Stacktrace

If you’re a fan of electronic music you’ve got to check out Stacktrace.  When I first heard Sampler by Stacktrace, I thought now this is fun. The song starts out with keyboard work and adds some rhythm. And I thought this is nice. You can definitely feel the artist’s love of jazz in the way he mixes the music.  It also has the feel of Herbie Hancock’s electronic music. So you have an electronic jazz piece.

When I listened to the song Looper 5, I began to feel that kind of hopeful relaxation you feel when you listen to a piece of music that isn’t slow or fast, and it has a nice melody.

But my absolute favorite song by Stacktrace is the remix of Alexander O’Neal’s If You Were Here Tonight. Stacktrace’s version leaves out the vocals, but remains pretty true to the original version. It’s a great love song.

Things That Have Made This Week Great

I had a weekend off. Yes, last weekend was the first real weekend I’ve had off in ages. It felt great.

I started a new job that gives me weekends off. I know it ties into the first one, but I have weekends off again. It’s been years since I’ve had weekends off. I’m so happy!

I know everyone is complaining about the heat. But I have to admit that I love the heat. It just feels great to be warm.

Going out to eat with friends and having the best baked potato in the world. You wouldn’t think that pizza toppings on top of a baked potato would taste so good.

Realizing that I can the holiday weekend off. Have I mentioned that I have weekends off  now?

So does anybody have any suggestions for great entertainment for the holiday weekend?

Quote of the Day

Motown Want List

1. MOTOWN Vintage Typewriter Print lilacpopphotography

2. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours Wall Art Typographic Print StoicDesign

3. The Supremes Motown royalty Diana Ross Mary Wilson Cindy Birdsong HOWSERDESIGNS

4. Stevie Wonder Wooden Motown Magnet jodiburton

5. Motown Inspired Party in a Box kustomkreations4u

Taste of the Arts

This weekend was the annual Taste of the Arts Festival here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It seems like there are festivals like this throughout the country anymore. But it’s great to have one here in my hometown. I’m always surprised how this city in Northeast Indiana is much more artsy than I realize. And this weekend showcased many of the local artists. The started out with the weekly farmers market held downtown. But this week there were loads of extra vendors. It included artists as well local restaurants.  My favorite was one of the catering companies that had fish tacos. They were yummy! But the cheesecake that another restaurant offered was over the top.

But the day also included performing arts, and there was a variety of performers. The performers included everyone from drummers, folk singers, to a robot girl.

And the festivities ended with an outdoor showing of King Kong. Not the remake, but the classic version of King Kong from 1933. It was a great inexpensive way to spend a Saturday during the summer.

I guess there are really two points to this post. One I wanted to share how I spent a day. And the second point is that the world around you has a lot to offer, and you should go out and see that world. 

Please Don't Make Me Yawn!

Do you ever just get bored when someone is talking about something, and just feel like yawning? I mean just totally tune out, and think you’re going to die of boredom. That’s what happens when I hear people talk about weddings. Please don’t think that I believe that marriage is blasé. It’s quite the opposite. Marriage is a life-long commitment that requires a lot of work. Marriage is not boring. It’s just hearing people talk about their wedding planning is boring.

More specifically I find the wedding industry to be boring. I hear friends talking about photographers, caterers, dresses, and I think that’s a lot of money for one day. Sometimes as I hear them talking about their wedding plans, and how perfect they want things to be, I wonder if they realize that nothing is really perfect. It’s often the imperfect days in our life that are the most memorable. Photographers can’t take the perfect picture, and you may not get the perfect wedding gift. While your wedding day is a special day, it is only the first day in a marriage. There will be many more days that are special. There will be many days that will be mundane. And hopefully your marriage will last a lifetime. Your wedding day is actually about sharing this day with people who care about you. It’s not about the photographer, the dress, or the caterer. And if you keep this in mind and tell me how you want to have a day where others can share your joy I won’t want to yawn while you’re discussing it with me.

