVR won't crap out on me while I'm in Italy. I'll probably watch the premiere and then tape all the rest to watch over the summer. Lost is too annoying to only see once a week. They keep bringing people back they showed for 2 minutes 7 episodes ago. If you don't watch them all close together, I think you'd miss a lot of that. This show really makes me wonder how much of the arcs are planned out ahead of time and how much the writers are just pulling things out of their asses, trying to make everything connect.

Star Trek 40

A couple weeks ago was the 40th Anniversary of the original Star Trek. Geeks that we are, the No Kidding group put on a viewing party at Matt's house. We had 23 people! Crazy. A couple weeks before, I was getting into the spirit of things, and decided to make two cakes in the shapes of the original uniform insignia and the TNG insignia. It's good to challenge yourself sometimes. Heh. I had the brilliant idea to use molds out of aluminum foil. It worked out really well. There's no way I could have done this without aluminum foil. It made it really easy to life the cakes out after they were cooked, and it didn't stick at all to the cake. Here are pics. Really, I made two in case one came out horribly. I love having backups. Luckily, they both kicked ass. Everyone took some home, cause I sure wasn't!

Ok, since I'm not much for 'eyeballing' things, I created this mockup of four 9X13 pans to figure out the size of each piece.


Inspiration:


Final:


Inspiration:


In progress:


Without icing..this came out so good!


I didn't get a pic of this with icing...just forgot. The chocolate part had choc icing and the middle yellow had a cream cheese frosting that I tinted a light blue/green with food coloring to mimic the silver coloring.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Top 25

Ok. Putting that post up about music got me thinking about what my favorite songs are. So, out of the 5000 songs I have on my computer, here are MY TOP 25 SONGS OF ALL TIME (well, 1950 and on…didn’t include any classical). I also included links to YouTube or Amazon if you don’t know what the song is. It’s crazy how much stuff is out there on YouTube!

In no particular order (cause THAT would have just been too damn hard). **To open the link in a new window hold down the shift button when you click.**

1. The Cure – Pictures of You (I could listen to this song all day, every day…ok this probably is my #1 song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qwJUhhcanM

2. Ministry – Everyday is Halloween (Probably the song that turned me into the music lover I am today)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000003REN?v=glance

3. Nine Inch Nails – Closer (One of the best video treatments ever…Andrea has a fond memory of me singing this loudly on our senior-trip bus. I don’t remember singing that loudly)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQFlDQCiN-w

4. Cake – I Will Survive (Don’t usually like covers, but I LOVE this one)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu1Tj4Te6qs

5. Metallica – Nothing Else Matters (Yes, they sold out on their black album, but it was still good)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6RETQ5VcJ4

6. Steppenwolf – Magic Carpet Ride (What can I say? It’s a classic. I’m thankful to my dad for making us listen to classic rock while we were growing up)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RwUhua38kY

7. Godsmack – Whatever (Great song to just blast on the stereo. Listening to angry music actually mellows me out)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwFlncgSXIY

8. Garbage - #1 Crush (Such a sensual song…love the beat)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzJZIX2tWzQ

9. Credence Clearwater Revival – Long As I Can See The Light (Not one of their most well-known songs, but still my favorite CCR song) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000000XB9?v=glance

10. Radiohead – Creep (What girl growing up in the 90s didn’t LOVE this song?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lugOuz1fXD0

11. Bangles – Eternal Flame (Great lyrics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1SGm29xDn4

12. The Cure – Just Like Heaven (Great song to sing, so heartfelt)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORc5Td_T6og

13. Filter – Hey Man, Nice Shot (Slightly bad taste considering my grandfather, but I still love it….maybe that’s why I love it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL9Hxb_pHOA

14. Indigo Girls – Romeo and Juliet (Great song to sing to at the top of your lungs…Galileo is a close second)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO-sbeIRk_c

15. Cream – Sunshine of Your Love (Would almost want this at my wedding
…Link is a live version, a little slower than the recorded version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqh54rSzheg
lyrics: http://www.nomorelyrics.net/song/80496.html

16. Yaz - Only You (Never knew their name till I started downloading – I love a bunch of their stuff)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdhdkzU2xD4

17. ACDC – Back In Black (One of the best opening sequences EVER)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZtt-4X8H70

18. Thompson Twins – Hold Me Now (Great 80s song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QFSBuO72MM

19. Eve 6 – Promise (I don’t know why, but I can listen to this over and over)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2LtEY8BiB4

20. George Michael – Too Funky (this song always gets me going. In my version he doesn’t start singing till 2:11. This video cuts all that instrumental out)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iny3C2z9M00

21. OMD (otherwise known as Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark…one of the best band names ever) If YouYou Leave / So In Love / Forever Live and Die (Yes it’s a three way tie!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_P_Yy3rFog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeOsqrdv1Mk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi8FotJc-Ko (love the first line…Talk to Me, Don’t Lie To Me)

22. Other Ones – Another Holiday (I can’t believe I found this on YouTube! It took me forever to find it on Limewire when I was downloading!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39qc_6DYjso
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgMx1eGp_TU

23. Led Zeppelin - D’yer Maker (Link is a good cover by 311) My fav LZ song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_NabW-Gie8

24. Talking Heads – Road to Nowhere (Must be at the start of any roadtrip CD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQZwagq_VBs

25. INXS – Beautiful Girl (Almost picked Never Tear Us Apart, but I love the opening in this)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GXsdC-yea4

Honorable mentions:
Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over (So haunting)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCZALaS24-Q

