I wish I really were a ninja, and didn’t have to resort to pretending:
photo courtesy of the one they call ming.
A couple of months ago, I decided it was time to upgrade our DVD player to a HD upconversion unit, and I managed to get a great deal in the process. One of the other requirements I had for the unit, was that it not be Sony, because I wanted to see if I could unlock it, and make it region free. Being a lover of British shows and lots of British things, I wanted the opportunity available to get region 2 DVDs if I should so desire.
Well, as I wrote about some time in the past, I have had a great time watching shows like Spaced and Hyperdrive; both of which are only available on region 2 DVDs. Well, my most recent exciting region 2 goodness comes in the form owning the movie that is just hitting US theaters this week: Run Fatboy Run.
Now, my love for Simon Pegg may be a little bit on the verge of “I’m ready to walk down the aisle with this sexy man and have his babies”, so it should be no surprise that I jumped at the opportunity to get this DVD; even though it was like $35 (damn conversion rates and shitty US dollars!). Well, it was a good purchase, because the movie is actually quite cute, and definitely enjoyable. I am debating on whether or not to see it in theaters, but I probably won’t, because a) I paid so much for the DVD, and b) I hate going to the movies, and if I can sit home, I would rather do that.
Either way, I am definitely a believer that being region free is the way to be. Having a region free DVD player has given me the opportunity to relish all of the amazing material that my dream lover Simon Pegg and sexy bear Nick Frost have done overseas; some of which is brilliant. Either way, here’s to consumerism, right?!
Well, I am here to bring a review of a concert that displayed such epic-ness, that can only be contained by the sheer will of itself. The concert of which is speak, was none other than Leslie and the LYs, Saturday night at eyedrum.
Leslie Hall hails from Iowa, representing her other Midwest divas, and brings the jams while she flashes her sparkle jems. She is the self-professed mother gem, and comes out of the night, as a purveyor of fantastical gem sweaters and slick beats.
During her show, Leslie dances, she grooves, and she moves her way into your heart, clad from neck to toe in skin tight gold-goodness. She’s a “sequined tower of eternal glamor, pounding out the sexy with a sparkly hammer”.
I have wanted to see her for a while now, and I am glad that I got the chance to this weekend. Basically, if you haven’t heard of her, she is an internet phenomenon who has been doing some great stuff on youtube. Her songs are great, and she makes me laugh out loud more than many can. Saturday night was an amazing night, and I will always remember it as the night that I fell in love with Leslie Hall.
The show itself was an amazing spectacle of ginormous proportions, and here’s a little rundown of how it went down…
The opening act was absolutely DREADFUL, which consisted of a whole hour (seriously) of really loud distortion and guitar “playing” by a tall black dude in a wig. Then a Bjork-wannbe came on and spoke some gibberish, while her other friend (with a fake third arm) “played” a base guitar and created even more loud distortion. It was loud, and uncalled for. I asked the bartender if they were for real, and all he could say was, “well, they’re up there… it doesn’t get much more real than that.”. Agreed.
After that monstrosity, this cute trio that reminded me of TLC busted out two great songs, only to hurry off stage after finishing. It was a refreshing sound after that nonsense from before; but I would have liked to have heard more. No matter… by that time, I wanted my Mother Gem more than ever.
Then… the gold one herself took the stage. Now, I have seen her videos and heard some of her songs, but I had no idea the show that Leslie Hall puts on. Flanked by her accomplices, the LYs, she grooved and jammed for over an hour. It was amazing.
People in the audience called out for Leslie, myself included, and she gave us a feast of beats, rhythms, lady jams, and scissor kicks. She fucking performed the hell out of everything she did, and was completely hilarious and amazing throughout. I don’t know if I have ever had that much fun; seriously.
After the show, she greeted fans, and signed autographs. I got bunches of pictures of both the concert, and the after meet and greet. (click on the photo to go to flickr, and see what you missed out on…). I ended up getting both of her CDs at the show, and I must say that have been lapping up the jams all day.
