Holiday 2011 Activities/Update.

Santa's cruisin' Centralia, WA's Main Street!
We stopped at the McMenamin's there on way home from Kanye/Jay-Z.

I need to use this more often!! Wanted Caver to see our Christmas and New Year's Eve photos, so thought I'd post them here for all to see.

Ashe and I saw Kanye West/Jay-Z's Watch the Throne show in Tacoma on December 16, 2011. We had the best time. Ashe kept thanking me for taking him and saying it was the best time he's ever had. I don't know if that's true, but I know he really loved it. No pics from the show, but took a few during the trip to Tacoma. Dennis and Finn went up with us to hang out at Hotel Murano (amazing!!). BTW - if you are ever there, be sure to check out their yummy, delicious restaurant, Bite.

These first photos are from the Tacoma trip to Jay-Z.

Finn at the Tacoma Build-A-Bear, since he didn't get a Jay-Z concert. : )

The art at the hotel...really amazing place the Hotel Murano.

VIEW FROM OUR ROOM AT MURANO - 22ND FLOOR - Mt. Rainier..
The Tacoma Dome, where we saw the show, also, on the right.

We had a nice Christmas and New Year's. Mom's health is improving, so that's good. Dad's doing alright for now. No holiday visits to the hospital for either, so that's great!!

The four of us had our Christmas (Eve) with my mom and dad and Caver's family at my parents' house. It was just the ten of us and such a mellow, fun time. Everybody was in great moods. We kept the adult presents to a minimum (which we always SHOULD do), and the four boys had a blast. Caver made some great appetizers; I got a Honey Baked Ham...was so nice.

Caver, Sean, Tuck, Cade @ Granny's on Xmas Eve.

THE FOUR CRAZY BOYS - LEFT TO RIGHT: Tucker, Cade, Finn, Ashe.

Passing out presents.

Christmas morning we woke pretty early. Ashe and Finn looked at their presents from Santa, while we waited for Granny Elaine to arrive. Grandma Janet was in San Diego with Dennis' family. Holly was with her dad's side of the family.

When Elaine got there, we had some coffee and pastry - the boys opened their oodles of presents and were elated with everything.

Dennis worked Christmas and the next night. The boys and I headed to the Hyatt Place at Portland's Cascade Station for a two night in town vacation (I hate that staycation word!!, yet I just said it)...We just pampered ourselves and relaxed and indulged in food and shopping and swimming. Just a blast with my boys!!

New Year's was spent at home with the boys. We stopped at mom and dad's, but mostly spent it at home. Ashe, Finn, Dennis, and I. I went and picked up Cade and Tucker at a party where they were with their parents. We got home about 10 p.m. and they were up til 1 a.m.!! They spent most of Jan 1, 2012 with us and then we had some peace and quiet. Rose Bowl watching today (Jan 2nd) and that's it!!

The "poppers" (bottles that you pull the strings on) - I kept trying to get them and this is pretty good live action. ;)

Finn & Tuck Whoop it up.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

He's Better Than Justin Bieber!

Here's my little boy...I love that he enjoys singing. He's just so damn cute.

New York City, Day II, 23.Apr.2010

Our trip to the best place on earth continued on day two, Friday, April 23, 2010. The activities for day two were the following:

1. Walk Central Park, eventually getting to the Whitney Museum
2. Unexpected visit with the lovely Zola and the wisteria
3. Walk back to hotel through the Park
4. Dinner with Wynelle (Elaine's long-time friend, who lives in Harlem)
5. Subway to see The Addams Family musical on Broadway
6. Subway back to the Beacon Hotel
7. Stop at Gray's Papaya for a late night snack

First let me say that I have spent lots of time at this place - Fairway Market - when I visit NYC. It's where we get supplies, mostly food and drink. It really is the best grocery store on earth. I don't even know how to describe it. The closest thing I know to it, and this is only going to reach a niche audience as well, is the old Nature's Grocery Store in PDX, before it was bought by Wild Oats and Whole Foods.
(Photo Credit: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/d-SMgF3Q-Asc7N2SdR-M4Q)

The gang (my mom, Elaine, my mother-in-law, Janet, & Dennis) always woke before me. That is par for the course. Luckily, they were eating bagels from Fairway and coffee from Starbucks both nearby, so they enjoyed just "waking up in New York"...as my mom would say. They would have happily jaunted off without me and left my sleeping a** there, if they wanted to. :)

This day started with a walk through Central Park to get to our respective museums. We showed Dennis' mom the Dakota Apartments and Strawberry Fields along the way. Dennis and Janet were going to Guggenheim and my mom and I were heading to the Whitney Museum of American Art for the day.







