Category: the catch-all-egory

blog on blog, flickr, the catch-all-egory

fruity friday

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mix-‘n-match, originally uploaded by duanecmoody.

Hope everyone is having a great end of the week day. I am having some pain in my leg, but other than that… no worries. I thought the fruit was a great way to brighten the day, no?

I am having a hard time dealing with mundane, repetitive tasks today, but then, at least I am getting stuff done, right? I will be happy when it is completed!

Last night, I was up very late, because I got really into updating my dvd library pages and whatnot. I am going to try and get all of my html files into wordpress, mainly because it is much easier to update that way. I do wonder, though, if anyone actually reads that stuff; other than to poke fun at it, that is. Oh well, I love the organization, so I guess it doesn’t really matter, now does it?

What does everyone have planned for this weekend? I am torn between things to do tonight, and I might have to make a choice for the one that I wasn’t planning on, but would make someone else very happy. I am fine with that, though; I just don’t want to let others down. Tomorrow should be relaxing, and I think that I am going to try and come up with new photo ideas… Anyone want to go on a photostroll?

Also, I am loving Lily Allen and Kellie Pickler today; talk about opposites. I am going to see Lily at the Loft on Monday, March 19th if anyone wants to come… we have a little group going, and I think it will be a blast. Oh well, let me know! That’s all for today!

"pointless", all about me, flickr, the catch-all-egory

a friday free-for-all!

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I am all over the place today! So, in the spirit of that “all over the place” mentality I am currently afflicted by, I thought I would share! Why not, right?! I knew you would agree.

First of all, my car starting making a noise this week. Not a good noise either, it was a “metal on metal” scraping noise coming from the wheels. Shit. Of course, I am a proactive person when it comes to car care (I always get the oil done on time, and I rotate tires and that kind of stuff), so I called Acura and made an appointment for this afternoon. Turns out, it is something to do with brake pads and the rotors, and so I have to have the back ones fixed… the front ones are covered by the warranty for whatever reason. It’s going to be $165, but at least I have two things going FOR me here; the vibration and that awful metal on metal noise when braking will go away, AND, I luckily got my tax return money this week. So, I guess things could be worse. I just can’t wait to see how it drives when it is fixed, especially since they let me borrow a BRAND NEW RDX to drive while I am waiting for my car. That car is NICE, but really, the only thing about it I would want, is the MP3 CD capability, and the audio in jack for my ipod… my car doesn’t have either of those features. Other than that, I am very happy with Bianca, and can’t wait to get her back.

Second, to preface this next thing, let me start by saying that my tattoo guy had me on a stand by list, in case of a cancellation, in order to fix my ankle tattoo. Apparently, this was the quickest way to get in, because he has a massive waiting list (which is totally understandable, because he is amazing)… but I didn’t expect that they would call and be all, “um, can you come in tonight?”. Well, needless to say, I said yes, because I don’t want to have to wait that much longer; especially considering the main reason I went to Russ in the first place, was to get my ankle redone… and I ended up with a half sleeve!!! I probably want to do more with the sleeve in the future, but for now, we are doing ankle work ONLY. I can’t wait to see what he can do with it. The man is a genius with a needle and ink. The appointment tonight shouldn’t be half as painful as my last one (which was all inner arm work, ouch!). I just hope James isn’t too shaken by the sudden change of plans… he doesn’t deal well with that, but in this case, I didn’t have much of a choice. Oh well, I guess we’ll see!

a daffodil's view

Finally, my good friend Deb has talked me into getting a kick ass lens for my camera, because it is pretty much one of the best deal lenses for the Canon EOS cameras… it is a 50mm with f1.8, and it should allow me to enhance the bokeh in my shots (bokeh is the effect in the shot above, where the main object of the photo is sharp, but the background is blurred and softened… but this lens can make it much smoother and more soft). This is the effect in photography that I have learned, and one that I love the most, and I can’t wait to see what this lens can do, because the one that comes with the camera is pretty limited when you want to do more specific and advanced things like this; plus, it is a cheap lens (as I mentioned). I am completely loving this camera, and I am SOOOO glad that I got it. It was totally worth the wait, and I know that I am gushing about it, but I really can’t help it. Mama likes her electronics, kids!!! Also, keep in mind I waited over a year and a half to get this camera, so a little excitement is in order. Be sure to keep an eye on my flickr page, because I can assure you, things are only going to get more interesting. Well, at least I am going to posting a lot more… I have fallen back in love with flickr!

