::saturday funnies::

You Know You Grew Up in the 80's IF:
(some of these seem like early 90's stuff, but ok, i'll go with it...)

You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE".

You watched the Pound Puppies.

Your parents got in a fist fight with someone in Toys R Us to get you that Cabbage Patch Kid for Christmas.

You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Belair"

You wore biker shorts under your skirts and felt stylish.

You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.

You owned those lil Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.

You know that "WHOA" comes from Joey on Blossom.

M.C. Hammer

If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock".

You had plastic streamers on your handle bars.

You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales".

When it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.

You wore a pony tail on the side of your head or a banana clip.

You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.

You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.

You played the game "MASH" (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House) with friends at school.

You wore a Jordache jean jacket and you were proud of it.

L.A. Gear.....

You wanted to change your name to "JEM" in Kindergarten.

You remember reading "Tales of a fourth grade nothing" and all the Ramona books.

You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF"

You wanted to be a Goonie.

You ever wore, fluorescent, if you will, clothing.

You ever wore "Multiples" clothing. It could be a skirt OR a belt!

You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off...

You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.

You took metal Lunch boxes to school. (Dukes of Hazard rules!)

You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.

You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.

You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.

Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.

You thought She-ra and He-Man should hook up.

You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged friendship bracelets.

You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.

After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"

You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up" and "Where's the Beef?"

You remember going to the skating rink before there were in-line skates.

You recorded songs off the radio with a separate cassette player/recorder that you got for your birthday. (It was your favorite gift!)

You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.

You remember Popples.

"Dont worry, be happy!"

You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights, under a jean skirt, with high top Reeboks or Keds with no shoelaces and a Benneton shirt with one big stripe across the front.

ET, The Gremlins and the Goonies were the best movies of all time.

You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"

You remember watching Rainbow Bright and My Little Pony Tales

You thought Doogie Howser was hot and you had a crush on the two Corey's.(Haim and Feldman)

You know that Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac didn't start his career doing phone commercials.

You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool. And you probably wore a "Debbie Gibson" hat too.

You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By the Bell", the ORIGINAL class.

You wanted a Volkswagen Rabbit after seeing the movie "License to Drive" with Corey Haim.

You remember when Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy and Emilio Estevez were best friends.

You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THRU THE HEART.

::to the chamber!::

last night i was invited to join my fellow coworkers at a dinner for the local chamber of commerce. free food! friends! fun! wine! i couldn't say no.

i sat at a table apart from most of my coworkers (there was no more room at the table!) next to my manager, our fsm (financial services manager), and some kids who were part of the "las golondrinas" clan. yes, josh, i told them how you has nickmamed it "the colon drainers". i do believe i got a chuckle. or i'd like to blame the chardonnay. then, there was jim & julie. apart from the necessary introduction, i think they quickly forgot that they were in a room with hundreds of people. at one point, my manager turned to me and commented something to effect of "they need to get a room!"

and, that's my story!

::new york state of mind::

::livejournal::

not sure what the point is, but i'll figure it out eventually. perhaps i will try to keep more of a theme to the 'muse and allow my livejournal page to express more of my daily thoughts & such. believe it or not, i feel an obligation to post some something of interest to a broad range of readers here and i try to refrain from the sometimes nagging desire to subject you to senseless dribble.

::strange sights::

new york is full of eye candy & wonderfully eccentric things. the following pictures were taken at the prada store in soho. i tried to be discreet in this one (sans flash) and it turned out wonderfully well considering it was taken, literally, from the hip!





this was the window display, but thankfully i'm learning some things about photography and had sense enough not to use the flash. besides, the reflections of passersby (myself included!) give it a great deal of character and just a wonderful texture.





i have so many wonderful tales from our trip, but this week has been insane, as you may very well imagine, considering recent events. bits & pieces will be trickling in, and there are plenty of photos to share, so keep checking back!

::in memorium::

still grappling with recent events....
josh & i found out when we were out to breakfast on friday at the restaurant where she used to work as a general manager. the owner knew that we were friends and told us shortly before we sat down to eat. for some reason, the fabulous fare he serves up just didn't taste as good that day. and it was sheer force of will not to order the pomegranate mimosa, because my whole body just grieved with the thought of erin at that moment: what she had experienced, the absolute horror of it all. i cried.

still, this isn't about me. it's about Erin, and her incredible bravery over the past week. and it's about the humanity and generosity of those whose lives this story has touched, who have reached out to lend a hand. it is encouraging to see such generosity, if even at the hands of complete strangers.

in lieu of flowers, please send donations in memory of Deborah Williams to Laura's House.