On the way to the park, we met Zola, who I described in detail here...Love her. See these pics of she and my mom and the "spectacle" of a wisteria she went out of her way to show us.

It was the Whitney's 75th Biennial (this links to images/information about the art in the biennial itself - it was all art done in the last two years), and I had already visited the Guggenheim, where Dennis and his mom were going. I'm not a huge art person, but it's that old cliche': I know what I like. I do enjoy museums, but there are very specific ones I want to visit and things I want to see. I am so surprised I waited so long to visit the Whitney. Whenever I am in the city, I have a person in my party who goes to the Whitney, but I choose not to. How disappointing that I have waited this long! I really, really loved that place. I cannot believe how interested I was in each piece there. Thankfully, it's relatively small, so I could easily get through it and spend as much time as I wanted.

I don't even know where to start with the Whitney and I don't intend to go into detail about my favorite things at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) later, because I could take pictures of them and I can post them here so that you can make your judgment as to why I liked it. The Whitney allowed no photography of the exhibits/art.

The Whitney was started by a Vanderbilt as a place to show living American artists. Obviously, museums don't tend to show many living artists or American ones. Much more so now...especially with the popularity of small local galleries..but not in the 30's when Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney started this one.

I loved some of the more "regular" art like Edward Hopper's Early Sunday Morning. But I also liked (maybe not liked, but was intrigued by and glad I saw) some of the different stuff, like the 10 foot or so (in circumference) sculpture made out of African-American hair...and the vinyl, life-sized, toilet.

The most poignant installation was about 12 photos hung on a white wall around two halves of a room. Women...horribly mutilated...I won't go into detail, but some of them so badly, they didn't look human. I don't typically like "shock art" (for lack of a better term - I admit I don't know art/terminology), but I think this was just something people need to see to slap them into reality of what is going on around the world...and especially in these extreme circumstances.

O.k. enough said about the depressing stuff...but incredible. Check out the yummy sandwich (Applewood-smoked Turkey & Gouda). I had it at their cool cafe. I love the Whitney!!

My mom is the cutest thing ever: she doesn't love walking. She's like me and will walk more in NYC than anywhere, but still doesn't love to walk. She asked me to take a cab home with her. I hailed her one, and decided to walk through the park by myself. Damn, I LOVE that park. It really is incredible.

We met up at the hotel with Dennis' mom and Dennis. They loved the Guggenheim. I was disappointed that they didn't get to see the huge canvas of dead flies. It was about 8 x 8 and was black. When mom & I saw it there, I thought we were walking up to a black canvas, until we smelled the smell a few feet away. As we got closer, we realized it was a black matte of dead flies. So sad they missed that experience. Wish I did!! I digress...

We went to dinner with a dear friend of my mom's named Wynelle, who we all love and who always takes us around whenever we visit. I was so neglectful in that I didn't take a picture of her at all this time!!! How lame am I?!? Anyway, I love that lady. Dennis' mom even commented how gracious and giving she is. She takes the subway to our hotel; takes us around; rides with us to make sure we get to our show on time; and, then turns around and rides the subway back home (to Harlem)!! She's darling as she can be, too!!

We went to see The Addams Family Musical. It was definitely fun and entertaining. It is what you would expect it to be. I'd give it a B grade. We had fun. Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane on Broadway: I had to see that once in life. :)














After the show, we shopped on Broadway and bought tacky souvenirs at the tourist junk shops. Subway back to the hotel...walking there, we needed a snack. Another thing I had to cross off my list was right off the subway stop (W. 72nd and Broadway): Gray's Papaya Hot Dogs. I'd seen it on t.v. before, including this Anthony Bourdain episode. Molly told me I had to try it as well...I must say I LOVE hot dogs. They were good - as good as the "everyday New York" ones on the cart. Unlike the traditional NYC cart hot dogs, I like that Gray's are grilled and have char marks on them. This was the perfect night/time for it. One a.m. on Friday night after a show. What a great first two days & nights. More to come.

A Best of 2008 Music List

About ten years ago and earlier, I would have had many albums to sort through from which to pick my top albums of the year. Sometimes it was hard to limit it to ten (only eight this year). As I've gotten older and less hip, it's easier, because I don't buy as many and/or the albums I purchased didn't come out in the current year.

I should be proud of myself, because browsing through my catalog, I liked almost all of the 2008 albums I purchased. That doesn't mean I purchased a lot, but I actually really liked what I DID purchase. I purchased a few singles from albums where I didn't want the entire thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed most that were purchased in their entirety.

