Category: Music

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Soul Writer

It’s amazing what 60-plus degree weather in the middle of winter can do for the soul. And is it me? But does everything seem to run smoothly on a beautiful day like today? Like the trains, for instance. I left my place this morning at the same time I normally do. Walked the same distance to the train platform. Took the same train. Made the same trek from the station to my office building. But … it took fifteen minutes less than it normally does.

Maybe it was the added skip to my step. Maybe I was simply enjoying the walk outside in fresh air. Maybe it’s seeing quite a few different neighbors on my street coming out of hibernation for awhile. Either way, this little glimpse of warm weather has me excited to explore the rest of this city when the weather consistently stays warm.

Anyway, the typically 40 (or so) minute train ride into the downtown area affords me the time to do a quite a bit of reading on the way to and from work. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve managed to read all three books in the “Wicked” series by Gregory Macguire. (I’m telling you … the musical was awesome. But the book series is d*mn good … and quite a bit darker, too.) And now, I’m trying to finish “Confessions of a Shopaholic” by Sophie Kinsella before the movie comes out. And even though I fully expect the book to be much better than the movie, I want to see it because I just love Isla Fisher.

But getting back to the book … I have to admit that I’m laughing my butt off and simply cowering with fear. Laughing, because the main character gets into these situations that are so impossibly hilarious. Terrified, because some of those situations she gets herself in are because of irresponsible exploits on her part … things I may have done in the past (especially as it relates to “denying” my anger and sadness over infertility) and even now, in the present (a-hem, finances … just like the book). It’s also downright spooky how some of those irrational thought processes correlate with my own ludicrous conclusions. Overall though … I hope that the ending of the book doesn’t end up being a major disappointment. And that goes for the movie as well.

And while I continue to babble … where the bloody h*ll was Amer.ican I.dol when I was in high school and college? Maybe then I would have had enough fearlessness and gumption to audition for it. Not that I claim myself to be an excellent singer or musician … because I’m not. But music was definitely something that was a big part of my childhood life all the way up to college. And then I got into Nursing School … and music, along with writing was replaced with bedpans and clinical pathways.

Okay, so not necessarily strictly bedpans. But you get the point. While I take pride in being a Registered Nut — I mean, Nurse … (after all, I worked very hard to get where I am in my career today) this wasn’t what I saw myself doing for the rest of my life. Nah, ask me back in high school … and I would have told you that I wanted to go into journalism or some sort of non-science related career. Or h*ll … if I thought I was good enough, I would have tossed aside college and gone full fledge into the music scene. I mean, after all … I had such a stellar career as a sales associate at Music.Land. Ha! Bet that would have thrilled my parents …

In any case, even now I still don’t know what I really want to be when I grow up. I always thought that I’d have it figured out by now; with that stellar career still on the rise. Okay, so my current career right now is on the rise … but then I also imagined that I’d have at least two kids in grade school right now, too. In that scenario, I may still have been in the Nursing career, but really … hadn’t I gone into Nursing because I always thought it would give me a little more flexibility when it came to raising my children? Funny how things never turn out the way you think they will.

Regardless of what I’ve rambled on about these past few paragraphs, I must admit that despite everything that I have experienced in life … especially over the past 2.5 years … I don’t regret the choices I’ve made. (Okay, maybe certain actions. But definitely not choices.) Because then I wouldn’t be the stronger person I that am today.

And that takes a lot out of me just to say that little bit.

Whew … amazing what great weather and a change of scenery can do to one’s soul.

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Double … Oh My!

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My heart’s a-thumpin’

I have a thing for actors. That and rock stars, but that’s another story. I’m definitely more of a tall, dark and handsome type of gal, and the more interesting (and diverse) roles they play, the sexier I think they are. Which is why I have this (almost unhealthy) obsession with Joh.nny De.pp. I’ve always had a thing for him, even back in his “Elm Street” and “Jump Street” days.

Which is why it makes almost no sense that I found myself having a “crush” on Da.niel Cr.aig. Before his take as James B.ond, I have never really taken notice of him. And truth be told, I had my reservations of have a blond hair / blue-eyed man playing 007. Because to me, Pie.rce Bro.snan (even back in his “Remin.gton Ste.ele” days) was always who I visualized as the penultimate Bond. (Ask my parents though, and they’d probably say Sean Conn.ery.) But then I saw “Casino R.oyal.e” and some of it’s steamy scenes. And yeah, I blushed.

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Double Oh Sexy

So it’s no surprise that Hubby & I ran out to see the latest Bond flick. And I certainly was not disappointed. Even moreso, Hubby wasn’t disappointed either.