Nine Inch Nails - The Only Time (link only has part of the song, but you get the idea......this song has some of my favorite lyrics. As Trent says, this song is about 'fucking'.
i'm drunk. and right now i'm so in love with you. and i don't want to think too much about what we should or shouldn't do. lay my hands on Heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars. while the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car. nothing quite like the feel of something new.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJtWzcX0TkE

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Music

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about music. I don’t want to be one of those people that only listens to the music they grew up with. I mean, I could do that easily - I’ve got hundreds of homemade CDs with all songs that I like. I could just listen to those nonstop and forget about the radio. But, I don’t want to do that. I believe that there’s still good music out there. It’s just hard to find sometimes. I watched the MTV Video Music Awards last Thursday. I fast forwarded through most of it (happy that AFI won best Rock Video), and there were so many bands that I had never heard of. I used to be able to name practically every band I heard on the radio. Now, I’m lucky if I know one every two hours. The only reason I still listen to the radio is for the excitement of hearing a new song that I love. The excitement of finding a band I didn’t know about before and becoming a fan. I felt that way with AFI and have been enjoying my new-fan enthusiasm. But, I think that more and more, I just like a song on the radio, but am not driven to look them up on Amazon or try and listen to the rest of their CD. That disappoints me. That I’m losing my passion for new music. Growing up, I had a tape boombox and I would listen to the radio while doing my homework. As soon as a song came on that I liked, I would record it on a tape. Once that tape was full, I would re-record the songs to a new tape and clean up any DJ talking or advertising. From 6th-12th grade, I accumulated 24 90-minute tapes. Most had one-hit wonders and I didn’t even know the band name or the real song title. When I quit consulting in 2002, I took about six months off. During that time, I downloaded songs off Napster and Limewire (before they started handing out subpoenas and all that crap). I was able to find about 90% of the songs. For the last 10% I bought software that allows you to record songs from a stereo onto your computer. My dad used it to record all of his albums too. Awesome stuff. I had to google lyrics to find out what the real song titles and band names were. For those last songs I couldn’t find before, it was mainly because I had the wrong title. But now, I feel my 80s/90s library is practically complete. Sure, there’s some random songs that I’ve forgotten about, but in general, I’ve been pretty thorough. Now though, thinking about the past few years, I have very few ‘recent’ songs. I guess I’ve just got to start writing down the names of bands that I like, and once I realize I like a couple songs from one band, I need to check out their CDs. It’s something that I’ll have to drive myself to do. I don’t want to ignore the new music. Sure, some if it is whiny crap, but some is interesting.

A few weeks ago Jayson posted on his blog about the demise of MTV. I’d been thinking about that lately too. I remember watching MTV when it came out in 1981. It was all videos, all the time. Now, I never see a video on there. I thought MTV2 was supposed to fix that and only play videos. But, when I turn that station on, it’s all show programming as well now. The only music station I’ve been interested in is FUSE. Angie at work mentioned it to me, and I’ve liked it so far. It’s mostly metal, alternative, and rock. I don’t think they play much rap or r&b. There’s definitely a lot of rock songs that I have never heard of. I’ve also gotten hooked on VH1 Classic. They play some videos that I didn’t even know had been made in the 80s and 90s. If you have cable, check it out. I wonder if the diminishing impact and availability of videos has contributed to the shrinking music sales. Videos really draw new fans in and make current fans more excited about the song. It also doesn’t hurt if your lead singer is hot. Never underestimate the buying power of young girls. For all the videos mentioned at the VMA’s, I don’t even know where kids would’ve been able to watch them. I guess that’s where TRL comes in. I don’t know where I’m going with this topic….I guess it’s just my overall dissatisfaction and disappointment with what MTV has turned into.

Another strange topic I’ve been dwelling on lately is my generation that had kids young enough to now be raising teenagers. It’s just so odd that bands from the 90s like Tool, Nine Inch Nails, and Red Hot Chili Peppers have all recently released new albums. Potentially parents and kids could be listening to the same music. While I was at the mall today I saw so many kids dressed all punk/goth. But, if your parent was punk/goth too, how do you rebel at that? If your dad is rockin out to NIN’s Closer and Trent Reznor is screaming ‘I want to fuck you like an animal’, where does a kid go from there? Or if your mom tells you about the time she broke her ankle in a mosh pit at an Alice in Chains concert – what does a kid say? Do they rebel by wearing khakis and polos? It’s just an intriguing thought. Or maybe once people have kids they give up their past musical passions. I know my sister did. She used to be into music as much as I am – she’d seen Pearl Jam, gone to several Lollapalooza’s, etc. Now, she doesn’t even listen to her old CDs cause she’s too busy with her 4yr old. I guess it’s all just part of kids sucking the life out of their parents.

movie reviews

Crank: saw it today. Excellent. Incredibly entertaining. Go see it for a good time. Jason Statham was good as usual. Saw a preview for Saw III….they’re really trying to cash in on this franchise, aren’t they?

From Netflix:
Rushmore:have seen it mentioned in articles and such…didn’t see the big deal.

The Brothers Grimm: How the hell did they talk Matt Damon and Heath Ledger into doing this crap? Awful, awful movie.

Hiding Out: from the 80s with John Cryer. Wanted to see if it was as cute as I remember – yes still good. See it.

Shopgirl: written by Steve Martin, based on book he wrote by same title. Not bad. The weird thing was that Steve Martin looks like he either had plastic surgery or botox on his forehead. It just wasn’t moving. Odd.

Derailed: Love Clive Owen, usually like Jennifer Aniston. Watched it with Melanie. We were both disappointed.