Guest Blogger Captain

Do you ever have days when your roommates just drive you crazy? Both mine are driving me crazy now. First Smokey tells the world that if my pet human doesn’t pay attention to me that I demand attention to him. I believe that he has the story twisted. I can just be relaxing, and he will let a yowl and come up and bite me. So don’t believe everything Smokey says.

And my other roommate Bobaloo is so noisy at times. Don’t get me wrong I love little Bobaloo, but there are times she is just annoying. I mean there are times she starts that screaming thing. Recently, she has decided that it is best to scream in rooms with an echo. So not only do we hear her scream we hear it again and again.  What is a feline to do about all of the noise? It’s interrupting my cat naps.

Erica Bronwyn Metamorphisis

Erica Bronwyn’s independently released album titled Metamorphisis is a must listen for anyone who is looking for new artists. The first release off of the album is called Butterfly, and the song is beautiful.

Erica began playing piano at a young age, and so the song has utilizes her piano skills. But not only are her piano skills exceptional the lyrics to the song are fantastic. The lyrics are all about personal growth. How as a person grows they need to break free and fly. And if you add a voice that is smooth and sweet to listen to you have a song that is sure to go places in the charts.

But Butterfly isn’t the only great song on the album. My favorite song on the collection is Another Day. I love the lyrics and melody of the song.

You can listen to music from Metamorphisis on soundcloud. I’m sure that you’ll enjoy it. 

And be sure to visit her website in order to learn more about what influences her music upcoming shows.

Metamorphisis

Italian Beef Stew

Soon fall will be here and we’ll all be looking for foods that will keep us warm. So try a little twist on the traditional beef stew

.

Here’s what you’ll need to make something warm and tasty to eat.

Heat ¼ cup of olive oil in a skillet. Add ¼ cup prosciutto, ham, or bacon it’s your choice. Add 1 large chopped onion. And 1 clove of minced garlic, and a ¼ cup flat Italian parsley, and some black pepper. Saute all of this for a couple of minutes.

Now add the beef and cook for 10 minutes. Then add 1 pound of frozen peas, and a 1 ½ cups of artichokes. And then a ½ cup of water. Cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

Quote of the Day

Wednesday Want List

Since it's back to school time, I thought I would find things other than the traditional lunchbox. Let's look at the bento box, and a couple of items inspired by bento boxes.

Tempura Shrimp Bento Box & Lemon Magnet by stumpytown

Vintage Bento Box punkrockpickles

Bento plushie TheCraftyMice

Dala Horse Bento Bag LunaLandKids

Insulated Bento Box Carrie binskistudio

Five Geek Girl Heroes

While the geek world is full of geek male heroes, there aren’t nearly as many females that are seen as heroes. Here are a few of the geek girls that I call heroes and why.

Lt. Uhura set the standard for working geek girls. She showed all of us girls that in a world dominated by men she could be as competent as or even more competent than the men she worked with. She showed us that you could wear a mini skirt and still be an expert in your field.

Morticia Addams is the woman who really pointed out to the world that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. She delighted in being different from the rest of the world.

Wonder Woman showed us all that we can do what seems impossible like fly an invisible airplane. And she looked great doing the impossible.

Princess Leia showed us that just because you’re a princess it doesn’t mean that you have to be helpless. When Luke and Han couldn’t find a way out of a mess, she blasted a hole in the wall. When it hit the fan at Jabba’s Palace Princess Leia was the one who finished off Jabba.

Hermione Granger showed us that if you work hard enough there is nothing that can stop you from being great. She showed us that you can be beautiful and smart too.

So let me know who your geek girl hero is.

Leadsucker

I love punk music. I know a lot of people don’t understand punk, but the band Leadsucker is one of the reasons I think punk is great. Their music is fast and loud. And the other great thing about their music is the lyrics.

The song C57BL/6 is all about the food industry. And how the food we eat has become polluted. Then there is the song Haute Culture which is about the fashion industry, which often encourages women to develop unhealthy habits. And Gross Incompetence points out that people really don’t realize that they aren’t all that they think they are.

These songs are all what punk is all about. Fast music with lyrics that make a statement about what the musicians believe.

