The Breakdown

Favorite Singles of 2009

2009-12-31T15:03:00.000-08:00

In no particular order

Jordin Sparks "Battlefield"
Kelly Clarkson "Already Gone"
Eliott Yamin "Fight For Love"
Carrie Underwood "Cowboy Casanova"
Michael Buble "Haven't Met You Yet"
Lady Gaga "Bad Romance"
Pixie Lott "Boys and Girls"
Lily Allen "The Fear"
Weezer "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To"
Beyonce "Halo"
Rascal Flatts "Here Comes Goodbye"
Rihanna "Russian Roulette"

My Favorite Albums of 2009

2009-12-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

#10. Alexandra Burke "Overcome"

Last year's X-Factor winner. She's got a great voice and you can tell she's just having fun here. Glad she didn't go the R&B route, just straightforward pop. Every songs great, even (especially) the ballads.

#9. Mika "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"

This was a grower for me, the more I listened, the more I loved.

#8. Rihanna "Rated R"

When I first heard this I thought, "she's lost me". Then I listened to it again and I got it. Curse words aside (thank you clean version) she shows her dark side with great results.

#7. Leona Lewis "Echo"

I really hope she finds some success with this album because it's really great. More mature, great production and can't forget the voice. Solid sophomore effort.

#6. Imogen Heap "Ellipse"

Really cool to see this album released after watching her video blogs the past couple years. Super talented, such a unique instrument that she uses to electro-pop perfection.

#5. Demi Lovato "Here We Go Again"

Laugh at me all you want for having a Disney tween star on here, but seriously, Brandie and I have listened to this album A LOT this year. Don't put it past a 17 year old with a great set of pipes to put out some great tunes. With help by John Mayer and Jon McLaughlin it's hard to mess it up really.

#4. Glee Cast "The Music - Vol's. 1 & II"

Technically two albums....I'm also counting all the iTunes singles that aren't on these releases. This show and it's accompanying music brought so much happiness to us all this year. Crazy talented cast as well - covering classic and current pop songs? How could it not be a favorite of mine?

#3. Lady Gaga "The Fame Monster"

09 was good to her. Underneath her oddness is genuine songwriting and pop vocal talent.

#2. Erik Hassle "Hassle"

From the second I heard this guy's music I was hooked. He's Swedish and he hasn't impated the States yet, but when and if he does, watch out....

#1. Kelly Clarkson "All I Ever Wanted"

Arguably the best female artist of the decade. This album proved why she's a force in the music industry. Keeping radio stations, critics and fans happy all at the same time.

Kelly's new video!

2009-01-27T23:20:00.000-08:00

Love letter to Japan

2009-01-15T10:09:00.001-08:00

by The Bird and the Bee

YES!

2009-01-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

March 17th can't come fast enough

Coming this month

2009-01-01T10:42:00.001-08:00

So ready for this

My favorite singles of 2008

2008-12-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

These are actual singles released digitally and to radio...my list would be too long if this was favorite songs of the year. ()=iTunes play counts

Alphabetical by artist

Brandy - "Right Here (Departed)" (17)
Britney Spears - "Circus" (12)
Carrie Underwood - "Just A Dream" (17)
Chris Brown - "Forever" (18)
Danity Kane - "Damaged" (12)
David Archuleta - "Crush" (40)
David Archuleta - "A Little Too Not Over You" (22)
Demi Lovato - "Get Back" (30)
Gavin DeGraw - "In Love With A Girl" (13)
Janet Jackson - "Feedback" (16)
Jon McLaughlin - "Beating My Heart" (14)
Jordin Sparks - "One Step At A Time" (25)
Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - "No Air" (21)
Keane - "Spiralling" (23)
Lady Gaga - "Poker Face" (7)
Lady Gaga - "Just Dance" (18)
Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love" (37)
Madonna & Justin Timberlake - "4 Minutes" (23)
Maroon 5 & Rihanna - "If I Never See Your Face Again" (7)
Miley Cyrus - "See You Again" (25) (I tried to resist!)
Natasha Bedingfield - "Pocketful of Sunshine" (13)
Rihanna - "Disturbia" (21)
The Saturdays - "If This Is Love" (13)
Weezer - "Pork and Beans" (4)

2008 In Pictures

2008-12-30T15:04:00.001-08:00

Dang a lot happened.

We watched some cats

We bought a house!

Sean's Bday lunch

We saw "Wicked" for our 2nd wedding anniversary

We celebrated Sean and Allie's Engagement

Welcome!

All done!

We said goodbye to our friend in Tower, miss you Pliny!

Goodbye old home

Hello new home!

And new TV mmmmm

My Birthday with family

4th of July

Goodbye old store....

Hello new store!

Housewarming party

Our small group

Liz and Josh got married!

We started attending the Well's Maple Creek campus

The SYTYCD Show

The VORP Fundraiser Dinner

Amy Grant Soundcheck

No words

I went to New Orleans for the Starbucks Leadership Conference...

...and Bono was the guest speaker

Bran celebrated 26 years (sorry I was gone!)...here we are at Janita's going away dinner

Sean and Allie got married!

Thanksgiving in Sanger w/my Grandparents

Thanksgiving @ the Belts....SO GOOD!

First Christmas in new home

Risked my life putting up lights, it was worth it

Beth's annual Gingerbread House-making day

The girls

Iron Chef Dessert Competition

Happy New Year!

My favorite albums of 2008

2008-12-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

In no particular order

- David Archuleta: Self-titled

Finally an American male pop record!

- Keane: Perfect Symmetry

Great return for one of my favorite bands. Move in the right direction for them.

- Adele: 19

Unbelievably amazing singer. Please youtube her then download her album.

- Lady Gaga: The Fame

Loved "Just Dance" when it came out in the Summer, wasn't feeling the rest of the album. Now I can't stop listening.

- Jon McLaughlin: OK Now

Great songwriter and another great male pop voice.

- Leona Lewis: Spirit

Might've been on my list last year, but technically her album came out in the US this year.

- Brandy: Human

Out of nowhere for me! Great blend of American pop/r&b, why did I never notice her great vocals before?

- Britney Spears: Circus

The comeback. The albums truly backs that up.

- Alanis Morissette: Flavors of Entanglement

Feel like this album kinda got lost in this year. Too bad cause it's her best since her debut in my opinion.

- McFly: radio:ACTIVE

Finally their stuff's being released in the US! Not as good as their previous efforts, but gotta show them some love.

- Jordan Pruitt: Permission to Fly

Legit Disney teen pop.

- Weezer: The Red Album.

Not their best but it's a grower.

- Jem: Down to Earth

Finally! Just now realizing how good it is.

- The Killers: Day and Age

Hated Sam's Town. Glad they're back to 80's dance vibe.

Laura Pope 1981-2005

2008-12-27T12:13:00.000-08:00

3 years ago today my best friend left

Christmas

2008-12-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

It's kinda sad, but Christmas will never be like it was as a kid. All the anticipation, the time off of school, time with friends and family, cookies, gifts, decorations....and the MUSIC!

Nothing brings back Christmas memories like the carols and classic Christmas songs. What other holiday or season can boast such emotion and memories-inducing moments like Christmas music?

I was listening to possibly my most favorite Christmas album on the way home from work today, Amy Grant's "Home for Christmas". I was 9 when this came out, just old enough to remember but still young and innocent. Listening to this today brought back foggy trips to Fresno from Sanger. Decorating the tree and sugar cookies. SO many goofy memories of me, my brother and cousins. Amy just does it! I hope I have some readers who will agree with me on this one..."Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)", "Grown Up Christmas List" are modern day classics to me now.

Check out the video....and Merry Christmas. End of year music roundup coming before the start of 2009.

Adele

2008-11-19T16:40:00.001-08:00

Killing "Cold Shoulder" Acoustic

I know it's been a while....

2008-11-17T22:23:00.001-08:00

....but I can't NOT post this. I'm obsessed with this song. The video just came out. Go and love it yourself now.

Broken Strings

Today

2008-09-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

Or tonight rather! Jem's way overdue new album "Down to Earth" and Marc Broussard's first all-original song album since his debut, "Keep Coming Back" are out! I stopped buying physical CD's about a year ago and it's the best decision i've ever made (well...one of the best) so I'm posting the links to the iTunes store so you can just head on over and check them out!

Click the pics

Looking forward/Disappointments

2008-08-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to:

Shows: SYTYCD, Amy Grant
Fall Weddings (Sean/Allie, Liz/Josh)
Church growth opportunities/involvement
Seeing "The Dark Knight" again
Fall Music Releases: Marc Broussard, Jem, Keane, Kelly Clarkson
Continuing my reading streak
Fall TV returning
Keeping our plants alive

Disappointments:

The Olympics depriving me of sleep
Harry Potter pushed back to July of '09
Summer TV shows over
Movies in general (why can't I watch them anymore?!)

so you think you can dance!

2008-08-07T22:21:00.001-07:00

i am not ashamed to say that this has to be one of my favorite shows ever. pure entertainment, emotion...it's all about the people and the DANCING!

huge congratulations to joshua!! katee was my favorite but joshua definitely deserves it as well.

countdown to the tour in october!

youtube "so you think you can dance season 4" and see what i'm talking about

Why so seriously awesome?!

2008-07-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

We saw "The Dark Knight" midnight premiere at IMAX last night (this morning?) and it was very very awesome.

The movie just blew my mind on so many levels. The acting, the cinematography, the HUGE screen we watched it on, the STORY! Christopher Nolan is a freaking genius, if the only movies I ever see in my life are made by him I'll be happy.

Please please go see this movie it is money well spent, and I'm planning on spending even more on this film.

We're in!

2008-06-28T23:46:00.001-07:00

As of this past Tuesday, Brandie and I have closed escrow and moved into and gotten settled into our new home. We love it and can't wait for everyone to come and see it.

2008-06-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Neglectful is almost the right word to describe how I've been with my blog. I've been doing little posts here and there from my phone (which, turns out, isn't as useful and fast as I thought it'd be), but other than that I've left this place in the dust. A lots been going on ok? Jobs, houses, season finales, I have my priorities!

The HOUSE. I know I'm getting sick of hearing about it too. We're excited. It's pretty much done being built (except for the master bathroom door that's missing...). There's surprise landscaping! We're hopefully closing escrow tomorrow which starts the dominoes in motion of the moving process. Moving your life is a pain and a mess, but when it's all over it will totally be worth it.

Needless to say our current place looks like a recycling center/dump. Who knew those slipcovers worked so well? We're very ready to get out of Tower. We will miss our friend Pliny the Younger though (see pics below)

I've been on "vacation" from work since Friday which is awesome, but our Dish Network service ended a week ago so we've pretty much been sitting around trying to get in local channels with the antenna, watching DVD's that we had to dig out of boxes and playing each other in Scrabulous. And of course when we have no lives all our friends are busy! It's actually been very nice to just be with my wife Bran, finding things to keep us occupied, just making each other laugh. I love her.

So I sit here blogging, thinking that when the moving process starts I'll probably wish I could be doing nothing. So I will cherish this down time.

I can die now

2008-06-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Just found out that Amy Grant is gonna be in Visalia in October! Best
Birthday gift ever!

Caspian and house

2008-05-15T23:45:00.001-07:00

The 20 just started! We are currently waiting for the midnight
showing of Prince Caspian and it WILL be awesome.

And more importantly...we have a closing/move in date! June 16th!
Exactly a month from today we will b moving into our HOUSE!! The
countdown has begun...

Slabbin it

2008-05-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

I'm here at Daltile signing off on the four granite slabs theyre using
for our house. Exciting stuff!

Sunday afternoon

2008-04-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

Packing, cleaning, packing.

Resting. Relaxing.

Eating. Inventory-ing.

Reading.

Prepping for another week.

Sleeping (arguably the best part)

We have stucco!

2008-04-23T14:12:00.001-07:00

There she is getting closer every day to being lived in!

Brandie and I are so exited to move and are so thankful for God's provision.

Who's ready for a party?!

A complete weekend wrap-up

2008-03-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

Woo! What a crazy week this has been, so much going on, so many places to be, shows to see. Here's what went down this weekend.

Thursday - Drove down to L.A. to see Wicked. Had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at The Grove. Saw Jason Castro from American Idol (dreads, bad singing). Pretty sure I also saw Jennifer Beals (Flashdance) driving in her van down Hollywood Blvd.

Wicked was really good as I've said before. Elphaba, played by Caissie Levy just blew Bran and me away, check her out below, really great.

