Move that ass....

http://www.fishgodeep.com/
http://www.rogersanchez.com/portal/
http://www.enmixed.com/
http://mundozhoya.blogspot.com/
http://albumsandsets.blogspot.com/
http://revista-chill-lounge-house.blogspot.com/

So, I've been bugging folx for links to good, body moving, hardcore house music that I can work out to - this is the list that I have so far, and I think - maybe - that I might start subscribing to podcasts. *sigh*

That however, would require me to keep my PC hooked up to the net, wouldn't it? Or would it just gather the podcasts when I tell it to? Hrm, I'll have to check that out.

Anyhow, I wanted to save this list.... someplace easily accessible - and share it, as well.

(ya'll are) Rocking me.....

Okay.

So, I had always HEARD of Queen right? I mean, who living in today's day & age HASN'T heard of Queen? But I didn't really know anything about them - I thought they might be one of those headache (at least for me) inducing hard core screaming rock/metal bands.

But - last time I was buying music, I picked up Queen: Greatest Hits - We Will Rock You Edition.

And.

DUDE!!!!!! Queen did all THESE songs? I've been alternating between feeling like I need to do a proper headbanging (with rock on hands thrust in the air), and feeling like I should have a lighter held up and swaying. I'm throughly enjoying this!!

So.

What other rock (metal? pop? the heck IS Queen?) bands have I potentially missed out on through pure raw avoidance?

I'm not even going to talk about how buying (not even LISTENING to - jsut buying) the We Might Be Giants album opened my eyes to a world of inside jokes I didn't. even. know. I. was. MISSING!

So - culturally speaking - who else should I be looking out for?? Hrrrmmm?

*rocks out*

iPodness - Tonight's the Night

I considered cheating a few times, but I was good. So steal it, cuz you know you want to.

The Rules? (We don't need no stinking rules!)

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to each question.

--

What does next year have in store for me?
"Hustla" - Nappy Roots (Hmm, yup. Assuming next year = 2008, I can TOTALLY see this one)

What does my love life look like?
"TimeCrash" - Eric Serra (Hmmm - this is from the Fifth Element Soundtrack, but I can't remember what scene...)

What do I say when life gets hard?
"Ahh Haa" - L.A Sno (It's usually more along the lines of Ahh Shit, but that works.)

What do I think of when I get up in the morning?
"Why Keep on Breaking my Heart" - Nina Simone (Since getting out of my dreamily comfy bed = heartbreak on a daily basis, yah.)

What song will I dance to at my wedding?
"My Heart Can't Take Much More" - Changing Faces (As I've already had a wedding, I suppose my heart CAN'T take much more, as it would be against the law.)

What is my state of mind at the moment?
"The Last Goodbye" - Atomic Kitten (Hrm - taint time to leve work yet, so - hrm.)

How will I die?
"Gift from Virgo" - Beyonce (Virgo - the Virgin, right? Holding a bow? So I'mma get shot by an arrow? Hmmm.....)

The song that will be played at my funeral:
"Kuh's Theme" - Kuh (If I could change that to K's Theme, it would work nicely- as things go, it's a pleasant instrumental.)

The song I'll put as the subject of this entry:
"Tonights the Night" - Pink (Really?? I don't have any plans....)

The song that describes my friendships:
"Rock Your Body" - Justin Timberlake (*redfaced blushing* Oh, shut up.)

The song that describes my future marriage:
"Next Lifetime:Live" - Erykah Badu (Good, because I happen to LIKE the husband I have this lifetime)

The song that describes my future children:
"Walk of Ju" - Sweetback (Um - they will walk early? They will all convert to Judaism?)

The song that describes what this summer will be like:
"4-Leaf Clover" - Erykah Badu (Lucky me!)

The song that describes what people think of me:
"Cold Cold Heart" - Norah Jones (Okay, so yes, I CAN be a raving bitch at times.....what about it? Hmm? Hhhhmmmm?????)

The song that describes how I did in school:
"Wasted Time" - Me'Shell Ndegecello (*ROFLOL* Well hell, I coulda told you that!)

The song that describes how nice a career I'll have:
"Next Lifetime" - Erykah Badu (Okay, Um. I guess that means I'm not going to HAVE a career this go round?.)

The song that describes my personality:
"MotherFather" - Musiq (Hmmmm......yeah, I like taking care of folx, and what?)

Today is where it all begins.....

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten


I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
-- Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten

That song has been - my song - since it first came out. I love it, love it, love it. It reminds me to be open, to be hopeful, to keep moving forward and pressing on.

The weekend? It was rather nice - C had planned on having a few fellows over to watch Wrestlemania23, but only one dude showed up. *shrugs* Saturday he worked, and I spent the day wrist deep in FIMO, and practicing sculpture. Ish is hard - I had to put in down once just to get some space so that I could work again with an open mind. I'm mostly pleased with the result (a little (tiny!) egyptian statue) but - hmm, I don't know - it just - I definitely need more practice.

I started playing Sims2 FINALLY - and wow. It's so much - better! I love the houses and the stuff, and I have a job and for the first time I don't feel like I'm being cruel to my Sim by making them work - there's actually enough time in the day to do everything. I'm just starting out (with a single girl, none the less!) but I suspect that I'll be all kinds of hooked purty damn soon.