You must do yourself a favor and see the mother gem herself, Leslie Hall, when she comes to a town near you. She is a goddess, and she is coming for you… I myself cannot WAIT until she comes back my way. SHAZAM! SHE IS GLAMOROUS!
I have been sitting here this morning, looking through some of the journals and blogs that I regularly follow, and spending time looking through many of those same people’s flickr collections, and I feel like I am watching my favorite program on television. I feel like I am seeing their interesting lives, and I find myself always wanting to know more.
A few of these people have a captivating quality to them, that I would say equates to me having “crushes” on them. It is like your favorite actor/actress that you would totally get with if you had the chance; only it isn’t as palpable as that. It is much more innocent and vague, poignantly less sexual, and often times, more interest driven. Handsome and attractive? Yes, they are, but that is not all that I like about them… there is so much more going on, and a lot of it, I don’t even know about; which is part of the thrill.
They are strangers, they are people that exist inside this little box that I look at day in and day out, and I don’t really know them at all. All I know is what I have seen, that which they choose to share, and I eagerly await new content and evidence that my favorite characters are doing well, and having a great life. I benefit from seeing that they have posted new pictures, or have uploaded new content; I want to know them, even though I really can’t on any level other than “through the internet”. Maybe someday? Who knows, but right now, this is fulfilling enough.
I often wonder, that if I have this type of relationship with the characters that I follow, does anyone follow me? If so, what is it about me that makes them keep coming back for more? Is it what draws me to them, the attraction, the interest, a fascination, and a captivation with life and how it is sometimes so different than my own?
Perhaps it is the anthropologist in me that I constantly seeking more and more, and who enjoys, and is so fulfilled by watching the world around him. More intensely, in this case, watching those in that little box that sits on my desktop, finding pictures, words, instances, and little bits of evidence to suggest that my favorite characters are doing well, and are keeping me company in the little way that they don’t even know that they are. Yes, it truly is intriguing to me what you have to say, and every time you post some pictures, I look forward to seeing how you are doing. I enjoy our time together, and look forward to more.
First of all, my Grandma is feeling much better, and is out of the hospital; seems it was a bad reaction to some bad medication. I am just happy that she is doing much better.
I spoke earlier about the new season of Torchwood starting up, and how excited I was about it, since the show is fantastic. However, I didn’t mention the fact that I was going to give Doctor Who a go as well; especially since Torchwood is a spin-off of that series. I was curious as to the beginning of Jack Harkness (the leader of Torchwood), and found out that he got his start in the first series of the revival of Doctor Who. Well, I downloaded all of the new series, and I just finished series one yesterday, and I have to say that I have become ENTHRALLED with the realm of Dr Who. This show is amazing, funny, fantastically written, and engaging. The story is full of fantastic intricacies and sci-fi goodness that totally makes my inner nerd jump with glee. I don’t know what took me so long to get into it! I can’t stop thinking about it, and find that my hunger for British telly growing stronger and stronger with each show I get into to.
As I mentioned, I just finished series one, with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, and it was purely brilliant. I loved every episode, and found myself a little upset when it was over. I can’t wait to get into series two, because I have heard that many like David Tennant as the Doctor better than the previous Doctor. Either way, I love this show, and I am so glad that I finally got into it. It is awesome too, because I can watch the episodes that I downloaded to my PC through the Xbox 360; which is pretty awesome in my opinion. Technology rules!
I also watched the last few episodes of the British comedy Hyperdrive last night, which is another British show that I have been watching after I ordered the DVDs a while back (mostly because it stars Nick Frost). I also had a great time with that show, and I think that it has made me really pay way more attention to what is going on at the BBC. I am going to regularly check out British shows, in hopes that I can find more shows that I enjoy as much as I have enjoyed these. Perhaps when I finish the Doctor Who series, I will give Spaced another watch; I have seen it twice now, and that show is just brilliant (and fucking hilarious) as well. Such good shows that hardly get any attention over here… strange. Perhaps something great has come from the writer’s strike; we get to see what great telly the Brits have to offer us!