I'd already read the book that the play's based on, and after seeing it I want to read it again (which I'm doing). Also bought the sequel at Target yesterday. The girl who played Galinda (with a Gaa) was hilarious, Bran and I would keep looking at each other lol-ing. Check her doing her thing on youtube, i'm too lazy to post an embedded vid. I'm pretty sure Wicked will be in L.A. for some time, so that gives everyone a chance to go check it out....just make sure to let Bran and me know when you're going so we can come too.

Friday - Shopping at the Beverly Center in Beverly Hills, specifically H & M. Bran bought two cardigans and some capri pants and I loaded up on work shirts, socks and underwear. Then we headed back home to a TON of laundry that we were neglecting before we left; did some later evening grocery shopping, then called it a day.

Saturday - Slept in! BIG Target run for household essentials. Then caught up on Lost (Michael's back, shocker) and some other DVR'd goodness before we had to prep our salad to take to my family's Easter celebration in Clovis.

On our way there we stopped by our lot at Harlan Ranch and took a picture of THIS!

Our FOUNDATION!! We're very excited about our slab of concrete. Even more exciting is the huge pile of lumber ready to go for framing - hopefully this week!

Easter with the fam was fun; good food, good times. Sean and Allie invited us over afterwards and we watched "The Secret Garden".

Easter Sunday - Brings us to today. Church this morning, then Mimi's (twice in one week!), then home, walking, visited Mary (Brans Mom) and now typing a new blog post.

Freaking great

2008-03-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

Casey, to answer your question, yes, we loved it

Wicked that is

I was too tired from fighting traffic last night to post so here I am
this morning.

The show was so good! Especially the girl who played Elphaba, Bran
and I were blown away by her.

Now its off to Starbucks and a little
H & M to finish off our mini trip!

Kinda live-blogging Wicked

2008-03-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

Brandie and I are in LA celebrating our anniversary (a tad late) and
we're seeing Wicked. We've heard really good things about the show and
we're just sitting in the theater anxiously awaiting for it to start!

More to come....

I still don't like Oprah...

2008-03-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

....however, thanks to a performance on her show today, Leona Lewis' song "Bleeding Love" is #1 on the US iTunes chart!

I've been a big fan of Leona for almost 2 years now ever since she won the X-Factor in the UK back in '06.

I've been waiting for the day when she would hit it big in the States and it looks like her time has come.

Clive Davis and her label are doing a genius job of launching her in the US, slowly building a name for her at Davis' pre-Grammy party (where she performed), today's Oprah appearance, and of course she's gonna show up on American Idol very soon (thanks to Simon who was a judge on X-Factor when she won).

Her album "Spirit" comes out in the US April 8th with a slightly tweaked tracklisting (the US staple, an Akon collab just HAD to be included for anyone here to take notice, bleh), so be sure to check it out!

Going into the weekend

2008-03-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

- Gonna play as much smash bros brawl as possible - bring it brian!!

- Visiting our home out at Harlan ranch....think we have a foundation
now!

- Potluck dinner with friends Sat night

- Church and Relevant group on Sunday

- Catch up on tv, the Gosselins and Roloffs are calling my name!

What're you up to?

First pic of our new house

2008-03-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

This post is very exciting for two reasons. One is obviously that here
for the first time is a picture of our house in the very early stages
of being built.

Second this is the first time I'm using Bloggers mobile capabilities.
All I have to do is attach my pic and send it to my special blogger
mobile email address.

So hopefully this means more frequent posts cause now I can post
faster from anywhere!

2 Years 1 Day

2008-03-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my awesome wife Brandie and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary.

She's not just my wife, she's my best friend. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us in the many years to come.

Oh yeah, we had a delicious anniversary meal at Max's last night - sweet potato fries!

My wife bought me a house for Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

For almost a year now my wife Brandie and I have been looking into purchasing a home. The market's been so awesome for buyers and we're pretty over living in the Tower. However, every time we ran the numbers it just hadn't worked out and though we've been disappointed in the past, we knew we just had to keep plugging away and the timing would work out when it was right.

The time is now.

This past Sunday we went out to Harlan Ranch to look at models. It's a huge Master Planned community in northeast Clovis, towards the foothills. This place is massive. It already has an Elementary School there, with plans for commercial businesses and tons of houses. Ever since the notion of a house has been in our minds we've wanted to build new. It only makes sense for first time home-buyers; the prices are the same and a lot of the times even BETTER than buying pre-existing homes, so it's kinda a no-brainer for us.

Long story short, we fell in love with the Devonshire Collection by Wilson Homes, the Evan model. It's seriously the perfect house for us. I called up my good friend Asa to help us run the numbers one more time....and he hooked it up. Everything just fell into place. The price, the mortgage, everything (i'll spare all the financial details).

So come today, Valentine's Day, Brandie and I were signing contracts! We officially are on the road to becoming home owners!

So in about 4 to 5 months we'll be moving....crazy!!!

Now if only we had new furniture.....

Top Songs of 2007

2007-12-31T16:46:00.000-08:00

*Alphabetical by Artist*

"Like It Or Leave It" - Aly & AJ
"Alone" (Feat. Travis Barker) - Avril Lavigne (My most played song, 27 plays!)
"Inconsolable" - Backstreet Boys
"Innocence" - Björk (Was my ringtone for a good chunk of the year)
"Break The Ice" - Britney Spears
"So Small" - Carrie Underwood
"When I'm Gone" - The Click Five
"Run And Tell That" - Elijah Kelly
"Wait For You" - Elliott Yamin
"I Could Get Used To This" - Everlife
"Body Language (No Rap Version" - Heidi Montag
"With Love" - Hilary Duff
"Beautiful Disaster" - Jon McLaughlin
"Angeline" - Jonathan Fagerlund
"No Air" (duet with Chris Brown) - Jordin Sparks
"Over It" - Katharine McPhee
"Up to the Mountain" (Featuring Jeff Beck) - Kelly Clarkson
"Hole"- Kelly Clarkson
"Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis
"Can't Let Go (Radio Edit)" - Linda Kiraly
"Cara Mia" - Måns Zelmerlöw (My current ringtone)
"Makes Me Wonder" - Maroon 5
"With You, Tonight" - Matt Wertz
"The Heart Never Lies" - McFly
"Relax, Take It Easy" - Mika
"You Can't Stop The Beat" - Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelly,
John Travolta & Queen Latifah
"No Reins" - Rascal Flatts
"Breakin' Dishes" - Rihanna
"Silver Lining" - Rilo Kiley
"When Did Your Heart Go Missing?" - Rooney
"Puttin On the Ritz" - Rufus Wainwright
"Apologize (Feat. One Republic)" - Timbaland
"The Way I Are (Ft. Keri Hilson & DOE & Sebastian) (Extended Version)" - Timbaland
"Hook Me Up" - The Veronicas

Top 15 in '07 Part XV - My wife Brandie

2007-12-31T16:15:00.000-08:00

Even though my Top 15 Most Entertaining of 2007 are in no particular order, I couldn't help but to save the best and my favorite for last, my wife Brandie.

We figured out the other day that we've known each other for ten years, crazy! We've known each other for so long and been through so much together and every day is still so much fun. She's been my amazing wife for almost two years now and we've had some great times as a married couple.

This past year we went to Disneyland and Christina Aguilera for our 1st Year Anniversary, celebrated July birthdays in Vegas with Sarah and Jeremiah, saw the Spice Girls with Noelle earlier in the month, and have had countless good times with family and friends.

Brandie always cracks me up and makes me laugh, whether she means to or not. I won't go into detail because most of it won't make any sense if I try to type it out, but lets just say that there are made up words, impressions, facial expressions, and much more random stuff that makes us laugh.

Bran, thank you for being my fave and for doing so much. I love you so much, can't wait see what this next year brings. Bring it!

Top 15 in '07 Part XIV - Pop Music

2007-12-31T10:13:00.000-08:00

This was a great year for Pop Music releases in my opinion. There were albums I knew would be good, ones that surprised me and newer discoveries from around the world.

The Sure Bets

Backstreet Boys - "Unbreakable". Their lead single "Inconsolable" quickly went up my Top 25 Most Played this Summer and I knew good things were coming for their new release. The Boys brought it again, keeping with what made their last album a success, more adult-friendly but still keeping a toe in middle of the road pop. Standouts: "Everything But Mine", "Inconsolable", "Something That I Already Know", "Helpless When She Smiles".

Kelly Clarkson - "My December". Kelly herself probably wouldn't want to hear that she's on the list as one of the best Pop releases of the year but she'll just have to deal. I wouldn't go so far to say that I was disappointed with her newest, but I also am not obsessed with it. I respect what she did to get this record out there; she famously went head to head with Clive Davis to get this album out there the way she wanted it to and that's very honorable. There are some really really good songs on here that I think if radio gave them a chance she'd have another hit record on her hands, but it seems that won't be happening. Check out "Hole", "Judas", "Sober", "Haunted", "Maybe" and "How I Feel".

Timbaland - "Presents: Shock Value". Everyone knows he produces great songs, they're all over the charts, and they always lean towards urban pop, so I knew I'd like at least a few of the songs off his solo debut. I knew "Way I Are" would be huge the minute I heard it, and who can deny "Apologize" is just great?

More sure bets (some previously mentioned): Katharine McPhee, Carrie Underwood's "Carnival Ride", Rooney's "Calling the World", The Click Five "Modern Minds and Pastimes", Rascal Flatts "Still Feels Good", Leona Lewis "Spirit", Maroon 5 "It Won't Be Soon Before Long"

Surprises

I'm going to spare everyone and not post a picture with this next entry, it's hard for me to even type this, but Britney Spears' "Blackout" was a surprise pop music release for me this year. With trepidation I listened to what was sure to be a disaster, it had to be right?! But somewhere amidst all the craziness Britney managed to get into a studio and do at least one thing right in her life. Britney of course does not deserve any amount of credit for this album, it's very obvious that the production team is the true star of this release. It's the beats and production value that truly shine on "Blackout", Britney's just kind of there providing another instrument (if you can call her voice that). Key tracks "Piece of Me", "Radar", "Break The Ice", "Ooh Ooh Baby".

Jordin Sparks - I was never a Jordin fan during last season of AI, but I was curious to see what type of album she would put out and I was pleasantly surprised. Her debut is not bubble gum, but it's as close as you will probably get in the US without being part of the Disney Channel. She does a stellar duet with Chris Brown on "No Air" and her ok-on-tv-voice actually sounds good on standouts "One Step At A Time", "Freeze" and "Permanent Monday". She still has that weird vibratto but it's more controlled and isn't given the chance to really come out much. Too bad her labels not really promoting this one, it has a lot of potential.

Rihanna - "Good Girl Gone Bad". Rihanna's alway had been just ok in my opinion, "S.O.S." and "Unfaithful" were the only songs of hers that ever made me stop and listen. However she took it to a whole other level when she released this, her third album this past summer. There was the ubiquitous "Umbrella" which was a grower for me, but with songs like "Breakin' Dishes", "Don't Stop the Music", "Shut Up And Drive", "Hate That I Love You", plus the title track, this was like hit after hit! She just hit the nail on the head, it's the perfect combination of snarly hip pop for the US market, but straight up dancey pop for the Euro markets which equals perfection for me!

Surprise Honorable Mentions: Aly & AJ "Insomniatic", Hilary Duff "Dignity".

Discoveries

Mans Zelmerlow "Stand By For" - was a finalist in Sweden Idol in 2005, I'm currently listening to this album like crazy.

Jon McLaughlin "Indiana" - heard his single "Beautiful Disaster" randomly, then found the promo version of his entire cd at Rasputin for $1.99 and the rest is history.

Matt Wertz "Everything In Between" - technically released in 2006 but Brandie and I enjoyed this CD a lot this year.

Jonathan Fagerlund "Angeline"

Linda Kiraly "Can't Let Go"

The Hairspray Soundtrack - So many great songs, the writer's are brilliant.

Top 15 in '07 Part XIII - iPhone

2007-12-30T22:48:00.000-08:00

At the very beginning of 2007 Apple unveiled their beauty of a gadget, the iPhone. I'll never forget gazing at the front page of the Fresno Bee with anticipation, waiting for the day that an iPhone would be mine.

That day came shortly after the iPhone was officially released in June, the perfect birthday gift! The iPhone is everything that I'll ever need in an electronic device: music and video playback, calendar, email, the internet (on which I constantly check my Google Reader feeds), text messaging, the iTunes music store, camera, YouTube, AND a phone! With more to come, because Apple will keep updating the firmware and releasing more capabilities for (hopefully) a long time to come.

Also, the iPhone's just a beauty in terms of design and execution. The screen is sharp and crystal clear, it's super thin, and the whole touch screen thing just makes it so cool.

I can't fail to mention that my iPhone would be nothing without my MacBook Pro which also came about in 2007. Thank you Apple for creating some awesome products that have revolutionized electronics and have made me a Mac convert.