Still haven't brought the house back up with C - largely because I really needed to process how I felt, and why the bright blue heaven I was/am so emotional about it. I'm still not sure what the root reasons are, but I'm calm enough that I think we will be able to have a nice, reasonable conversation. The main points in my mind is that it is a great deal (assuming the inspection goes well) and that the longer we wait, the higher the interest rate, and the chance that the house will be sold is wiped out. *tilts head* I know it's a huge step - buying that first house - but it's gotta be done at some point, right?

It's odd - I'm usually one of the MOST logical, rightbrained people you will ever meet. I RARELY - very, very, very rarely, let my emotions dicate an action or a plan - but when I get those REALLY strong feelings, and go with them - it works. It ALWAYS works. And this house - as I was telling my leon - I'm - I'm seriously almost obsessed with it. *tilts head* It's - odd, even to me, but it's telling me that I really shouldn't just dismiss it. I mean, sheesh - look how long it took for me to actually go and LOOK at it?

We shall see.

Music!!!!

All of you wonderful people who love music - whether you have an iPod or other Mp3 playing device, or whether you just love toburn CD's - this is a public service announcment.

www.musicmp3.ru  I know, I know - it's a russian site. But still......

Go head, click on the link, I'll wait.

It's really simple to use - it's set up with a prepay system - you put a certain amount of money into your account, and then shop til your little heart gasps and dies from the musiclove. I've been using it for - gah! - since I got my iPod, and still, every time I go shopping I'm all - verkelmpt.

Anyhow!!! The part that rocks about this site (and yet is shady at the same time) is that they charge you by the bit. As in, depending on how long the album is, the price changes. I still don't think I've ever brought an album that cost more than 1.00.

Yeah, I said ONE DOLLAR. For a WHOLE ALBUM. I can't tell the difference between a song that I've gotten off of this website, and a song that I've gotten off a CD.

So, anyhow - I got home last night, and I was kinda lurking around my PC hoping to catch a friend when she got on, and decided that I would clean out the last bit of money in the account. I had a little under 20 bucks - 19.7something or something like that. This is what I got:

 Shakira: Oral Fixation, Vol 2 (this was the last one I got - I still want to get Laundry Service too)
 O-Zone: Disco Zone (These are the people who did the infamous Numa-Numa song - even though I can't understand a WORD of what they are saying - it's a good Euro-Techno album)
 Mattafix: Signs of a Struggle (They had a good review of this group, so I got it - I listened to the whole album last night - oh my god!! So good - reggae/R&B/electronic/techno - it's wonderful!!)
 Heather Headley: In My Mind (She's a wonderful R&B singer - I thought I owned her first album already but I couldn't find it)
 Joss Stone: Mind, Body & Soul (I had been itching to get Joss Stone for a while - I LOVE her voice - so, I had to get both of her albums)
 Joss Stone: The Soul Sessions
 Pink: Missundaztood (I used to own this CD, but I broke it like - 3 or four times - so I just gave up buying it...but I love me some Pink - so I got this one, and her other two albums. She hasn't released the new one yet it seems.)
 Pink: Try This 
 Pink: Can't Take Me Home
 Common:  Be (This is his latest album - I LOVE Faithful, and I have his previous album, so I figured I'd get this one)
 Latoya London:  Love And Life (I read a review for her on the website, and the samples of her songs sounded really good)
 Nappy Roots: Watermelon, Chicken And Gritz (It's Nappy Roots!!! I love the R&B/HipHop blends)
 Nappy Roots: Wooden Leather
 Kem: Album II (I've heard people RAVE about him, and he's a grown up R&B sound rather than the whiny ass boys that seem to be doing all the singing now adays (Ne-yo, I'm talking to you)
 Kem: Kemistry
 Dido: One Step Too Far (I'm not sure what this album is - it seems to have some songs that are on No Angel, but then there are also some new/old stuff??)
 Natasha Bedingfield: Unwritten (This is one woman that when her songs come on the radio (Unwritten and These Words are the only ones that have been released yet) I start rocking out in the car for certain - this girl can SANG!)
 Matisyahu: Youth (This guy is an Orthodox Jew who sings Reggae. Yeah, I had to hear it too - it sounds good - but I haven't listened to the whole album) 
 Pussycat Dolls: PCD (Dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?? Yeah - I had to get ONE utterly braindead pop album)
 Prince: 3121 (It's PRINCE. Do I really need to say anymore???)

So - I got all that - for under 20 bucks. It's better than a barn sale. It's like - the BESTEST. I usually go, have an orgy of buying and downloading, and then stop for like 3 months before I go through it again. The only downside of the place is downloading the songs that you've purchased - you have to do it ONE AT A TIME. With firefox, it's not so bad, because you can run 8 downloads at the same time (or at least that's all my computer would do),  where as using IE, you can only do TWO at a time. Ughha. But - dammit - it's WORTH it.

*boogies away*

Dang!

Someone - I think it was Kimmie, did this a while ago, and I've been meaning to imitate her erry since. So - the Top Ten Most Played Songs on my iPod.

1) Fellowship - Comfort Woman (Me'Shell Ndegeocello)
2) Barefoot - Evermind (Amethystium)
3) Andromeda & The Milky Way - Comfort Woman (Me'Shell Ndegeocello)
4) Body - Comfort Woman (Me'Shell Ndegeocello)
5) Hot in Herre - Nellyville (Nelly)
6) Still Standing - The Best of David Benoit (David Benoit)
7) Son of a Gun - All For You (Janet Jackson)
8) Love Song #1 - Comfort Woman (Me'Shell Ndegeocello)
9) Come Smoke My Herb - Comfort Woman (Me'Shell Ndegeocello)
10) Love Song #2 - Comfort Woman (Me'Shell Ndegeocello)

Mind you - jsut to make it perfectly clear considering how OBVIOUSLY stacked the favor is for one particular album - I usually have my iPod on random - it stops when I plug it in to charge it, but other than that - random. *shakes head* My iPod likes Me'Shell - I knew it had good taste.