Switching the topic completely, I had a minor accident last night, one that I swear I haven’t had since I was in middle school; I was getting out of the car, and I slammed the door on my finger!!! The worst, was that James had locked the doors before I got out, and I couldn’t re-open the door! I was just screaming into the phone (I was talking to Grandma), and freaking out. Luckily, my finger turned just the right way, and I didn’t break it. It is swollen today, but all in all, it is quite funny, since I seriously haven’t done that in ages. Silly, accident prone me.
Drum roll please… we have made it to the top of my list of the 31 best CDs of 2007!! I am sure that my number one pick will not come as a surprise to those that know me, and to even those that follow this blog regularly, because I have been screaming like a school girl with excitement about Sara Bareilles ever since I heard her back in 2005 at a Marc Broussard concert. From the first time I saw her in concert, I was mesmerized by her powerful voice, and her amazing ability as both a song writer, as well as a singer. Sara is the real deal, she is an amazing artist who is filled to the brim with talent, and it is refreshing and exciting to see her finally getting her chance to shine.
Little Voice
There really aren’t enough nice things that I can say about Sara Bareilles, and that is mainly because she deserves all of them. She is a performer who puts her heart into each song, and when you see her perform, you can see that she feels what she is singing. As she says in the song Bottle It Up, she is in this for love; the love of making amazing music. Fortunately, Sara was able to craft an album, despite pressures and set backs from the record company, that is destined to receive the true attention that it deserves. There are very, very few artists that I have discovered, and instantly, I was mesmerized by the sheer amount of talent they possess. If every singer could be as talented, and make records as great as Little Voice,
Little Voice is one of those albums that are really, really few and far between in my music collection. What I mean, is that with every listen, I truly am enthralled and engaged from beginning to end. I don’t like every song, I LOVE every song. That is something that is so rare for an artist, that when one comes along as amazing Sara, I am captivated. Little Voice is my album of the year, because even after getting it at the end of July, I still have it on HIGH rotation; and it gets better with each listen. There isn’t a bad track anywhere near this record, and with Little Voice,
If you were looking for where it is at, and wanting to find the next biggest thing to happen to music, you need look no further than the amazing debut by Sara Bareilles, Little Voice. Seriously, I know I am gushing here, but it really is as good, and even better than I am getting on… and don’t say that you didn’t know it when she is huge; I have been going on, and will continue to go on, about Sara Bareilles for a while now. Sara has solidified her place as the number one album pick of 2007 for me, and she has also found a place amongst my favorite artists as well. If there was only one record that I could own from all of 2007, this would definitely, without a doubt, be the one that I would want; do yourself a favor, and run out and buy it for your collection now.
Favorites from Little Voice:
Between The Lines
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-betweenthelines.mp3]
One Sweet Love
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-onesweetlove.mp3]
Vegas
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-vegas.mp3]
Gravity
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-gravity.mp3]
Morningside
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-morningside.mp3]
Love Song, Bottle It Up, and Fairytale. (link for you tube goodness!)
Rating: 
I normally don’t get involved in such “best blog” this-n-that shenanigans, but a blog buddy of mine is in a race to win the best gay bloggies, so I thought I would give him a shout out here. Make sure you go to gaybloggies.com and vote for the luscious D’Mike, aka CitizenDangerX. Not only is he a crazy-good photographer, but he is also teh hotness… he’s got my vote; now give him yours!
I watched Knocked Up last night (well, most of it), and I must say that Seth Rogen is totally cute. Totally. I don’t really have an opinion on the movie yet, as I didn’t finish it, and was focused on Seth’s cuteness.
