Free is good

Today was a gorgeous day in southwest Missouri. The weather was absolutely perfect for driving around with the windows down. Bored of being indoors, I took a drive through the country around my house. I ended up near Wilson's Creek Battlefield. I decided to at least drive by and see what it's all about since I hadn't been since grade school and barely remember it. After all, I've lived right on top of it in Battlefield for over a year and never even bothered to check it out. Upon entering, I was disappointed to see that it cost money and I was not THAT interested. But, the ranger at the desk dropped that one little word that I love... "You picked the right day to drop in - in recognition of National Public Lands Day, which is today, admission is FREE."

So, I spent my afternoon at Wilson's Creek Battlefield National Park. The best part? It's a driving tour, so I got to continue with my windows-down joyride. Plus they had a really nice Visitor's Center with educational videos, 3-D maps and a museum. All in all it was a nice way to break up the monotony of another Saturday in Springfield. Plus, it was free.






This is... the battlefield.


The Acura is still kickin'!


Wilson's Creek


This is the 3-D map! It was bad ass!! It had lights embedded in it that you couldn't see until they lit up but they would "move" and show how the battle was fought (red was Confederates, blue was Union). It made the driving tour much more effect because you actually had some context for where you were. I loved the map! I want one installed in my new duplex.

Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight

So, my new friend Daniel and I have very similar music taste - we share affinities for a group of artists as diverse as Bjork, Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos, Kylie Minogue, Madonna and Peaches. I've heard his iPod on random and I don't think I've met anyone in Missouri whose music-taste equation so closely matches mine. So when he told me to check out Rilo Kiley I knew I should give it a shot. But I was skeptical.

Honestly, going into it I expected to hate it. Most of the time, over-hyped L.A. scenesters in D.I.Y-indie acts gone major label make me cringe. But this time, I couldn't have been more wrong! This is easily one of the year's best albums. Jenny Lewis has the voice of a rough-around-the-edges angel. But the best part of the album is the songwriting. The hooks and melodies stick in your head for days. Not to mention the production and mixing are nearly flawless, without sounding over-produced.

They are completely their own thing, but comparisons can definitely be drawn to a variety of influences. On first listen, they sound like a modern-day Fleetwood Mac (as Daniel put it). But subsequent listens have reminded me of Jewel (Jenny's vocals on "Breakin' Up" particularly), Modest Mouse, Deep Dish's George Is On album, 1995 chick-rock-alternative and dashes of alt-country and soul weaved in throughout.

The whole album is great from beginning to end, but I of course have some favorites: "Under the Blacklight," "Silver Lining," "Close Call," "15" and "Dreamworld." The title track, "Under the Blacklight" has me particularly captivated. Jenny's vocals shine the most on this track and I think it has the best melodies of the album. That track has completely won my heart -lately, I've been singing it quietly to myself all day long!

It takes a powerful album to pull my attention away from electronic dance music... but this one does it!

Headed North

Big news - the lease signing isn't final until Monday, but I've put a deposit down on renting a duplex on the north end of Springfield!

Ok, so the La Quinta Inn is my backyard, BUT I will be a mere 5 minutes from work (right now I'm 25 minutes) and I'll live right beside I-44, making my drive back home to Lebanon 30 minutes shorter. I'm thrilled!

Not to mention, the place is bad ass. The duplex is brand new - but it's priced right! It was the perfect find. I move in next week!

It's 1100 sq. ft., 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. The pics only show the living room and kitchen.

Pop Dreams

For the last two nights, I've had very bizarre dreams related to pop music. They were both quite enjoyable. Perhaps these nocturnal brushes with pop celebrities is my subconscious' way of telling me I was destined to be the next Justin T or George Michael? LOL... I'll let you be the judge.

Two nights ago I dreamed that I was back in college and Madonna was one of my professors. Not only was she my professor, she was also in semi-retirement. But, she was gearing up to make her big comeback with a top-secret performance at the VMAs - and she held the rehearsal on the stage in our classroom, exclusively as a treat for our class (apparently I had her for theater?). Anyway, we were all very excited and I grabbed my camera and started filming the whole thing. This didn't set well with Madge and she stormed off-stage half-way through the performance and vowed that that comeback was off (because I filmed her) and her dancers would have to just do the performance without her. I tried to talk her back into it, but my best friend Brandon got extremely pissed at me when I called her "Madge" to her face - he said that'd only piss her off worse because "Madge" is a derogatory nickname which is short for "vag." Who knew?!

