- Last night, I was invited to partake in a great “bad beer” podcast, and it was a LOT of fun. I really miss hanging out with the people that were a part of it (my old trivia group for the most part), and it was great to finally meet one of the bloggers I have known URL for a while in person. I hope that we get to do more of those types of things in the future. It was funny that our podcast was talking about how bad chelada style beer was, when I am kind of a fan of Miller Chill. In fact, I actually really like it… so long as it is cold. The other beers we tried (Bud Light Lime, Tequiza, and Michelob Ultra Lime and Cactus) were all gross. I’ll let you know when the podcast is up, and you can here the silly fun we had drinking bad beers.
- I have been having random fits of sneezing. The allergies in Atlanta are nuts, and this year is no exception. I guess there is something to be said about consistency; regardless of how annoying it may be sometimes.
- On Tuesday night, I went out to dinner with some friends at a new local restaurant, and I did something that I have not done in a LONG time… I left the waiter zero tip. Hear me out… I waited tables for 5+ years at various restaurants, all of which served alcohol. I have NEVER in my life ever told someone that they had to pay for a drink that they determined to be undrinkable. In fact, I often apologized for something that I had no part in; I never was a bartender, and I never made those drinks. However, we always made it right, and made sure the customer was happy each and every time. I ordered a drink that was absolutely disgusting (which shouldn’t have been), and it was a simple bar mistake. I stand by the fact that this is something that I should not have had to pay for; yet, he made me pay for the drink (even though he took the totally full beverage and poured it out). Unfortunately for this establishment, this is a lesson that I have learned about that place, and as such I will not be drinking there ever again; which pretty much means it has moved itself to the bottom of my list of places to go eat. It sucks too, because being a local restaurant, I really want to support it, but I can’t control how restaurants treat their patrons. Having been a waiter myself, I put up with A LOT of mistakes without saying a word, but this was just ridiculous. Oh well… there is sure to be a yelp review to come about the experience!
- I have to say, that I was a little surprised by who won AI last night. Oh well, the proof is in the pudding; we’ll see when they release their records, right?! George Michael’s performance on the show was AMAZING. Also, is it me, or is Carrie Underwood completely unstoppable? I mean, she is F-I-E-R-C-E fierce! Not only is she beautiful, but she can sing the shit out of anything!! Maybe I need to download her records…
- Speaking of amazing music, the song that I featured last week, Just Dance, by Lady Gaga, is one of the most amazing songs ever. Seriously, this song is going to be my song of the summer. I have had it on repeat since last week… Loves it.
- That’s about it… I guess. Anything going on with you that you want to talk about?? Anything questions you want to ask me that are just burning in your brain? Let me know!
Category: happenings
all about me, friends, happenings, is it just me?, venting, wtf?!
beer fests and marta
by duane • • 10 Comments
So yesterday, Brody invited me up to the Dunwoody beer festival, and I decided that the best, and most responsible thing to do, would be to ride Marta up, and then catch a ride home with James later on in the evening. I was to meet Brody around 2pm, but being in the hurry I was, I forgot my ticket for the festival, so I had to go home and get it. Well, it only set me back a little bit, so I should have still been there around 2:30. No worries. Well, I got to Marta about 2, thinking it would take about 30 minutes MAX to ride up to Dunwoody. Well, I waited at 5 points for literally, over 40 minutes, while no less than 3 trains (15-20 minutes apart) for Doraville came through. Finally, I got on the last Doraville train, and changed trains at Lindbergh. It turns out, that this is the new way they do things; you get your transfer train to North Springs at Lindbergh, and not 5 points, as it has been in the past. WTF? Marta, you get a huge dose of FAIL, not only for having trains only come once every 20 minutes (seriously unacceptable), but for not indicating to riders the necessary information they need to actually get from A to B successfully.
I can definitely say that I will think long and hard before I get on Marta again. It is bad enough that our city has a sub-par AT BEST transit system, but to find out that even that is unreliable, and at best filled with fault and flaws galore, that it really makes one shake their head. Why can so many cities master the city transit system, but Atlanta just can’t seem to do anything right? Ugh… frustration is all I seem to get from Marta these days, and it is frustration that I can thankfully all but avoid entirely.