Listen with me.....

Don't ask me why I did this - but I just wanted to see (and share) what I listen to. I think I started listening to my iPod (on scramble) around 10:00 or so, and it's 4:43pm now.  Here is a list of the songs I heard (listening to Justin now):  

Just Another Story: Jamiroquoi (Return of the Space Cowboy)
My Heart Will Go On: Celine Dion (Titanic Soundtrack)
olatunji-gin-go-lo-ba: Various Artists  (Afrobeat Sessions)
femi kuti beng-beng: Ashley Beedles (Afrobeat Sessions)
Something About John Coltrane: Alice Coltrane (Journey in Sachi....)
Whispering Playa: TLC (FanMail)
Slow Down: Alicia Keys (Diary of Alicia Keys)
Dust: Van Dust (Van Dust)
Do Something: Macy Gray (On How Life Is)
Shumba: Bliss Gypsys (Live at the Guru Java)
Nothing you Can Do: David Foster (A Touch of David Foster)
Free: Destiny's Child (Destiny Fulfilled)
Love Song #3: Me'Shell Ndegeochello (Comfort Woman)
Morning: Janet Jackson (Janet)
Vibrate: Andre 3000 (The Love Below)
I Feel for You: Chaka Khan (Life is a Dance)
I Got that Fire: Juvenile (The Greatest Hits)
Why Do I Feel So Sad: Alicia Keys (Songs in A Minor)
Bonus Track: Jamiroquoi (Travelling without Moving)
Baby C'mon: Boyz II Men (Evolution)
Loyalty: Me'Shell Ndegeochello (Bitter)
We're a Winner: Curtis Mayfield (Mayfield Remixed)
Selfish: Toni Braxton (More than a Woman)
In the Morning: Aretha Franklin (A Rose is Still a Rose)
Son of a Gun: Janet Jackson (All For You)
Put that on Everything: Brady (Never Say Never)
Three Notes to Say I Love You: Vincente Amigo (City of Ideas)
The Hustle: Van McCoy (Pure Disco Vol. 2)
Virtue: Ani DiFranco (Up Up Up Up Up Up)
Talking in his sleep: Toni Braxton (Secrets)
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!: Abba (Pure Disco Vol. 2)
I'll do it for you: King Brit Presents Sylk 130 (Re-Members Only)
I've been waiting: Terri & Monica (Poetic Justice Soundtrack)
Let's Take a Ride: Justin Timberlake (Senorita)

I paused a couple of times - meetings, talking to coworkers, lunch, etc... Not quite as eclectic as I expected - a lot of R&B....not many male artists though. Hmm....

Now - after seeing what I listen to (occasionally) gimme some recommendations!! I haven't purchased any new music in like two months - I need to make my playlists bigger.

G'night ya'll - stay safe now, ya hear??   

Living for the Weeekkkend!!

It's THURSDAY!!!! Finalfreakingly, I might add.  I'm taking Friday off, and we get Monday off - 4 day weekend, here I cooommmmeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm DONE!! Holy Cow, I've finished loading all of my CD's into iTunes, and I've ended up with 154 albums, and around 1900 songs - 5 full days and a bit of wonderful music. I've also got the album art for all of them - when I get home tonight, I'm FINALLY going to load up the iPod. I backed up our files last night, and I think the music file is a mere 7GB, so I should use a little over 10% of it's capacity.  I honestly think that I'll use the photo capability more for displaying album art - I wonder if there is one of those swirly things like Windows Media has that you can play while the songs are running? That would be cool. I brought ONE album from iTunes - the Boomerang Soundtrack....and I have a couple of CD's where they were scratched and so iTunes couldn't pick up the song - I'll replace those first. And actually, I want to go through the really SHORT ones (times of 1 second and stuff) and make sure that there's really something there beforeI upload - I want to have the full albums before I start getting anymore. And of course - I need to work on my playlists..... *grins* Obsession can occur VERY quickly.

So - what's the plan for this weekend?
1) Vacuuming the house. I'm shamed to say, it hasn't been done since we've moved in, and only the fact that a) we dont' wear shoes on the carpet and b) the cats don't go upstairs has made it able to last this long without giving me the shuddering hickyickys.
2) Cleaning the house - putting away all the files, straightening up, cleaning the TV and the tabletops, mopping the floors, dusting, organize the knick-knacks, etc., etc. so that I can
3) Take pictures of the house for my best friend - I wanted to wait til we got the furniture, but he's an impatient heifer, he is.
4) Play lovingly with my iPod.
5) Brush the cats. FatBastid needs a brushin BADLY.
6) Sleep. Lots and lots o sleep.
7) The PS2 and my skin have both arriaved in Memphis this morning - YAY!!! If they don't get delivered today, I should be able to get them tomorrow.
8) Getting girly and doing my toes and my fingers and deep conditioning the hair. (Ah yes, I'm loving the color more and more. I haven't gotten it wet again yet, as I know thats going to change the color more and I wanted to give it time to 'set' so to speak.  Can I mention that it SUCKS that my roots are starting to show already? My hair grows too damn fast *glares at it*)
9) Finishing my website!
10) - nah, no ten. I think planning on doing 9 things over the next four days of vacation is quite enough. And really, it's more like 2.5 since C will be at home Sunday and Monday.