Last night, I dreamed that U2's Bono was my half-brother. That before my mom and dad met, my mom had him. I remember in the dream, actually doing that math to realize that my mom would have had to have been around 2 years old when she had him, but I just thought "maybe Bono is younger than he looks?" Anyway, no one ever told me he was my half-brother, it just accidentally slipped out one night when we were all in the same lounge/bar together. Once I found out, I was extremely excited (of course) and tried to get Bono to get me a job in the music industry. He was not amused, though, wanted me to just leave him the hell alone. I think he was also pissed because the media found out. It was all very exciting!

Big Brother 8 Finale

Despite a faulty internet connection, I managed to catch the BB8 finale online while here in Maui (we were out at dinner during the broadcast). All in all, it was a pretty boring finale, considering I didn't really care who won between Dick and Daniele. But, that doesn't mean that Jen and Jameka didn't deliver two of the most classic quotes of the whole season!
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Jameka: "Daniele is the pimp and ED is the ho.... She tells him how to go out there and make that money."
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Jen (parodying Daniele before casting her vote): "Honestly..." [audience roars with laughter]

Justice vs. Maui

Yesterday morning I went for a photo-taking adventure amongst the Marriott and Hyatt resorts on Kaanapali Beach. The music that provided my soundtrack? The critically-acclaimed album by Justice. I'd been avoiding this album because of all the allegations that they're nothing more than a Daft Punk rip-off. But, when I saw two twenty-something straight boys rocking this out of their iPod-fueled boombox (1992-style) while strolling down Kaanapali Beach, I knew I'd better find out what all the fuss is about. The Daft Punk comparisons are definitely right, but that doesn't mean the album isn't enjoyable. In addition to their penchant for filtered guitar riffs and french house beats (Daft Punk), they've also got a taste for mid-90's inspired industrial electronica (think NIN, Aphex Twin) and the occasional 80's beat (one track sounds like they took the beat straight from MJ's "Billie Jean"). All in all, it was a great soundtrack for my picture-taking jaunt. I've since listened to the album 2 other times - at the gym and at the pool. It's not interesting enough to make good pool music. But the beats and melodic sound effects are perfect for the gym.

Here are some of the shots I got yesterday... click the pics for larger versions.

Mama's Fish House

Last night we had a perfect dining experience at Mama's Fish House on the Maui North Shore. The restaurant sits right on a cozy private section of beachfront. They serve fresh fish caught on Maui that very day. I had mahi mahi stuffed with lobster and crab and baked in a macadamia nut crust with a light drizzling of sauce on top. Not only was the food perfect, so was the ambiance. Totally perfect!






This was our appetizer... The official name of it was in Hawaiian, so I can't remember it. But it was tender pork, sweet potato, onion and tomato drizzled in coconut milk and cooked inside the tea leaves (which were tied together and cut open fresh at our table).


We got there early just to get this table - on the corner, right on the beach. It was worth it!


I wouldn't blame my travel companions if they are tired of me making them take cheesed out posed photos of all of us. But hey, isn't that the duty of any good blogger/MySpace junkie?

More Maui Pics

The whole gang, out for dinner at Leilani's on Kaanapali Beach.


Outside one of the 9,238 ABC Stores on Maui.


Amy and I outside the condo... Also, a great opportunity to show that I actually have a tan which is quite an accomplishment for a pasty white Missouri boy with Scottish/Swiss/Irish/German genes.


The Whaler's Village shopping center, right down the beach from where we're staying.




Amy outside our condo.


The "Maui Marathon" happened while we were here and the awards ceremony took place right next to our condo. We crashed it.

Greetings from Maui

We're on day 2 of the vacation and we couldn't be happier to be here. Amy and I spent the whole afternoon laying on the beach. The thought of the day was "Sure beats being stuck in an ice storm." We are in heaven!

We had a full day of traveling yesterday. Despite the seemingly never-ending haul to get here (Springfield to Cincinnati to LA to Maui) we seemed to enjoy ourselves along the way. It didn't hurt that I sat next to some very friendly lesbians on the plane to Maui and we had a nice chat about Britney;s VMA performance (I was carrying the Entertainment Weekly with her on the cover) . It's always great to run into family when you aren't expecting it!