I watched the season premiere of The Unit, and they totally brought it in a way I wasn’t expecting. This show definitely wins over House, hands down. Also, I watched the series premiere of Reaper, and it was fantastic!!! Well written, witty, and cute! I am definitely adding a season pass for this one. So far, one new show has definitely impressed me! I was also glad to see Tyler Labine in the show, because I liked him in Invasion, and well, I think that he is really cute. Also, the lead guy, Bret Harrison, is totally cute too! I love good shows with cute boys. That is a double hell YES!
Side note: OMG, I just looked at the IMDB entry for Reaper, and I had NO IDEA that it was Kevin Smith’s project! No wonder I liked it so much! YAY!
Is anyone else just completely embarrassed by our president? I mean, that speech yesterday was just a complete hypocritical slap in the face of the rest of the world; not to mention a complete “out of left field moment” at times (BURMA? REALLY? WTF?!). It is becoming more and more obvious that America has turned into that total bitch from high school who everyone hates and talks shit about behind her back, but she still walks around shoving her finger in people’s faces, and acting like her shit doesn’t stink; all the while, creating more people that hate her. Hello Regina George!!! But in all seriousness, it is no wonder (to anyone with a progressive bone in their body) that more and more people are expressing hatred over America. At this point, I think the best thing we can do is distance ourselves from this man, and show the rest of the planet that he does not represent what all of us think. Gah. Also, it would be REALLY NICE if we could actually practice all of the “human rights standards” that we are constantly calling the rest of the world out on.
If probability is such a simple concept as “it happens x number of times out of the possible number of times”, then why in the FUCK do they have to try as hard as possible to turn it into this amazingly difficult concept to grasp? I will never get statistics and why people try so hard to make it more difficult than it has to be. Taking a simple concept and turning it into something that is almost impossible to understand is beyond me.
Finally, as some of you know, James made a purchase. A big purchase. And I honestly don’t know how I feel about it. It stresses me out that he constantly puts his needs before mine, and sometimes, doesn’t even consider mine at all. Money has always been an issue between us, and no matter how I try to make it a non-issue, he really forces it. The worst part of it, is that I know where it comes from, have talked with him about it, have taken him to therapy and talked about it, and yet, it still permeates every part of our relationship. It isn’t something that I would leave him over, but it is definitely something that I have to vent about from time to time, in order to prevent lashing out at him about not having $10 to buy food, when it is clear that these are self imposed limits that serve to meet his needs and not ours. Ugh. Relationships are definitely a lot of work, and thank god I am willing to work at this one. I am still a little angry about the purchase, but I am sure that I will eventually let it go… I just wish that he could learn WHY it upset me. We’ll see.
Hope everyone is having a great hump day…. this was my 2 cents.
Wow, it has been a hectic week. I had a stats quiz that had a question on there that wasn’t covered in the material that we were given to prepare. Freak out! Turns out, it was a mistake, and the professor totally gave us credit anyway. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t have stress BEFORE that revelation. Then, I have been preparing all week for my anatomy test, and I took it yesterday, and got a B. I am some how disappointed by that though; it was frustrating, because her questions were random, and some of them were on things that were literally only mentioned on like one illustration in the book. Crazy. Either way, this week has been crazy, and I for one am glad that Friday’s here!!
Now, on with the music!!! This week’s five song Friday is going to be a little different from last week, in that there is going to be a noticeable “dance” vibe to many of this week’s tracks. There were two great albums that I discovered this week (one of which came out this week), and as such, I have to represent. To prevent any more anticipation, let’s get to it, shall we?
J.Lo – Do It Well
Now, I am going to start off by saying something nice. J.Lo has had some banging hits in her day, and I have always generally liked a lot of her music. There are a couple of songs (one in particular being a fabulous remix of her song “I’m Real”) that I could literally listen to on repeat. However, with the good, there to comes some bad. Lately, J.Lo has really strayed, and has completely dropped off of my radar screen altogether. And then… she put out Do It Well. That’s why this song sits here today… it marks the “comeback” of the J.Lo that I missed! I love a great dance track, and this one is fierce! J.Lo, I am glad to see you getting back to dancing, and “doing it well”. This is a great song you can definitely move your feet to!
