meet the mormons

because comments aren't enabled on the youtube site:

your admonition to not engage in bullying and intimidation should be preached from the pulpit, not from a press conference. instead, your congregants get this about the very existence of gay people:

why would heavenly father do that? remember, he is our father.

this is what one of your prophets said regarding those who know they are born differently than what your prophets want them to be.

such statements are absolutely inviting bullying and intimidation. you need to acknowledge the harm of what you preach, and direct your young members to QUALIFIED counselors and organizations, since your company does not have the interest or qualification in helping.

mirrors - hide and seek

really loving this band.

new alphaville!

found this on youtube:



do i find this to be disappointing, a weak attempt? absolutely not...this is brilliant classic alphaville, great big echo-y keyboards and all, and i think i'll be playing this over and over this weekend. this alien is thrilled.

the single will be released mid-october, with a whole big new album to follow in the weeks thereafter.

happiness

regarding HURTS happiness:

i've been posting (in anticipation) about this album for months, all based on how much i love, LOVE, the lead single, "wonderful life".

last week i came across a preview version of the album (thrilled), and having given it a couple listens, now, have the following impressions:

"wonderful life" is still the stand out track from the album. favorite single to pop out in the past several months. too many of the tracks are similar to "wonderful life", with heavy-handed bass and beats (said with admiration), but, applied to what would otherwise be mellow adult-pop songs. some come off a little too...easy-listening...or something.

which is not to say that the album is a loser. just doesn't live up to (what i interpreted as) the promise of "wonderful life". and that's to be expected, i suppose.

other stand-out tracks are "sunday" and "feels better than love", with their string-like arrangement. and there's a duet with kylie minogue, if you like that sort of thing.

i've kind of held the impression that HURTS is like spandau ballet, without the jazzy influences, especially after they released, "blood, tears & gold"...but much of this album is actually more like a-ha, particularly later a-ha (not "take on me").

i still have this on heavy rotation, so my impression may change.

val emmich album leaks

i'm very much looking forward to the new album by val emmich...for the next several days, he's going to leak a song from the album up till the release date. you can listen to them at this link:

http://www.valemmich.com/contest/audioplayer.html

highly recommended...very highly.

terrible

from the "i'm a terrible person" file:

today i was supposed to attend the memorial of a former coworker / friend. i really, really didn't want to go, for two reasons: i hate funerals, don't deal well with them at all; and so many of the former coworkers are people i go out of my way not to associate with.

so about an hour before i should have been getting ready to go, i figured i'd take a quick nap.

and woke up 10 minutes after the memorial started.

terrible person.

Lights Out - Rick Astley

so rick astley has a new video, "lights out". i question my own obsession with this man, because not only is his classic stuff pretty dated, but his new stuff is pretty weak.



the video makes me dizzy. and the constant stretching out of his arms...who said that was an appealing visual?

still...i'll go far and wide (online) looking for new tracks from him. (this particular track has "no release date" as of yet. why do i keep stalking bands that have new music, but no distribution deal?)

here's a much better track from several years ago...

loser

i've been avoiding a subject, because i don't want to sound all braggerson on it...but it must be shared: i'm less than two pounds away from having lost 30 pounds since the first week of june.

seriously.

i'm going to go all jenniferhudson and get on tv, telling the world. actually, part of the reason i've not talked so much about it is that i don't want to go all evangelical. the husband has been subjected to my weekly weigh-in results, and very, VERY supportive...but other than him, i try to keep it to myself.

nobody wants to hear about someone's weight plan.

but yes...it's kind of incredible to me. i'd figured that "at my age", chances of slimming down were pretty low. but it's been working. and the best part of all this: i haven't had to sacrifice any food favorites...the whole point is to plan for them now. and be subjected to a weekly weigh-in, which is hugely motivational.

and it's been working for me. yay.