My best of 2008 list:
1. She & Him's Volume One - by far my most listened to. I love Zooey's voice. I love the throwback feel to the record. I love every little bit of this record. Favorite track: Sentimental Heart.

2. MGMT's Oracular Spectacular - This is a close second in play counts on the ipod and inclusion on playlists. A completely different feel than the prior, yet just as inviting. I like the 70's feel to some of the songs on this, but others are completely pop-sounding, and others cannot be categorized. Favorite Track: Kids and Electric Feel in a dead heat.

3. The Gutter Twins' Saturnalia - Yes, a lot of this is grunge-tinged. Mark Lanegan from Screaming Trees comes by it naturally, though, and I'm a typical girl who thinks Greg Dulli's voice is dreamy...so, I am a fan of this record. I'm fairly new to it, but I adore it. I dig the driving, ominous feel to it. Favorite track: Again a dead heat - between The Stations and God's Children.

Other records I enjoyed but don't feel the need to elaborate on:

4. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (Fave track - M79)
5. Raveonettes - Lust, Lust, Lust (Fave track - Blush)
6. Santogold - Santogold (Fave track - Lights Out)
7. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer (Fave track - Grey Estates)
8. The Breeders - Mountain Battles (Fave tracks - German Studies or It's the Love)

Favorite song of 2008 (thanks to Rick Emerson for even making me aware of it):
Morgan Grace's "Valentine". The perfect pop ditty.

*rereading this i have to explain that i will always call them records. i know i'm old...

Sleater-Kinney Essentials

First, let me say that I turned 39 today!! 39. Ack. Sorta scarey, but it's my last birthday. It's all o.k., since I will never have another one. Keep that in mind: if you want to celebrate my birthday - celebrate this one, because I won't be having another. :)

Sleater-Kinney. What can I say? I used to say Elliott and Kathleen were my "favorite, all time, fall-down-and-die" bands. Over the years, though, I have to say it's become Sleater-Kinney. Although Elliott was surely an amazing musician - he played many, many instruments, played music for most of his life, and was a musician's musician really - I think S-K are the most fully realized of my favorite bands. It might be a tie between Elliott and S-K if he hadn't died early in his life. That fact, by definition, to me means he will never realize his full potential.

S-K did their work with such professionalism. It seems like they didn't make a wrong move. They made really solid albums. They got the mainstream recognition (Time Mag's Best Band Ever) that gives them cred to some people - brings them down to others...They were classy about everything they did. And, again, it's about the music - they made solid, solid records. Every. Single. Time. I have to admit, there are two that I don't ever listen to really, but I still recognize their quality.

Since this is my last installment of these filler posts about my fave bands...I will add this aside: It's very bizarre to me that I have met the lead singers of my top three music acts ever (yet, it makes me happy, don't get me wrong) - Elliott Smith, Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney. I know. So weird, right? Another weird thing - they all have very strong Portland connections. It's not by design either. I liked them and knew them, regardless of this. They are all considered national acts and sold out venues all over the nation - the world really - but I happened to meet them all. I feel VERY, very lucky.

Although, if my favorite acts happened to have been Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin, odds are I would have never met the leads...so, it helps that they were smaller/independents who happen to live here. :)

Song	Album
Good Things	Call The Doctor
I'm Not Waiting	Call The Doctor
Little Mouth	Call The Doctor
One More Hour	Dig Me Out
Turn It On	Dig Me Out
Dance Song '97	Dig Me Out
Don't Think You Wanna	Sleater-Kinney
Be Yr Mama	Sleater-Kinney
The Day I Went Away	Sleater-Kinney
One Song For You	The Hot Rock
Get Up	The Hot Rock
A Quarter To Three	The Hot Rock
Entertain	The Woods
Modern Girl	The Woods
You're No Rock N' Roll Fun	All Hands On The Bad One
Milkshake And Honey	All Hands On The Bad One
Step Aside	One Beat

Kathleen Hanna Essentials

I love Kathleen Hanna. I love my life, but tease that if I could come back as any one person in the world, it would be Kathleen. I wanna BE her. She's incredible.

Her music made such an impact on me. I don't know why. It did not have the empowering impact on me that it had on so many women at the time it came out. I was lucky in that my parents were always empowering me. My family was huge into equal rights, so I was raised thinking there was nothing I couldn't do. I guess Ms. Hanna impacted me by being her. She's so confident and amazing, I was inspired by her. So, in a sense, yes, she made me feel empowered, but not because of her supposed radical band's lyrics.

Anyway, I love this woman - in all her incarnations. I loved her in Bikini Kill the most and that is when I was so taken by her live performance. There is no other person who can draw me into a live show. Then, she did Julie Ruin...then Le Tigre. All some of my favorite acts.