Top 15 in '07 Part XII - Google Reader

2007-12-30T15:28:00.000-08:00

I'd tried doing the whole Feeds/RSS thing a while back and it did nothing but confuse me so I gave up. THEN Jeremiah told me about Google Reader and how easy and awesome it is, so I gave it another go....and lo and behold, I'm HOOKED!.

If you don't really understand feeds like I used to, here's a quick breakdown. Blogs and news sites are updated all the time, so Google Reader allows you to subscribe to these blogs, or feeds, and you can view the content live, kind of like email. So say goodbye to visiting every single one of your bookmarks, because if you can subscribe to it's feed, then they're all in once place. It's freakin great, it's like getting presents all day long.

Be careful tho, because some sites update more often than others and if it's one you're not too stoked on then all those little gifts you're getting might become a little annoying. So I had to say goodbye to ew.com's news feed and engadget's too...it was a little too much.

Google Reader totally fits my needs: a one-stop that has all my favorites: music, entertainment news, friends' blogs (shoutouts to Gene, Kelly, Casey and Becky!) and I even read them on my phone (more on that later)! Thank you thank you Google Reader for making my life just that much better.

Top 15 in '07 Part XI - Blockbuster Total Access

2007-12-30T15:14:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of the year Brandie and I decided we were going to rejoin Blockbuster's Total Access. It was such a great deal, $7.99 a month for 3 movies shipped to our place, with 3 in-store exchanges and one free movie/game rental a month! Too good to pass up. Plus our local Bbuster is within walking distance. We were stoked.

Until they raised the price to $8.99 and lowered the rentals to 2 a month with no more free movie/game a month. Ok, still a good deal, 4 movies for $9? Sweet.

Fast forward to last week. I get an email from Blockbuster saying that they're raising the price again! With this last price hike and the fact that we realized that since the summer movies just sat on the shelf resulting in us just taking them back without watching them...we had to cancel.

Not to say that Bbuster Total Access doesn't deserve a spot on the top 15. It helped us discover Ugly Betty, numerous films, and I got to try out a few different Wii games. It was fun while it lasted, it was just too good to be true.

Top 15 in '07 Part X - The Brits

2007-12-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

These Brits are sprinkled throughout the Top 15, but here's a breakdown of the ones that impacted my year.

Lily Allen - Her album "Alright, Still" was the perfect way to start out my year with its cheeky lyrics and Mark Ronson-produced beats.

Amy Winehouse - Yes she's crazy and all but if you actually listen to her album "Back to Black" you'll discover a great talent. This album blew me away with Mark Ronson producing once again, but this time evoking '60's era girl groups and classic R&B. I know you're tired of "Rehab" so check out the title track and "Love Is A Losing Game" - crazy good.

Mika - You've probably heard his songs on commercials and on various TV shows. His album "Life In Cartoon Motion" is both insanely pop and piano-driven singer/songwriter fare. He's definitely not for everyone, but I had a good time with this album this year.

Leona Lewis - She won the X Factor last year in the UK and her debut album "Spirit" came out there in November. Keep your eyes and ears open for this girl in the coming months, she's impacting the US very soon! She recently was in New York shooting the US video for her AWESOME single "Bleeding Love" (check it out on iTunes). She's one of the most talented vocalists I've heard in a long time. YouTube her and see her insane talent in action. Key tracks: "Bleeding Love", "Homeless", "Take A Bow", "I Will Be" (an Avril B-side cover!)

Also: McFly released a Greatest Hits CD and Live DVD (still need to get...), and Keane did a cover of "Under Pressure" for a Radio1 compilation.

Top 15 in '07 Part IX - Entertainment Weekly

2007-12-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

I've had a subscription to Entertainment Weekly since High School, and year in and year out it's consistently one of my favorite reads. I read the entire thing cover to cover every week (kinda sad....maybe?).

Plus any magazine that has a Collector's Issue consisting of four Office covers? A winner in my book. I was worried that my interest in the magazine would wane since everything pop culture is updated to the minute on the internet, but EW still brings it.

The writing is smart and funny and while I don't always agree with their reviews, I enjoy the perspectives. Their website's pretty cool too, I especially enjoy their PopWatch Blog and during American Idol season, their website is the place to go for nonstop coverage.

Thanks for being there with me through another year, EW, let's keep this thing going.

Top 15 in '07 Part VIII - Bands

2007-12-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

My brother Sean and I were talking a while ago about how bands aren't big anymore, and while I still agree with this statement it doesn't mean that there aren't bands out there that I don't like.

The most anticipated band release of the year for me was Maroon 5's "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". I've been waiting for a long time for a new M5 record, almost long enough for me not to care anymore, but this album is a good 2nd release for the band. "Makes Me Wonder" was on repeat on my phone all summer long and "Wake Up Call" has a great sing along chorus. If I'm being honest I can't name off anymore tracks by name, BUT it's still a great summer road trip album to listen loudly to.

Another band that was WAY overdue for a follow-up was Rooney. Everyone knows them for their OC hype a few years ago, but Sean introduced me to them long before then. Their first album was Beach Boys-esque, summery, fun, pop-rock fun, their second album "Calling the World" which came out back in July is more synth-rock oriented while keeping the fun atmosphere of their debut. Listen to: "When Did Your Heart Go Missing?"

While Maroon 5 was the most anticipated release of '07, The Click Five's "Modern Minds and Pasttimes" turned out to be my favorite band album of the year.

I'd heard a while before the album came out that TC5's previous lead singer left the group, which was a MAJOR downgrade in my opinion, it was his high-pitched pop-perfect voice that drew me to them in the first place! However, I believed in them enough still to be on board with their new album. Even though the result is different than their debut, I found myself constantly listening to this album....really really loudly.

This album succeeds in a different way than their first did. "Modern Minds" is more rock oriented with a TON of 80's pop influence as opposed to straight up bubble gum rock of their first. PLUS the new lead singer's deeper voice lends itself really well to the overall feel of the album. "When I'm Gone" and "Headlight Disco" land at #'s 12 and 22 on my top 25 most played on iTunes repsectively, but lead single "Jenny" and "Addicted to Me" are also favorites.

The Others...

Jimmy Eat World's "Chase This Light" has so far failed to catch my attention...maybe '08 will bring more Jimmy love...

Same thing goes for Saves the Day's "Under the Boards", come on guys!

Rilo Kiley finally catered to my alt-pop needs with "Under the Blacklight"

Top 15 in '07 Part VII - Brooke Fraser

2007-12-29T16:11:00.000-08:00

This year brought a great discovery in music, her name is Brooke Fraser. I've talked about our concert-going experience here previously but I can't not mention her as one of the top 15 most entertaining of the year.

Here's the story. My friend Chris who lives in L.A. told me about this producer Marshall Altman, he produced Marc Broussard's "Momentary Setback" (which I loved) among other albums for up and comers. Chris said that Marshall produced this girl Brooke Fraser and he was loving it, so he burned me a copy of her CD "Albertine". He said she's from New Zealand, she's big there, etc. I thought nothing of it until months later when I decided to take a listen and things changed forever.

I immediately thought of Brandie because I could just TELL this is the kind of music she would love. And love she did. To be completely honest, Brandie was quicker to embrace Brooke than I was; yes, I really liked her CD, but Brandie took it hostage and listened to it in her car long enough to learn all the words before I did!

Upon doing more research I found and downloaded Brooke's first CD "What To Do With Daylight", which is different, but good in and of itself. Then of course came the YouTube search which resulted in numerous videos and live performances which were of course amazing. We were in musical love.

Then (thanks to Wikipedia!) I found out that Brooke's been a part of the Hillsong group, and has written and performed songs with them. Which lead to the discovery of "Hosanna" and "Lead Me To The Cross", two AMAZINGLY beautiful worship songs that Brooke wrote which appeared on the "All Of The Above" Hillsong United album.

Chris was able to meet up with us when we saw her in L.A. and it had all come full circle. At the concert we were finally able to purchase her "Albertine" album legitimately, it wasn't out in the US anywhere ($30 online? no thanks)! It would have been awesome to meet her and have her sign our CD that night, but that wasn't to be. Brooke's music has made a serious impact on me and Brandie, I hope more people get to hear her in the future. More new music in '08 Brooke, please!

Top 15 in '07 Part VI - TV

2007-12-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging about TV as much as I used to but it's still one of the main ways in which Brandie and I enjoy our free time.

This year......

Gilmore Girls said goodbye

Lost was pretty good, then got CRAZY GOOD the last couple episodes of the season

Grey's wasn't as good as it should've been, now, it's back

Brandie discovered how awesome Run's House is

Giada, Duff, Nigella, Ina, Guy. If you don't know who they are you're missing out...

30 Rock got the love it's deserved from the very beginning

Pam and Jim are finally together! Too bad the season-opening eps were about half an hour too long

Project Runway finally came back

We spread the Jon and Kate Plus 8 love to everyone we know

Little People Big World never ends (a good thing!)

We stopped watching The Hills

We caught up and are live and love Ugly Betty

Reaper and Private Practice joined the lineup

Heroes got boring

More? Property Ladder, Flipping Out, Top Chef, Welcome to the Parker, My Life on the D List, ANTM, Planet Earth, Blue Planet, So You Think You Can Dance

Top 15 in '07 Part V - Country Music

2007-12-27T18:17:00.000-08:00

I can't really say Country Music as a whole, it's mainly just that Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts both put out albums this year. Good albums (you can see them both on the right).

Carrie's "Carnival Ride" picks up where her last album left off, but she's better prepared this time to serve up a great album. Her voice is the best it's ever sounded (in her vast, what, 2 year career?) and it really shines on tracks like "I Know You Won't" and lead single "So Small". "Last Name" is this albums "Before He Cheats" and that's fine by me. She runs the gamut from snarly-attitude-girl on "Flat on the Floor" to country crooner with pipes of gold (and stunning range/control) on "Just A Dream". Like her first album every song is sing-a-long-able, but these songs are just slighter better; you can tell she spent quality time choosing her songs and songwriters.

Rascal Flatts' "Still Feels Good" kind of took me by surprise, literally. I was looking at CD release dates and theirs popped up...I knew somehow that I'd known about it, but it just came so fast! And then I found that their first single, "Take Me There" was already released, with a video and everything! Anyhow, it made it a little more awesome being surprised cause I didn't have to wait as long for the album to come out!

"SFG" isn't the Flatts' at their ABSOLUTE best, but they're still doing what they do really well: providing very slickly produced country-pop for the masses. Standouts include the title track, "No Reins", and the Jamie Foxx duet "She Goes All The Way". On my first couple listens I thought there were too many slow/mid-tempos on here, but the more I listened, the more I grew to like almost every single song (I still listen to "Bob That Head", unlike Brandie...)

In other 2007 country-ness I discovered Alison Krauss' "Maybe", The Wrecker's released a live CD/DVD, Kelly and Reba did an ok version of "Because of You", and aside from her pretty good "Nothin' Better To Do", Leann Rhimes did a duet with Marc Broussard on her "Family" album.

Top 15 in '07 Part IV - Concerts

2007-12-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

I didn't see as many concerts this year as I have in years past, HOWEVER, the ones I did see were quite good and fun and they all shared a central theme - the woman.

That sounded weirder than I meant it, nonetheless, it's true. Back in March for our first Wedding Anniversary Brandie and I saw Christina Aguilera at the Honda Civic Center in Anaheim. Xtina's been one of my favorite voices for a while now, and I was stoked to finally see her live. The disappointing part is that she lip synched a couple songs, probably to save her voice cause she went all out on almost every number. We had a great time, and Bran got to hear her favorite, "Fighter", as the finale.

Then in May, we saw Brooke Fraser at Hotel Cafe in LA. It was a very intimate show and so very awesome cause Brooke's from New Zealand and NEVER comes to the States except to sing with Hillsong. I posted on this trip earlier in the year so check that out (plus more on Brooke in the coming posts...)

In August I had the random opportunity to see Beyonce when she was in Fresno. I also posted on this concert experience, but I will say again, that she put on a really really good show. Vocally she was just crazy. I know a lot of people hate her, but I was impressed.

Then.....

The opportunity of a lifetime....

December 7, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA: The Spice Girls Reunion Tour

Yes I said it and I will gladly admit that Brandie, myself and our good friend Noelle saw the Spice Girls. I was a fan when they were huge, who wasn't? But Brandie and Noelle share a special bond with the Spice Girls. They watched their awful movie countless times together in Jr. High...need I say more?

