5 easy steps to set yourself free from procrastination

happy memorial day

Thank you for fighting for me.  For keeping peace for me.  And for being  brave for all of us. 

I smiled catching this collection on the front page of Etsy earlier today and am grateful to those who serve our country so I may pursue my passions.

(A shout out to my big bro!)

oh, and this happened here last night.

this sexy beast kept me company yesterday...

... while I organized my art studio.

(The video, not the man.  *sigh*)  And while I organized, I did not throw or burn anything.  Well, maybe "lightly tossed".

Enjoy!
xorm

i think andy samberg is wishing me happy birthday...

This part 2 to Lazy Sunday premiered last night, so it stands to reason that the Sunday they are rappin' about is today, my birthday!

Thanks Samberg and Parns!  You guys are dope.

rip mca, damnit.

A sad pause today when a friend came up and told me MCA had died.


I remember the first time a friend mentioned MCA.  In my middle school gym class we had been broken into teams and assigned to perform aerobic dance moves to a song of our choice.  The cool girl lead her team in showing off their moves to Brass Monkey.  We were all so jealous that we hadn't had access to use that song, too.  It's hard to get your hands on the latest cassette tape when you don't have older siblings or an allowance.

I later borrowed the tape from a friend in class, James (also, RIP) and took it home to play over my parents stereo system.  I plugged in the tape upstairs then rushed downstairs to the remote kitchen speakers mounted high on the wall and stood on a chair so my ear would be just next to the emanating beats.  I was loving every song and starting to catch the words and learn which voice belonged to which emcee.  My mom, concerned with this new *rap* music, came and accused the Beastie Boys of having foul language and therefore I shouldn't listen to them (may be why she never got the chance to witness me listening to DJ Quik).  I assured her they only had one bad word in the whole tape.  And it wasn't even the eff word.

I know I later saw the Beastie Boys somewhere, can't remember what the first time was.  I was at the Free Tibet Concert in San Francisco.  Can't recall if it was the first or second year or both.  Bjork was there.

My favorite show watching them was during their Hello Nasty tour at the Oakland Coliseum.  At that show I learned how those screaming girls in the clips of Beatles fans felt.  I couldn't stop screaming during the show.  Oh, I wasn't screaming when we all (the whole 50,000 person audience) recited the lyrics to Paul Revere.  Is it Ad Rock who starts it off?  All he said was, "Nooowwww" and we all went at it.  THAT's got to feel amazing.  To have so many people jump in and know shit you wrote.  And knowing they've had to have known it for the past decade, plus.  Yum.  Good Feelings.  Props on that.




*title inspired by @biorhythmist

he would have turned 32...

I just backed Clem Snide's new album in the works, over at kickstarter.  Eef's writen songs inspired by individuals, reaching out to his fans.  People such as Lizzy,  Mary, the parents of Atticus...

The songs will be recorded this summer in Nashville with some fancy-pants players.  If you wanna get in on the ground-floor of fun, check out the project here.

I first (and only) saw Clem Snide live in Seattle when I was visiting my favorite Cousin Andrew.  He had heard about Clem Snide and was glad I was in town so we could go check them out at The Crocodile.  Eef covered a Britney tune.

I've seen Clem Snide in the local line up a couple times and have watched Eef Barzelay online playing beautifully heartfelt tunes.  Whenever I see the name, I think of Cousin Andrew.  I'm happy to support this new album in his honor.  He would have turned 32 on Tuesday.  Happy Birthday Cousin.

the most powerful f*ucking woman...

I love AFP.  I first fell in love with her after watching this talk (especially at 2:03).  I've kept the love going sometimes watching this video on repeat dozens of times straight.  I've done that many days over the past couple of years.  It's got horrible lighting, lackluster sound, but SO  M U C H  SUPPORT from her fans.  Ahhhh.

Amanda Fucking Palmer evokes courage, depth of feeling, and fantastic expression.  Today she has one simple, quiet request for her birthday...

She posted her request early in the morning, and by the time I got to the link, her base wish had been fulfilled BY DOUBLE.  (Edit:  Now day 2 has brought 100K more!  I love that you all love her so much!!!)  But the more we bid, the more detail she and her team of artists can put into the products and the more she inspires us to follow our dreams as the support we need to live will find us!!!  And the more we all prove the old way of publishing music by being tied to a record label is coming undone.

(For full impact, go watch this video on Amanda's site and read her birthday announcement.)

So, did you actually follow the links and watch the videos?  That's your homework for the night.  Just fucking do it.

i want to slow jam the news, and i'm not the only one

"The loan you save may be your own"

hipsters, the next generation

"My mom forgot to make us brunch because she's at kickball"