New Video: Butch Walker,

New Video: Butch Walker: ‘Here Comes The…’ Featuring Pink

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Twittering Tweepies

still thinking about this twitter thing...i love it...i hate it...am curiously drawn to it...it's visible in my tabs when i'm online...it's even on this blog...checking to see what so and so is doing now...am i really all that curious about what ashton kutcher is looking at...apparently so...i've succumbed to social networking...actually this is just a recent addition...myspace and facebook have been a staple for some time...i question myself...will i be looking back at this in a few months, years, lifetimes..and saying 'what the *&%# was i thinking?!?'...most likely i'll move on the next best thing...maybe we'll figure out how to network telepathically...really..what could be more instantaneously gratifying?...and without having to figure out what to say in 140 characters!...ooops...gotta go...steve buscemi just insulted martha stewart again..twitter showdown...i'm so excited...

Butch Walker at the Stone Pony 3/20/09

transferred from my Facebook profile with some minor tweaking:

Some things never change…and sometimes that’s a good thing…for years Butch has raised the bar for live shows…and Friday night at the Stone Pony was no exception…the one factor that keeps me in awe is his stamina…coming from someone who’s ‘older than dirt’…I certainly can attest to his sheer drive and motivation…it's all heart...where most of us would be listing after a few hours of standing…the set list was as expected…going from a solo acoustic set to full blown band in just a few songs…he must have trusted the crowd to start off with ‘Atlanta’…the same crowd that seemed to puzzle him with their somewhat subdued temperament…maybe it was my sensing what he picked up on with his accurate 'crowd radar'...hard to tell because of the angle I was on...but it was confirmed as he called us on it…always a brilliant crowd manipulator, he easily got us right where he wanted …rockin' like this was the last time ...yet…after seeing him perform for so many years …I knew something was was 'missing'… no masterful storytelling last night...the verbal intimacy was the thing that was missing...or maybe i was the one who was missing it...mostly one song after another…and the occasional…”are you having a good time”...yet..in the end it didn't matter...no spoken words could attest for the crowd's spot-on comprehension of the silent cues…the turn of the microphone toward the fans…the appropriately timed requisite handclapping …and the mostly on-tune chorus…all done exactly as Butch would expect from his long-time fans…he knows his crowd…and that’s one of the things I believe we all love about him…seeing Butch onstage is like going home…it’s Butch’s ‘fan family’…it’s a mutual respect scenario…speaking of...the crowd was indeed mostly respectful…no obnoxious metalheads…a lot of ‘shush-ing’ when a slow song was played…and of course there was the occasional “I love you Butch” with the standard “I love you more’ back from the man himself…we were treated to a surprise guest appearance by Neptune NJ’s own Nicole Atkins…she sang Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’ with Butch… (I do believe Butch will be producing her next album)..it was a pleasant change to have “Hot Girls…” as the ‘Butch in the Crowd’ song…though from my vantage point (which was directly at the walk up to the stage by the sound guy) Butch literally disappeared into the sea of fans…Canyons ended the show…and again, the crowd immediately broke into the two part round that we’ve all been “trained” to do by choral director Butch…and as he slowly brought it down to a hush.. he bid us goodnight and goodbye…yes, indeed, New Jersey certainly does love their Butch Walker.

Tweeting?

Twitter...i'm not sure about this..."everyone" is doing it...even the President...i'm still confused as to why you would put all your non-essential daily transactions into a 140 word synopsis...i've spent more time trying to narrow down what i want to say than actually doing what i had to say...seems a bit frivolous...and a waste of time...yes, i do agree it's a novelty...and at times a bit contagious...still it feels like it's just the filler until the next big thing...plus everything os linked...so everyone, everwhere knows everything...how is that a good thing?

the intricacies of now

I recently read an e-mail that was sent to me by people who are involved with quantum life changes. There is a tremendous truth in the words. The reality and wisdom of the words is something we all can immediately understand. Why we don't remember, or at the very least, try to follow these words of wisdom, is a philosophy that seems to elude me. Here is what I'm talking about:

The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but your thoughts about it. You become addicted to thinking, feeling and living the old story of the past and future which robs you of the incredible NOW. You never experience the present or connection with Inner-Being which is that state of pure love.