The members of Leadsucker include P.J. Hearn: Guitar, Vocals; Austin Welch: Bass; Sam Terrace: Drums. The band started after Hearn left his job working for the government. The songs definitely reflect many of the issues that Hearn saw while he worked for the government. Many of the songs don’t say things in a nice way, but hey it’s punk what did you expect?

Check out their music on Reverbnation.

Guest Blogger Smokey

Our pet human believes that my roommate Captain only seeks attention from her. But that simply isn’t true. If he can’t get attention from her, he demands it from whoever else is close to him. When she won’t pay attention to him this is what happens. 

Is he an attention hog or what?

Question of the Day

Recent Photos

Here are some recent photos let me know which one you like best.

Hope you all have a great day.

Whatcha Been Watchin?

It’s time to take a look at some of my favorite movies I’ve been watching recently.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax-This is the animated movie based on the book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. If you haven’t read the book you should. And if you need a fun family friendly movie this is the one for you. The movie is about the environment, and how we often overlook how the world will end up if we don’t value what we already have in life. The thing that really struck me is that Dr. Seuss wrote the book in the 1970’s, and we still have the same issues today.

When Do We Eat? This is the funniest movie I’ve seen in a while. A family gets together to celebrate Passover. The father is suffering from indigestion, and his son slips him extasy laced with acid. Dad goes on a wild trip, and tells his family members exactly how he feels about each of them. This movie isn’t really appropriate for kids, but if you have an off-beat sense of humor you will love this movie. There are scenes where the dad is hallucinating. And you see how important it is for family members to tell each other they care about one another.

The Baader Meinhoff Complex-This is a German film that is set in the 1970’s. It focuses on The Red Army Faction that was based in Germany during the ‘70’s. I think that most of us forget that Germany was a hotbed for terrorism in the 1970’s. The movie shows how individuals become involved in terrorist groups and how they are persuaded to commit terrorist acts. We always wonder what makes people commit awful acts, this movie shows how some individuals become involved in these activities. Since it’s a foreign movie, you will have to read subtitles if you’re not fluent in German.

Wednesday Want List

Cast Iron Mail Box by meowsNpurrs

Travel Mug by Lenny Mud

Vintage Electric Typewriter Mousepad by crazy4me

Bluebird’s Song Necklace by DeliciousHobo

Cat and Mouse Business Card Holder by ADragonsflysFancy

Selina Stoane Streets of Shanghai

If you’re looking for some new music to listen to you should definitely check out Selina Stoane’s new album Streets of Shanghai. The songs on the album definitely reflect Stoane’s love of dance. The song Disco will make you feel like you are at a dance club. And you will definitely want to get up and start dancing as you listen to the song.

I really enjoyed listening to the song Love Me Offline.  The melody is smooth, and I really liked the use of the saxophone in the song. And the lyrics got right to the point. Are you gonna love me offline? It’s the perfect song for an online romance.

And the song Next 2 You is a love song that focuses in on not letting anything stopping you from being with the person you love. Her use of synthesizers in the song made it sound different than many love songs.

But my favorite song on the album is 1001 Nights. The song focuses on how long it can take to recover from a break up.

For more about Selina visit SelinaStoane.com or check out her Insider's Guide to New York at InsiderCities.Com

Little Scary Isn't It

Does anybody else find this picture to be just a little bit scary?

The Long Road

I heard the song The Long Road on youtube, and I thought this is a really pretty song. I got the impression from the video that the song was about a breast cancer survivor so that really piqued my interest further. And I was right. Vince Barnes from the band Free From Gravity wrote the song for his mother who suffered from a tumor in her chest..

The Long Road by Free From Gravity

The song is sad in the beginning. The lyrics start out talking about seeing someone you love in pain. But the chorus speeds up and talks about the long road to recovery. The chorus focuses on how the road to recovery is a long one, but that the loved one doesn’t have to go through it alone. While the song is sad it also offers hope, it reminds individuals that even though the road to recovery is long, they will be able to live out their dreams.

The band’s goal with the song is to help anyone who is struggling with cancer. You can check out this song and some of their other music on their website. freefromgravitymusic.com