Hats Off

I really have no comment. I just wanted it to be documented for posterity that this is what Aretha Franklin wore at President Barack H. Obama's inauguration ceremony while singing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee."

And I just want my children to know that while some may disagree, I personally want to go down on the record as saying that I just don't see this as a fashion do.

That's all.

-SM

Backstreet's back alright

At least you'd think so if you were at my office yesterday.

"Artists in Residence," a music program my office created to get musicians collaborating with us and allowing us to license their music for commercials, brings musicians into the agency for recording sessions. And along the way, they either perform a few songs for whoever wants to come watch, take part in a Q&A, or both.

Well yesterday, the Backstreet Boys were here. Yes, those Backstreet Boys. They were scheduled to perform at 1pm in the huge conference room/meeting room on our main floor, and as much as I didn't want to go, I wanted to go. If for nothing else than to catch a glimpse of everything - the amount of people who didn't have work to do, the number of children whose parents brought them in, the amount of hair gel they use. Unfortunately, I got down there late and the room was packed. People were already spilling out into the hallway.

I managed to peek my head in and catch a glimpse of the blonde guy (I don't know his name), but I was tired of fighting the crowd. So I just stood out in the hallway with a few other friends, waiting to hear something, when BAM - "You are, my fi-ire. The one desi-ire." The crowd inside started screaming like a group of 14 year-old girls as the boy band sang "I Want it That Way." I nearly threw up.

I couldn't take it anymore. I went back up to my desk, laughing at how ridiculous it was. Or maybe I was a tad smitten. Either way, they just need to quit playing games with my heart (with my heart).

-JT

New Olympics event

Urban Gymnastics.



-JT

A musician to keep your eye on

Joshua Radin. Remember his name. He's an acoustic alternative singer/songwriter. He plays and sings with an understated style that I can't really describe unless you see him live. And with him, less is more. It's this quiet style that has enough power to bring an entire concert hall, like the House of Blues last night, to complete silence. Wow.

Last night I went to go see him perform live for my second time, and it was amazing. It was kind of my birthday present, although not really since I bought the tickets myself. Now I'm normally not a fan of the House of Blues because they just pack people in and there aren't many places to sit, but it wasn't sold out last night. I was able to score a stool and then eventually a table, and I was set.

Anyway - the show was so good. Vanessa Carlton and Alexa Wilkinson opened. I was pleasantly surprised by Carlton, since I only knew her popular song. But her performance was nothing compared to Joshua Radin's set. He played songs from his older records, like "Lovely Tonight," "You've Got Growing Up to Do" and all my favorites. And he also played some songs that will be on his new record. The crowd was hushed, and he even acknowledged how cool it was to play in front of so many silent people.

The best part of the show? No, not that he disclosed how he ate at Potbelly's twice on Friday. It was when he came out for the obligatory encore. Instead of playing one of his songs on stage, he climbed down the stage, got right in the middle of the pit at HOB where everyone stands and played the Bob Dylan ballad "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" in the middle of the crowd. He was belting it out since he had no mic, and I'd never seen anything like it.

As I said before - wow.

-JT

Step out the front door like a ghost into the fog

Where no one notices the contrast of white on white.

Those are the first two lines of my favorite song, Round Here by the Counting Crows. I'm a sucker for live music, especially involving an acoustic guitar, and now I can listen to about as much live music from Adam Duritz and his band through the site livecountingcrows.com as I want.


The site was launched last week, and you can purchase and download live Counting Crows shows. Every single show, beginning with the July 28th show, will be added to the site within 72 hours, and they're planning to release archived shows periodically. They offered a free show to the first 10,000 fans who signed up, so I was able to see what it's all about.

It's freaking amazing.

-JT

Ache - James Carrington

A beautiful live version of this amazingly heart-wrenching song . . .



-10-key princess

Under Where, Part 2

The last time I was in Times Square, I got my picture taken with The Naked Cowboy. He had a publicist/manager with him who, in true Sopranos style, said that nobody could take a picture of or with him without shelling out some singles. So I did. I didn't want to be the reason for an unhappy tooshie.

It looks like he's out for more than just singles now. The Naked Cowboy is suing M&M Mars. For millions and millions of dollars.

That's right. The guy who did nothing to be infamous except strip down to his underwear (which is nothing new), paint (in bad manuscript) "Naked Cowboy" on the back of his tighty-whities, and play the guitar with a cowboy hat and long (and not particularly Fabio-esque) hair, is suing giant candy conglomerate USA for their latest ad featuring a hard-shelled blue candy that looks somewhat like him.

His classic quote when asked his reason for suing:
"Type II diabetes and childhood obesity is (an) epidemic," he said. "I am the opposite of that. I don't endorse that product."

My opinion? He should have gotten his mobster dad, Tony, to write something a little more believable for the press.

For the record, if he gets any sort of sizable settlement, I'm going back and asking for a refund.

-SM

The Land of the Crazy

Blink. Rub eyes. Shake head. Blink again.

WARNING:
The video you are about to watch is probably one of the most chilling, inappropriately disgusting, horrifying things you will watch. ***Children are not invited to watch. At all.*** And adults may want to save this for when you're really, really drunk.

http://www.glumbert.com/media/pedoidol

And what's great is, some Dutch commentator said, "It’s simply a funny performance of one of the best performers Holland has ever had. It doesn’t surprise me the person that put this on YouTube comes from America, “the land of the crazy."

If that's the case, I'm proud to be an American.

-10-key princess

The backlash has begun

It's about time.



I've managed to keep myself from joining the 'book, much to the dismay of everyone out there who's been dying to poke, super-poke or bite me. And my quality of life hasn't even suffered.

-JT

Lick Those Lips, David Archuleta

Another amazing David Archuleta performance on Idol tonight. I think I love him a little bit more every week.

I fished around youtube and found a performance he did of the same song - Angels - pre-American Idol.

His performance starts around 1:10. Enjoy. Over and over and over.
-SM

Can I get a napkin please?

The latest from our friends at Improv Everywhere. You may remember them from "No Pants 2K8," "Frozen Grand Central" and "Mobile Desktops."



-JT

Splurges for Mom

I found this article on Babycenter's website entitled "6 Splurges that are Worth It." Taking a bubble bath, buying a nice new outfit (sans stains), a DQ blizzard, mani-pedis, getting a sitter and going on a date, and going to a movie alone were some of the highlights on the list.

I'm taking it upon myself to add a few things to this list.

• Go on a trip with girlfriends only - and don't talk about the kids back home!

• Get Tivo. Record your favorite non-PBS shows to watch late at night with a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Mine include House, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Dancing With the Stars, and Divine Design.

• Join a gym with free child care. Go often, even if it just means you're going to sit in the locker room and watch Oprah and The View back-to-back.
• Get an iPod. I put in my earbuds whenever I'm doing laundry, cleaning the toilets, scrubbing the showers, or vacuuming. Makes chores fun and tunes out the kiddos.

• Once-a-Month Cooking. Cook everything you need one day a month. You can go to places like Dinner by Design if you don't like the prep and clean up.
  
• Get a pet. Goldfish, bird, dog, cat, whatever. Apparently, it's good for your health, too.
  

• Splurge on home decor. If you want a Restoration Hardware Parisian Armchair, get it!
• Get a DSW frequent shopper card. Enough said.

We deserve it! Moms, let's get a bit decadent and indulge!

-SM

Charting Your Favorite Song

Every morning, I scour the internet to see what's going on in the land of pop culture. And every morning, I come across a lot of weird stuff, which is near and dear to my heart. It's like my fuel.

This morning was no different. It seems that someone created a group on Flickr where members can upload their own song charts. Now you're probably asking yourself what a song chart is, so let me provide an example:


If you still don't know what a song chart is, it's a chart that conveys a song title. A lot of them are Excel-based, but they don't have to be. In case you're stumped, the above song chart is "Groove is in the Heart" by Dee-Lite. Get it? There are tons more here.

I haven't checked all of the song charts out yet, but I'm guessing there has to be a few that William Hung has belted out in his day. And if not, I'm sure he's practicing them for an upcoming karaoke contest.

-JT

Can a Mormon Win This Race?

We all know Mitt Romney's out of the race, but what about David Archuleta?



This 17-year old kid from - you guessed it - Murray, Utah is "the one to beat" this season. I like him. And not just because I'm Mormon. If that were the case, I would have liked Carmen Rasmussen, Jon Peter Lewis, or even jump on the Brooke White bandwagon.

Who's your favorite for American Idol Season 7?

-SM

Happiness is a Journey . . . Not a Destination

Thanks to my dear sweet aunt for mailing me a sweet card along with this poignant quote by Father Alfred D'Souza tucked inside. She intuitively knew I needed a big mail hug more than ever this week. I love you, Auntie L!

-10-key princess

Who We Are

We have a readership! I've gotten a few random e-mails and comments from blog readers asking us who we are. I thought we could do a little Q&A to appease our (small but growing) fan base. (This reminds me of those slam books we used to do in middle school. Does anyone else remember those?)

In the meantime, here's a bit about us: 10-key princess, Janos, JT, and SM (the Suburban Mommy).

Hit us with your best shot.


10-key princess








Janos







JT







SM





What's the best advice you've ever given?
10-kp: To my little brother: "Don't drop out of college, idiot."
Janos: Telling one of my high school best friends to quit being a waiter and get a real job. He became an engineer for Lockheed Martin 3 months later.
JT: "Um, guys. Guys. Guys!" (Said while pointing up in the air) to two of my friends sitting next to me in the bleachers during batting practice before a baseball game. They were being stupid, throwing peanut shells at each other. All of the sudden, thwack. The batter crushed a ball, and it was heading directly at them. They have no idea as they're still playing around, and the ball's getting closer. I start pointing in the air as I'm like, "Um, guys. Guys. Guys!" Finally, they realize I'm talking to them, look up, can't find the ball and just scatter. And about 2.438 seconds later, the ball comes crashing down right where one of them was sitting. Luckily for his future wife, whoever it may be, I was paying attention.
SM: I told my husband on 9/12/01 while working in the airline industry, "Look for a job IMMEDIATELY."

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
10-kp: Tahiti. They speak French. It's an island. Perfect.
Janos: Costa Rica. Imagine being a 2-hr drive from the Atlantic, the Pacific, mountains, rain forests, volcanoes, warm weather, and LOTS of bikinis.
JT: Australia. Kangaroos and koala bears. Enough said.
SM: Marin County, CA - or, my husband prefers Berkeley Hills. But that's too liberal for me.

What is your deepest fear?
10-kp: Clowns. Admit it. You're scared of Ronald McDonald, too.
Janos: Failing in front of people I know.
JT: Getting a papercut on my eye. Just writing that makes me shudder.
SM: That someone I know will get Alzheimer's.

If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
10-kp: Dalai Lama, probably
Janos: There are so many...Pablo Casals is one of them.
JT: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The footprint he left on this world makes my life seem insignificant.
SM: My great-grandmother. I hear she was a great storyteller.

What is your favorite food?
10-kp: Pomegranates
Janos: Almost anything from any small hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant, preferably in Italy.
JT: A nice juicy steak. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy.
SM: Louisiana Chicken Pasta, Cheesecake Factory - yum!

Favorite song today?
10-kp: No One - Alicia Keys (again, thanks, Philip)
Janos: Calling - The Clash
JT: Circus by Craig Cardiff
SM: It seems all I listen to is Little Einsteins classical selections these days

Do you have any pets?
10-kp: Not right now. I can barely keep my houseplant alive.
Janos: Not since I moved in 2005
JT: Define pets, please.
SM: Almost got a goldfish last night, but then decided to let a teenager adopt it. Was that a good idea? That poor goldfish.

What is the last book you read?
10-kp: Eat, Pray, Love. An Oprah book club book.
Janos: As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
JT: Finding Fish. It's Antwone Fisher's autobiography.
SM: The Friday Night Knitting Club

Do you like to cook?
10-kp: Not for myself. But I like hosting dinner parties.
Janos: Not unless it's for people. I'd rather do dishes!
JT: Yes. When it's something I know how to make, at least.
SM: I prefer it if my husband cooks. He used to have a chef as a roommate. I don't mind cleaning in exchange for a good meal.

Are you married or single?
10-kp: Joyfully single, apparently.
Janos: Not married but "it's complicated"
JT: Married. I think.
SM: Married, almost 8 years

Do you have brothers and sisters?
10-kp: 2 older sisters, 2 younger brothers
Janos: One older brother and one younger sister
JT: An older sister. Living in DC. Trying to save the world. She's great.
SM: Only child

Do you live alone?
10-kp: Yes. But I have a Taser. And mace. And self-defense training. ;)
Janos: Sure.
JT: See the answer to "Are you married or single?"
SM: Husband and son live in the same house. Interesting concept, huh?

Have you ever lived in another country?
10-kp: Switzerland, France, Belgium, UK (briefly)
Janos: Once or twice. I am right now.
JT: No.
SM: Long term? No. I did a study abroad in Europe during college.

Have you ever met a famous person?
10-kp: (not including sports or concerts) David Schwimmer, Angelina Jolie, the Olsen twins, P. Diddy (or is he just Diddy now?), Tom Brokaw, Jay Leno, Angelica Huston, Vanessa Paradis, Jessica Biel, Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Caroline Rhea, Clay Aiken, Barack Obama
Janos: Define "famous". On numerous occasions I've embarrassed myself in front of Nobel laureates. I once spent an afternoon with Hillary Hahn.
JT: Forest Whitaker. Jewel. Shigeru Miyamoto (created Super Mario Bros. and other Nintendo characters). The band Cheap Trick. Mayor Richard Daley. Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Hillary Clinton. Ms. Pac-Man. Toni Kukoc. Glen Phillips (solo artist and former lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket). Chris Brown. Jen Scheff and Andrew Firestone (from the Bachelor). Mario, Luigi and Zelda (the official ones, not people dressed up for Halloween). Warren Brown from Cake Love (Oprah loves him). Otis Wilson. The band Collective Soul. Harry Caray. The Marlboro Men. The band Good Charlotte. That's who I can think of right now. And yes, a lot of them are musicians and characters - it's one of the job perks.
SM: I did get my picture taken with Steve Young when he was a top QB... my other friend was also in the shot. I conveniently enlarged the pic and cut her out of it when I framed it. But his arm was around me, not her!

How old are you?
10-kp: 28
28
JT: 28
SM: 29

Are you religious?
10-kp: Christian
Janos: Not at all
JT: Jewish but not religious.
SM: Christian - Mormon/LDS

What's your political stance?
10-kp: Morally Republican.
Janos: I'm for human rights and well-educated decisions. I guess that makes me a left-libertarian communist fascist hippie, depending on how you interpret that.
JT: Democrat
SM: Moderate - Republican

What do you think you'll be doing five years from now?
10-kp: married, kids, house, a dog named Marley, Volvo station wagon, working, traveling
Janos: Hopefully married and beginning a career as a research professor
JT: Five years from now, I'll still working at an ad agency, although it's hard to say where. Wherever it is, I'll probably be sitting at my desk, notebook in hand, writing for whatever assignments I'm working on at the time. Oh, and I'm guessing I'll be scrambling to put a Valentine's Day present together.
SM: My son will be in 2nd grade! YEAH!!! And, yikes! I'll probably go back to work.

Are you a morning or night person?
10-kp: Late night, early morning. I tend to work best during those hours with few interruptions.
Janos: Night person
JT: I'd say I'm more a morning person than a night person, but I'm adaptable. Like a chameleon.
SM: Neither. I like my sleep too much.

Sunrises or sunsets?
10-kp: both
Janos: Sunsets
JT: Both. For different reasons.
SM: Sunsets on the beach in San Diego.

Do you like bananas?
10-kp: yes - they're easy to eat, peel, and clean up
Janos: Not particularly
JT: Yep. Especially after going on a run.
SM: They're the dream food for a mom. No prep. Convenient packaging.

Flip flops or sandals?
10-kp: flip flops
Janos: Sandals
JT: Flip flops. I mean, they flip and they flop. How could anything be better?
SM: Both, all year round.

Tell us about your first kiss.
10-kp: 8th grade after school... my "boyfriend" and I had been "going out" for about 2 weeks. He told his friends he wanted to kiss me, and they told my friends. So that's how we communicated that it was going to happen. We gave each other a peck by the science lab. Then, our parents came to pick us up. It was so hot. ;)
Janos: I was 16. It was at night on a big rock at orchestra camp with the cute redhead. She smelled like shaving creme and neither of us had ANY idea what we were doing.
JT: A bunch of us were at this one girl's house in eighth grade, and after getting bored with watching TV, we decided to be a little randy and play a little spin the bottle. This smoking hot eighth grade girl was up - I'm talking hairsprayed bangs and different colored braces - and when the bottle stopped spinning, it was pointing at me. So we both leaned in, over the center of the players' circle, and pecked the lightest, fastest kiss in the history of PDA. My heart never pounded as hard.
SM: Junior Prom. It was magical. Hold Onto the Nights. Richard Marx. Dancing.

What did you study in college?
10-kp: Finance, then MBA, and a bit of slacking off in between
Janos: Physical sciences and cello mostly, with some dabbling in government, econ, journalism, soviet history, and early cinema.
JT: Got my undergrad degree in advertising, and then I went to portfolio school to put my book together.
SM: International Studies, Global Economics. Totally useless these days with a toddler. Maybe when he goes to kindergarten, I can get him started with the concept of market equilibrium or at least some basic cultural geography.

Grammy Awards 2008 - Alicia Keys and John Mayer - No One

I happened to catch a few minutes of the Grammys last night and saw this performance. I thought it was so hot. JT thinks John Mayer looks epileptic though, and Janos says Alicia's earrings are huge. Whatever. It's still an amazing performance.

**EDITED** I just spoke with Philip tonight who said, "Hey, 10kp, I'm the one who told you about this song, like, a million years ago. How come I'm not mentioned once in your blog post? And while you're at it, why isn't there a head shot of me on your blog either?"

For the sake of time, I'll post his head shot later. But yeah, thanks Philip for re-introducing me to Alicia Keys. This is just a hot, hot song.

-10-key princess