The girls actually sang live the whole time (with backing tracks of course), and each girl had their solo time (which for Victoria Beckham consisted of putting on a cape and walking down the catwalk, haha). Of course we had a blast, and it was a great way to cap off our concert year.

Miss You Love You

2007-12-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

Two years ago today my cousin and friend Laura Pope died in a car accident. Laura was such a happy person, and I give her all the credit for my Pop Music obsession, I know I'd be doing her proud. It's still hard to conceive that she's gone, but I'll always have the memories of all the great times we shared. Love you Laura, miss you every single day.

Laura and I at Coachella 2005

A quick detour.....

2007-12-20T16:24:00.001-08:00

The Lost Season 4 trailer!! Jan 31st can't come fast enough

Top 15 in 07 Part III - Harry Potter

2007-12-20T15:47:00.000-08:00

This was definitely the year of Harry. The seventh and final book of the Potter saga "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" came to a dramatic, exciting and sad end. Sad if only for the fact that it's over, and that a ton of people die (oops, spoiler alert).

The UK cover is way cooler than the US one

Also "The Order of the Phoenix" movie came out this summer and it's in battle for my favorite Potter film (it's on "Azkaban!").

Brandie and I joined the Pensiero's once again and the Popes (first timers!) for the movie. "Phoenix" might have to go down in history as one of the best book-to-movie adaptations because it did a really good job of keeping the spirit of the book while being very accessible for those who hadn't read; throw in some awesome action, teen angst, and of course an emotional finale and it's the perfect Potter experience.

Top 15 in 07 Part II - Feel Good Movies

2007-12-20T11:24:00.000-08:00

This year I decided that I don't like seeing movies in the theaters that much anymore. However, there are always those movies that come out every year that you just HAVE to go see. The ones that stood out the most to me were:

Enchanted

Hairspray

Ratatouille

The latter possibly being my favorite movie of the year.

These three films made the theater-going experience worth it, because you just felt so good when they were over...heck, I almost wanted to GO BACK to see some of them! (In fact, Sean, Allie and I did go back to see Hairspray a second time, this time with Brandie).

I used to want to see all the studio dramas and cool indies that I read about in magazines, but they're out for such limited times, especially here in Fresno, and I don't have that much time unless I want to go by myself; it's just not worth it (plus my good friend Bittorrent is just a few clicks away :))

Hairspray and Ratatouille are now out on DVD, so if you haven't seen them yet, I strongly advise that you do, and Enchanted is the winter's must-see movie. These movies remind me of what it was like seeing movies as a kid: exciting, enthralling, and just fun! (Even my DAD'S bumping the Hairspray soundtrack these days!)

15 Most Entertaining Things in 2007 Part I - The Wii

2007-12-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

*Top 15 are in no particular order*

This year marked a momentous occasion - I purchased my first video gaming system since Super Nintendo. The Nintendo Wii!

I was originally obsessed with getting a Wii because Super Smash Bros. Brawl was supposed to come out waaay back in March (right around when I got mine). HOWEVER, this game has been postponed to February of '08, almost a whole year later! Nonetheless, the Wii has provided me many many hours of enjoyment. Whether it was tennis with Brian, countless bowling matches at get-togethers with friends, Mario Party 8 with Sarah and Jeremiah, or more recently the awesome Guitar Hero III and DDR, the Wii deservedly is one of my most entertaining.

What's so great is that the Wii is the gift that keeps on giving - Brawl WILL come out eventually, as will countless other games that I'm sure I will enjoy far into the future. Also, you can purchase classic Nintendo games straight from the console itself and revisit your childhood.

So thank you Nintendo for reintroducing me, my wife, my family and friends to gaming, and if you haven't got your hands on one of these things yet, come on over, I challenge you to a match of tennis.

It's the most awesomest time...

2007-11-26T18:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight Brandie and I busted out our Christmas decorations. It's our second Christmas as a married couple and we have some awesome decorations if I do say so myself. We haven't gotten our tree yet, much to my disappointment, but Brandie has a good point in that if we wait just a little bit more it will last longer and hopefully not give us as much grief in the clean-up department as our tree last year did (NOT good times...)

So here are some pics, just imagine Amy Grant Christmas music playing in the background and you'll get a feel for what this evening was like

(Keep an eye out for the 3rd Wiseman in the Nativity Scene. Guess Dollar Tree thought 2 Wisemen were enough)

2007's Most Entertaining

2007-11-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Today I received the newest Entertainment Weekly in the mail, which is a momentous occasion in and of itself, but this issue is the 25 entertainers of the year. Which inspired me to do something similar with my blog.

So coming soon are my "15 Most Entertaining Things of the Year" (25 was aiming a little too high)

By years end hopefully everything that has entertained me will be summed up while I look forward to an equally entertaining '08

I couldn't breave

2007-11-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows I love me some pop music, well i got some more coming your way. It's a song from american idol winner Jordin Sparks (who never impressed me very much; no one really did last season) featuring Chris Brown. Like i said, I like me some pops, which chris brown usually doesn't do, he's more on the almost hip hop with featured rappers spectrum. HOWEVER i can't get this song out of my head, it's quite good. Very good actually.

Enyoy

She's killing me

2007-10-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard a song for the first time and it stopped you dead in your tracks? It's so good that you stop doing whatever you're doing at the moment and just take it in? That happened to me today on a break at work with a new Carrie Underwood song called "I Know You Won't". Her albums out next week and Brandie and I can't wait to get our hands on it....but of course I caved and downloaded the whole thing last week when it leaked; i know i know...i'm still gonna buy it!

Anyhoo please take a moment to listen to this song. Even if you've never liked her before, just do it as a favor to me. Her voice is freaking amazing, hope it blows you away as much as it did me.

All I ever wanted comes right down to you

2007-10-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

Monday night, tiring day of work, waiting for iTunes store to update so I can download the new Jimmy Eat World album that i preordered. Not a lot going on but very overwhelmed. No work tomorrow for me (at the moment the neighbor we share a wall with is either hanging up new artwork or hurting someone...) some easy errands, Bible study and that'll be my day.

The fall TV season is upon us and its great. The Office, Grey's, 30 Rock, they're all back and new shows Reaper, Aliens in America and Private Practice are keeping my DVR gluttonous. Non network shows are almost more my favorite though for two reasons 1. Since we have satellite, we're on East Coast time with cable channels which means they don't interfere with our network shows and 2. There are so many more of them that deliver in quality week after week. To name a few: LA Ink, Little People Big World (new season premiered tonight!) Jon & Kate Plus 8 (check it out on Discovery Health), Nigella Lawsons new show on Food Network, and the never disappointing Property Ladder.

Books! Currently reading Sean Astin's semi-biography/LOTR memoir; kinda wordy and tangenty but it's fine. Reading Narnia aloud with Bran, timely but very worth it (i want to do LOTR next).

Movies aren't doing anything for me at the moment. I'll see Darjeeling Limited and maybe Across the Universe.

We've been going to a new Bible Study group on Sunday mornings which also meets Tuesday nights and it's been a really good time. Sundays we've been studying Revelation and the guy who leads it and his wife really know their stuff. It's almost academic in nature while being completely spiritually relevant. A lot of stuff that doesn't get discussed in Sunday morning sermons. So we've been enjoying that and are looking forward to getting together tomorrow night.

oh yeah, and Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii (the whole reason I got on in the first place) just got delayed AGAIN to February 10th!! I guess i'll have something else besides Lost to look forward to in four months....

Who Knew?

2007-09-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

Rascal Flatt's new CD "http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifStill Feels Good" has barely started warming up my CD player and iPhone, but I'm already loving a really random collaboration between them and Jamie Foxx on the song "She Goes All The Way"...i know! Random huh?

I was listening to the album last night after downloading it and I heard this song, and immediately was like "who's singing with them?" It took some work digging through the digital booklet to find out that it was Jamie Foxx; and I found it especially odd that no where on the track name or anywhere else obvious does it say he's featured on the track. Nevertheless....check out the song, whether that means the 30 sec clip on itunes or stumbling across it on the web

2007-09-15T18:20:00.000-07:00

i'm sick, so that sucks

BUT

there is good news. but first the story/bad news

yesterday the $100 store credit for early iphone buyers went live - yes! i can finally get my itunes gift card!

or not

after doing some research/reading blogs and such, it turns out that apple has put restrictions on the store credit and they can't be used to purchase itunes gift cards. so i was actually becoming fine with it by today, ok with my decision to use it towards the Leopard OS coming out soon

BUT THEN

it turns out that you CAN use the store credit to buy an itunes gift card....the trick? it has to be a physical gift card, no electronic ones that they email to you....sneaky?....not sneaky enough because after a quick trip to the apple store at fashion fair, my account on itunes is $100 richer, woooop!!

needless to say i'm set for new album releases for the next, oh, 3 months or so

blowing my mind with genuisity

2007-09-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

this guy knows his crap

genius genius genius

if you're a music industry fanatic like me READ THIS

The Lefsetz Letter 9/11/07

My inpatience paid off for once!

2007-09-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs announced today that anyone who bought an iPhone back when they were first released will receive a $100 apple store credit since we all shed many a tear yesterday when they announced the price drop...

here comes $100 worth of itunes store purchases!

Brilliant!

2007-09-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today Apple announced a whole new iPod lineup....but bleh, i have my iphone and that's all i need (lets just forget the fact that they lowered the price of the 8Gig one to $399...$100 less than I payed for my 4Gig) anyhoo...

the BIGGEST deals about all this?!

Ringtones for the iPhone. FINALLY you might say (or just me...) BUT it costs 99 cents extra to make a ringtone out of songs - and only SOME songs - but this is a big step....so i'll do it only when i have extra $$ in my iTunes account

EVEN BIGGER: ITUNES WIFI MUSIC STORE = BRILLIANT

I was JUST discussing this with Jeremiah, how Apple needed to integrate the itunes store to their mobile devices...and it's coming!! So I can be ANYWHERE ANYTIME ANYPLACE and shop for my favorite thing to shop for, music! It's the entire itunes store in your hand. Plus Apple and Starbucks are in a deal now in which by '09 all Starbucks locations with Wifi will allow itunes wifi music store shoppers to find out what song is currently being played and can be downloaded!!

so big big stuff coming up...now all i have to do it WAIT cause a lot of this is launching in the very near future

the shift key experience

2007-08-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

A lot has gone one since we've been back from vacation. I moved Starbucks locations, I'm now the Store Manager at the Shaw and Feland location, so I've kind of been neglecting the blog because of all the hub bub surrounding taking on a new store. (fYI, my right shift button popped off right at the beginning of this post, so some stuff will be capitalized and some stuff won't)

on to more important matters

last night i randomly got tickets to the beyonce experience (awesome (?) name for a tour). every time i'd seen her perform on tv she did a great job, and man, last night she brought it. beyonce i've found is a very polarizing artist, people either love her or hate her, so I guess i'm on the loving side, because last night she was on point. i'm going on record and saying that she's the best live vocalist i've ever heard, there was never a wrong note, she hit all her high notes even at the very end of a 2 hour plus set, just a great vocalist. i was hoping that falling was part of the show, but unfortunately it wasn't....PLUs the whole thing wasn't as ghetto as i thought it would be, which is just an added bonus.

Vegas '07 In Pictures

2007-07-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a breakdown of our Vegas Vacation....

We stopped at the Mad Greek in Baker, CA on the recommendation of Guy from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Unfortunately it wasn't all it was cracked up to be oh well...

Food is a big part of our lives and our vacation was definitely a reflection of this fact. We ventured off the strip, and thanks to Sarah and Jeremiah's awesome research we found some very delicious places to visit. One of them being Jamm's, where we had one of the best breakfasts that I've ever had. Here is my Sandy Omlette which had bacon, avocado, a TON of cheese and some sour cream, with a side of Pot of Bread, Home Fries and coffee of course.

Me with a lightsaber

On Wednesday evening our food journey took us to Rosemary's, a place Saramiah had visited on our last trip to Vegas in '05 and it did not disappoint. Pictured are the remains of my entree of Apple Bacon crusted Salmon.

We left Rosemary's oh so satisfied and a little dizzy....so...much...good...food...

An outside view of our hotel The Paris.

Us at the gardens in Bellaggio

We visited two buffets this year, yeah, we don't mess around. The first was the buffet at Sam's Town, also off the strip, also another Food Network recommendation. Rachel Ray visited here one time on $40 a Day (a mantra we definitely did not follow) this place was a great deal though with a lunch buffet for only $7.99! AND we parked next to a sign that had their employees of the month; behold Ellen

I kept wanting to take pics of the food before we ate, but I kept forgetting, so those were the remains....