I hope that everyone has a great Friday (what’s left of it), and I hope everyone has a great weekend as well! Expect some commentary on the Oscars on Monday… GO JENNIFER HUDSON!!! WOOO WOOO!

all about me, blog on blog, mixed media, music musings, podcast, the catch-all-egory

introducing… the Atlanta POPcast

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I want to welcome you to the very first episode of the Atlanta POPcast!! I just recorded my first podcast this weekend, entitled the Atlanta POPcast, and the first episode of the show is officially up and live on the Georgia Podcast Network. This is a new venture for me, and hopefully, it will be something that I do fairly regularly, and will help me continue my quest in finding the best pop music there is out there; and then bring it to you.

In this podcast, I explore none other than the beast that is pop music. Far too much music is released all over the world every single week for one person to sift through and find the good stuff, and as someone that has had a hard time in the past, I know how it can be frustrating to be left with only a few good choices. I also find it frustrating to rely on sources like the radio, because often they pass of utter crap as pop, and we are expected to buy it; but sometimes, it is just too much to bear.

Since my insatiable appetite for music only grows with each passing day, I am constantly on the look out for good pop, stuff that can literally be music to my ears, and I often find some really great stuff (often with the help of friends). Additionally, I, being a giving and caring person that I am, really wanted an opportunity to share this great music that I find with others; because there is a good chance that if I had to search hard for it, many others haven’t yet heard it! That’s where this POPcast comes in!!

I will use this podcast as a forum to play clips of songs from the albums that I feel are worthy enough to present, so that you can get a better feel of an artist’s album; from someone who likes the CD, not just a music critic. I will be doing my best each episode to bring you a few different CDs, and hopefully, we can explore some great pop artists and albums together. If I turn one listener into a fan of some great pop, then I have accomplished my mission. There’s so much out there we are missing out on, and hopefully, this can at least bring a few more CDs to your collection.

So, go to the Georgia Podcast Network, download my POPcast, and check out what I have been spinning; you may find music you too will fall in love with!! I will also be sharing singles that are tearing up my ipod, because sometimes, we have to face it, not everyone can pull together a great record, and one song or two may be all they’ve got. But that won’t stop us from loving what they have, right?!!!

I hope you will go and check out this episode of my podcast, as well as continue to check back for future episodes. Feel free to give me some suggestions if you have a great pop band out there that you want people to hear about… I am always in the market for new tunes, and it may end up on the show! Let me know how you like my podcast, okay?

"pointless", is it just me?, the catch-all-egory

hump day observations

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Randomness switch on…

  • Why do people think that just because you have an opinion on something, and that because someone says, “hey, that’s mean, could you not do that?”, that it qualifies as a controversy (or “non-controversy”, as those that believe it isn’t worth the title of controversy would call it)?
  • Why is Indian food so good to you, and yet, so bad to you at the same time?
  • I started watching a new show last night: Top Design. Lori and I both realized something interesting: Todd Oldham’s upper lip doesn’t move at all. And, that show is fantastically gay. I will start watching it starting tonight.
  • Where do people find music? I find mine from blogs and friends… just curious where you guys get your music from.
  • I want to win the lottery. Or find out that I have a rich Aunt out there who just died and left me every bit of her multi-million dollar fortune.
  • Could you be in a relationship where your partner wouldn’t let you work? Why or why not?
  • What is it about hairy men that is so hot? I mean seriously. I seriously have a thing for looking at guys. I could do it all of the time and be happy.
  • There are a lot of movies coming out I want to see. Perhaps I will do a post about that.
  • Why don’t they release a new ipod? Mine is full. I need a new, bigger, touch-screen one. Now.
  • It is quite possible that I will be getting the largest refund from my taxes ever this year. I am sure that it is some mistake, and I will not be getting as much as TurboTax is telling me.
  • What is the allure of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? I have tried, but I just don’t see it.
  • Why do I always feel the need to say, “but in the good way”, when I say something is gay? Duh, gay is awesome.
  • Would you ever have sex with someone to further your career/get a job? Is there a limit to that?
  • I recorded a podcast this weekend for the Georgia Podcast Network. While I don’t like the sound of my own voice, I am excited about it. It’s called the Atlanta POPcast. I will blog about it when the first episode is up. It’s interesting the things that interest me; when there are so many things that still remain unable to shake me from this nothing.