Okay, so that last statement sounded weird, but seriously … it was more because of the latest Bond girl, Ol.ga Kur.yle.nko. Who, I even admit, is pretty d*mn sexy. Of course, I’m sure it’s more because of the character she plays in this film. A beautiful girl with matching smart and wit about her; a girl with a mission in mind. Basically, she’s a female version of 007 but with a more shapely body.

I knew when Olga first came on the screen that Hubby thought she was attractive. Because just as I know him very well, I also know his “type.” Just like I know Jes.sica Al.ba is also his type. And just like he knows that Joh.nny De.pp is mine. Yeah … we’re that comfortable with each other. And that secure in our relationship.

And amongst everything else that seems to be in such a state of flux, it’s wonderful knowing that my relationship with Hubby is the one constant (yet ever-evolving) thing in my life.

Okay, so with that said … remember that one “Frie.nds” episode? The one with the “list” of five celebrity people that a person could sleep with without it considered cheating? If given the opportunity?

Obviously Joh.nny De.pp and Da.niel Cr.aig are on mine. Along with Dwa.yne “The R.ock” Joh.nson. And Micha.el Hu.tchence (if he were still alive, sigh …). Oh, and probably Gra.nt Hill (ex-Pist.ons, now Phx Suns basketball player). Hey … what can I say? My tastes are diverse!

And Jes.sica Al.ba and now Ol.ga Kur.yle.nko are on my Hubby’s list. Probably alongside Ang.elina J.olie and Gw.yneth Pa.ltrow. Probably Gw.en Stef.ani, too. Although really … his tastes don’t usually fall towards blonds. He’s really more about smart and sexy women than he is all about the looks.

So … now I pose the question to you … who’s on your celebrity list?

And better yet … who do you think is on your Hubby’s / S.O.’s list?

Most importantly … which one do you think is the sexier B.ond?

Seriously?!

Okay … seriously must counteract that awful picture above …. how about this one?

And since this is my blog ... I can post THIS sexy picture!

Mmmm …. Oh yes. Definitely better …

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Attempt No. 2

nablo1108120x240Okay, so I’m going out on a limb here. Seeing that I have now consistently written just about every day (sans a day here and there) for the past three weeks, I’ve decided to make another attempt at posting more consistently.

I may live to regret this, but I think I’m going to attempt NaBloPoMo. I personally blame Becky from Mommy Wants Vodka (just kidding, Becky … ) for inspiring me to do this. She’s doing it, so I decided to try it too. Of course, she’s also more a consistent poster than I am, so we’ll see how well I do.

So what to talk about today (which, I guess is technically Day 3)? Perhaps how I should have been wearing this t-shirt today at work? Hmm, for those of you that questioned who I was planning on voting for from this post … I guess you probably can figure it out now. Well, at least I still have tomorrow to wear that shirt. Wonder what the Exit-Poll people would do if they approached me.

Or I could talk about how I need to remember not to schedule my dental cleaning four days after Halloween again. What. Was. I. Thinking?! Seriously … I’m a little afraid for my poor hygienist, who might be finding some “Bit O’Honey” or bite-size “Snickers” bits in the back. Poor, poor girl.

Or I could talk about how this evening I watched “Duran Duran: Live from Wembley“on VH1 Classic Concerts. (And yes, Kara … was totally thinking of you.) It made me regret not going to see them in concert for that tour. Because, is it me? Or did Simon Le Bon’s voice get better and stronger with age? Or did technology advance that much since watching the “Arena” concert?

Oh, I know. I’ll talk about how easy it is to get suckered into taking stupid online quizzes. I must confess, that one time ( … at band camp … ) I must have spent an evening just taking quizzes. For me, it usually starts off by reading about someone else’s quiz.

In this case, it was another friend‘s blog who took a quiz on what she should be when she grows up. Of course then I wanted to find out for myself (because I still haven’t figured it out … ). And once I finished that quiz, I saw another one I wanted to take. And another one. And yet another one. I swear … I must have taken about 5 of them. But this one was the one that made me stop:

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You Are Changing Leaves

Pretty, but soon dead.

What Part of Fall Are You?
(Don’t click it … even though I know you want to!)

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I mean, seriously? “Pretty, but soon dead”?! Kinda a little freaky, don’t you think? And to think, that Fall is my absolute favorite season. Hmm … I might need to rethink that.