A mantra we did try to stick by was "never go outdoors". So many of the casinos and hotels are interconnected which is awesome....however we did have a little walking excursion, which was hot, but we had the HONOR of passing by a Seigfried and Roy tribute

In the car...

Le Burger Brasserie was our next stop on our food tour. I had a lamb burger with mushrooms, some sauce stuff and fresh buffalo mozzarella mmmm....again, only the after pic, not even of the food! just the sign...

Here's Bran when we went to Napoleans, it's a lounge where these two guys play requests all night, we had a good time

Sadly our last day came, our view from the hotel

Again, it was a great get away we're sad another vacation has gone by

saying goodbye

2007-07-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

Once again this post comes from the backseat of the Belts car but this time we're on our way back home and we're oh so sad about it. We had a really great time...I put a dollar into a penny slot machine last night (thanks Bran) and walked away with $50.90! It was fun and surprising. So today at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets I was able to get this sweet jacket from French Connection, so that was cool.

All I'm seeing is road in front of me which is quite depressing, so I think I'm gonna watch some Planet Earth.

Watch for a Vegas recap in pictures coming soon.

Oh yeah and Fergie's song "Big Girls Dont Cry" was our official Vegas '07 anthem. I think our final count of times we heard it was 7.

Vegas baby!

2007-07-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

This post is brought to you straight from the backseat of the Belts car, on our way to Las Vegas! We've been planning this trip seriously since January and we couldn't be more excited. Just getting away, relaxing, eating out a ton, and hanging out enjoying being away from our jobs.

Alright starting to get carsick so I'll update later when we're stationary.

Oh! And last night I finished Harry Potter and it was very very awesome! More to come later...

Music in 07: Keep 'em Coming!

2007-07-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

07 has been an awesome year for new music....and it's only halfway over! That means a bunch of my favorite artists are still lined up to release new material by the years end.

Here's a list of new music still coming our way:

-Rascal Flatts Sept 25, or Fall

-Carrie Underwood Oct. 23

-Alicia Keys Oct 23

-The Afters Dec 25

-Junior Senior Jul 31

-Gnarls Barkley

-Jimmy Eat World Sept

-McFly Greatest Hits Oct

-Saves The Day, Fall

Only time will tell how firm some of these release dates are, or if all of them will even make it out by the years end, but needless to say 07 looks like it can only get better...

iPhone madness

2007-07-15T23:43:00.000-07:00

Yes folks its happened. Those who know me well know that ever since Apple teased us back in January about the iPhone its the piece of technology I've been dreaming of owning. On Thursday July 12 my life changed. I am now an owner of the best toy a grown up could ever want. Yes its awesome. Yes the keyboard takes some getting used too. There's no flash support in Safari or a video camera, but who cares? Its sweet. And its killing my thumbs at the moment because this post is brought to you directly from my iPhone. Crazy!

In other goings on Bran and i were joined by good friends Brianandheather and Geneandkelly in seeing the new Harry Potter movie, it was my second favorite one (behind prisoner of azkaban). Now I cannot wait until the moment this Saturday when the UPS man arrives with my copy of the final Potter chapter. Its gonna be intense! Looking forward to it....

im outta here take care everyone

For all 3 people who read this...

2007-06-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Yes he does.

I submitted some Ashlan songs a while back for a new contest for people who work at Starbucks, and they chose us as semi-finalists! If you click on the picture above, it will take you to the website where you can listen to a song and vote!

The grand prize is an opening slot for a nationally known act at the House of Blues in L.A. So all three of you who read my blog please let everyone you know know about this! It would be really cool to win!

Get to votin'!

Shed that shallow skin, come and live again

2007-06-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't come across a musician in a long time that has opened my eyes in this way; Brooke Fraser is brilliant. I've been listening to her music for a while now, but only recently have I really began to hear what she's saying.

What initially drew me to her were her instantly catchy but never overly poppy songs, they stick in your head and the melodies don't go away easily (a good thing). Secondly, her voice is so beautiful, she truly uses it as an instrument used to emote; at times it can be strong and bold, other times it's soft and introspective and that's when she really shines. The production value on "Albertine" is another contributing factor - compared to her fist album "What To Do With Daylight", her second album surpasses it's predecessor in instrumentation and scope. Lastly, and most importantly, her lyrics which encompass her messages are so evocative of real life and true true spiritual experiences I find myself getting lost in them and thinking about my own life.

This is real songwriting, this is God-given. It's not difficult to realize after listening to her music that Brooke is a Christian. She's a part of the Hillsong music projects and the worship songs she writes blow me away. "Hosanna" especially almost made me pull over.

Again - musicianship, songwriting, the voice, the production, the emotions, the message = one of my new favorite artists.

Brandie and I got the awesome opportunity to see Brooke live on Monday night in L.A. She played at the Hotel Cafe, a 45 minute set and of course it was amazing. She was backed by 2 other musicians, a girl who played keys and violin, and a guy who switched back and forth between drums and piano. We left wanting more, which we might get since she said to keep checking her myspace for when she'd be back in L.A.

My goal now is to spread her music to as many people as possible. Her stuff isn't available in the U.S., but if you do some digging you might find some of her songs online.

Below are some pics and videos from the show. Sorry the quality's not great, but you get the point. Listen to her you won't regret it.

Off to L.A.

2007-06-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight Brandie and I are going to see one of our new favorite artists Brooke Fraser. She's big in New Zealand and Australia, but here in the States, her tix are $8! After we return Tuesday I'll post a complete review of the show and our time in L.A.

A Lot of Stuff

2007-05-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

So much to cover!

First: TV Finales. It's so sad to say goodbye to all my shows until the fall. The winner so far hands down goes to The Office. The last scene!! Killer and amazing. Lost's is tomorrow night, it's gonna be a doosey. And American Idol's over tomorrow too, not as big of a deal but entertaining. Jaslene won ANTM otg it wasn't Natasha. Grey's: everyone's sad, is George leaving? DH: Bree's back, and that's about as exciting as it gets...Lynette's Mom is just like Brandie's Grandma!

Second: Music. Sooo much new stuff finally coming my way, this is my year guys I'm telling you. As I posted earlier, there are a ton of new releases that I am just sinking my teeth into right now, reviews will come up as I make up my minds on albums. AND Kelly's release date for My December got MOVED UP to June 26th! Score!

Note: Marc Broussard's new CD of soul covers also comes out June 26th, so I will be getting that as well. And from out of NOWHERE Rihanna's blowing my mind right now! Her new album is called Good Girl Gone Bad, it leaked yesterday, thought I'd download it for kicks....and it's freaking me out how crazy good poppy/r&b-y/rocky/fun it is, so weird when a random artist comes out of the blue and surprises you. That one comes out June 5th.

Whew! I think I got everything that I've been thinking about out there. oh!

Third: Movies. Spiderman 3 wasn't that good, might see Shrek 3, heard its not that good. My prediction for my favorite summer movie: Ratatoullie (i know i jacked up the spelling on that). It looks the most original, and it's by the same guy who did the Incredibles, so I'm sure it's gonna deliver.

Later!

R.I.P. Stars Hollow

2007-05-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty self-indulgent with this blog in the past. I apologize if my drawn-out Lost posts have turned some readers off. Now I'm not assuming that millions read what I write everyday, but I've heard some rumblings. So here's the breakdown (get it?): Lost is awesome again. The last episode was insane, the season's over very soon. I will always love this show, but I won't be hardcore blogging about it as much. Maybe a little update or two, because sometimes I just can't control myself with how intensely this show impacts me.

I also just wanted to give a eulogy for Gilmore Girls. There are only a couple episodes left and the CW just announced that it's the end. Brandie and I will be sad to see it go, but it's run its course and we can see the series wrapping up nicely. Thanks for everything GG, you had a good run.

Review: Spider-Man 3

2007-05-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

The picture above pretty much sums up my feelings for the third Spider-Man film - pain.

Everyone's back of course, but when did things get so campy? Did I just blindly follow along the last 2 films? Because this time around, it's really hard to watch and take seriously. I know it's a movie based on comic books, but so was Batman Begins and that single film is better than the 3 Spidey movies combined. Sam Raimi's brilliant when it comes to the action scenes and the CG of course is amazing, but drawn out "dramatic" scenes alongside Tobey Maguire doing his best Jared Leto impression (eyeliner included...I'm not kidding), and dancing, DANCING! I felt really uncomfortable during a lot of this movie, it made me squirm how cheesy a lot of it was. Were the filmmakers purposefully trying to make a movie that only 11-year olds will lol to?

In the end, there are some good plot points and storylines that get wrapped up, but it's in the execution that this film fails. Go see it, nothing I say will stop you from going, and I probably would still go see it even after reading bad reviews. This movie will make a billion dollars no matter what, but at the end of the day, it's just sloppy sad film making.

Upcoming Releases of '07

2007-04-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

Kelly Clarkson - "My December"

Release Date: Early Summer
First Single: "Never Again" - only a remix has leaked so far, but it's going for radio plays tomorrow.
How I Became A Fan: American Idol of course, and I've stuck with her thru From Justin to Kelly and she's grown into an awesome artist.
Seen Live?: Only, like, 5 times....

Rufus Wainwright - "Release The Stars"

Release Date: May 15
First Single: "Going To A Town"
How I Became A Fan: Heard him on soundtracks (Shrek, Moulin Rouge, I Am Sam), then slowly gathered his albums.
Seen Live?: Yes, with Ben Folds a couple years ago (awesome "Careless Whispers" duet)

Bjork - "Volta"

Release Date: May 7
First Single: "Earth Intruders" - Collab w/Timbaland, just downloaded it off iTunes this week, its crazy cool.
How I Became A Fan: Her movie "Dancer in the Dark" - she played a going blind woman who lived for music; it's a dramatic musical. From there I realized her genius and started collecting her albums.
Seen Live?: Not yet, but I have a live DVD

Maroon 5 - "It Won't Be Soon Before Long"

Release Date: May 22
First Single: "Makes Me Wonder" - a great return for one of my favorite bands in college, this song has the makings of another hit.
How I Became A Fan: My friend introduced me to them in the Fall of 2002, then about 2 years later they exploded.
Seen Live?: Four times. First time I was leaning my elbows on the stage in San Fransisco, second time was a little further back in L.A., third time I was in the lower balcony at Universal Studios, then I was in nosebleed at the Savemart Center.

Avril Lavigne - "The Best Damn Thing"

Release Date: April 17
First Single: "Girlfriend" - not the best song on the album (it already leaked), that would go to "Runaway".
How I Became A Fan: Saw her first video on MTV the first Summer after my freshman year in college...resisted until I downloaded her full album and found out that she could sing. She's my guilty pop/rock pleasure.
Seen Live?: Fresno 2004

Rooney - "Calling The World"

Release Date: June 19
First Single: Unknown
How I Became A Fan: Through my brother, then they got big after they were on the OC. Really solid debut album.
Seen Live?: With Kelly Clarkson last year in Marysville *shudder*

Blades of Glory

2007-03-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

Brandie and I got the chance to catch an advance screening of Will Ferrell's new movie "Blades of Glory" tonight (thanks Corrie!)....jealous?

We were planning on seeing this movie when it came out this weekend anyway so we were very excited to catch it early. This movie is classic Will Ferrell; dumb and smart at the same time. Plus Jenna Fischer (Pam!) and Will Arnett (Gob!) are in it too, which only adds to its awesomeness. This might be my favorite Will Ferrell comedy so far; better than Anchorman and Talladega Nights. Definitely go check this movie out, you'll laugh a lot.

Lost - The Man From Tallahassee

2007-03-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Lost delivers again this week with an awesome ep (the best of the season so far perhaps?). I went into this week knowing that we'd find out how John got into his wheelchair, but I wasn't expecting so much revelatory island stuff as well.

I'll start out on the island. Sayid, Kate and John have a go at getting Jack freed. Kate and Sayid are captured almost instantly (they were watching Jack! Who knew he was a good piano player?). John however succeeds in getting into Ben's room, which we find out was his whole motive in the first place. He wants to blow up the Others' submarine for....reasons, I'll get to it in a bit. Alex ends up helping John get the C-4 from Sayid's pack which was also a great opportunity for Sayid to drop some real mom truth on Alex and a little later Rousseau actually sees Alex for the first time! So so great. After a lot of head games with Ben, John finally gets Alex to take him to the submarine, which we also find out is how Jack and Juliet are going to get off the island that very night. Now at this point I couldn't figure out whether Ben wants John to blow the thing up or not...but it happened nonetheless. Was this John's third huge mistake in 3 episodes (don't forget he blew up the farmhouse, killed the Russian guy and now this)?