Amy (my roommate) and I pose for a cheesy timer photo in the Cincinnati airport around 10:00am. If we look tired and haggard already it's because we were - the day began at 4:00am.
We didn't make it to Maui until midnight Missouri time.


Sexy escalators in Cincinnati.


We were barely in the LA airport... However we were there long enough to grab a Cinnabon, a smoothie, and a tourist photo.


A creepy long corridor in LAX.


My first morning in Maui - at the Whaler's Village on Kaanapali Beach.


Mom and I after breakfast. This is our favorite breakfast spot. Not only does it overlook Kaanapali Beach, the food is excellent. I had fresh mahi mahi, rice, scrambled eggs and toast. Yes, I'm so excited to get real fresh fish, I'm having it for breakfast.


Dad and I on Kaanapali Beach.


A gecko we spotted after breakfast.

Big Brother 8 Double Eviction Night

I'm so disappointed at the outcome of tonight's Big Brother... Eric and Jessica were my favorite two people left. In fact, they were probably my favorites in the whole game - after the magnificent Jen, of course. It was a shame to see them go.

But, the thing that I'm most distraught about is the complete bonehead move by Zach to not use his Power of Veto... If he'd have used it, Dick would have been forced to put Daniele on the block and they could have broken up the Donato's for good. It would have been that easy! Zach is an idiot - he doesn't stand a CHANCE going to final two if the Donato's are together in the house. I can't stand Zach! He's a loser with no friends!! Can't he see that the Donato's are just using him when it's convenient and don't really give a shit about him?! I despised Zach before tonight and now I really do. Ugh!

Gotta love the irony

So I'm at the gym today, and I notice the woman on the elliptical machine has changed the TV channels. She is the only one on the cardio equipment and I noticed she turned on two channels. The TV on the right had on a televangelist. The TV on the left had VH1's 'Surreal Life.' I found immense humor in this.

My Plants

So they probably aren't going to win me any prizes at the county fair, but, I am pretty damn proud of the fact that I've kept these flowers alive all summer. Granted, I have had about 5 or 6 die over the course of the season, but hey, at least these still look pretty, right?

Mostly I just wanted to document the fact that for the majority of the summer I have been out in the back yard watering these fuckers every (work) day at 6AM.

The Album of the Year is Here!

While I was well aware of M.I.A.'s first album, 2005's Arular, I never really got into it. It just didn't speak to me. I think I just wasn't ready for it. I was far too distracted by all the synth/electro-house/electro-pop stuff going on at the time to get into it. Now, having heard just about all the "electro-house" I can handle, her new album Kala could not have come at a more perfect time. It seems lots of the big names in dance music have lost their inspiration... and their ear for good melodies. The scene has become watered down with repetitive beeps and tired bass lines. And not in the good Daft Punk way.

The beats on this album are ridiculous. Layers and layers of ballsy, heavy beats. No other album this year has given me such a strong urge to get up and dance. Favorite, favorite tracks: Bamboo Banga, XR2, Boyz, Hussel.

This is the kind of album that Bjork would be proud of.

DJ Encore - Unique

I was one of DJ Encore and Engelina's number one fans... I played their album to DEATH. So, imagine my delight/horror when I discovered that DJ Encore FINALLY released a new album, but replaced Engelina!! I purchased it (of course) off iTunes and gave it a shot anyways... and I must say, it is excellent. I really didn't think I would like it, because without Engelina's songwriting, I thought it would just be cheese... Let's face it, on the first couple listens, it seems like nothing more than typical trite dance lyrics over the exact same mixing DJ Encore was doing back in 2001.

While those criticisms still stand, it doesn't change the fact that I CAN'T STOP listening to it. I highly recommend these tracks in particular:

You Can Walk On Water (lead single)
Nobody Wants to Try (feels like a Cher song to me)
Catch Me
You Make Me Feel Alive (the best song on the CD!)




I am not surprised Engelina didn't participate. I remember reading an interview with her back in 2001 saying she wasn't much of a dance music fan, but she loves writing pop music so she enjoyed the opportunity to record her songs with DJ Encore. But her heart wasn't ever in it... Too bad, the new chick sounds great on the disc, but Engelina's lyrics were far better.

Speaking of Engelina, they (Encore and the new chic) re-recorded "Out There" on this CD (and mashed it up with Madonna's "Get Together" to boot!).... Doesn't hold a candle to Engelina's, though.