Again, enjoy another one of my heroes.

Song	Album	Band
Feels Blind	The C.D. Version Of The First Two Records	Bikini Kill
Outta Me	The C.D. Version Of The First Two Records	Bikini Kill
Rebel Girl	The C.D. Version Of The First Two Records	Bikini Kill
Tony Randall	Reject All American	Bikini Kill
Reject All American	Reject All American	Bikini Kill
Strawberry Julius	Singles	Bikini Kill
Stay Monkey	Julie Ruin	Julie Ruin
Apt. #5	Julie Ruin	Julie Ruin
Love Letter	Julie Ruin	Julie Ruin
Deceptacon	Le Tigre [Bonus Tracks]	Le Tigre
Eau D'Bedroom Dancing	Le Tigre [Bonus Tracks]	Le Tigre
Les And Ray	Le Tigre [Bonus Tracks]	Le Tigre
TKO	This Island	Le Tigre
Tell You Now	This Island	Le Tigre

Elliott Smith Essentials

I will have a new vacation blog for you when I am back in town, but until then, I did these music-related posts to hold you over while I am gone.

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As some of you may know, I'm a HUGE Elliott Smith freak. I saw him 10's of times (25? 30? - I keep ticket stubs, but many of his shows were pay-at-the-door) during his lifetime. I went to the memorial show in Los Angeles that Beck, Rilo Kiley, and others did for him early in November 2003, after he died. It devastated me - his death. It's been only recently that I can listen a little bit to his stuff. He's so talented and it makes me sad that his music always has a taint on it. I will never really be happy listening to him. I still adore him, though.

I put together my favorite Elliott songs. I have his entire catalog. I can say this for very few artists. I know any person putting together this list would have their own take on it. This is just my personal choice Elliott listening. I started with the album I first heard of his - either/or. From there, I just put them in the order of their impact on me.

Enjoy.

Song	Album
Rose Parade	Either/Or
Angeles	Either/Or
Say Yes	Either/Or
Division Day	Ballad of Big Nothing
Clementine	Elliott Smith
St. Ides Heaven	Elliott Smith
Christian Brothers	Elliott Smith
Roman Candle	Roman Candle
Condor Ave.	Roman Candle
Waltz #2 (XO)	XO
Bled White	XO
Thirteen	New Moon [Disc 1]
New Monkey	New Moon [Disc 1]
Everything Reminds Me Of Her	Figure 8
Junk Bond Trader	Figure 8

When I'm 64...O.K. I'm Only Turning 39...

So I'm getting all melancholy thinking about turning 39 next week. It's funny because I will always tell my age and maintain that every year gets better...I guess not at this moment. :)

Maybe that is why this music blog of today is older stuff. I even subconsciously called it Oldies but Goodies. Yes. I am feeling old. So enjoy my latest music mix. The iMix is also below if you prefer that.

Song	Band
Into Temptation	Crowded House
Jah Live	Bob Marley
Cloudbusting	Kate Bush
Pet Sematary	The Ramones
Goody Two Shoes	Adam Ant
Stand By Me	Ben E. King
All Dead, All Dead	Queen
Don't Stop Believin'	Journey
Over The Hills And Far Away	Led Zeppelin
Sexual Healing	Marvin Gaye
Be Near Me	ABC
Can't Live Without You	Scorpions
Rainbow In the Dark	Dio
Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns	Mother Love Bone
Where Did You Sleep Last Night	Nirvana
Love Is a Battlefield	Pat Benatar
Troy	Sinéad O'Connor
Seether	Veruca Salt
Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me	Susan Sarandon
Bad Boys	Wham!
Friends	Whodini

My Music of the Moment

I'm leaving town for a few days and I haven't posted in a few days. Do you know what that means? Time for another music mix. I love doing these, and they're always something to post when I don't have a lot of other stuff going on. As usual, here's a list of songs with artist. The iMix is below for ease of sampling the songs.

This time, there is such a random mix of stuff - from La Bouche to Mother Love Bone to Ratatat to Led Zeppelin. I love the randomness of it all...it may baffle some of you, but this is how my brain thinks: from one minute to another, I'm totally all over the map.

(Again - as usual, iTunes doesn't have my versions of these songs - no "Fool in the Rain" from the box set, not this version of "Mr. Brown", or any LaBouche.)