Oddly enough...

despite the fact that I only got 4 or so hours of sleep last night (obsession is bad, mmkay?) I feel rather peppy and alive.  I'm in the T's now on my CD's (thus the only four hours of sleep) AND I've got album art for most of them. The hard drive's been connected, and tonight I should be able to FINALLY upload all of my music to the iPod, then comes the fun part - buying NEW stuff.

I went 'surfing' on amazon yesterday - it was actually really fun, jumping from album to album based on what things Amazon recommended and what albums other folx suggested. I think I've found several GOOOD drum/bass triphop Cd's - and of course some salsa to shake me ass too.....everywhere I go, I've been jotting down notes of music. I LOVE music - love it, love it, love it - but I was never able to afford (time or money wise) to put as much effort into becoming musically broad as I wanted too - now? Hah! I shall find the legal free indie music (as an aspiring artist, it'll be bad karmic juju to swipe) and fall in love with new bands with odds names and intense songs.

Can I tell you? The album art uploading program I have freakkking ROCKS. It basically searchs amazon.com, copies the cover art of the album you've selected, and embeds it into the music file. How much does that rock? I mean - SERIOUSLY.  And there is some really nice album art out there. For the albums that Amazon doesn't sell, I'll either find the album art somewhere else and upload it, or I'll just make/find my own image to go with it. I can't remember the name - but it's freeware, and besides getting hung up occasionally, works like a dream. It's FREEware though, so I ain't complaining.

One more full day of work!!!! I'm taking Friday off, and we have Monday off, so I'll have two luscious days of being home alone - I think I might even let C take the car to work - I ain't going nowhere - and if I really wanted to go someplace to pick up something, I can always walk (with my new iPod!) to get it. Relax, clean the house, lay out in the sun, play Sims, maybe grill a little - ahhhhh.....and then I'll also have two luscious days with the hubby.... I wonder if he has to work this Sunday? I know he had to work last sunday....hopefully he's off.

Ah yes! He got the xBox last night. There was a scare for a second as we thought that the dude had forgotten to include the wireless transmitter that plugs into the xBox itself, but after digging through the roughly 8 gallons of peanuts he put in the box, we dug it up. Everything was in GREAT condition - it seriously did look brand new.  He's gotten into Halo2 a little bit, but being an RPG'er, I suspect that the Elder Scrolls of Morrowind is going to be more up his alley. So far, we are at a *thinks* 4 out of five for electronics off of ebay - the battery, the laptop screen, the xBox, and the iPod. Now, if this dude with the PS2 would just get OFFA his ass and mail it, it'll be a home run.

*yawwwwnnn* hmm, maybe I spoke too soon. I'm certainly NOT getting lunch today - I'd be dead at my desk. I was stuck in here until 6pm last night, and I had a class I TOTALLY forgot about (until the alarm popped up) during lunch, so I didn't get a chance to go to the post office. I think I'll run and do that for lunch.  

Like whoa! - includes Music Request

So, the hair's dried, and it's a weee bit lighter/brighter than it was yesterday. I think I like it, but I'm still not totally sure - I think it might be more WHOA! shock that I haven't gotten used to it yet - but I have to admit it looks very - funky. *grin* And that's funky in a good way - I just need somebody to look at me and say - yeah, that looks good. Someone I can trust - who's up for Maggies tonight??? *LOL* The hubby likes it - but he's a GUY! We all know he doesn't count. ;)
But seriously - I LIKE it. It's jsut weird. *LOL* Like me, I guess. Now I wanna cut it - the color (to me) seems to highlight the funky 'layers' my hair has - and because the dying contracts my locs and makes them tighter (and skinnier) it's - just - different. but not BAD! *grin* yes, yes, I'm flipfloping. I'll take another picture tonight in the sun since it's dry....post it and see what ya'll think!

In other news: The swimsuits are on a truck to get here, the damn iPod is still in Knoxville - ooh!! I take that back! It flew out of Knoxville at 9:35 this morning (I heart UPS tracker) - so I MIGHT get it today *rubs hands together evilly* the skin got shipped today, the XboX left Greensboro, NC this morning, the PS2 got shipped this morning - slowpoke eBayer! - the external drive is on a TRUCK for delivery!! (hmmm the FedEx delivery place is in Cordova, interesting), and I think that's everything. Sheesh!! Oh!! My request for the domain name got approved too - hopefully the DNS servers will be updated by tonight!
I spent the weekend dying my hair (that was a two day process!) and getting started on uploading all of my CD's to iTunes - so far, I've made to to the 'I's, and I have about 2 days worth of a music, a mere 2GB. But!!! Readers of mine!! You guys have some pretty cool, pretty ecletic music tastes - and I figure, for 99 cents, I can try anything. I LOVE music, but I'm cheap (ignore the listing of crap getting shipped to my house, I AM cheap - really!!!) and I'm not into buying MORE cd's that I only like one song off of. So - with the iPod, I figure I'll be able to really let my tastes wander and explore. Ooohhh.....So - ya'll do me this favor, okay??
Leave me a note, with at least TWO artists that you love, but think are underrated - include what genre they are, and if you have a favorite song/album - include that too.  *grins*
I figure at the very least, I'll be able to find a few new gems to enjoy.... ooh... I need to email all my musically eclectic friends too!!

