Presidents Day
I was so worn out from the weekend that even though Robin pushed boot camp back to 10am on account of it being President's Day, I still couldn't be arsed to get up in time. I slept in until sometime after 11 and then I promptly went to the kitchen to cook brunch. I made omelets with fresh chive and shredded cheddar and tomatoes, with bacon. Dylan made coffee.
We watched some DVR and then I messed around on the computer, going through a lot of my music files. I went through the "unassigned" file and realized everything in there was pretty much either crap, or just empty files. I got that cleaned out, and then I listened to all the songs in the "Petunia Bonaparte 5000" file. Petunia is the drag alter-ego of my friend, Nathan, and we started working on songs together last year but life got in the way for both of us and we stalled after getting 4 songs in various states of being finished. Petunia did perform one of the songs, "All the WeHo Boys Say" at Shitting Glitter's Hot Pursuit at The Palms once, and one of the other songs ("Tranny in a Bag") was sounding really good. I sent Nathan an e-mail after listening to them all again because I'd like to finish these. I hate having unfinished projects, and also with my recent strides in my production skills, I think I could finish them easily. Man, wouldn't it be nice if someday I just produced music for a living? Imagine...
It was such a beautiful day that it was a shame we didn't go outside until it was dark. Dylan wanted to go to Pomodoro (an Italian restaurant at Santa Monica and LaBrea) so I said we should walk. But, but the time he got ready, it was dark and I had Invisible Material rehearsal in 2 hours, so we ended up driving. We ordered off the tasting menu, which was an excellent deal. I had gnocchi in a braised lamb sauce, then a seafood risotto, and this chocolate raspberry desert and some chianti. Dylan had the same thing except instead of the risotto he had this delicious pork that was cooked in milk and served with spinach and pan-fried polenta. Yum!
We ran upstairs to Target after dinner because I had to get a jump rope for boot camp. Dylan was going to shop but I needed a ride to the studio (Cascade Rehearsal in Hollywood.) We ran through "Grown Man Cries" a few times before Rick and Melodie, my friends who are directing the video for us, and their DP showed up. Once they arrived, we performed it for them and then they filmed us and looked for different shots and angles and such for when we do the video. We ran through most of our other songs while they were doing that. I got really hot and sweaty.
I was going to walk home, but I asked Ben how far west he goes on Santa Monica and he said he would just take me home if I needed a ride. I told him he could just go up over Laurel Canyon after dropping me off anyway so it wasn't too far out of his way. Dylan was surprised cause he thought I was going to call him.
At home, we watched Project Runway from 2 weeks ago. It's so easy to get behind on shows now with DVR, and getting caught up can really be a challenge sometimes! Meanwhile, I am now behind on Drag Race once again.
Oh, since it's Presidents Day, I should say something nice about Obama. I was starting to lose confidence in him because I, like many people who voted for him, just had too high of expectations. Did I really think he was going to end DADT, the protection of "marriage" act, prop 8, and homophobia in general, and transform our government into what I think it should be all right away? Maybe not, but I sure hoped he would make some progress, but just like I said when Bush was president and I tried to calm Dylan down, no president of the USA has absolute power to change everything in this country. In fact, on the general topics of politics, I have learned so much already from Obama being president. When I got involved in politics, it was because so many people around me were so disappointed in George W. Bush and so vocal about it. It made me take note and start paying attention, and what I found was very discouraging. Even when I wasn't too aware of such things, I had already gotten the impression that Bush was an idiot who had cheated his way into office, but once I learned about his policies and positions, especially how anti-gay his administration was, I decided to do something about it. In my little cocoon of democrats, liberals, and gays, I didn't know anyone who supported Bush or the republican party. I thought that everyone realized that Bush not only didn't respond correctly to 9/11, but that the climate he created actually helped cause it and his administration failed to prevent it due to incompetence. So, you can imagine my shock and horror when he was "reelected" in 2004. But having said all that, really all I had ever experienced since paying attention was a president I was ashamed of and disagreed with on just about everything. When Obama came along and pretty much everyone I knew loved him and voted for him, I thought all would be right with the world. Well, it sure is a wake-up call when suddenly you have to hear people on the other side of the coin. I am really surprised we don't have a civil war break out in America at any given time. People are just so divided. I just don't really think I have any way to communicate or