Booty Luv – Don’t Mess With My Man
Now ask yourself, how many gay men out there couldn’t get into a group called Booty Luv??? EXACTLY!!! And with songs like this, the answer is: none that love a great dance track! In all seriousness, these girls are fresh from the UK, and their album Boogie 2 Nite came out this week. I have been enjoying this song for a while now, and I was so happy to get my hands on their full length album, which is a great dance album. I must say, that the covers are fantastic, and it kept me dancing in my chair from the beginning until the end. If you are craving some great dance music, you have found it. Booty Luv is here (well, in the UK, but you get the picture)!!!
Ricki-Lee – Can’t Touch It
For this song, we have to travel to the land down under; Ricki-Lee was a contestant on Australian Idol, where she proved her chops as a power singer. I became familiar with her when I fell in love with a little collaboration she did with some of her fellow Australian Idol ladies, called the Young Divas. Naturally, when my buddy Stu showed me this video of Ricki-Lee BUSTING out on her own (again), I was jumping up and down and loving everything I heard. This song is a great dance track, and definitely highlights the reason why we should pay more attention to the artists coming out to Australia! There is some real talent down there, and Ricki-Lee proves that there are definitely some people that can SING down under! I wanted to put this song in this week’s five, because I recently got her new CD “Brand New Day”, and have been enjoying it all week. I am glad to be exposed to songs like this that I really enjoy, and I hope that bringing them to you will get more attention to artists like Ricki-Lee!
Sugababes – About You Now
The Sugababes are a great girl group from the UK (one of my favorites), and with this new single, they show that they are still a force to be reckoned with. Seriously, this song is fantastic, and I can’t wait to see what their new album has in store for us! If it is anything like this, I know that I am going to be pleased as pie! If you love the Sugababes like I do, hearing this song will have you wondering why in the hell these girls aren’t popular on this side of the pond. Either way… I can import the CD dammit! I love my Sugababes, and this is another great single from this great girl band.
Kate Nash – Mouthwash
I have probably saved this best for last this week; Kate Nash is seriously one of my favorite artists right now. Her CD, Made of Bricks, I have talked about before, but I can’t stress this enough; it is one of the best albums of the year. Hands down. Seriously, I love everything about Kate, and I can’t speak enough lovely things about her!!! If there is any justice in the world, Kate is going to be huge, and I am glad that I was with her from the beginning!!! Do yourself a favor and check out Kate Nash. The entire CD is a solid listen, and every song is so good. I personally love her, and you should too. I do want to mention that I chose this song over “Foundations”, because I wanted to show that she is definitely more than a one it wonder… Foundations is a great track, and so is the rest of the album; now check it out already!
Well, there you have it. The second installment of Five song Friday. I really hope that you enjoyed these songs, and let me know what you guys are listening to!!! There is way too much music out there for us to find it on our own, so we have to work together! Have a great weekend everyone!
Yesterday, we spent the better part of the day at Ink and Dagger Tattoo Parlour, getting the color added to James’ amazing koi tattoo. I have to say, that Ms. Malia Reynolds completely exceeded my expectations; this tattoo is beautiful!!! She is one of the amazingly talented artists at the shop, and I am so glad that James could get tattooed by her!
James was a trooper, and managed to sit for almost 5 hours!! I have to say, that he really surprised me with that, and I am glad that he got such an amazing tattoo. If only everyone’s first tattoo could be this amazing, right?
Well, I know that is in large part thanks to Malia! As always, if you want to get amazing tattoos, be sure that you head over to Ink and Dagger, over in Decatur, because it is THE place to get tattooed in (or around) Atlanta!
This definitely makes me want ANOTHER ONE!!! HA!
Hope everyone is having a great 3-day weekend!