Half the office is missing today - I figure it'll be a slow, slow, slow Monday. I need to go to the bank during lunch and deposit C's check, and I plan on cutting out of here ASAP!

Have Good Monday Yall!!

3rd? 4th?

Whatever number it is, clearly I'm bored out of my FUCKING mind.

Okay. Some - things.

1. I LOVE Spanky Clubhouse. They are a cover band (yes, a cover band) who plays locally, and oh my god! They rock. I mean - they play like rock and roll, a little hiphop, and so a SLAMMING fucking rendition of  "Pussy Control" but I'm like a groupie.


2. I don't really like going out to party with C, because I have to take him into consideration and can't be my usual outrageously flirtatious minx - not because he's THERE, but because I'm too damn busy paying attention to him to properly flirt with other people.


3. I wan go home.

damn.

hada big bunch of people all chitchatting in my office - much fun, and wasted 1/2 hour.

Wanted: A Dancing Queens Castle

went out last night - I was really looking forward to it. I had picked out just the right outfit - clubbin appropiate without being slutty (oh, if I had only known then....). I wore a tank top with "I [heart shape] my freedom" on it - which everyone amusingly enough assumed to be in SUPPORT of that foolish war on Iraq, and a smidge over knee length skirt that I had trimmed last weekend but never wore, and a nice study pair of clunky shoes. I was a wee bit nervous about the tank top as it was a WEE bit tighter than I usually wear, and I've got a little jiggly belly that showed through some(oh, if I had only known then....)
I've gotten directions off of Yahoo! and I knew that ladies get in free before 11, so I figured I'd try to make it there by ten - just to be on the safe side. The directions took me down the back roads to some of the CREEPIEST neighborhoods I had ever seen in my life (foreboding anyone??). There were few street signs, fewer street lights, and even fewer fools besides me going down these roads. I'm guessing where Yahoo! led me was it's version of 'shortest time'. They've got 'most direct' and some other category but I really think they need to add another category - 'least creepy'. So - I finally get to the shopping center the club is in (after turning around twice) - and realize that it is BARELY a mile from an exit on the MAIN highway in the city - which I LIVE a block from. We all know how I went home, don't we? But I won't jump ahead.
I had to stop and ask a cop in front of the just closing (and very abandoned looking) LoBill to figure out how to actually get to the club - which ended up being behind the shopping center down a road that was in a MOST disreputable state. I pull into the parking lot at almost ten on the nose, and there were less than 10 cars there. I finally started to get worried. Then, I thought - okay, CP time, no one is really going to GET here until 10:30/10:45. I was brave enough to GO to a club alone, but there was no way in hell I was going to be the first person to walk into an empty club. So - I sat in the car for 45 minutes, smoking cloves and listening to my 'get pumped' CD.
Two guys stopped at my car - one security guy to see why I was lingering there (most likely thought I was stalking one of the non-existant club-goers) and another cheerful young fellow who tried to sell me three CD's. It's interesting - I always thought unsigned, uncommercial hip-hop was called underground, not indie, but after I sweetly told him I wasn't buying anything, he gave me a free CD of indie hiphop. I've yet to listen to it, but I'm sure it will be, if nothing else, interesting.
Around 10:30, suddenly the parking lot started to fill up - cars of women. This is when I REALLLY started to get nervous. I haven't lived in the hood, or associated with hoodlike people since I left Atlanta 3 years ago, and I've done enough maturing at this point that they aren't even FUNNY anymore. Every single woman who walked through that door personfied hood-trick in a different fashion. Whether it was the bootyshorts showing off the tattoo on both thighs (and the generous cellulite) with the droopily braless halter top, or if it was the big gurl who borrowed her ten year old (her SKINNY ten year old) little sisters dress for a shirt, it was worrisome. And I'm not even going to TALK about the hair. I may have been the ONLY woman in that club who grew all of the hair that was on her head. So - I watch this parade of women for about 10 minutes, then decided that I had better go on over before the line got too long. I brought 5 bucks, my ID, my car key, and my smokes with me - which shortened the search process considerably.
What is it wih black women and the whte eyeshadow? I could never get that - I NEVER thought it looked attractive, but that's clearly just me as the group of girls in front of me were sharing a stick before we got in the club, and the girl behind me looked like she had been slapped with a stick of it.
I make it through the search, and enter the club. This place was actually HUGE - I was really suprised by the size. There was a little bar and grill (hot wings and french fries), 4 bars, a nice sized VIP section, a pretty roomy dance floor and a smaller one, and a area in the back with 6 pool tables in it. Plus, there were several nice little seating areas - with TV's. I grabbed a good seat (so that I could watch the parade as it went by) and proceeded to wait. My ONLY reason to go was to dance - not to hookup, not to really talk to anybody, not to get drunk. Hell - I had to go to WORK the next morning. I waited...and waited...and waited some more - about a good 30 to 45 minutes had gone by before the DJ got set up really good and started playing music. In that time, this guy and girl at the bar next to the seating area got into a fight - much cursing, much accusations of being a 'broke ugly ass bitch' and 'weak ass nasty nigga' which ended with homeboy being gently escorted from the club. I watched the girl celebrate with her friends how she had just played him, and made a consious decision to stay as FAR away from her & her girls the rest of the night.
The DJ played NOTHING but hiphop, and the occasional slow jam (or assgrinders as he so colorfully called them). Now, don't get me wrong - I dig hiphop. It's not the easiest thing to dance to - but you can get down. I danced pretty steadily for about an hour, but after slapping four DIFFERENT pairs of hands away from going UP my skirt (annd I was actually dancing rather conservatively - comparing), and witnessing a girl literally hump a guy on the floor (and I was just praying that the bits I couldn't see had clothes on them), I decided that I needed to be MUCH drunker than the almost stone-sober I was to enjoy this. I held out dancing on and off until 1:45, then decided that it really wasn't going to get any better, and besides, I had to go to work in the morning. The club closed at 3am, and I didn't think I wanted to see the effects of any more alcohol in the bloodstreams of the folx around me. I had the distinct feeling that people had been shot as they were leaving this club, and I wanted to be gone WELL before that.
As I was leaving, there were still people coming INTO the club - white eyeliner and gold fronts everywhere. I laughed as I left - I swear, sometimes there are REALLY perfectly good reasons for not going out. As I left, the security guard told me to be sure to come back Saturday - as the club "gets a lot more live". I don't think I could HANDLE any more live than that.
So - now I'm on the hunt. I've GOT to find someplace that I can go and dance and have a good time without having to deal with nasty ass dudes and trampy acting girls and nasty attitudes in general. I hope it wasn't simply the almost all-black clientle that made it so...unpleasant (my people, my people) but I figure I'll try Have a Nice Day Cafe next Thursday - once again a cover free ladies night. Anything has GOT to be better than that - and it's much closer to home - on a MAIN street even. *sigh*
I'm a dancing queen with no club to call home.....