Now to John's backstory, which was the best and most gratifying backstory this show has given us in a very long time. We're brought to the time in John's life after his girlfriend's left him and when he's a very depressed and bitter man. John gets a visit from a mysterious young man who turns out to be the son of a woman his dad is about to marry only to con her out of her millions. This propels John into action: no more screwing with people's lives then skipping town. He pays his dad a surprise visit in a flower shop and "convinces" his dad to leave town and call off the wedding. Then presumably a few days later, the FBI are onto John because the young man who visited him ended up dead with John's contact info in his pocket....convenient. John pays daddy visit number 2 where his dad swears that the woman he was about to marry was so distraught over her son's death that she called off the wedding herself....problem solved right? Well as John reaches for the phone to call up the woman to corroborate his dad's story (his dad told him to!) his dad lunges at him and pushes him out the window! John fell 8 stories and survived, only to be paralyzed, both physically and emotionally. This scene was so perfect; there were so many theories about how John became paralyzed but the actual execution of this storyline made so much sense. John's daddy issues were so engrained in him the moment he landed on the island, which makes his miraculous healing even more profound, aaaand this explains why he wanted to blow up the submarine, because this island is the one place he's healed from all the pain his father's inflicted upon him.
Right?

Back on the island Ben told John about a box they have in which whatever you envision to be inside will appear the moment you open it. Sounds shady. Cut to the very end of the episode and Ben's about to show John just what's inside the box. Really? Seriously? I almost expected the episode to end right as the door was opened, but we weren't tortured that bad. In the seconds leading up to this moment I whispered to Brandie "it's his dad, it can't be his dad...no way..." But lo and behold the source of all of John's frustrations and fears was sitting there, bound and gagged....HIS FREAKIN' DAD'S ON THE ISLAND!! Even though I thought this might be true, it nevertheless didn't stop me from getting shivers all over. The look on John's face was mirrored in every true fans face as well....how is this the case? What the heck's going on? These questions don't leave me as frustrated this week, because so much good stuff was revealed, I know only more good stuff is to come. This was long! Until next week!

Lost - "Par Avion"

2007-03-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

So I'll start things off by saying that I haven't been posting as much lately mainly because none of my favorite shows have been on. Except Lost. However, the show has been mostly underwhelming the last couple episodes so I haven't been running to my computer to post recaps because honestly it hasn't been that good. It's still a great show, but ever since Jack and Juliet went off on that boat, it's been random backstories and no plot progression. I'm sure when season 3 comes out on dvd I will appreciate these filler episodes more, but right now I want story! But doesn't everyone. So on to last nights episode.

So something was revealed last night that me an I'm sure millions of other Lost fans had already figured out: Jack and Claire are half-siblings! Maybe I should have left the exclamation point out of that last sentence because this was not as much a shocking revelation as it was the show just telling us what we kinda already knew. For a split second, I thought that maybe Claire and Kate were siblings, because Claire's comatose mom really looked like Kate's mom for a second; but then I thought about it more and logistically it makes no sense. But I was just hoping that maybe the writer would pull a fast one on us and make Claire have a connection with someone else besides Jack. It was nice to get a little bit more background on Claire though (who new she was such a cute goth?), she definitely had a lot on her mind when the plane crashed besides being pregnant. Now my big question (another one) is whether Jack and Claire will ever find out that they're related. In the end it's pretty much up to the Others to tell them, because they're the only ones that would know - time will only tell (a long time probably...maybe season 5?).

On to other events. John had slip-up #2 when he pushed the patch-eye guy into the sonic-electric-shock fence. Now I wasn't that mad at him for blowing up the station last week, but this time I was kinda pissed. The patch eye guy was a great asset to them in getting info and possibly helping them get Jack back. I can see though why Locke pushed him, because his paralyzed past was about to be out in the open and in the end he probably wouldn't be enough to get Jack back, but still, he would've been good to keep around, at least for bait.

Last night Claire found out that Desmond can tell the future and has been protecting Charlie from his death. This brought them closer together again, blah blah.

So the biggest shocker of last night was (of course) at the very end. After Kate and the search committee made it over the shock-fence, they came up to the barracks. Cut to Jack making a mad dash to safety....or he's just playing catch with Tom. What?! Like I always say on my Lost recaps, time will only tell what's going on. My theory is that Jack and Juliet were taken here a few episodes ago and in the time they've been there, the Others have been treating Jack very nicely, but Jack is only playing along. I don't think for one second that Jack will ever be brainwashed to being on their side. But I could be wrong.

Next week we FINALLY find out what put John into his wheelchair, and it looks like the search committee and the others finally get to meet up.

Lost Recap - Stranger In A Strange Land

2007-02-22T22:42:00.000-08:00

The title of this episode kind of describes me in viewing this episode. I felt lost (no pun) and somewhat out of place during this episode. It seemed very disconnected; with Jack's odd flashback that had him swimming in the sheets with Bai Ling (gross) who can "read people" and who "marked" him with the tattoo....was this really one of the "3 big mystery's revealed" like all the promos said? Please. This was not the Jack that the viewers know; if this was post-breakup with his wife then the random sex would maybe make sense, but it's a stretch. They're asking a lot with this whole marking deal - Juliet also got marked by episodes end - all I'm saying is that it better mean something and they better explain it fast or else it's gonna get lost in the mix; I just hope it makes sense somehow.

Then there's Sawyer and Kate; this part of the episode felt the most true to form. I feel bad for the both of them; Sawyer kind of put it all out there for Kate back when they got crazy in the cage, and that was big for him. Kate of course acted on raw emotions, but now that she knows Jack's ok and that her and Sawyer left him alone, she's feeling mixed emotions. Plus they've got lost-in-love Carl on their hands as well, who embodies all that these two will never be: honest with their feelings. Even though this kids storyline was a little cheese with the naming constellations together, I still kind of liked it. The guy playing this character is good, and he was a great juxtaposition to Sawyer's man's man.

We also got introduced to Isabelle, another creepy Other who's visiting the island to do some house-cleaning, and reintroduced to Cindy and the kids, then at the very end we see Jack and Juliet along with Ben on a boat to "home". Questions: who is Isabelle really and where did she come from? Why are Cindy and the kids "watching"? And most importantly, where is Ben taking Jack and Juliet?

Next week brings more promises of craziness from the promo department of abc, but I've learned to know better. I'm going in not expecting much, then maybe I'll truly be blown away.

Grey's Anatomy Recap

2007-02-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

We just watched the newest ep of Grey's last night, and we're one step closer to knowing how Meredith doesn't end up dead (there's no way she'll end up dead). What we do know is that Izzie drilled holes in that guy's head, Karev helped a lot of people find their loved ones (both dead and alive), George found the lady's son, and even though Derek was the one who got Meredith out of the water, it was handled really well and it was probably the most touching part of the ep when he was forced out of the room she was being work on in and Mark sat down next to him.

My predictions: Meredith will not die, but the aftermath of all this drama will be intense. I've thought all along that Izzie loves George, and not just best friends love. It was kind of hinted at when she told him she disapproved of him marrying Callie - you can't deny that drama is only just beginning. The Karev and Addison intensity will only heat up. Even though Meredith won't die (have I emphasized that enough yet? Are you listening Bran?), I bet someone WILL by season's end.

I'm going to start something new for my Grey's recap. The weekly quote that gets viewers choked up.

This weeks quote - George:"People die" Izzie:"I know people die"

Grey's viewers know the simplicity of these lines combined with the acting from Katherine Heigl was by far the most tear-inducing moment of the night.

Lost - "Flashes Before Your Eyes" Recap

2007-02-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

Last night's episode was all about what happened to Desmond after he turned the failsafe key in the hatch back in last season's finale. The episode was an extended quasi-flashback which I think the show pulled off. As Lost fans know, the show has always had flashbacks, but this time Desmond relived his past (traveled back in time?). We got to see Desmond approach his father-in-law to be to ask for his permission in asking Penny to marry him, in which he was swiftly ripped a new one by the old man (Kirsten's Dad from the OC!). Then this old lady started telling him what he was and wasn't "supposed" to be doing. Desmond wasn't supposed to buy the engagement ring, he is meant to break Penny's heart, meant to race around the world in a boat to prove Penny's dad wrong, meant to be on the island pushing the button for 3 years. Who is this lady? Did Des ever really come across her in his past? Is she part of Dharma planted in his past? Is she even real? The whole message relayed is that the universe wants certain things to happen, and there's only so much control we have over it. So just like the universe wants, Des breaks Penny's heart and he's on his way to the island.

Flash-forward to the present back on the island and we find out that Desmond wasn't trying to save Claire earlier from drowning, but he was actually saving Charlie! Charlie's had several near-death experiences on the island (remember first season?) but is he really gonna die? How long can Desmond keep saving him, can he really change the fate of the universe? Let's hope we don't have to say goodbye to Charlie any time soon, but a good death would add some awesome drama.

My last burning question that Brandie helped me realize last night - when did Claire have time to cut bangs?

GREY'S!! SPOILERS

2007-02-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

If you have yet to watch the newest episode of Grey's Anatomy then please stop reading!

Having said that, tonight's episode was freaking crazy! We all knew there was going to be some huge disaster that our favorite surgeons were going to have to save the day at, but as the episode progressed, things got more and more intense and plots thickened oh so very much.

The little things: the Chief dyed his hair. Nice moment when Addison defended him in the elevator, and then told him how she went blonde after Derek left her in New York; Addison's awesome, she's got my vote for the new Chief of Surgery.

The in between things: that annoying Dr. is back! She's the Taylor Townsend of Seattle Grace; she's insane, but brought some humor into the mix tonight. Burke and Christina of course are having interpersonal conflict, I don't think their relationship works if they don't. Christina didn't want Burke to tell anyone about their engagement until she told Meredith, but of course, Christina couldn't get the guts to tell Meredith FOR WHATEVER STUPID REASON!

The HUGE things: Yeah yeah the big ferry accident (which didn't look at catastrophic as it should have given everyones reactions). Karev saved a pregnant woman who was caught under a huge cement thing. George promised an injured mother to find her lost son (who, sadly, is probably dead). Izzie rushes to help a guy trapped between 2 cars, she gauzes him all up, sets his arm, all amidst the yammering of this other guy saying she isn't a good doctor. And then, at the end, when we thought Meredith's story was going nowhere (who was that weird little girl?), the guy she was helping wigs out and knocks her off the edge of the dock! Now I always talk about how much I dislike Meredith, but this was a huge shocker! After last weeks episode I started feeling for her a bit, with her Alzheimer's mother and all - now they throw in this! Crazy crazy.

Next week: the drama continues. Will George find the woman's son? What the heck is gonna happen to Meredith (my prediction: Derek will make a heroic leap into the water, pull her out, perform mouth to mouth, perform surgery on her right then and there, propose to her, then marry her on the spot)? And is Izzie really gonna drill a hole in that guy's head?

Lost is Back! The Recap

2007-02-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

Such a good episode, and so glad it's finally back. One of the craziest parts of last night was when Ben woke up during his surgery, so I thought a picture of that would be the most appropriate.

So we know that Juliet is not an original island-dweller, but what made her change her mind? And we all know that "Portland" is really code for "freaky far away island where you can't leave". What made her change her mind and move to "Portland"? What happened to her sister? Will Ben let her leave the island for helping Kate and Sawyer (and Carl) escape? Was that even what Ben told her in their 3 minutes alone?

Oh, and yeah, no big deal, back in her old life, Juliet just happened to figure out a way to impregnate her cancer-stricken sister with some sort of serum. A serum that looked strangely familiar to the stuff Desmond was injecting himself with in the hatch, and that Ethan injected into Claire when they captured her. All of this has to be connected somehow.

Speaking of pregnancies, we find out that Alex is Ben's daughter....huh? Isn't she Rousseau's daughter? I've gone over theories in my head and the only ones that make sense are that the Others are lying to Alex, telling her Ben's her father. They captured her as a child from Rousseau and have been brainwash-sorry, raising her ever since. The other theory is that Ben somehow impregnated Rousseau back when her ship crashed and he really is her father. I had this third crazy theory that Juliet put her baby-making stuff in Ben and he actually gave birth to her, but this is wrong on so many levels (mainly because we found out that Juliet has only been on the island for 3 years and Alex is 16 years old). Confusing enough?

And what was with that video that they were making Carl watch? All part of their brainwashing schemes? What was Carl's "crime" that called for such a punishment?

And what's been going on since the sky turned purple Tom? Huh? The insanity and awesomeness continues....

The Office/Grey's Anatomy

2007-02-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

Never has TV come together on a more perfect night. Since it is Thursday, I thought I'd write about 2 of my other favorite shows on TV (no, my two absolute favorite shows): The Office and Grey's Anatomy!