When you look at other people and their lives, and judge them as being good or bad, positive or negative, or condemn their thinking and actions, you create those thoughts and perceptions in your own reality. Whatever or whoever you judge, you become. Those thoughts create an emotion within you and a feeling which is realized in every cell in your body. When you judge, you victimize yourself because you, not they, experience the effects of your judgments. When you condemn another for something, you are only condemning aspects of yourself seen within them. That is why those qualities in another are so easy for you to identify. That is why your attention is drawn to those aspects.

So what does all of this mean? When you expect others to do as you do, think as you think and behave how you believe they should, you are trying to control the actions of others so that you can feel better to fill a void inside of you. It is always about you. It is your choice how you feel. When your happiness is dependant upon the actions of others, you will find yourself constantly trying to control circumstances so that you can be okay.

The phrase, ‘You cannot truly love another until you love yourself’ are not empty words. It is a basic truth. Love comes from within and reflects outward into the hearts and minds of those around you. It magnetizes those into your life who experience the same. That is universal law.

fragile

it's very painful to watch someone close to you deal with the reality of a situation that they have dealt with all their lives...the worst part is not being able to truly help...no matter how hard i try...i wish i knew how to handle this in a better way...my fear is that i will say the wrong thing...and unintentionally affect someone's destiny...i need some guidance and enlightenment at this time...

Butch Walker on Ellen Degeneres

Crank up the DVR's, Butch Walker will be appearing (with P!nk as guest vocalist) on the Tuesday, Feb 3 ELLEN show. Yep...Butch will be performing his new single "Here Comes the..." with P!nk reprisng her backing vocals from the same song on "Sycamore Meadows"...been waiting years to hear Butch's music on the radio...on TV is not too shabby...been a long time coming.

a "what the?" rant

we've all heard the reasons why the economy is where it is today...but i gotta tell ya..i absolutely resent the fact that there is a generalization floating around regarding the "collective failure"...that somehow we all had a part in pulling the rug out from under the greedy mess we're in...I don't live on credit...I pay my mortgage and bills...I've never defaulted on any loan...nor do I have a 50 million dollar private jet...a $1400 garbage pail...a million dollar office..or $250,000 bathroom...I'm not accepting the blame for the unmitigated greed that has poisoned so many...when is enough, enough?...and why aren't people so pissed off to the point of revolution...what the flip has happened to everyone?...we've become a bunch of doormats...they've been saying that the landscape by June will be unrecognizable..with all the stores, and God knows what else going out of business...is anyone else pissed off or at least scared about what this all means??

25 Things

From Facebook:

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

ok...here goes:

1. I'm in search of answers...the whys, the reasons, the how comes,...I need to know.
2. Though not a musician in any sense of the word, I have an affinity with music...absolutely the universal language ( ok...so maybe Math might be).
3. I've been a Graphic Designer, and ran an in-house Graphics Dept for a national bank.
4. I used to paint and draw...now it feels tedious...though sometimes I feel Ive lost my destiny because I haven't followed through...yet.
5. I wish I could be less fearful of learning new computer programs to develop websites...and i'm really hard on myself about my website and its limitations...though I do what I can to make make it aesthetically pleasing and accurate
6. I have a BA in Art, and a a 2 year certificate in Graphic Design...for a grand total of 195 credits.
7. I have a need for organization...a trait...not a disease...lol.
8. As a follow-up to the above...I have no respect for incompetence.
9. As time passes I am becoming increasingly more aware of the injustices in this world.
10.I always put my family first...especially being a parent.
11.I'm an official dog lover.
12.I shop online for everything.
13.Sometimes I would love to live in Manhattan, and at other times I would be happier to live at the shore.
14.During my lifetime I have seen much of Rock's royalty.
15.I have never used drugs and seldom drink alcohol (no need)
16.Favorite food: sushi/sashimi
17.Dislikes: Sunflowers, large domed buildings (they scare the crap out of me...yeah I know...i need therapy...lol)
18.I grew up in the Bronx, NY...and have the 'New Yawk' accent to prove it
19.I love anything to do with space...the universe...and all its awe-inspiring grandeur.
20.I went to Catholic School for 8 years...which definitely left its scars...though I have great penmanship
21.I almost always wear black...with the occassional red accent
22.Diamonds...my birthstone.
23.Don't Think I'll ever get used to 'Hazy, Hot and Humid'
24.I should travel more
25.I'm still learning

Go See

I've blogged about this before (not here)...and today everyone has the opportunity to see this marvelous film, since it opens in wide release. This is no ordinary movie...it's a part historical , eye opening, reality experience. Brilliantly directed, you as spectator, become an eyewitness to what most of us could hardly perceive....but should definitely know about. This film and it's subject matter will remain with you for a long time to come. It is certainly deserving of it's 10 Oscar nominations.