After I finally got my destination a full HOUR after I set off on my journey, I had a blast hanging out with Brody, Dave, and other assorted members of their kick ball team. It was a pretty fun day. I can’t say that I drank $30 worth of booze (the price of the ticket), but I did find a new potential favorite beer in Warsteiner’s Cola beer. Holy shit! That stuff is insanely good, and very refreshing. I never though I would like a cola flavored beer, but it is damn good. I am going to be consuming lots of it this summer, I can feel it.
Either way, it all turned out to be a fun day with friends and booze, but it began with a big dose of FAIL, ala Marta style. Boo Marta… yay booze and friends.
all about me, flickr, happenings, listen up!, music musings, music suggestion
ear plugs and narrow stairs
by duane • • 5 Comments
So I have been thinking about doing it for a long time, because I think that ear plugs look incredibly hot on guys, but recently, I have been thinking more and more seriously about it. Well, a friend of mines family came into town not too long ago, and her nephew had plugs, and for whatever reason, that made the interest go WAY up. I felt like I HAD to get them.
Well, cut to yesterday… I got them. I got my ears pierced yesterday at the Piercing Experience in Inman Park, and except for the pain of having your ear jabbed with a big needle, I couldn’t be happier. Brian, the piercer at PE was AMAZING. Totally gentle, and extremely kind. Seriously, if you want ANYTHING pierced, I would not recommend anyone else; he was extremely awesome with my piercings. I am not going to lie and say that it didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be (I guess). I am glad that it is over, and the healing can begin. I have already picked out some great stone plugs for when I get all healed up, but until then, I am rocking some clear glass, and I have to say, that they are quite fetching.
I can’t believe I went through with it, to be honest, but now that I have them, I am totally loving them. Getting pierced at a big gauge (6g!!!) was a bit intimidating, but Brian at PE made it as good of an experience as I think that it could have been. I am so glad I went there.
On a completely different note (no pun intended), I have been listened to the new Death Cab for Cutie album, Narrow Stairs,
from this blogger… do yourself a favor and pick it up!
concerts, flickr, happenings, hotness, listen up!, music musings, near and dear, photography, show the love
green tea heaven
by duane • • 3 Comments
I have found it; today, I had the best green tea frozen yogurt I have ever tasted. After lunch at Doc Chey’s, my buddy Deb and I wandered over the Yoforia to sample the “Italian frozen yogurt”, and after a small sample of the green tea flavor, we eagerly decided that is what we should get. They offer lots of different types of toppings, but to be totally honest, this frozen yogurt is so amazing, that it didn’t need anything… but a spoon and a mouth to put it in.
After I finished what I am now dubbing the “best green tea ice cream I have ever had”, I really wanted more. I love this place, Yoforia, and I will definitely be requesting future trips for more of this delectable treat. Perhaps the best thing about the sinful treat, is that it is totally fat free (!!!!!), and, totally organic. Can we say LOVE??? Yeah, love is officially spelled Y-O-F-O-R-I-A today folks… I seriously am considering going back again later tonight!!! I also totally love the decor in this place, it is very futuristic, with lots of orange. I loved the orange counters and the glass tiles in the bathroom. I want them for my house.
Now I have to see how I can convince Deb to go there after lunch (or before!??!?!) again tomorrow!!! YUM!
On a totally unrelated note; I finally uploaded a bunch of my Sara Bareilles pictures. I must say, that I got some AMAZING shots, so please, do me a favor, and go and check them out. Let me know what you think; I had a great time photographing the show, and I am definitely loving my new camera! More to come!!
happenings, hmm interesting, is it just me?, venting, well?, wtf?!
you’ll need to pour that out, or face a fine
by duane • • 5 Comments
This weekend had two main features; the first was my Anatomy final. I put it off as long as I could, and finally took it late Saturday afternoon. I did well (got a B), but I just can’t tell you how glad I am finished with it. Whew!!!
On Sunday, we packed up the cars and the boat and headed north for a day on the lake. We have been going to the same public boat dock every time we have gone to lake Lanier, so we went back, expecting to have a good time again. What we didn’t know, seriously, is that they didn’t allow alcohol at the dock. No big deal; if we had known that, we would have adjusted ourselves accordingly (flask, concealing it, or just going without).
About 2 hours into our day, a park ranger came out to our little tent and told us that there had been a report of us having Jack Daniels (the bottle was sitting in plain view next to our cooler), and that we had two options: 1) pour it out, or 2) get a ticket and have to leave the park. Well, it really pissed us off that we had to pour out a huge bottle of liquor (we actually had another one that he saw and made us pour out as well), but I think more so, the main thing that pissed us off, was that we were “reported”. We didn’t know that we couldn’t have alcohol, so we made no attempt to hide the fact that we had it. When we asked if we could just put it in the car, he repeated our two options, and we ended up pouring it out to avoid a fine of an unknown amount.
What really got us angry, is that seriously, we weren’t bothering anyone at all, the place where we had set up our tent was under a tree, and no one was around us. We were not being rowdy, nor were we being loud or disorderly. Someone had just called in to a park ranger because we simply had alcohol (again, we seriously didn’t know… and upon leaving, we did notice the 3inX5in sign saying no alcohol). I guess some people just aren’t content on letting you just enjoy your day without having to ruin it with getting “law enforcement” involved.
Whatever. If you turned us in, you suck dude, because seriously, we weren’t hurting anyone. Now, we know that when we come back, we will conceal our booze. This state has some serious issues with alcohol if you ask me.
concerts, flickr, happenings, listen up!, mixed media, music musings, music suggestion, near and dear, photography
welcome back, old friend!
by duane • • 0 Comments
I had to take a detour on the way to work today, because of the unpredictable Atlanta traffic practically shutting down 85N. I was sitting still on the exit from 20E, and I thought, “self, let’s just go down to University, and then pop back up Boulevard”. Well, low and behold, during my little detour, I managed to get a moment of sheer joy; I saw an old friend that I haven’t seen in what seems like an eternity!
Mr. Fangs is BACK!!! Check it:
Now, I am pretty sure that these are new, because I have been down through this area before, and I haven’t seen them before. James also mentioned the two black ones as new, because he drives that way to work every day, and he remembers them showing up recently.
I had pretty much given up on ever seeing a new Mr. Fangs, and in a sheer moment of randomness, I found TEN (if you click on the above photo, you can go to my flickr and see the others)! Normally, I would hate graffiti, but this little guy is just so cute and really brings a smile to my face. Seriously, seeing Mr. Fangs made my day!!!
Also, just a note about the concert last night. Basically, it was amazing. Everything I expected. Sara was effortlessly amazing, and totally flawless in both her singing, and in her stage presence. My buddy Deb went with me, and admitted that she had a new appreciation for Sara after seeing her live, simply because of how amazing she is live. I think that is why I gush about her so much, because that is how I found out about her, and after seeing her several times, she never disappoints me in the least. I got to take my XSi with me to the show, and I took hundreds of pictures, all of which I have yet to sort through and get to editing for flickr. Stay tuned for that in the near future. To satiate your potential appetite for those photos, how about a little video of Sara singing Genie in a Bottle:
While it was extremely tiring to stand in place for over 4 hours, the show was magnificent. The opening acts, David Ford, and Rachel Yamagata were both amazing as well. Overall, it was a great concert experience, and is definitely one of the best shows I have ever seen. It was also really cool to finally meet fellow bloggers, Mark and Chad; even if it was only for like 5 minutes. Hopefully, I will get to hang out with them again in the future. Overall, it was a great and wonderful night.
concerts, happenings, listen up!, music musings, music suggestion, photography
sara b at the variety p… tonight!
by duane • • 2 Comments
Those of you that know this blog know that I am incredibly excited about seeing the amazing Sara Bareilles perform to a sold out crowd tonight, at the Variety Playhouse. Out of sheer excitement, I have been listening to her most of the day, and the realization that she is my favorite singer is just becoming stronger and stronger each time I think about it. I never get tired of listening to any of her material, and I generally feel great when I am listening to her perform. I even have live stuff of hers on my ipod; which is extremely rare for me, as I am generally not a fan of live recordings. However, the great thing about Sara, is that she sounds equally amazing live, so each recording is just as good as the last.