understand a person who believes that abortion should be illegal or that gays shouldn't be allowed to get married, or that the bible is the literal word of a magical sky fairy. I mean, I do have a handful of "conservative" friends but I either have deluded myself into believing that they agree with me on the issues that matter most to me (mainly gay marriage) or that they are just too old or were brought up in a certain way and they don't know any better. Anyway, now that the democrats have been such a big failure, it really makes me question where I belong on the political spectrum. I was proud to be a democrat up until Nov. 2008 but after the election I've wondered if being a democrat is really a label I need to wear. On one hand, it's a shame that so many people in this country allow themselves to be reduced to either "democrat" or "republican" when it's so much more complex than that; on the other hand, really there does seem to be two types of people in this country. To try and put it simply, to me it seems there are those who value the bible and their loved ones/family and their gut feelings and instincts above all else and err on the side of caution which easily slips into paranoia, believing in the old adage "better the devil you know" and valuing tradition and normalcy; these people tend to be republicans and christians. Then there are those who take a more scholarly approach and tend to look more at the big picture and have empathy for people they don't know and are a little more optimistic and tend to think things will work out as long as people work together, these people are also curious and like to learn facts and hear different viewpoints before choosing a side. I'd like to think these people are usually liberals and republicans and up until now, democrats, but I've realized a lot of democrats actually fall into the first category when the going gets tough. Anyway, that's just the honest to goodness way that I've seen things so far in my life but I wish things would change.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 45
Whilst trying to organize and obtain some more room on my record shelf, I pulled out my rather impressive "Thompson Twins" section. Most people who know me are already aware that I am a huge fan and collector of this British pop group, so it should come as no surprise that I have a tons of records by them. But what surprised even me was the amount of duplicates I had. Seeing no reason to keep the extra copies, I gave them all to my friend DJ Myles Matisse, so this will provide me with 5 entries worth for this series. I'll start with the only duplicate album I had (the rest were 12" singles): "Into The Gap." This is probably the Thompson Twins' best loved and most well known album, including the singles "Hold Me Now" and "Doctor Doctor" which were two of their biggest hits. I still love this album and play it to this day, but seeing as I have it on cassette, CD, a CD reissue with bonus tracks, and I even bought it on iTunes at one point, I really have no reason to keep 2 copies of it on vinyl!
We watched some DVR and then I messed around on the computer, going through a lot of my music files. I went through the "unassigned" file and realized everything in there was pretty much either crap, or just empty files. I got that cleaned out, and then I listened to all the songs in the "Petunia Bonaparte 5000" file. Petunia is the drag alter-ego of my friend, Nathan, and we started working on songs together last year but life got in the way for both of us and we stalled after getting 4 songs in various states of being finished. Petunia did perform one of the songs, "All the WeHo Boys Say" at Shitting Glitter's Hot Pursuit at The Palms once, and one of the other songs ("Tranny in a Bag") was sounding really good. I sent Nathan an e-mail after listening to them all again because I'd like to finish these. I hate having unfinished projects, and also with my recent strides in my production skills, I think I could finish them easily. Man, wouldn't it be nice if someday I just produced music for a living? Imagine...
It was such a beautiful day that it was a shame we didn't go outside until it was dark. Dylan wanted to go to Pomodoro (an Italian restaurant at Santa Monica and LaBrea) so I said we should walk. But, but the time he got ready, it was dark and I had Invisible Material rehearsal in 2 hours, so we ended up driving. We ordered off the tasting menu, which was an excellent deal. I had gnocchi in a braised lamb sauce, then a seafood risotto, and this chocolate raspberry desert and some chianti. Dylan had the same thing except instead of the risotto he had this delicious pork that was cooked in milk and served with spinach and pan-fried polenta. Yum!
We ran upstairs to Target after dinner because I had to get a jump rope for boot camp. Dylan was going to shop but I needed a ride to the studio (Cascade Rehearsal in Hollywood.) We ran through "Grown Man Cries" a few times before Rick and Melodie, my friends who are directing the video for us, and their DP showed up. Once they arrived, we performed it for them and then they filmed us and looked for different shots and angles and such for when we do the video. We ran through most of our other songs while they were doing that. I got really hot and sweaty.
