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.

All this new kiddie music...

...makes me feel really old! The last time this happened on this scale with Britney, NSYNC, Backstreet, Mandy, Christina, etc... at least the music was slightly edgy (you know it was for kiddie pop - admit it). This new crop of kiddie music seems targeted at kids only. But the sales seem to be doing really well.

The question I pose is this - are these acts really that popular, or are they just successful because of the lack of sales generated by more late-teen and adult appeal acts, whose fans download instead of buy? Because most of this kiddie shite is being purchased for kids by adults who probably have no idea how to download.

The new #1 song on US iTunes is the fucking Jonas Brothers. Who the fuck are they??!?!?

Jes - Disconnect

OK... I didn't expect to like this album very much for some reason... I don't know why. I guess because the first single "Ghost" hasn't really hooked me yet. But, I've been incorporating random tracks from this disc into my iPod playlists and I am delighted everytime one of them comes on. It's an EXCELLENT album. The tracks are electronic/trance/chillout/trip-hop but don't grate on your nerves at all. I wouldn't necessarily say certain tracks are better than others, either (though, "In Ohm" is definitely my favorite). To my surprise, most of the songs aren't really "dance" but they are "electronic." A few of them sound like they are right out of the mid-90's trip-hop glory days, actually.

Anyway, lots of the songs border on trip-hop and are sure to delight fans of Poe (since we aren't getting any new music from her these days). Especially fans of Poe's work with Conjure One.

Jes has some excellent experience, also... She wrote and performed one of the biggest trance songs of the decade (Motorcycle's "As the Rush Comes") and is touring with Tiesto on his 'Elements of Life' Tour.

It's on iTunes... check it out!

Don't Call It a Comeback

After the public outcry at the close of VonBlog, I have decided to re-enter the world of blogging at Blogger - because it's free and VonBlog was not.

What do I anticipate putting on this blog? Mostly my thoughts on electronic music, or whatever music I may be listening to at the moment. But I'm sure I'll also find time to post some random thoughts on life in general.

Here's hoping I learn to post with a little more regularity!