::it's just not like this::

when i began writing this blog, i hoped to grow my writing capabilities through personal experience. and, after visiting new york, i've certainly consumed a great deal & will therefore have much food for thought in the coming weeks. perhaps months.

still, i never expected to come home to such sobering news as one of my great friends, erin, discovered the body of her mother in a condo in san clemente. the only word to describe my friday: surreal.

it felt like most of the smoldering heat stood still today as i debated on whether or not to relate my experience to a larger audience. now is, perhaps, the poorest time to do so as i am hankering for my pillow. however, after a casual evening with close friends, i am touched by the outpouring of love for erin & her family from her family & friends & acquaintances. people have come out of the woodwork to aid with just about everything. and if you knew erin, let me tell you, she deserves it.

with that i go, slowly, to bed.

editor's note...yes, it was late when i wrote this and i just kind of took out a few things. i will update here to say that the boyfriend turned himself in on friday and pretty much confessed. also, chloe was found & is safe with erin. i also updated the like to what was a somewhat better link in the oc register.

::it's a new york state of mind::

there were a zillion wonderful things about new york city which moved me and i can't wait to go back. it is a strange feeling to be back home again, but sleeping in my own bed was a treat compared with the horrible hotel bed we crashed on late every night. we managed to stay on pacific standard time pretty much, so i'm not feeling terribly jet-lagged at the moment.

perhaps the interesting part is being away from the news for such a time. and to come home, intent on catching up on the usual blogs i read, and finding this article. read for yourself and you'll understand the shock. then imagine you too had just returned from new york and seen what remains in place of the once great world trade center twin towers.

::tally-ho::

well, folks, it's summertime. and summertime is known for many things. soon to be known by me, this would include: david letterman, the empire state building, broadway, old friends, le pain quotidien, soho, and much much more. so i bid you all a fond farewell for now and the 'muse will return to it's regular scheduled programming in about a week. nyc or bust!

::best of the worst::

Here's a fun game... First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on "Customer Reviews," and sort them by "Lowest Rating First." Hilarity ensues! It's the Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game! (true to the 'champ, i've also taken the liberty of editing for the highest level of enjoyment.)

A Mighty Wind
"Sorry folks, I did not laugh at all. It was depressing even. I am 46 years old and wished it was to recall the folk era but it did I did not see it as a comedy. But then I like Airplane and Austin Powers movies."

Abby Road, The Beatles
"I wish this album was as good as it's built up to be. It's not.
Here Comes the Sun is good, but there are a few slow, boring songs (Sun King, Because) and a lot of unfinished songs (I Want You, Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, Bathroom Window, Her Majesty, The End).
If it weren't for George Martin splicing these things together this would have been a mess."

Growing Up, Peter Gabriel (DVD)
"His background singer is NO Paula Cole and whatever New Jersey diner he found her at, she needs to be returned."
that would be Melanie Gabriel, his Daughter.

Hail to the Thief, Radiohead
"OK Computer, The Bends, and Kid A were good. This one, not so good. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I have ears and everything."

To Kill a Mockingbird
"Personally, I think the novel was a heck of a lot better than the movie. Even the box was misleading;I was SO surprised when it turned out to be in black and white, and I HATE black and white movies. They could've done a better job with this film."

Casablanca
"I rented this waiting to be blown away. I'm still waiting. I expected a lot more action. I'm pretty sure I will enjoy it a lot more when Warner Bros finally gets around to releasing the colorized version, the way this movie needs to be seen - the world is not black and white, why should our movies be?"

ah, the last entry was revealed to me from my wanderings of other blogs who took up the challenge. unbelieveable. perhaps the worst atrocity of it all were the gross misspellings.

::lundi musicaux::

wow. a week without blogging. feels weird. forgive me if this entry seems a bit disjointed. i need to enjoy this extra day off of work to the fullest!

movie scores are a passion of mine. itunes is currently spinning jon brion's soundtrack to eternal sunshine of the spotless mind as i type this. jb has a true knack for capturing the true mood of a film and the characters' emotions. in p.t. anderson's punch-drunk love, i found myself on the edge of my seat with anxiety, true to sandler's barry egan. i very much enjoy jb's use of harmonium, honky-tonk piano, pedal steel, slide guitar, and the dryness and simplicity of the drum beats he orchestrates. movie scoring is blossoming into another art form with artists like jb and danny elfman, both with unique backgrounds in rock, coming on the scene. i can't think of any other "rock stars" of sorts who have crossed over into this field (well, perhaps lisa gerrard), nor muscians of more dissimilar backgrounds. it is encouraging to see the innovations they inspire in contrast to the traditional formulas of john williams and james newton howard. it goes without saying that williams and howard have successful recipes for composition and both are frequently found on the A-list, side-by-side with another American blockbuster film. but doesn't that just make them a dime a dozen, with their widespread popularity and mass audience appeal?

i have much to learn as an aspiring composer and foolhardy critic here, but i do know i don't want to be a dime a dozen.