Song	Band
Fool In The Rain	Led Zeppelin
Take Your Mama	Scissor Sisters
In My Room	Yaz
Lex	Ratatat
Staring At The Sun	TV On The Radio
Nineteen	Tegan and Sara
Bled White	Elliott Smith
Let This Rest	The Reputation
Fine Young Cannibals	Wolf Parade
Mr Brown	Bob Marley
Be My Lover	La Bouche
I Feel It All	Feist
Hometown Glory	Adele
Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns	Mother Love Bone
Teenage Dirtbag	Wheatus
The Difference Between Love and Hell	Sahara Hotnights
Lost Coastlines	Okkervil River
Mockingbirds	Grant Lee Buffalo

Sell Out For a Song Where I Don't Belong*

This is the first page of my ticket stub book, which shows a few of my first live music experiences. I love to note that Madonna's 1985 show - with Beastie Boys opening - was only $15.50. Also note - Tina Turner OPENED for Lionel Ritchie. Unbelievable.

On December 11, 1982, I went to my first live show. It changed my life.

I saw Adam Ant on his "Friend or Foe" tour. I won tickets from Steve Naganuma on KMJK 106.7 in Portland, Oregon. It's funny that I remember the story so vividly. I was up VERY early one morning, a week or so before the show. My dad was taking me skiing. I heard the contest announcement and called in. I won the tickets and the album.

I took my best friend at the time, Rhonda, to the show with me. One of our parents dropped us off at the Paramount Theater (now the Schnitzer Concert Hall) in downtown Portland. Rhonda and I were huge Winter Hawk Hockey Fans at the time and our parents often dropped us off for events. We both had/have wonderful parents, but thinking back, they were so trusting of us...wow.

The first memory is walking in smelling something strange. (No, it wasn't marijuana. I already knew what that smelled like.) It was rampant. I thought it was weird that it was such a foreign smell to me and nobody was even making a big deal of it. I mean, how could I not know what this was? After all I was 13 going on 20. Well, it ended up being clove cigarettes. (Of course, as with everything new and forbidden to me, I had to get my hands on these and not very long after the show, I had me some clove cigarettes. I digress...)

This show really did change my life. I was riveted. Even though, prior to this show, I had heard only "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant, I was now his biggest fan. I thought he was singing right to me. I loved him. He was gorgeous. He could dance. The audience seemed to be completely enraptured with him. They were all just doing what people do at concerts, but since this was my first one (other than Natalie Cole in like 1977, when I was 8 yrs old), I thought they were acting like this because of him. Again, I realized later that usually people at shows are quite big fans of the act...it's normal for them to be engaged and excited.

The other funny thing I remember after this show, and shows subsequent to this for several years, was becoming somewhat obsessed with meeting the performer. It wasn't in a stalker way. It had to do with the way I thought they were singing to me...I felt like I knew them. We had a connection. It's strange. That still sounds stalker-ish. The best way I can explain it is that I felt so connected to these musicians/performers from seeing them live, that I wanted to meet them to tell them that.

Most of you who know me, now, know that I am just the opposite. I have been lucky enough to meet and talk to my three favorite musicians EVER. Every time, I'm lame and don't say much and don't want to hang around very long. I mean, what can you say to someone like that: "I'm your biggest fan" or "I love your music." It's all been said before and I just feel strange. One of them, who I adore, even invited me to a party, to which I didn't go. Again, the lameness...

That's really it. The Adam Ant show began what has become my only real lifelong hobby and true passion - music and live music. Live music became a time-consuming obsession in 1990 when I followed the Dead for five years - in between work and college for the most part - but, honestly, the Dead came first. I continued this obsessiveness by also chasing after Sleater-Kinney, then Elliott Smith, then Arcade Fire. I still don't bat an eye at going out of town for a show, but it takes a special one like the prior three mentioned to take chunks of my life and bank account and follow them for weeks on end.

Ironically, I guess I should thank KMJK, a 1982 version of Z100, for helping me find my passion...

*Division Day, Elliott Smith

You Spin Me Right Round Baby

I couldn't resist. I love music so much. It's so fun to make mixes. I didn't have anything to post the last couple of days, so thought I'd post another music mix. As last time, the imix is below for ease of listening.

Song L.E.S. Artistes	Band Santogold
Debaser	Pixies
The Start Of Something	Voxtrot
Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe	Okkervil River
Neighborhood 3 - Power Out	Arcade Fire
Honeybear	Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Erotic City	Prince
Hit the Heartbrakes	Black Kids
Burnout	Bangs
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?	She & Him
Mr. November	The National
The Rules Of Dating	Morgan Grace
Boogie Down	MGMT
Let It Whip	Dazz Band
Lora's Song	Sleater-Kinney
Once And Never Again	The Long Blondes
Violet	Hole
You Were Right	Built To Spill
Strumpet	Lois