"the big C"

you know what's interesting about laura linney and her new show, the big C?

nothing.

but you know what's funny about it?

nothing.

seriously. showtime is a premium channel. do something worthwhile.

the switch

the husband and i went to see the switch today...admittedly, my choice. jason bateman? a plus. small kid who dreams of being a hypochondriac? a big plus.

jennifer aniston? neither plus nor minus.

so...entirely predictable romantic comedy. surprises? none. emotionally satisfying? not really.

worth seeing? i guess.

an open letter to vern yip

hey vern,

now that the latest season of "HGTV design star" is over, can we talk?

we were your fans. we waited, breathless in anticipation, for an episode on "trading spaces" in which you'd appear with your orderly and symmetrical room designs that brought dignity and gorgeousness to the recipients home (especially as opposed to designers who "franked up" so many other rooms). your designs shone, really moved the entire show into a higher level.

your charitable nature came through on your show, "deserving design", where you found the best in your clients and played up on that, rewarding them for doing good.

along the way, we learned from you, like how squares bring in tradition and simplicity. learned about color choices. learned that a designer can be a real teacher, a coach.

and then comes "HGTV design star", a show that depressed viewers because of your cranky demeanor, your inability to say a good word, or to provide mentorship to up and coming designers who have committed no greater sin than trying to make good under the most ridiculously unworkable parameters.

vern, what happened? who told you that viewers wanted to watch you being a cranky grandpa? that viewers wanted to see you ridicule and demean those whom you should be encouraging and teaching? (and don't even get me started with the idea that a designer should be able to dress himself with shirt collars that don't transform you into a munchkin.)

hopefully, if there is such a thing as another season of "HGTV design star", you'll have some time to recall those qualities in yourself that made you such an engaging tv presence. and cast off the bitter and heartless creature you've become.

sincerely,

your optimistic one-time fans

tv marathon

the husband's visiting family this weekend, so i'm enjoying another weekend of nothing but TV...

catching up on mad men (season 2): i find myself compelled by the office and business scenes, but bored by the home scenes.

waiting for guffman: still the best of the christopher guest movies...and the "penny for your thoughts" is a favorite showstopper. but "then i just hate you, and i hate your ass face!" remains the reason to watch.

dracula (1979, frank langella) has some of the worst bat effects (not to mention the baffling kite scene at the end credits), but the rest of the movie is so gloriously overdone. john williams' score is one of his absolute best.

cecil b demented: hey, it's maggie gyllenhaal! and the "entourage" guy! i love this movie...i think it's more successful at character development, and sticking to a story, than most of john waters' movies (though i certainly love others of his, too). melanie griffith is terrific in this, and the lunacy of the cinema terrorists is corny, yet an ongoing highlight.


8: the mormon proposition i'm watching this, and the "executive director" of affirmation: gay & lesbian mormons is interviewed. over his shoulder is some classic (gayish) mormon "art" of moroni burying the plates...and i can only think of this guy: you make me sick.

i've been to an affirmation meeting, and their whole goal is to gain acceptance by the church. a church that they still don't recognize as being a corporation of sheltered and corrupt individuals extorting money from a fearful following.

and unfortunately, that was only the start of the sickness that i had to endure for over an hour. image after image, face after face, quote after quote, of the damage that church inflicts upon its followers.

the doc tacked on an ending meant to be uplifting and motivating to keep up the fight. but the previous hour and a quarter was just too overwhelming. there is no uplift.

OMD - if you want it

new track from OMD, with embarrassing video. (still waiting for them to break in and say JK about the 'dancing'.)


OMD - If You Want It
Uploaded by BangOn. - See the latest featured music videos.

blondie in concert

HIM: so how many times have you seen blondie in concert?

ME: hmmm...between "blondie" and "debbie harry" [solo], about 10 times, i guess

...a moment passes...

HIM: wait...i've seen blondie 4 times since we've been together.

ME: oh, then...i guess it's more than 10? [counts to self numerous occasions] i saw debbie three times in one year, during the def, dumb and blonde era alone...then there was jingle ball when they hadn't played together for years...and a couple of times at [local venue]...

HIM: so more than 10!

ME: well more than 10. are you saying that we should stop seeing them?

HIM: no. just counting.

after the concert...

HIM: that was a really good show...i think my favorite time seeing them.

ME: [thinking to myself] i'll never stop seeing them.


images borrowed from: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/lastnight/blondie-last-night-at-the-paci/

not to brag...

...but okay, i'll brag. this is what i've lost in the past 2 months: