Getting Gruntled

I saw this quiz over at Delusions and just had to take it. It’s something mcangeli and I ised to talk about once in a while when at work, b/c his kids have very traditional names, and mine don’t. :]

You Like Names That Are Cutting Edge and Exotic

You love creative names and names from foreign cultures. You believe names should be expressive and interesting. You like names that are unusual, striking, and powerful. You couldn’t imagine naming your child or pet anything “normal.” Some female names you might like: Amaya, Celestine, Danessa, Fawn, Kenya, Monet, Serenity, and Tia Some male names you might like: Drake, Flint, Harley, Kendrick, Pascal, Romeo, and Timber

In the past couple of years, my sister has suggested an activity that is becoming a staple in our family gatherings, especially when our relatives from out-of-state are here. The first time around, it was on Thanksgiving Day, and after we had filled up on the bounty, we packed all of the teens and kids into the car and went to hike Stone Mountain. This was a great activity, and here in GA, it’s really still rather mild in late November. This past weekend, we went for that hike again, the first where I have taken the girls. It’s a very different challenge during the summer, but is great excercise as well as a bonding experience for all of us.
I really wish I’d packed more water for the ascent this time, and think that they should consider making some water fountains available at the pavillion that sits halfway up the trail to the top.
I was looking at the Atlanta paper today, and there was an article about some local clubs that have been organized over the years who go and climb the mountain every day, which is marvellous if you have the time and means.
After our climb back down, we took some blankets to the lawn and saw the laser show (I used to go all the time, when we lived in the area during my younger years, but I hadn’t seen it in a long time). There is a new company in charge of the whole production, and they are using a lot more in the way of projections, pyrotechnics, and the like. It’s not a bad show at all. If you are visiting the Atlanta area, you should add it to the “see list” for one evening.

A little while back, I got a comment from Zane over at AmieStreet.com which kicked off an email conversation about this whole Amie Street Music Wednesday meme. Apparently, The crew over at AmieStreet have been noticing a difference in sales and traffic from this bit of blogger activity, and wanted to show some love by sending a slick tee shirt. It is a gray American Apparel Tee with an awesome pinball table theme in pink featuring a bunch of terms used in the amie street community and on the site in general. I really dig it a lot!
Since a post like this is “nothing without pics,” I have a few shots here in my back pocket. (just ignore the pocket lint and empty gum wrapper):

They were out of my size, so this one is really huge now. I’m hoping that it shrinks up a bit when I launder it the first time.
The meme was thought up by Mark over at Mouseclone after some discussions about all the new music we were finding regularly on the AmieStreet website. After putting together the original tracker, he was able to get in touch with some of the development team, who helped in providing the embedded player with the “skinning” options, and then Mark’s work on the Wordpress plugin started to really take shape.

I’m glad to see the sites doing well, and have found amiestreet to be a great place as a music consumer to find new and interesting bands, and see it as a hot spot for independent artists to promote and sell their tracks, find new fans, and to connect with the community.

I got the girls into a drama camp at a community theater near my parents’ house over last week. My sister’s daughter and my older brother’s daughter were able to attend camp as well, which was really awesome. The camp was over one week, with two full performances on this past Saturday. The production of Robin Hood was really funny, and it was amazing to see how much all the kids had learned and prepared over the course of five days! I am trying to convert some of the video I took at the show into a youtube-friendly format, and even into a format I can use to create either a VCD or a full DVD for the parents/grandparents to keep. The camera I borrowed saved the clips as ASF files, which I can view just fine in Totem or Xine, but the cd/dvd authoring apps I’ve tried don’t see them as a “video source”. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them… (Sherri! help!)

I’ve been holding the cards long enough on Simon Wilcox, and really wanted to share her tracks with you. She’s a singer and songwriter, and *yes* she has a guy name. If any of you were fans of The Kooks, the voice will sound familiar. I really like the fresh intensity of the “Eyes On You” track, and find that this is a good collection of tracks to have for driving or to listen to while indulging the right-brain, whether that be drawing, painting, photoshop work, or creative writing.

This week, I was getting back into some electronica, but kept looking for something that was complex yet danceable. Then I stumbled onto this single by Stella & The Doggs. Stella is notable for her involvement in the Manchester band called Intastella in the early nineties, and refers to this new band and album as “Dark, electro pop”. This track, “Supersize” has interesting lyrics and a building beat that also makes it a good accompaniment to night driving. “Star, you know how gorgeous you are/you lost your mind in my car/star - it’s all too much. More money, more love, more money, more sex. Look what they’ve done/They supersized…” The guitars are prominent without taking the front seat, all while keeping the European feel.

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This week, I am talking about a band called “ones and zeroes”, or more exactly, 0N3S & Z3R0S. This three-peice is from Northern California, and has a unique sound, melding the sounds of electronica loops and effects with traditional instrumentation and alt-grunge vocals. After you sample “Mind Run Free”, Click on the “more by this artist” button and make sure to hit “Nothing Left” and “Rose” while you are checking out the 0N3S & Z3R0S.

This week, I wanted to draw some attention to a band called Red Guitar, a band from Kansas City with a folksy rock sound and songwriting combination that makes me think of Tom Petty. They have also been compared to The Fray, Ryan Adams, and Coldplay. Red Guitar is another one of those bands I have found on Amie Street where I purchase all their music, and *almost* feature them for a few weeks in a row, then wait in a vain attempt to choose a single song to highlight. Be sure to listen to “Angel Across The State Line” and “Jump Out On The Water”.
This track, “Let’s Go Out,” is about feeding wanderlust as both an activity for both searching your own soul and for exploring relationships with your travelling companions.
Today, the national average for a gallon of gasoline is at 3.50, and traveling is a headache. Spring is in full bloom, and schools are out in another month. It’s more difficult and expensive to get out and roam, but that spirit is as important as it ever was.