Okay, babbling enough. Guess I need to save some of this babble and spread it out over the next month …

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Show and Tell: Oasis' Sister

Do you remember the band Oasis? If you do, then you’d remember that the band comprised of two brothers named Liam and Noel Gallagher. I don’t listen to them as much anymore, but back in the mid-1990’s the songs off their album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, played a prominent part in the day’s following my 1996 wedding to Hubby. To this day hearing these songs, particularly “Don’t Look Back In Anger, remind me of driving in our convertible rental car (with the top down, of course) back to our hotel in Kaanapali from Lahaina on the island of Maui. That song just happened to be playing on the radio as we drove up the coastline while watching the sun set on the ocean. It. Was. Heaven on Earth.

But I digress. This post wasn’t to share that memory (although, I hope you enjoyed that imagery). This post is about another mid-1990’s pop-culture icon. A person, who might be related to the brothers from Oasis.

Mary Katherine Gallagher
Mary Katherine Gallagher

Oh yes, I’m talking about Mary Katherine Gallagher. Remember her from SNL in the mid-nineties?

Yes, today my Show and Tell item is the Halloween costume I wore to work this year. Okay, so I wasn’t exactly Mary Katherine … but the intent was to be a Catholic school girl. A bad one, nonetheless. And no, I don’t mean the sexy Brit.ney version either.

It started off as a joke when my co-worker told me that she and her sister went to a costume party dressed as nuns. (Ha! Get it?! Sisters dressed as “Sisters”?) When we found out that there would be a costume contest at work, I jokingly said that I’d come as a Catholic school girl (with green and white saddle shoes!) and she could come in as one of my “teachers” back in my grade school days, complete with the wooden ruler for disciplinary purposes.

So we hatched a plan where we’d arrive at work at the same time and walk in together. After all … the effect wouldn’t have been the same if we came in separately.

Friday morning … I’m patiently waiting in our parking lot when my co-worker’s car pulls up behind me. One look in my rearview mirror and I’m completely cracking up … because she looked exactly like how one of my grade school teachers would look. As I literally stumble out of my car, she points up at the front of the parking lot … and there is my other co-worker dressed up as a nun as well.

As my co-worker said, “When have you ever seen a Sister without another one around? They always travel in pairs!”

Well needless to say, we had a blast playing our parts for the day. And during the competition, our “skit” included the me chewing gum and putting on inappropriately shiny lip gloss, as well as them chasing me while screaming, “Get back to class, young lady!”

After all was said and done … we won third place! And that was without the “flask” and candy cigarettes I wanted to carry around … Woo-hoo!

Don’t forget to check out the other Show and Tell blogs!

And while you’re at it … check out my latest favorite black kitty cate!

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Music Snob

Okay, totally stole this from Mrs. X. That, and spending time with my cousins this past weekend had me reminiscing about the styles and fashions and music of our day.

So this is the deal.

A) Go to this site
B) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function
C) Copy and paste the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
D) Bold the songs you like
E) Strike through the ones you really hate

I must preface this by telling you guys that, back in the late 80’s-early 90’s, I was a big music snob. I thought I was supremely cool for working at a “Rekka Sto” (as in Prin.ce’s “Under The Cherry Moon”), and thought that I knew anything and everything about alternative music. G*d forbid I listen to anything “Top 40!” And that’s probably why there isn’t much I know or really like on this list.

However … today, I’m pretty much open to anything that has a good beat and/or a catchy lyric. And if something is amazingly written (instrument-wise), then that’s definitely a bonus.

And now, when I listen really closely to some of the songs that I hated back in “the day,” I suddenly find myself appreciating some of them more than I did back then.

The best example I can give you is this: I utterly despised GnR’s “Sweet Child O’Mine” when it first hit the airwaves. Yuck, I remember thinking, here’s yet another “big hair” 80’s metal band. But today, when listening to the song “closely” on my iPod using my excellent d-JAYS earphones … I am completely enthralled by how the song was written both lyrically and melodically.

So, with that said … I’m adding another rule to the above, which is to:

F) Bold/Italicize the songs that you hated in high school but appreciate today …

And with that said … Here’s how my list for 1990 turned out:

  1. Hold On, Wilson Phillips (uh-huh … the harmonies ROCKED!)
  2. It Must Have Been Love, Roxette
  3. Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O’Connor
  4. Poison, Bell Biv Devoe
  5. Vogue, Madonna
  6. Vision Of Love, Mariah Carey
  7. Another Day In Paradise, Phil Collins
  8. Hold On, En Vogue
  9. Cradle Of Love, Billy Idol
  10. Blaze Of Glory, Jon Bon Jovi
  11. Do Me!, Bell Biv Devoe
  12. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You, Michael Bolton
  13. Pump Up The Jam, Technotronic
  14. Opposites Attract, Paula Abdul
  15. Escapade, Janet Jackson
  16. All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You, Heart
  17. Close To You, Maxi Priest
  18. Black Velvet, Alannah Myles
  19. Release Me, Wilson Phillips
  20. Don’t Know Much, Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville
  21. All Around The World, Lisa Stansfield
  22. l Wanna Be Rich, Calloway
  23. I Remember You, Skid Row
  24. Rub You The Right Way, Johnny Gill
  25. She Ain’t Worth It, Glenn Medeiros Featuring Bobby Brown
  26. If Wishes Came True, Sweet Sensation
  27. The Power, Snap
  28. (Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection, Nelson
  29. Love Will Lead You Back, Taylor Dayne
  30. Don’t Wanna Fall In Love, Jane Child
  31. Two To Make It Right, Seduction
  32. Sending All My Love, Linear
  33. Unskinny Bop, Poison
  34. Step By Step, New Kids On The Block
  35. Dangerous, Roxette
  36. We Didn’t Start The Fire, Billy Joel
  37. I Don’t Have The Heart, James Ingram
  38. Downtown Train, Rod Stewart
  39. Rhythm Nation, Janet Jackson
  40. I’ll Be Your Everything, Tommy Page
  41. Roam, B-52’s
  42. Everything, Jody Watley
  43. Back To Life, Soul II Soul
  44. Here and Now, Luther Vandross
  45. Alright, Janet Jackson
  46. Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice (admit it, it has a catchy beat!)
  47. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli (so the lip-syncing sucked, but the song was still cool!)
  48. Have You Seen Her, M.C. Hammer
  49. With Every Beat Of My Heart, Taylor Dayne
  50. Come Back To Me, Janet Jackson
  51. No More Lies, Michel’le
  52. Praying For Time, George Michael
  53. How Can We Be Lovers, Michael Bolton
  54. Do You Remember, Phil Collins
  55. Ready Or Not, After 7
  56. U Can’t Touch This, M.C. Hammer
  57. I Wish It Would Rain Down, Phil Collins
  58. Just Between You and Me, Lou Gramm
  59. Something Happened On The Way To Heaven, Phil Collins
  60. Black Cat, Janet Jackson
  61. Can’t Stop, After 7
  62. Janie’s Got A Gun, Aerosmith
  63. The Humpty Dance, Digital Underground
  64. I’ll Be Your Shelter, Taylor Dayne
  65. Free Fallin’, Tom Petty
  66. Giving You The Benefit, Pebbles
  67. Enjoy The Silence, Depeche Mode
  68. Love Song, Tesla
  69. Price Of Love, Bad English
  70. Girls Nite Out, Tyler Collins
  71. King Of Wishful Thinking, Go West
  72. What Kind Of Man Would I Be?, Chicago
  73. Get Up! (Before The Night Is Over), Technotroic
  74. Here We Are, Gloria Estefan
  75. Epic, Faith No More
  76. Love Takes Time, Mariah Carey
  77. Just Like Jesse James, Cher
  78. Love Shack, B-52’s
  79. All Or Nothing, Milli Vanilli
  80. Romeo, Dino
  81. Everybody Everybody, Black Box
  82. I Go To Extremes, Billy Joel
  83. Whip Appeal, Babyface
  84. Oh Girl, Paul Young
  85. C’mon and Get My Love, D-Mob With Cathy Dennis
  86. (It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me, Paula Abdul
  87. We Can’t Go Wrong, Cover Girls
  88. When I’m Back On My Feet Again, Michael Bolton
  89. Make You Sweat, Keith Sweat
  90. This One’s For The Children, New Kids On The Block
  91. What It Takes, Aerosmith
  92. Forever, Kiss
  93. Jerk Out, Time
  94. Just A Friend, Biz Markie
  95. Whole Wide World, A’me Lorain
  96. Without You, Motley Crue
  97. Swing The Mood, Jive Bunny and The Mastermixers
  98. Thieves In The Temple, Prince
  99. Mentirosa, Mellow Man Ace
  100. Tic-Tac-Toe, Kyper

* Huh … Just noticed how a lot of the songs on this list are more “Dance Tracks” (remember 12-inch maxi-single remixes?!) Again, goes to show how I fancied more the stuff played elsewhere (-ie- clubs, house parties, etc) rather than on the airwaves.

** Double Huh … Also noticed that I seriously did not fancy any R&B artists back in the day.