Inaugural Destiny

"And yet what separates Lincoln from the other great men has to do with something else. It's an issue of character that speaks to us, of moral resolve. Lincoln was not a perfect man, nor a perfect president....And yet despite these imperfections, despite his fallibility...indeed, perhaps because of a painful self-awareness of his own failings, etched in every crease of his face and reflected in those haunted eyes...because of this essential humanity of his, when it came time to confront the greatest moral challenge this nation has ever faced, Lincoln did not flinch....It serves us then to reflect on whether that element of Lincoln's character, and the American character - that aspect which makes tough choices, and speaks the truth when least convenient, and acts while still admitting doubt - remains with us today...At a time when image all too often trumps substance, when our politics all too often feeds rather than bridges division, when the prospects of a poor youth rising out of poverty seem of no consequence to the powerful, and when we evoke our common God to condemn those who do not think as we do, rather than to seek God's mercy for our own lack of understanding - at such a time it is helpful to remember this man who was the real thing....And as that man called once upon the better angels of our nature, so is he calling still, across the ages, to summon some measure of that character, his character, in each of us, today." - Barack Obama

This speech was not given yesterday, though yesterday's speech certainly stirred many a soul. This was part of a speech given by now President Barack Obama in April of 2005, at the dedication of the Abraham Lincoln Library....realistically, it could have been his inaugural address...brilliantly and insightfully written...with words that still ring true and impact our world today. With this vision, I hope he carries us with this same dignity through the next 8 years.

can't help myself

Frosty Amsterdam

blogging twice in one day...actually it's not a word blog...but a photo blog...since i've figured out how to hook up flickr with my blog here...loved this so much...i figured i'd put it up for all posterity to see...or ..then again...for maybe just the one or two of you who view this...

another year

Hope Shines

seem i do this yearly...start off a blog...and poof...no more...though i continue to blog religiously on Myspace...at least there's something to look forward to with the Inauguration tomorrow...a sense of hope has filtered back into our lives...think we all need to see the light at the end of the tunnel...we need to make this world a better place...a place to share our lives together as the human race...not separate entities...no matter who we are...we will be the legacy for our children's children's children...

Think you know your sign?...think again

The graphic shows the precession of the equinoxes from 600 BC to 2600 AD. In 600 BC, the intersection of the ecliptic and celestial equator is in western Aries and marked by the Vernal Equinox. In the year 2007, the intersection is in Pisces

consider this: your zodiac sign corresponds to the position of the sun relative to constellations as they appeared over 2200 years ago...

the position of the Sun as it's perceived from the revolving Earth, passes through the constellations that formed the Zodiac - Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Zodiac signs were originally determined by which constellation the Sun was "in" on the day you were born...

the Earth continually wobbles around its axis...this wobble—called precession—is caused by the gravitational attraction of the Moon on Earth's equatorial bulge...and guess what?...over the past two-and-a-half millennia the signs have slipped one-tenth—or almost one whole month—of the way around the sky to the west, relative to the stars beyond...

for instance, those born between March 21 and April 19 consider themselves to be Aries. Today, the Sun is no longer within the constellation of Aries during much of that period. From March 11 to April 18, the Sun is actually in the constellation of Pisces... (see image below)...say it ain't so...i'm a flippin fish!!...makes no sense...from the first sign to the last??...look in the dictionary for Aries...you'll find my photo...that's how accurately the characteristics apply

Your "Real Sign"

the table below lists the dates when the Sun is actually within the astronomical constellations of the Zodiac, according to modern constellation boundaries and corrected for precession (these dates can vary a day from year to year).... you will most likely find that once precession is taken into account, your zodiac sign is different...

and if you were born between November 29 and December 17, your sign is actually one you never saw in the newspaper: you are an Ophiuchus... the eliptic passes through the constellation of Ophiuchus after Scorpius....