Wish me luck.

Peace

* I found it sadly ironic that the man who wrote the song "War" dies of a heart attack during a war that so much of the world didn't support.

Its - interesting. I have no comments, no predictions about what's going to happen over there now. I hope the CF's are able to start to make good on their promises to the Iraqi people. I think that would be the only thing that would turn the Iraqis against the western forces - if the freedoms and jobs and money and healthcare and water and oil profits don't come back to them in clearly seen and easily proven ways. Now is not the time for nepotism or tax dodges.

Eh. As for Syria and Iran... what will be will be.

Bitter

I LOVE Me'Shell NdegeOcello . She's got a voice out of this world, and can play the bass like nobodys business...AND she's a hot bald woman. Her *thinks* 3rd album was called Bitter and that has been what I've been listening to (when I don't actually have the radio on) all weekend. It fits the feelings of helpless misrey I've been dealing with.

Eh. Sometimes I feel like it's rather stupid of me to care - almost ridiculous for me to see the sight of a city of 5 million being strafed and burning and feel a twinge of horror for the people who live - and hopefully did not die there.
I have a hard time trying to make my words of protest understandable as words of support for the troops. I admire/respect/pity the men and women who are fighting over there. I admire them because they have what must be the hardest job on earth - consiously killing others. I respect them because they can come back home and turn WHATEVER it is that allows them to kill off, and be calm, humane, productive parts of society. I pity them, because they are part of a battle that has nothing to do with 'defending' our shores, against a country that is 50% children, and against a treacherous dictator who has no problem massacring his own. I support our troops - I support their right to live and to be with their families and thus I am against this war. I don't blame them for where they are - they are soldiers, which inherently means they have no right to question their orders. I understand how they got there - I've thought about joining the military but realized that the free school and the GI Bill would mean jack all after I was court martialed for going AWOL the first time I was expected to kill.
I blame the so-called 'leaders' of our country - those men who never HAD to face the thought of killing another man and then returning to their normal lives. I blame them for EVERY death - Iraqi and American and British and Australian. I blame them for not trying something different. I blame them for not being STRONG enough to decide to assasinate Saddam rather than waging a war that is about as legal as assasinating him would be. I blame them for all of the vet's who will return to rocky lives, rocky marriages, a rocky economy and the awareness of the blood on their hands that will forever be buried in their psyche .

So - sometimes I'm a little bitter when I hear "We can't critize the President because we have to support our troops". Nothing I can say is going to make them feel better about what they are FORCED to do - but perhaps something I say can convince those who ARE forcing them to fight and die to bring them home and persue other avenues of 'regime change'.
I get downright aggravated when I read editorials about how some people have no right to protest because they've never fought. I start to get a little pissed off when people try to tell me that by protesting I'm disrespecting the memory of all the men & women who have died to GIVE me the right to protest. I simply cannot understand what web of idiocy has been draped over those peoples minds. How can they NOT understand that standing silent when I am in disagreement with my government would be the greatest form of disrespect I could possibly show those brave people? I am going to honor the memory of those who have gone before by exercising the right they DIED for. I am going to honor the soldiers who are currently putting their lives on the line by demanding that they NOT have to die for whatever spurious 'rationale' Bush & Co. come up with next.

So. I'm bitter about the state of the world today. I'm bitter that America has decided that she can try to run the rest of the world at her own expense. I'm bitter that becaue of our 'brilliant' policy of pre-emptive attack, we have opened the door to far greater atrocities than Saddam could ever commit on his own.

Mostly though, I'm bitter that in a country that is supposedly the bastion of Democracy - the People are being ignored and dismissed, and the Powers that Be don't even have the decency to try to present a compelling, true and convincing argument to support this war. I don't think that is asking for too much - and I don't think that DEMANDING that explanation is anything BUT the highest expression of our patriotic pride.

Corey's Song

a make me wanna holla
ya make me wanna scream
you make me wanna reach out
and color in the blank spots that I feel in between
every time we talk it’s to be a dead end
you hear what you think
I’m just trying to get out what I feel
Cold…perhaps
but you quench my flames
I feel free away from you
no need to worry
I’m not gonna cause you any pain

Come together
come together
make a bond that will last forever
reaching for a dream
reaching for a hope
it’s breaking my heart
can we cope?

I see your face in my dreams
I hear your voice in my thoughts
I feel you touching me
but never in my heart
What’s holding you back
where did we go wrong
Am I a building to attack
or a woman just trying to carry on

Come together
come together
make a bond that will last forever
reaching for a dream
reaching for a hope
it’s breaking my heart
can we cope?

The end is near
if we go on this way
you hearing your thoughts
me saying what I’m trying to say
Take me for who I am
or don’t take me at all
don’t expect me to be your dream
cuz then we both will fall

Come together
come together
make a bond that will last forever
reaching for a dream
reaching for a hope
it’s breaking my heart
can we cope?

I’m just me
Not who you want me to be

I’m just me
a woman who needs space to be free
I’m just Jazzy
and that’s all I can be

Come together
come together
make a bond that will last forever
reaching for a dream
reaching for a hope
it’s breaking my heart
can we cope?

New Survey....

The song that you would have wanted to have played the day you were born:
“Born to be Wildddddddd”

Four songs that best represent your childhood:
“Rolling Stone” – The Tempations
“Opps, Upside yo Head” – some disco group
“Girls just wanna have fun” – Cyndi Lauper
“Cry if I want to” – No clue

The songs you most associate with being in love:
“Loving You” – Minnie Ripperton
“Angel of Mine” – Monica? Brandy? One of em…
“Finally” – Shanice
“the U 4 U” – Arrested Development
“Still the One” – Shania Twain

The song that you sing when you're walking in the rain
“Singing in The rain” – Gene Kelly (Thanks ~Axis!!) And yes…sometimes I do the umbrella twirl & skip

The song that represents your friends:
“Pride, A Deeper Love” - can’t remember

The song that makes your spirit fly
“Amazing Grace”
“Joyful, Joyful”

One song for the road you travel:
“Everything Must Change” – Oleta Adams

Driving music
Ms. Jackson and Disco Music

Two songs for dancing like a crazy fox
“I Would Die 4 U” – Prince
“Tennessee” – Aresseted Development

Five songs you can't help but sing along with at the top of your lungs:
“I Get so Lonely” – Ms. Jackson
“BrickHouse” – The Commodores (Thanks Buckethead!)
“Sh!t, D@mn, M#thaf#cker” – D’ Angelo
“Fairy Tales” – Anita Baker
“Your Love” – Whitney Houston
“Let’s Get Married – The Remix” – Jagged Edge

One song you think you sound good at when you sing it a capella (your friends may not agree):
“Loving You” – Minne Ripperton

Three instrumentals you'd share with your friends:
Sweetback’s Entire Album
“Seven Moments of Love” – The Art of Noise

One song for when you think about your own mortality:
“Forever Young” – Rod Stewart

Songs that best represent greatest sorrows in your life:
“It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday” - Boyz II Men
“How can I live without you” – LeAnn Rimes

Songs that represent people you've loved (past and present)
“If you Don’t Know Me” – The Whispers?
“I Don’t Have The Heart” – James Ingram
“Every Step you Take” - *hangs head* I really like the Puffy/Faith Version

Your favorite TV theme
The Smurfs

A song you play when you're lonely:
If I want to cheer myself up – Disco
If I want to stay lonely – “Bitter” by Me’shell N’degechello

The song you want played at your funeral:
“Time and Chance” – Color Me Badd

Five songs to round out your life so far
“Father of Mine” – EverClear
“Control” – Ms. Jackson
“I Get Around” – Tu Pac
“Fishing For Religion” – Arrested Development
“Pomp and Circumstance”

And of course, the things you'd never be caught dead with on your life's soundtrack:

Any hard Metal

One song you'd never want to admit to having liked
*grins* I have funky tastes so I admit to all of my weird ass musical likings…

One song you'd be glad never to hear again
That DAMN I wish song my R. Kelly. Him and his whiny ass.


*grins* That was fun…. But not quite satisfying somehow. Hm…

Stay Jazzzed.

Singing Survey

The point of this survey (that I stole) is to answer each question with a lyric - it looked challenging so I thought I'd give it a go.

1~ Who are you?
I’m a bitch, I’m a lover, I’m a child, I’m a mother, I’m a sinner, I’m a saint, I do not feel ashamed, I’m your hell, and your dream, and nothing in between and I wouldn’t want it any other way (Meredith Brooks ‘Bitch’)
2~What do you look like?
‘cuz she’s a brick….HOOOOOOOUUUUZZZZZZEEEEE… she mighty mighty, letting it all hang out. (Parlamint Funkadelic ?? )
3~What's your secret?
I try to say goodbye and I choke, I try to walk away but I stumble. Although I try to hide it, it’s clear. My world crumbles when you are not here. (Macy Gray, “I Try”)
4~What do you want to be?
Iiiiiiiiiii…wanna be RICH! (who is this by??)
5~What can you do?
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. (????)
6~What can't you do?
I’d do anything, but I won’t do that (Meatloaf ???)
7~What is love?
Love Is. ( Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight “Love is” )
8~What is friendship?
Keep smiling, keep striving, knowing you can always count on me, for sure, that’s what friends are for ( Dionne Warwick ‘Friends’ )
9~Are you strong?
Gotta be, gotta be bad, gotta be bold, gotta be wiser. Gotta be tough, gotta be strong, gotta be harder ( Des’ree ‘Gotta Be’)
10~What are you afraid of?
When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling saddddddd…… ( The Sound of Music ‘Favorite Things’)
11~What would you tell the one who loves you?
Loving you, is easy ‘cuz you’re beautiful, and making love with you, is alll I want to do (Minnie Ripperton “Loving You’)
12~What do you want to do?
I wanna live forever, I wanna learn how to fly… HIGH! ( Theme song to ‘Fame’)
13~What do you want to say?
They say I’m hopeless….as a penny with a hole in it. ( Dionne Farris ‘Hopeless’)
14~Where do you want to be?
This, is the place where I belong, right here in your arms, without you something is wrong ( Shai )
15~Who do you love?
Whatta man, whatta man, whatta man, whatta mighty good man, yes he is ya’ll…. ( Salt & Peppa with En Vouge ‘Whatta Man’)
16~How do you feel?
I feel love love love love crazzzzzzyyyyyy love (Brian McKnight ‘Crazy Love’)

hmmmmmm…that was kinda fun… I sorta wish there were more questions though. I might add some later..


Stay Jazzed.

Silent Weekend

Well….good news. I don’t have strep throat (YAYY!!!) but I have been popping Advil like they are candy to ease the pain in my throat and ears. Hopefully the new drug they gave me for the ‘fluid’ (goop) in my ears will really help and I won’t have to wake up and take Advil’s. But anyway, I’m feeling a little better.. thanks for the soup Zoe~!!

My weekend was good. Quiet, involved me lying in bed or on the couch, watching TV or reading. *sighs* Simply lovely. And since Chef came over and babied me, I had no complaints. This has been the first weekend in a while that I left the laptop at work, mainly because I knew quite well that I was not going to touch it all.
I actually don’t have much to talk about…though I did get some new music this weekend. Common, Angie Stone, some bass music, and two CD’s of disco music mixes. *smiles* We were jamming to the disco music for sure. It’s amazing how much disco music I know/remember even though I didn’t really hear it that much then.

Ugh. I am really forcing it right now….so I will just go.

Stay Jazzed.

Emotion

swaying
in the sea wind
my toes rooted
to the center of the world
my arms raised
hands like twin moons
I take in
the sea
the sky
the sun
and become whole

I got my new CD’s from Columbia house yesterday, and one of the ones I got was Jazzyfatnastees The Once and Future . Can I say that these sisters are jamming? They remind me of someone but I can’t figure out who. They are singing…forgive me sanging and it is a really peaceful groove. Especially the songs Unconventional Ways and Related to Me .

I’m all disturbed. My innards feel all flip-floppy, like there is something that I was supposed to do and have neglected for so long that nothing can fix it. I think I might just need some sleep (I am going home and going STRAIGHT to bed tonight…really),but…I think it is something more. Something is nagging at the edges of my mind, and I wish it would just be bold and step out, or I would be bold enough to pry into myself and figure it out. I feel like I am forgetting to breathe, and am living on borrowed air and memories.

I have to do something for my mommy. I have been reading through some of my favorites diaries, and talking to people, and I realize that the peacefully beautifully strong relationship I have with my mother is priceless. I can honestly say that I LOVE my mother, without any hesitations, without any quibbles, without even the thought that she could change. She is perfect just the way she is…*smiles* for an example… I WANT to turn into my mother as I get older. I think that nothing else would make me feel better that to grow into the woman that she is.

*shivers* I’m all emotional for no clear reason…and I’m not even hormonal. Ugh. This sucks. Maybe it’s the music. I have been listening to these women all last night, and all day today (since I’ve been at work). But the music you listen it reflects your mood… right? I can’t imagine listening to anything else right now…

Stay Jazzed.

Musical Interlude

That was FUN!!!! I am just getting back in from the Amel Laruiex (I know I just butchered her name) and D’angelo concert.

*sighs* Soooo much fun. I had been nearing about it on the radio, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to go. I called the box office today, and there wrre still tickets left, AND the concert was less than a block away from my house, so I figured why not?? : ) Oh man… soooo good.

It was kinda odd being there by myself, but after a point I was so into the music it would have been a waste to have some there with me…especially if they wanted to talk. After this I think that I might have to get both of their CD’s. *sighs* Mo’ money Mo’ money. Anyhow…. I dropped a suitcase on my foot last night as I was unpacking and ripped a big ole chunk of flesh out of the side of my pinkie toe, so wearing shoes was a LITTLE painful…if that hadn’t been the case, I would be at the after party…but my feet were warning me that after standing through the whole concert…there was no WAY they were going to be doing anymore dancing. ; ) But… on the way out I ran into one of the cool folx from Lilly that I had my interview with, and she gave me her card. *sighs* This whole human interaction/friendship building thing is ODD. Anyhow, she gave me her card, so I might be able to get some inside stuff from her.

The whole personals thing is going well… kinda sorta. There are only two guys that I have heard from that I think might be cool…and I am not sure a bout them. *sighs* Anyhow… I figure there is never any harm in trying, only in the refusing to try.

Okay… I’m cold & sleepy so I am off. Hopefully my foot will feel good enough tomorrow so I can wander around the AfricaFest.


Stay Jazzed.