This show is hands down THE funniest show on network television currently. Finally a show that caters to people who hate Friends and Two and Half Men. This show is brilliant because it's shot documentary style, no audience, no laugh track, the writing's amazing, the cast is amazing (great chemistry), and it's not only funny, it's touching as well. I can't even begin to think of who my favorite character is. Of course Jim and Pam are meant for each other, forget Karen. Michael's just crazy, as is Dwight. But I'm more drawn to bit characters like Phyllis, Stanley, Kevin, Creed and Toby - their one-liners and facial expressions make me laugh so hard. Like the other week when Michael was throwing Bob Vance's bachelor party and there was a shot of Stanley breaking his plastic fork on his "man meat" and then a quick shot of Creed taking a huge bite of his steak holding it with his hands! Freaking amazing. Currently in it's third Season, this show is bound to be one of TV's greatest. By the end of this season, I'm hoping Jim and Pam unite finally (but we all know good tv drama wont' keep them truly together forever) and I'm waiting for the moment that Jan finds out that Michael leaked the picture of them in Sandals Jamaica.

In my opinion this show perfectly combines drama and humor; throw in a ton of relationship issues, plus medical oddities and you get one heckuva show. Two years ago when this show started, Brandie and I would catch an episode or two after Desperate Housewives, we'd watch about the first 15 mins or so, then I'd go home. It was after the show was just starting it's 2nd full season that my brother told me how good it is and that we should watch. So we borrowed season 1 (only 9 episodes), then caught up to season 2. Now I don't know if it's a good thing or not, but this show can make someone cry every single week. Medical dramas have been done to death, but there's something in the way this show is handled that makes it a cut above the rest. I think it's successful because in the beginning the viewers are right there with the interns, we're seeing things through their eyes, and we want them to succeed. Even with characters who we're supposed to dislike at first begin to come around as their stories unfold and their lives get tangled up with the others' at Seattle Grace (Addison, Callie, even Mark). I like this show because although it doesn't dwell on the medical patients and their sicknesses, each one of them matters, and has an impact on the characters that viewers don't even realize until later on. Also, the music is great; lots of indie music that just enhances the experience so much. The best way to sum up this is just: It's so good!!

TV

2007-02-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

Oh TV, why do I love you so much? Probably because you don't disappoint me as much as movies do. Or because I can watch you in the privacy of my own home. Or because you consistently are awesome. It's pretty much only the last one. Here's the breakdown on my favorite shows currently on TV.

Back in late high school, early college Brandie would always tell me about this show, and try as I might to avoid it, it eventually sucked me in. There were a few years there when I avoided telling others that I watched Gilmore Girls. Those times are long gone because this show is one of the most consistently funny and touching shows I have ever seen. The writing is brilliant; fast paced, laced with pop culture references, overall it's just smart. However, this season, its 7th, has not been as good as it once was. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino left the show last season, and it is really evident. Season 7 has become all that Gilmore Girls has tried not to be: cliche, "romantic", and generically funny. There is hope though, the first 2 episodes of the 2nd half of this season are showing signs that the writers and producers might be realizing how they've been getting it wrong the first half of the season. So Brandie and I continue to watch and hope that this show stays on our viewing schedule. Tuesday nights at 8pm on the CW (I know, conflicts with American Idol....thank you DVR)

Lost is the show that made me realize that television can be a greater medium that movies. This show is more cinematic than a lot of movies I have seen. It is well written, shot, acted, everything. I almost forget that this is a TV show, because when I watch it, it's a whole different experience. This show is not just about castaways on a deserted island, it's so much more. Much more than I can even start to explain. Here's what you need to do if you haven't seen this show: get your hands on the first and second seasons on DVD and watch them all. I promise you it won't take as long as you think it might. You can eat and shower later, just watch this show. Plus, you'll be able to get a lot more answers at one time than the rest of us did when we watched them when they aired....there were full weeks in between those episodes! Sometimes months! This show comes back from it's hiatus (way back in November!) on February 7th on abc at 10pm (to avoid the American Idol juggernaut), so catch up and watch.

Still Coming...

2007-01-30T23:30:00.000-08:00

*The state of TV shows I watch
*The Queen recap
*More new music

Children Of Men

2007-01-30T23:18:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to write about this movie since I've seen it, but it's almost taken me this must time just to get through it in my head. It takes place 20 years in the future, and the world has not seen a newborn baby in almost 18 years. Every single country is destitute except for Great Britain, where deportation of illegal immigrants has become big business. The whole film is really stark and futuristic while staying frighteningly realistic . The whole film rests on Clive Owen getting a young woman who is miraculously pregnant out of the country, to the Human Project, a place where new life thrives allegedly (no one knows if it truly exists). All that to say that I still don't really know if I "liked" the movie. Will I ever see it again? Probably not. Was it badly made? Definitely not. Julianne Moore and Michael Caine put in great performances. The cinematography puts you right in the middle of everything, and so much of it looks like real War footage. This film is jarring to say the least, and scary not in the conventional way. I walked out not so much with the feeling of hope (intentional?), but more a feeling of dread. Great filmmaking, not so great watch-on-a-rainy-day-depressed-type movie.

Katharine McPhee

2007-01-30T22:43:00.000-08:00

The day has come. Katharine's debut album is now in stores, and I of course got my copy. I downloaded this album when it leaked about a week and a half ago, and I think it's a really strong debut. Detractors may say that her voice isn't being utilized to its fullest extent, but I think this first album was a smart move on her part. The American music scene is very fickle, and Katherine is already last years Idol news. From the racy cover to the hip-pop flavor of her uptempos and good mix of mid-tempo R&B ballads with adult contempo piano tracks thrown in, there is a little bit for everyone, and for someone who likes a little of everything (like me) this album is very enjoyable. I find that when I like a certain performer (for whatever reason, their voice, personality, looks, performances, etc) I am more inclined to like whatever they release and can't separate myself, take a step back, and really critically listen. However, in this case, McPhee's got the goods to propel this album as one of the top U.S. Pop releases of the year (until Kelly Clarkson OWNS her on her next release slated for later in the year). Her next single should definitely be "Open Toes" if she wants to keep the momentum going; it's a cheesy song about shoes, but who cares right? Fergie's Fergalicious, Gwen's Windin' it Up, at least Katherine's singing the whole time on this track. Another single should be "Each Other"....yeah it's a "We Belong Together" redo, but it's one of those boring R&B ballads that will work for urban radio. Then she can step into the adult contemp territory by having her 3rd single be either "Home" or "Ordinary World". These two songs cater to all those who thought Katherine should be the next Celine Dion. Her vocals are nicely present in these tracks (when they can get lost in other songs), and the melody's are predictable, yet unique enough to stand out. Go get this album, it's my first recommended release of the new year.

Poor Stacie

2007-01-18T17:07:00.000-08:00

So on Sunday I'm looking at the ads, and I see one for Stacie Orrico's new one "Beautiful Awakening" and I think, "ok, I downloaded this when it leaked a long time ago, but maybe i'll give it another try."

Here's the deal: this album was supposed to come out back in August, but her label pushed it back to Jan; it did release overseas however (where she actually has a fanbase). Then I found the album leaked online, and I was very disappointed. So my hopes were that her label thought the same thing as I did, and they send her back to the studio to patch up the tracks. When I saw the ad I thought maybe the album would be better now.

Fast forward to Tuesday, I stop by Best Buy and pick the album up (Christmas giftcard, oh yeah). To my disappointement, the album's still not that good, but I'm gonna let it grow on me, not force it, but just hear it out. So that same night I go check out her website and such to see what's going on, and to my surprise, it says that the release of "Beautiful Awakening" has been postponed to a later date. Um, what? The same album I just bought? So I head over to another site, and I guess Virgin (her label) just got bought out, so they're reevaluating recent releases.

Question: why would a label go through all the work of
a)Pushing the release date back the first time
b)Remastering the entire album
c)Totally redoing artwork
d)Reshooting videos
e)Changing singles
and most confusing f)Shipping hundreds of thousands of records to stores only to have them take them right off the shelves.
Confusion ensues. In the end, the album's mediocre, and news is still pending on what exactly is going on.

Weezer

2007-01-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

This band was an integral part of music for me during late high school and all throughout my college years. I first heard them at the Vans Warped Tour in 2000 (I know I know, I was shelterd), and immediately I was a fan. I got my hands on what I could, which at the time only included the Blue Album and Pinkerton.

Their first album is them at their best - before anyone knew who they were, and before Rivers knew he was a genius. These songs top anything else they've released, from the nerd-rockiness of "Buddy Holly" to full out rock ballad "Say It Ain't So" this album was so revelatory. It showed me how fun rock music can be. There is earnestness here, and the best kind, the honest kind. You can just tell these guys are being who they really are; Rivers embodied everything that wasn't popular at the time, the anti-Nirvana. From start to finish, perfection.

For me, as a new fan, this album was a nice continuation to Blue. There was no 2nd album anticipation, so I didn't have the chance to be disappointed as a lot of fans were at the time. Weezer dropped off after this album "flopped"in 1996. But what diehard fans realized, as I did, is that Pinkerton is freaking brilliant. "Why Bother" and "Falling For You" should have been huge alt rock hits, but Weezer faded away as Rivers became depressed over his failure.

So as I ate up Weezer's first two albums, they were quietly planning a new millennium comeback. The Green Album came out in 2001, my Senior year of high school. And let me say that this album was more memorable than my entire four years of high school. I will never forget blasting this as I parked my crappy VW every morning in the Sanger high parking lot. Although this album is a tad more formulaic (every guitar solo is just the melody of the verse hook), it is nonetheless enjoyable. "Hash Pipe" ushered in Rivers' new usage of random lyrics that don't really make sense. No one or two tracks stick out to me; it's one of those albums that you know every lyric to every song, but you don't remember the titles of individual songs. A great return to Weezer form.

Maladroit is my least favorite Weezer album. This album came out in April of '02, and I was on choir tour at the time. I actually bought this album for the crazy price of $20 in Portland, because it was the only CD store I could find, and of course, I HAD to have this CD to listen to on the trip back home. This CD was pretty disappointing, partly because Weezer had posted these songs, along with numerous others, on their website, and I'd heard a lot of them already, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. Since I'd discovered them I'd taken to the internet (and napster!) to get my hands on everything Weezer in mp3-land. So I was hyping this release in my mind so much, and it ended up not living living up to the hype. I do like "Take Control" and "Dope Nose" (weird lyrics vol2); the best part about this album tho was the "Keep Fishin'" video that had the Muppets in it! Also that year for Christmas my cousin Laura brought me back the "Keep Fishin" single from Europe that had Kermit on the front, fishing, with a =w= t-shirt. Awesome.

My brother, cousin and me let out a collective "HOLY CRAP!!" when we heard that Weezer was coming out with a new album in 2005, Make Believe. This was my Senior year of College and my Weezer circle was completed. This album was everything that Maladroit wasn't. Rivers and the band finally made something so 00's, yet so true to what they did back on Blue and Pinkerton. Sean and I were just so proud of them, because they did what they wanted to do, yet they pleased their fans at the same time. This is another one of those sing-ever-track-forget-the-titles album, but standouts include "This I Such A Pity", "Hold Me", "We Are All On Drugs" and "My Best Friend" (to which my wife and I would walk out on on our wedding day in march of 06). That year I saw them twice, once in Coachella and again when they headlined here in Fresno. Brian and I were literally screaming all the words during the show, it was the best.

Below are some of my favorite Weezer tracks
"You Gave Your Love To Me Softly" (B-Side)
"The Good Life"
"My Best Friend"

Upcoming....

2007-01-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

*A huge Weezer Music Post
*Start of TV Shows
*Movie Reviews

Katharine Mcphee

2007-01-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

Even though she lost to Taylor Hicks on last year's American Idol, this girl has what it takes to sustain a great pop music career. You can check out her first single, "Over It" on her Myspace page This is a good enough song, even though it sounds a little too much like Jojo's "Too Little Too Late", but I'm gonna bet that "Dangerous" will fare better as a single. It's got the hip poppy beat, and since my cousin Brian immediately started singing the chorus after his first listen, this song should be a hit.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment!

*Download "Dangerous"*

Back in 2007

2007-01-12T13:48:00.000-08:00

So much has changed and happened in the past year, and I think it's time to start this guy up again. I find myself with lots of free time on my hands these days, so this is where I will be trying to direct a lot of my energy. Expect commentary on TV, movies, music, and links to download some of my favorite things of late.