I was going to walk home, but I asked Ben how far west he goes on Santa Monica and he said he would just take me home if I needed a ride. I told him he could just go up over Laurel Canyon after dropping me off anyway so it wasn't too far out of his way. Dylan was surprised cause he thought I was going to call him.
At home, we watched Project Runway from 2 weeks ago. It's so easy to get behind on shows now with DVR, and getting caught up can really be a challenge sometimes! Meanwhile, I am now behind on Drag Race once again.
Oh, since it's Presidents Day, I should say something nice about Obama. I was starting to lose confidence in him because I, like many people who voted for him, just had too high of expectations. Did I really think he was going to end DADT, the protection of "marriage" act, prop 8, and homophobia in general, and transform our government into what I think it should be all right away? Maybe not, but I sure hoped he would make some progress, but just like I said when Bush was president and I tried to calm Dylan down, no president of the USA has absolute power to change everything in this country. In fact, on the general topics of politics, I have learned so much already from Obama being president. When I got involved in politics, it was because so many people around me were so disappointed in George W. Bush and so vocal about it. It made me take note and start paying attention, and what I found was very discouraging. Even when I wasn't too aware of such things, I had already gotten the impression that Bush was an idiot who had cheated his way into office, but once I learned about his policies and positions, especially how anti-gay his administration was, I decided to do something about it. In my little cocoon of democrats, liberals, and gays, I didn't know anyone who supported Bush or the republican party. I thought that everyone realized that Bush not only didn't respond correctly to 9/11, but that the climate he created actually helped cause it and his administration failed to prevent it due to incompetence. So, you can imagine my shock and horror when he was "reelected" in 2004. But having said all that, really all I had ever experienced since paying attention was a president I was ashamed of and disagreed with on just about everything. When Obama came along and pretty much everyone I knew loved him and voted for him, I thought all would be right with the world. Well, it sure is a wake-up call when suddenly you have to hear people on the other side of the coin. I am really surprised we don't have a civil war break out in America at any given time. People are just so divided. I just don't really think I have any way to communicate or understand a person who believes that abortion should be illegal or that gays shouldn't be allowed to get married, or that the bible is the literal word of a magical sky fairy. I mean, I do have a handful of "conservative" friends but I either have deluded myself into believing that they agree with me on the issues that matter most to me (mainly gay marriage) or that they are just too old or were brought up in a certain way and they don't know any better. Anyway, now that the democrats have been such a big failure, it really makes me question where I belong on the political spectrum. I was proud to be a democrat up until Nov. 2008 but after the election I've wondered if being a democrat is really a label I need to wear. On one hand, it's a shame that so many people in this country allow themselves to be reduced to either "democrat" or "republican" when it's so much more complex than that; on the other hand, really there does seem to be two types of people in this country. To try and put it simply, to me it seems there are those who value the bible and their loved ones/family and their gut feelings and instincts above all else and err on the side of caution which easily slips into paranoia, believing in the old adage "better the devil you know" and valuing tradition and normalcy; these people tend to be republicans and christians. Then there are those who take a more scholarly approach and tend to look more at the big picture and have empathy for people they don't know and are a little more optimistic and tend to think things will work out as long as people work together, these people are also curious and like to learn facts and hear different viewpoints before choosing a side. I'd like to think these people are usually liberals and republicans and up until now, democrats, but I've realized a lot of democrats actually fall into the first category when the going gets tough. Anyway, that's just the honest to goodness way that I've seen things so far in my life but I wish things would change.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 45
Whilst trying to organize and obtain some more room on my record shelf, I pulled out my rather impressive "Thompson Twins" section. Most people who know me are already aware that I am a huge fan and collector of this British pop group, so it should come as no surprise that I have a tons of records by them. But what surprised even me was the amount of duplicates I had. Seeing no reason to keep the extra copies, I gave them all to my friend DJ Myles Matisse, so this will provide me with 5 entries worth for this series. I'll start with the only duplicate album I had (the rest were 12" singles): "Into The Gap." This is probably the Thompson Twins' best loved and most well known album, including the singles "Hold Me Now" and "Doctor Doctor" which were two of their biggest hits. I still love this album and play it to this day, but seeing as I have it on cassette, CD, a CD reissue with bonus tracks, and I even bought it on iTunes at one point, I really have no reason to keep 2 copies of it on vinyl!
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