Capricorn - Jan 20 to Feb 16

Aquarius - Feb 16 to Mar 11

Pisces - Mar 11 to Apr 18

Aries - Apr 18 to May 13

Taurus - May 13 to Jun 21

Gemini - Jun 21 to Jul 20

Cancer - Jul 20 to Aug 10

Leo - Aug 10 to Sep 16

Virgo - Sep 16 to Oct 30

Libra - Oct 30 to Nov 23

Scorpius - Nov 23 to Nov 29

Ophiuchus - Nov 29 to Dec 17

Sagittarius - Dec 17 to Jan 20

this doesn't just affect the sun sign...everything gets bumped...the rising sign...all of it..too much to take in...it totally screws up my chart... i'm sticking with the ancient's vision...securely back in "ram-hood"...the first sign...ARIES

the sadness of it all

the world is reacting to the very sad news that Heath Ledger has passed...it is one of those disbelief moments when you can't wrap your mind around the information...what i find most striking, disturbing, yet not surprising is the news organizations treatment of the tragedy...calling in the "experts" to speculate what happened with the very little information that was given out...the NY newspapers' headlines all but decided what the cause of death was...before the medical examiner's office made a statement...and even when they do find out the cause...if it should be some kind of drug related incident...they will run with this in true tabloid feeding frenzy style ...taking the humanity out of the picture...not caring that this man has a young child who will have to deal with her father's death from this point on in her life...and even more astonishing....the headlines news about this unfortunate death is being drawn from statements from Harvey Levin of TMZ...has he flippin become the expert on everything??..maybe he'll run for president...apparently he's the go-to man who carries major clout...this whole thing makes me sort of ill...because of how misguided everything has become...it's seedy, disrespectful, callous and powered by financial gain...and again...at who's expense??

Swallow that pill...

the drug industry gets away with raping the consumers monetarily...and the health insurance companies have their back...there is a new "money saving" campaign directed at consumers who need to take medication on an on-going basis...the "brilliant" plan: have your doctor write a new prescription for twice the dosage and then split the tablets using their free little pill 'guillotine'....the only requirement for appropriately deemed medication: the pill has to have a score line to cut it...are they flippin insane?? ...playing on the people who most likely need the reduction in cost...dismissing the ramifications of improperly cutting the medication...what about all the old folks who need the money and the medication the most??..the ones who have visual problems...or the ones who will forget to cut the pill??..is their assumption that we're all desperate and complete idiots??...maybe the folks in the board rooms of the insurance companies should take the pill splitter and cut their bonuses with it.

Music...from the inside out

Maybe some of you will get this...recently i found myself trying to define the term "vacant" that someone (who is a musician) used to describe their feeling about a specific young band (who will remain nameless at this time)...and it was something that flipped a switch in my head...first, understand that i'm no musician...i rely on years of listening experience...and impeccable taste (ok so humility is lacking when it comes to this...so shoot me...lol)...but this is not about me...it's about what's missing...or maybe absorption is a better word...sucked in by the shoulder shrugging attitude today...things are ok...not great...the most for the least amount of effort...from the outside in...not the inside out...that's where the vacancy comes from...it feels incomplete...the lack of conviction is very evident...and what's most bothersome...is that there is so much potential...but it falls short because it's "good enough"... what the??...do something right...and the brilliance will come from the inside out...you'll know and feel the difference

and the randomness continues...

amusing 'thoughts' floating around:

• Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
  


• All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
  


• In the '60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
  


• Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
  


• Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

a cake by any other name...

You can tell when someone loves their work...there is something spectacular that occurs...it is such a gift to do and create what you love...time simply flys by and stands still simultaneously...a most wonderful place to be

to see more celebration cakes:
http://www.pinkcakebox.com/

and the question is...

sometimes i think i'm just a wuss...might as well lay down and write "Doormat" across me....diplomacy morphs into something unrecognizable...i find myself making excuses... and not saying what is usually the truth...just to what??...make someone else feel better??...why do i have to be the "nice guy"?...what will happen if i just tell it like it is?...how difficult can it be to present circumstances in their true light?... i've perfected "white washing"... and worse, "white lies"... and to whose expense??