Randomness switch off.

That’s what I got right now. Man, the Shins really make you reflect, and, well, make you mellow and shit.

"pointless", blog on blog, mixed media, the catch-all-egory

yay! it’s friday!

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So, I guess the randomness from the other day is infectious, because I seem to still be infected with it. So here we go:

  • I found out what it means to be Jewish today. No, I didn’t convert, I have a friend that is Jewish, and she helped me understand the “difference” between the religion and the ethnicity. It was cool to clarify something that I am sure a lot of people don’t know about unless it affects them personally. Needless to say, you can become Jewish if you convert, that’s the religion part. If you are born to a woman that is Jewish, you are Jewish by birth, whether you ascribe to the religion or not. Interesting! I love being an anthropologist sometimes… I should really use that more.
  • I have realized that I REALLY need to go on a diet. I am not saying that I am fat, so don’t even go there. But, regardless of that fact, I need to lose some weight; I want to be able to wear my summer clothes when it comes back around. I have started back at the gym, but I need to be more regular about it. I will go today. I will!
  • I am “done” with my half-sleeve tattoo, but decided that I would go forward with getting my ankle touched up; since that is why I went in the first place to talk with Russ. I am actually kind of excited to see what he can do with it, because it is a pretty plain tattoo, and it really needs some work. I am sure he will be able to come up with something great; he really isn’t capable of anything less than great.
  • I realize that I have some pretty great friends/family. Last night, two people helped me get over a bad day, and I am really appreciative of that. Others are going to hang tonight, and the fun should keep going strong. And, my cousin called today just to say hi and tell me she loves me. Sometimes, it really is those little things that help me make it, you know?
  • I have been obsessed with plug-ins lately. I mean, wordpress is 1000 times better than Movable Type (mainly because MT ate my blog), and there are of these nifty plug ins to keep me from going bonkers trying to re-write the chicken scratch that is PHP. I changed the default gravatars icon so that I don’t hate it. I might change it again though; I can’t seem to find a gravatars plug-in that is easy to set up, install, or change the options of (that is, without potentially fucking something up completely).
  • My musical momentum still seems to be steaming along; I keep finding great stuff. I will be doing a music podcast next week (as I mentioned before), and I can’t wait. Music really is a passion of mine.

Well, that’s about all, because after all, it is Friday. Oh, one final note: we got our DSL modem from Bellsouth, and are waiting to have a phone jack put in the office (Monday). We got $250 of rebates, and I can’t wait to tell Comcast to shove it up their ComcASS! I hope it will be an improvement, but I will certainly be blogging it whether it is, or isn’t. Have a good weekend, ya’ll!

"pointless", mixed media, the catch-all-egory

sunday observations

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Since today is Sunday, and, well, there really isn’t anything better to do than reflect and offer up some random observations, what better way to waste a little bit of time and blog it! So here you go… my Sunday observations.

— The song “With Every Heartbeat” by Kleerup feat. Robyn may be the perfect pop song. I can listen to it on repeat… for a long time. It is bloody perfect. So is Robyn’s “new” album. I hope it comes out in the US soon.
— Isn’t porn fun? Why is it so subversive to like it? Weird…
— I have this amazing ability to not want to do anything but sleep. I woke up yesterday at 3pm. I could seriously sleep 12 hours a day. Wouldn’t that be perfect?
— Baked spaghetti may be nature’s perfect food. Insanely delicious.
— We took a friend out last night for his birthday. He wanted to go to a sketchy bar, so we went. They found out it was his birthday, and gave him free drinks all night. Why doesn’t that ever happen to me?? Also, there is a point where free drinks turn into TOO many free drinks.
— Should I switch to Bellsouth (um, or it’s new name, AT&T, ugh) DSL? Comcast “high speed” still is random, at best.
— I hope 2007 is better than 2006. I wonder how to make sure of that?
— The only thing better than a 3 day weekend, is a 4 day weekend. Why can’t every weekend be 3 days? Seriously, let’s adopt the French way of work; a 30 hour work week! It would help with unemployment!
— I have been lucky in finding good, new music a lot, but I wonder where everyone else finds their music… So tell me.
— I have to caulk the living room today. Yuck. I don’t want to. I would rather just play Zelda. Anyone else want to come do it for me? See, James would do a messy job, so I pretty much have to do it. Oh well.
— I watched Lady in the Water recently. It got pretty piss-poor reviews, and I was pretty sure I would hate it because it is an M. Night Shyamalan movie, but I really liked it! It was really well done, and it was a really sweet story. Shock and awe. I also really liked the movie Crank, but mostly because of the hotness that is Jason Statham. I really love being surprised by movies.
— I am really attracted to big, hairy, bearded men. There’s no shame in my game. Last night at the bowling alley, there was such a guy. I took his picture. Several times. Yes.
— I am going to hopefully be doing a podcast in the near future about music. I am sort of excited about it. I hope it actually happens.
— Guitar Hero (I and II) and Wii Sports may be the best games ever. Seriously.
That’s about all I have right now… But I am sure some more stuff will pop up, and perhaps I will share it. For now, I am off for some pasta bake, and in a little while, caulking. Can’t wait for this project to be done so I can share some final photos! Hope everyone’s Sunday is great!

all about me, is it just me?, near and dear, the catch-all-egory

what does blogging mean anyway?

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I feel like lately, I haven’t had anything to say that would be worth reading. More importantly, I feel like the things I would write aren’t things people want to hear about anyway. Negative, negative, negative; sometimes, life can just be that way. But should that be what I am blogging about? Do people want to hear that stuff??? What does blogging mean anyway? What does it mean to you?

For me, I started this blog because I wanted to share my thoughts with the internets. I still feel that way just as strongly today as I ever did, but what I am going through right now prevents me from being able to focus in the ways I did in the past. It prevents me from opening a can of whoop ass if I need to, and it prevents me from even thinking sometimes. Sometimes, it is all I have not to just sleep the day away. But is that really what I should be blogging about? I know that I am in essence doing that very thing right at this very second, but I guess that is as good a way as any to bring it up, right?

I love my blog. I brings me a lot of joy. I hope others like it too. But I worry that I don’t have the right stuff to keep it healthy and thriving, you know? I also feel like I have lost so much by going through this craptasticness, and even though I want to just be like “stop idiot! let’s get back into the light!”, for whatever reason, I ain’t moving. I guess one good thing about that, is that it shows that I am not going anywhere (with regards to this blog and all), and that eventually, I will begin to see the landscape around me again… I hope.

the catch-all-egory

interesting talks

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I had a talk with my Grandma today, and it was interesting that we ended up talking about my “life” and the “choices” that I have made. She obviously doesn’t agree with the whole gay thing, but she nonetheless assured me that she loved me no matter what, and that there was nothing that would change that, which was very, very nice. This is nice when you wonder how your family really feels about you, especially when you have a pretty good idea that they don’t agree with your life, and are just too self absorbed to say anything about it.

She did want me to come home for Christmas though, so it looks like I will be making a BRIEF appearance. I am serious… In and out!

Also, something else which really baffles me… I saw a talk that Jimmy Carter was doing the other day about his new book, which calls for peace between Palestine and Israel, and heralds that peace as one of the most important things to bring stability and peace to the middle east, and a self identified republican called in and called him a bigot and an anti-Semite because he wasn’t hugging and patting Israel on the back for all of the shit they have caused. It confuses me and baffles me, that we, as a country still don’t talk about this volatile “holy-war” that has been going on far too long about a claim on a little strip of land. Both sides of that fight are doing the wrong thing; they are both fighting over land that doesn’t necessarily belong to either of them (if you want to get right down to it). (I’m not saying that we should take a side, because there isn’t a side that is fundamentally right! Seriously, we have to just come to some sort of agreement, which is, uh, the point of trying to make a peace treaty, right?) Additionally, we have been in Israel court for so long, that any time anyone suggests trying to view it from a different perspective, that perspective being to not wipe out Palestine and kill all of the people there and chuck the land back to the Israelis, that you are anti-Semitic. That is just bull. First of all, Jimmy Carter is one of the biggest humanitarians in the world, and for what it is worth, as he mentioned to the caller, he is the only one that has brokered peace with Palestine, back in the 70’s with Egypt (which is still honored today). In my opinion, he doesn’t sound like an anti-Semite, he sounds like a man that realizes that war will not solve their problems, and reaching peace between these two volatile territories is the only way to truly secure peace in the middle east, if we could ever truly get it. Why people that ignorant still baffles me. Interestingly enough, as my friend Deb pointed out… those people usually are the same people that are against the Jews over here… go figure.

PS, I also have to turn comment moderation back on, some spam bots are overloading my CPU usage, and until I can get that figured out with my host, the inconvenience falls on you guys. Sorry in advance, ya’ll, please don’t let that stop you from commenting.

the catch-all-egory

so yeah…

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Still not that much worth talking about going on. I had a pretty good weekend, but that was all thanks to great friends being around to hang out with me. I love my friends, and don’t know where I would be without them; well, I have an idea, probably a nut house or something. I would really like to reconnect with some friends I haven’t seen in a while, though, so if you are in that category, you know who you are, and expect that I will want to try and hang out soon. Fo sho!

Also this weekend, I went to IKEA with Lori, and ended up buying a lot of stuff for the house, including a table and a rug for the living room (or as it has been known since we moved everything into the spare bedroom, the room you enter the house in, and the room in which sits furniture no one uses), and now it looks like I real room!! Loving it! Here’s a picture. I still can’t believe that the rug was only $15. It was a must have, you know?

Other than that, things have been muddling along; I actually got a bunch of stuff done at work today, and hope to continue this trend. I have been feeling very unproductive in life lately, and I can’t seem to shake that. I hope that I can soon. Also, I have been seriously thinking about what I want to do for Christmas, and so far, the consensus is skip it. Seriously, boycott it all together. Of course, I will go to parties, and have fun with friends in the “spirit” of the holidays, and I will exchange gifts with James, but other than that, it can be skipped. No lights. No tree. And more importantly, no going “home” for the holidays.

I still haven’t made up my mind, but almost every sign is pointing towards staying here, and just saying “see you next year (maybe)”. What do you guys think? What should I say if I choose to stay here? I wonder how the rents will take that news… more guilt, no doubt. Oh well. Hope everyone had a great Monday!

the catch-all-egory

believe it or not

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I am still alive, just bored lately. I don’t feel like much has been going on this week, especially with that site visit Monday and Tuesday.

I am quite obsessed with acquiring a Wii though, and that is pretty much 86.425% of everything I have been thinking about for the past week. I am obsessed. I must get one. I will be camping out in front of an undisclosed retail store tomorrow from mid-afternoon on, in hopes of getting one. Here’s hoping I will! If not, I am sure there will be tears, and rants on the blog; but hopefully, we can avoid that, right?

Other than that, not much is going on. I noticed that the Pentagon no longer wants to classify being gay as a mental disorder, but rather as a defect; you know, kind of like “stammering or stuttering, dyslexia, sleepwalking, motion sickness, obesity, or insect venom allergies”. Gee, thanks you guys. This isn’t backass at all. When will people realize that being gay is just part of being normal. You either are or you aren’t; you don’t get to choose. You can choose whether or not to express it or repress it, but you can’t choose to be gay or not. Normal. Not defective. Ugh. Gotta love this crazy, crazy world we live in, right folks? (source)

Now, I hope everyone has a great weekend. The tattoo is healing well, but is itching LIKE CRAZY. I can’t wait until it is all done! Now, I need to use my brain to get back to obsessing over the possibility of getting a Wii… this just preys on my anxiety disorder, big time. I woke up at 6 am this morning because I was even obsessing over it in my dreams. Here’s hoping I am not let down, and I actually can get one!! I will let you know!

Happy Weekend!