I'm excited, you should be too.

these words

2005-08-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

so vegas this past weekend was every so great. me and brandie are officially engaged now! i am so excited. i am more excited that brandie is so happy and excited. basically there's excitement going on.

the hell's kiten finale came on tonight, i'm glad michael won. gene called and said he and kelly got engaged tonight....craziness how our engagements happened around the same time. very happy for them...

so now it's late and i wanted to update this thing.

tomorrow brings: a day off of work, lunch w/brian at irene's, buying a new nintendo advance game, then brandie-ness the rest of the evening.

until later

you wash over me

2005-06-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

just listening to some BSB. laura would be so proud. so now i'm starting to get bored. i'm glad brandie's coming back soon, i need human contact!

Evan called me tonight saying he got us a gig at the Anchor Blue in sierra vista on july 23rd, so keep an eye and ear out for that one.

not much else going on today. did the fathers day thing, ate lunch at nana's, it was surprisingly good. oh! i bought a dining room table and chairs set from k-mart that is really nice. arnie had seen it too in the ad, so it worked out perfectly.

when i got home i watched newsies cause we were talking about it the other day. still enjoyable. then i read some narnia. then i watched my live beyonce dvd. oh, in between there i ate. i ran around 8 o'clock, finally, i hadn't in two days. plus i needed to get outta the house.

so yeah, reading more narnia. waiting by my phone for someone to call. i'm so ronery, ha.

Listening to: Coldplay X&Y

nap messed me up

2005-06-19T00:11:00.000-07:00

today i worked a stupid 4 hr. shift. even worse i had to be there at 7 am...it was basically a waste of gas, plus i had to get up early. oh well, more $.

my mom and i went into fashion fair today to get stuff for my dad for fathers day. i scored with a pair of black leather flip flops from gap for $10 that were originally $30. i've been needing those. we got my dad some nice stuff...couple pairs of pants and a shirt.

brandie's still gone, so i've just been chillin', reading narnia, and watching tv. i was going to run tonight but i fell asleep for an hour from around 7:30 to 8:30....it really threw me off and i woke up all confused...then i watched the backstreet boys behind the music and felt a little better.

tomorrow might kinda suck. we're doing fathers day at nana and papa's. brian won't be there, so i'm pretty much gonna be waiting to leave. then back home for some more boredom, maybe i'll finish reading narnia...two more books to go...

never gone

2005-06-18T00:17:00.000-07:00

Worked 11:45 to close today.

Then watched What Not to Wear.

Talked to Brandie a little, miss her.

Going to bed now cause i have to be at work at 7am.

Can't wait to see Batman Begins again.

i'm climbing the walls

2005-06-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

So my life plans have drastically been altered over these past few weeks.

First, Chris decided to move back to Fresno for a while, prompting me to also change my plans and stick around. Luckily I'm still at my same Starbucks, just upping my hours, and earning more $$.

So then I realize that I drive into Fresno EVERY SINGLE DAY and it grows very very old. So i began to yearn for a place of my own closer to work and Brandie. So over the weekend, me, brandie miki and arnie are all at Elephant bar after our FPU show, and arnie and me get to talking, and by yesterday we got approved for this really awesome place in Tower District and we're moving in the first of July!! It's all happening so fast, i never knew apt. hunting was so easy! It's actually not an Apt., it's a two-story town house with two rooms, two bathrooms, washer/dryer, EVERYTHING! And it's only $750 a month, which i think is a steal. I checked it out today for the first time and i just can't wait to move in.

So now i'm thinking i'll be in the Fresno area for around two years because Brandie is most likely taking a job at FPU which would keep her here for two years minimum.

So everything is just go great right now. Plans change, but things are working out to be really really good. I am very blessed and am so grateful that God continually is looking out for my well-being.

So! Vegas is still coming up at the end of July, as is my birthday at the beginning of the month. and i am probably going to vegas again in august with laura sally and brian to see a backstreet boys show, so i'm looking forward to that as well.

brandie's in washington state right now with a friend, so over the past few days i've been reading a lot of Chronicles of Narnia, wathced Ghost World last night (still good) and watched Mean Creek tonight (Grade: B). also today me and brian went to central fish market which is this awesome Japanese market/gift shop/restaraunt....ate more fish than i could handle, then me and brian just drove around town pickin' up stuff.....it was overall a very very good day!

With new music thanks to Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, Alanis, and yes, even Backstreet Boys, alongside great books, movies (BATMAN!!!! SOOOO AWESOME! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT AGAIN!), and great times with friends and family, this summer has been so great so far, and i'm looking forward to it getting better.

i'm getting an air mattress

2005-06-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

i will let pictures speak for what has been going on since my last post. enjoy.

Allie, Sean and Me in the heat at Coachella, April 30th

Keane performing at Coachella (really really good)

Me, Sallie and Laura enjoying our time at Coachella

Weezer being the best band ever at Coachella

Colplay performing at Coachella (very awesome)

Me and my friend Emily - our last days at FPU

The family post-Commencement ceremony, May 7th

Jeremiah and Sarah, Brandie and Me smiling cause we're freakin' done with college!

My awesome grandpa chillin' at Me and Brandie's graduation party, May 7th

Us and our graduation cake-o-fun

The crazy ladies of the Greilich,Munoz, and Poli/Pope families

Me, Sean, Laura and Brian sitting on the fireplace - the only time it gets used

Friends at the party: Brandon, Becky, Brandie, Miki and Me

Waited outside for four hours with drunky before the show, May 19th

Kelly was soooo amazing, we had an awesome time!

Things coming up:

Tomorrow June 1 - Brian comes back from Japan
June 7 - Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas and Shakira all have new albums out!
June 11 - Ashlan fund-raising show at FPU; I move down to Long Beach
June 15 - Batman Begins opens
July 6 - My Birthday
July 28th-31 - Me, Bran, Sarah and Jeremiah hit Vegas baby!
September 4 - Me and Brandie's five year anniversary
September 7 - Kelly Clarkson concert in Irvine

Until we meet again.

orchid fever

2005-04-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

i read "the orchid thief" by susan orlean the past few weeks for my lit and film class, and its crazy good, i love it.

so today for class i watched "adaptation" which is screenwriter charlie kaufman's film about his attempt to adapt "the orchid thief" into a movie. and it was amazing! man, it seriously blew my mind....so good. having talked about screenwriting issues in class, reading orleans book....i just connected with the movie. it was so very brilliant. i was able to get over my dislike of nicolas cage for two hours.

so i would definitely recommend reading "the orchid thief" then watching "adaptation" in that order. or read the book if you've already seen the movie...stuff will make sense.

so only a couple of weeks of school left. a lotta stuff going on still. two papers this week, working a lot, final presentations and tests to prep for....its crazy! i've read so many books this semester...some good, some bad, all experiences i'm glad i had...and still about 3 or 4 to read still! i want to keep this up after i graduate.

so ashlan's first full-length album is officially being printed, and i'm so excited for it to just be done and in our hands. we have a cd release show at kuppajoe in fresno on the 22nd, so that's gonna be really fun. here's a sneak peek:

coachella's coming up!

here's my new friend the Phalaenopsis named Susan:

friday night

2005-03-19T00:15:00.000-08:00

i finished the first season of the o.c. tonight. maybe i shed a little tear, maybe i didn't. maybe you'll never know. good writing, good acting, great storylines, great great music....all equals some darn good tv. smallville could learn a couple lessons.

i read some of huck finn tonight as well for one of my classes.....its alright so far....don't get the hype. i'm only about 75 pgs into it, maybe the best is still to come? bring it twain i'm ready

so i 'm ready for some new music. weezer has a new one may 10th. i'm really looking forward to imogen heaps next solo album. and the next o.c. mix around the first of april.

this weekend will be pretty good. work tomorrow from 10 to 4:15-ish....then dinner with brandie and my parents in sanger. sunday brings church, watching a film for a class, then karaoke at night with miki and arnie.

equal parts pleasure and mild torture makes for a pretty ok weekend.

goodnight

R.I.P Spring Break 2005

2005-03-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

Authors note: i wrote a very long, intense, wordy, funny, awesome post explaining my spring break and i lost it all. i am very upset. so this post will be more concise because i'm not doing all that crap again.

Here's what went down on my last spring break ever.

sat. march 5: me, brandie, sean, allie and brian drove down to santa barbara for the afternoon. laura and sally were there for a wedding. we just walked along state street. ate some lunch. we never actually caught up with laura, but we had fun nonetheless. we got to newport beach around 10:30 that night we'd officially arrived in the o.c. baby. we basically just crashed. the day was long and we had lots of shopping to do the next couple days

sun. march 6: me, brandie, sean and allie were woken up by the goings on of the morning as brian, laura and sally got ready for church. we all went to lunch at claim jumpers at south coast plaza. my salad sucked, but everyone else liked their food. we walked all over south coast plaza. i bought paul frank shorts and a paul frank t-shirt. brandie loved sephora as usual. back at the apartment for dinner laura made some bomb chicken. mad props to her for her newfound cooking skills. we went to blockbuster and rented wimbledon. it sucked.

monday, march 7: we went to fashion island first off. i bought some awesome new vans slip-ons from the closet my new favorite store ever. then we headed over to the spectrum in irvine where we ate happy hour appetizer specials at the Yardhouse to celebrate sean's birthday. good food and a good martini laura bought me! then we went to cheesecake factory and we all got slices to take back home. we went to the virgin megastore when we got back. then i finally scored some paul frank sunglasses from the closet (it's not my new favorite store for nothing). back at the apt., we ate cheesecake and watched "bend it like beckham". then we stayed up really late playing phase 10 and watching britney spears and backstreet boys videos on dvd. lemme just say that brian had some mean indigestion goind on. one word: "spladaow!"

tuesday, march 8: our last day there. we got up, got ready, packed all our crap once more, ate lunch at baja fresh then headed on out. we stopped at the outlets in camarillo. i scored 4 new pairs of boxers: 2 from banana republic, 2 paul frank from a surf shop. i also scored majorly with a paul frank hoodie for only $17.99!! overall, everyone had fun, a good spring break weekend, it will go down in the books as one of the best.

wed march 9 and thurs march 10: wed. was sean's 20th birthday, we all celebrated at japanese kitchen that night. both of these days i worked 8 hour shifts, it was intense, but i needed to be earning some cash to pay off all the stuff i'd bought! thursday night sean spent the night and me and brian's apt: we ate ice cream, drank soda and played lots of smash.

friday, march 11: i headed back down to socal. this time to finish up the Ashlan album with chris. i actually caught up with laura and sally again for dinner because chris wasn't off work yet. but once i got to his apt. it was all music business. we looked over songs and decided on what we needed to work on the next day.

sat., march 12: woke up early to record. got it all done! now just for final mixing, mastering, artwork and pressing....we're getting so close to being done, i'm excited. i went back down to newport to hang with laura and sally the rest of the time. i ran some errands with them, me and sally watch from justin to kelly while laura wrote a paper, then at 11pm we went to the yardhouse where we met up with some of their friends. good, but very long, day.

sun, march 13: went to church with the girls. then we went to cheesecake factory for lunch at fashion island. resisted the temptation to go to the closet once more. that afternoon we watched "a door in the floor". kim basinger should have her oscar revoked for that performance, it was awful. Grade: D. then it was up to l.a. for the phantom planet, maroon 5 show at universal ampitheater. the show was so freakin' good. i'd never seen phantom planet, i was impressed. maroon rocked it as usual. main highlight of the night: i met the girl who plays teri hatcher's daugher on "desperate housewives"! me and brandie love that show, so of course i talked to her and took a pic with her! after the show we went to in-n-out cause we were starving. then back to newport where i fell right asleep.

mon, march 14: woke up early and headed out around 7:30. said a tearful goodbye to laura and sally. i made it back in time for work, but i ditched 2 classes, eh.

overall my spring break was the best ever. i want to thank brandie for being the best girlfriend ever. for putting up with me when i'm cranky, and for loving to shop and eat out all the time. allie and sean: thanks for coming along, it wouldn't have been the same without you. brian: sorry for your personal troubles that one night; you provided hours of entertainment, when you were both awak and asleep. and to laura and sally: you two are the best. thanks for letting us invade your apartment. i had such a great time when i came back down by myself, can't wait to do it more often!

pics from spring break.

me and brandie at Claim Jumper

laura and sean at coffe bean, south coast plaza

all of us the last day in newport beach

me and brandie outside of baja fresh, last day in newport

the backseat of my car

sean's birthday celebration at japanese kitchen

me and sally at the yardhouse

sally, laura and me at the maroon5 show

me and andrea bowen from "desperate housewives"

maroon 5 at universal ampitheater

upcoming awesome things:

April 30th - coachells music and arts festival, indio, CA.

May 11 - Jimmy Eat World in fresno

May 19 - Celeb watching at the ivy restaurant, and kelly clarkson show!!