To me, she is truly the definition of an artist; she shows such an amazing talent in song writing, and effortlessly couples that with beautiful singing and piano playing. It is an understatement to say that I can’t wait for the concert tonight. I am planing on taking my new XSi with me, so I hope to get some great shots of Sara at the show. I think 3/4 of the concert experience to me is taking photos, because I really love to capture the moment on film (or in my case, a digital media storage device). Sure, the music, and the crowd make the show fun, but being able to photograph the artist is the part I really look forward to the most.
Now, I can guess what you are thinking: I know, I know… I go on and on about Sara all of the time, but you know what, she deserves it. Having met her a few times, and seeing how amazing she is both in concert and in person, I really don’t think there are other artists that I have experienced with the same charisma, and humble charm as Sara B has. Well, enough gushing, just know that I am excited about the show. It is going to be so cool to see her headlining a show… I remember the first time I saw her open for Marc Broussard; she really has come a long way in a really short time.
Now, because you know you want them; here’s a few of Sara’s songs to get us all in the mood for the show tonight (even if you aren’t going! which I have to wonder WHY aren’t you?!?!):
Between The Lines
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-betweenthelines.mp3]
One Sweet Love
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-onesweetlove.mp3]
Vegas
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-vegas.mp3]
Gravity
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-gravity.mp3]
Morningside
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-morningside.mp3]
all about me, blog on blog, happenings, venting
*hiccup*
by duane • • 4 Comments
So, in a moment of boredom, earlier today I thought of a great idea… look for a potential new theme for this site. During that process, I had another genius idea; upgrade to WordPress 2.5.1!! To be honest, I have no idea what version I was running, but whatever version it was was kind of old, because I haven’t upgraded in a long time; if ever.
So I upgraded. Then the hilarity ensued. I fucked up by not deactivating my plugins, and low and behold, a tag plugin ate the blog. I deleted it, and we are up and running again; but I need to find another plugin I can use for that function (fyi, it was called Ultimate tag warrior). Then, the sidebar was all fucked up. I remember when widgets came on the scene, and being the late adopter I am with some things, I opted to wait it out… that was, until today when it fucked up my shit.
Well, I seem to have fixed it, and I am actually happy that it let’s you do a drop down list of categories and archives… I always thought they made the page look too stuffy. Anyway, I still haven’t found a theme I like (well, other than this one, which is the most beautiful theme I have ever seen… which is rather fitting, I guess, since he invented wordpress), so I might get crazy and try and tweak this one again. Sometimes, I am just never satisfied.
/gah
civil rights, get involved, happenings, listen up!, music musings, music suggestion, show the love, that is so gay, tragic
5SF: april 25
by duane • • 0 Comments
One final down, two to go. This really is a stressful time of year.
On a serious note, today is the National day of Silence, where people in schools across the country don’t speak, in order to bring attention to the fact that gay people are continually harassed verbally, and unfortunately, physically. This year is dedicated to the little boy, Lawrence King, who was murdered because he had a crush on his classmate. It still blows my mind how cruel and unusually hateful can be. I hope that this day, we can respectfully remember those that have been taken from us, and hopefully, these instances of abuse (and worse) can end. Being gay is normal, and in order to make that a reality, we all need to stop calling names, stop making fun, and treat gay people just as we are; normal.
On a less serious note, let’s do the five songs already.
Newton Faulkner – Dream Catch Me
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_425_newtonfaulkner-dreamcatchme.mp3]
I actually heard this song a long time ago, when my buddy Deb played it for me, but for whatever reason (again), it didn’t gel with me right away. I heard it again on the radio a few months ago, and have really been loving it ever since. I have been meaning to post it for two weeks now, but better late than never, right? Be warned, it is such a catchy song, with a fabulous melody and an infectious chorus, so there is a great chance that it will get stuck in your head after listening. You have been warned. Sometimes, you hear a refreshing, really well done pop song, and I am here to say that this is definitely one of those songs.
Feist – Mushaboom (Postal Service Remix)
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_425_feist-mushaboom(postalserviceremix).mp3]
After seeing Feist last week in concert, and remembering why I chose her amazing CD The Reminder as my number 2 of 2007, I have been revisiting the record, and feeling the need for more Feist. I went back and downloaded her first CD, and found this really great mix of Mushaboom on the compilation CD she released called Open Season. It’s a great song on it’s own, and I thought she performed it (and all of the others) flawlessly in concert. However, adding that Postal Service treatment to anything makes it instantly better, in my honest opinion. I wish they would release another record all ready!!! Well, at least I have the random collaborations that the did with fabulous artists like Feist to tide me over, I guess. Either way, it was great getting to see Feist, and it has been a great “reminder” of how great of an artist that she truly is.
Imogen Heap – Hide and Seek
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_425_imogenheap-hideandseek.mp3]
First of all, wow. I mean seriously. This is my “blast from the past” song this week, and it is a doosy. I have loved this song immensely from the first moment that I heard it. The rest of this record is amazing, but this is one of those songs that carries emotion so pungently on the tip of each syllable, that is begs to be played over and over again. Imogen Heap’s voice is ethereal and amazing, and with the vocoder letting her use her voice as the instrument that drives this song truly defines her as an unconventional, yet amazingly talented music artist. I really look forward to what’s coming next from Imogen, because if it is anything like this, I know that I am going to LOVE it. *pardon me for a second while I play this song again… yep… amazing.*
Hayden – The Hardest Part
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_425_hayden-thehardestpart.mp3]
I posted a Hayden song a while back when I first found out that he was opening for Feist. It was the first song of his that I heard, way back when I was in high school, and since that time, I have had the chance to get to know his newest release, In Field and Town much more thoroughly. I can say now, that it is definitely one of the best records released so far in 2008, and if my love for the record continues to grow with each listen as it has, it will probably be amongst my favorites for the year. The harmonies and melody that Hayden plays with are effortless, and insanely beautiful. His raspy voice offers more emotion to these simple, but well crafted songs. Seeing him open for Feist was definitely a treat, and I am extremely glad to have been reintroduced to an artist that I forgot about nearly 10 years ago. This is my favorite song from his new record, and it is one that I could seriously listen to on repeat.
Danity Kane – Pretty Boy
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_425_danitykane-prettyboy.mp3]
On a final very danceable note, I present this brilliantly produced track from Nate “Danja” Hills. He worked wonders for Britney, as well as others like Katharine McPhee, and he pull out all the stops on this hot track for Danity Kane. Is it me, or is Danja totally the next Darkchild? I hope they release this as their next single, because I would love to see a video for this track. While I haven’t fallen as hard for their sophomore album, this song is definitely getting lots of play from me, it is HOT!! I am hoping that Danja has more of this up his sleeve, and less of that sleeper he did for Madge. This song is just twisted, and the beat is wickedly infectious, whereas the Madonna track is well… boring to me. Oh well, I guess we’ll see!
Well, there’s your five… what do you think?? And music suggestions for me too people!! I need them!
all about me, concerts, happenings, music musings, near and dear
what’s going on with me these days
by duane • • 6 Comments
Basically, I had an “epiphany” yesterday. I put it in quotations, because I have thought about it many times, but it never seemed like such a good idea until yesterday. Basically, I think that I should just focus on getting my RN, and then worrying about the BSN after I am already working in nursing. This way, I can transition quicker, which I REALLY need to do. I am almost terrified of change, but it is so necessary, because I just feel completely lost right now.
This semester is winding down, and I have finals this week and next. I will be so happy to be finished with anatomy, because it is one of the most useless classes ever. The whole point is to weed out those that don’t want it bad enough, and I am just ready to be done with it. I hope that I do well on my lab final, because I completely bombed the midterm, thanks to the distraction of my floors being ripped up that same day.
I was going to write a post about the Kate Nash concert, as well as one about the Feist concert, but it just seems like I don’t have the desire to do very much these days. I had a blast at both shows, and both Kate Nash and Feist were amazing. Also, Hayden opened for Feist, and I was glad to be able to see him after all of these years. All three artists are impressive, and put on great shows.
That’s about it really… just trying to maintain, I guess. Getting out of the bed is harder each day, and if I can come up with a remedy for it; I will market it. Trust me.