KirstenL4W

I’m sure there are a lot of use who like cover music. Some of us find special joy in cover songs sung with an original twist.

Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine is a band that sings songs - not necessarily cover songs - songs that were originally written and sung by other artists. I say they aren’t cover songs because there’s such a humourous twist in these lounge style renditions, that it’s quite obvious that these songs are not being sung for the sake of being sung. This also isn’t a group that takes the songs and puts a whole new meaning to them, with new lyrics to beat, a la Weird Al. I hope you can all follow me. Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine sings these songs in the lounge music style.

You really have to have a sense of humor to appreciate Richard Cheese. Otherwise, you’re just not gonna get why Baby Got Back is so funny when it’s “swankified” (this is the term the band uses to describe what they do to the hits). Also, you really can’t be a prude. Part of the fun of a Richard Cheese concert is the way he “reaches out” to his audience - particularly the female members of the audience. It’s quite funny, actually. Here’s someone singing songs in the style of a washed up lounge lizard, who by definition is supposed to be a repulsive character but doesn’t quite get that. Richard Cheese takes the angle that he has a huge, female-centric fan club. At the concert that Boyfriend and I attended back in November, there was a CD sales table with two sign-sheets: Join Richard’s Mailing List, and one that said Women Who Want to Sleep With Dick.” What a kidder!

Now that I’ve inadequately described the genius that is Richard Cheese, check out this video:

Just testing to see if I can figure out the whole embed YouTube videos. If this works, then please disregard any future posts in which I declare that I can’t get it.

WARNING: Please do not click on the following video if you like PG stuff. Or PG-13. Or even R. This is not for the squeamish. Don’t try watching it if you’ve had anything to eat recently. If you think lots of stuff that happens in the bathroom is gross, don’t watch this video. If you hate goths with mohawks then don’t watch. And whatever happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, and from there it’s a rapid slide into the new year. The ladies magazines usually start the holiday scheduling with their September issues, but with so much happening in such a short amount of time, it’s easy to feel the rush.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be spending Thanksgiving with my sister in the Ft Myers, Florida area. It’s a crazy travel time because everyone in the country, or so it seems, must travel somewhere for the holiday. It was nice when I lived in the same town as the rest of my family - traveling to Gram’s house meant getting in the car and driving a half mile. Now I’m on the other side of the country from the rest of my family. I did travel home once, choosing a Wednesday-night red eye flight to arrive on Thanksgiving morning. Despite it being a heavy travel weekend, it seems that few people want to arrive at their destinations, at least by air, on Thanksgiving Day. Mom my happened to live very close to the airport that day, so she sent my stepdad out “to the store” for some milk. No one else knew that I was coming, so it was nice to surprise everyone.

This time I am also taking a red-eye, but everyone knows I’m coming. My sister and I have never really done the holidays with each other as grown-ups, with one of us hosting the other, so it will be a bit of a new experience. I’m also looking forward to seeing my niece Mia, who is doing well after her early arrival. She has a silly little laugh, and I get to hear her slobber on the phone until she decides to press buttons and hang up on me. It will be fun to see her, my sister, and my cousin in the Tampa Bay area. I always make it a point to try and see her too, and her son is 2 1/2, which will make for a fun visit. Funny, though - my sister lives 2 hours away from Cousin, whereas I live clear across the country, and Sis never sees Cousin unless I am in town.

As I was writing this blog post tonite, I went back and re-read my posts from a year ago - November 2006 - when I started on my trip back with my new car, took a detour to Florida when Mia was born, and came home to Vegas, got my cast off, and got a new job. I didn’t write as often as I wanted to, but in reading them over, I feel a bit like I was a better writer then, a better blogger. I don’t know. On the one hand, I miss being able to blog every day and dedicate many hours per week to my blog and blogging hobby, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t give up what I have now for anything, even if I am a WoW widow.

On Sunday night, Boyfriend and I went to see Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine in concert. For those who don’t know, Richard Cheese is a lounge singer, very much in the style of Bill Murray’s SNL character Nick the Lounge Singer, but this is different in that you actually want to watch it. The show was awesome! Schmaltzy, swanky, hip, and of course there was Dick! If you ever get the chance to see Richard Cheese perform such classics as Smack My Bitch Up, the Clorox 2 jingle, Another Brick in the Wall, and of course Christmas in Las Vegas, then you must get thee to a Dick Cheese concert asap, because they won’t be touring much longer.

And, the long awaited mix. Ok, for me at least. This is the first of two theme mixes that I’ve signed up for, and let me tell you, my fellow exchangers are very clever! I was originally going to do a theme of Rain, which is one I actually have wanted to make for a long time, and that mix came out really, really good, IMHO. But I received a mix on Water, and not sure if it’s the same group, but also a mix on Weather, so Rain got shelved for a bit. That being said, I decided to do my mix about traveling music.

Road Trip USA

• Road Trippin’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers BUY
• Please Come to Boston by Dave Loggins BUY
• Long Island Shores by Mindy Smith BUY
• Buffalo by Brown, Karaugh BUY
• Cleveland by Jewel BUY
• Allentown by Billy Joel BUY
• Raining in Baltimore by Counting Crows BUY
• Tennessee Waltz by Patsy Cline BUY
• Carolina in My Mind by James Taylor BUY
• Angel from Montgomery by Susan Tedeschi BUY
• Pensacola by Joan Osborne BUY
• Mississippi by Sheryl Crow BUY
• Stephenville, TX by Jewel BUY
• Wichita Skyline by Shawn Colvin BUY
• Omaha by Counting Crows BUY
• Don’t Make Me Come to Vegas by Tori Amos BUY
• Malibu by Hole BUY
• Anchorage by Michelle Shocked BUY
• Last Stop: This Town by Eels BUY

I broke a rule I have by including more than one song by the same artist (actually, I did this twice). But there were some pretty good songs, and it seems that some singers like road music, so what the heck. It all flows pretty darn good.

So there ya go, my latest musical adventures. Go enjoy yourself some music, will ya?

Since Halloween is coming up in just one wee, and since Boyfriend’s friend Zac just finished making this video, I thought this would be the appropriate time to post the video. (It was just posted within the last few hours, and I’m taking this opportunity to do some pimpin’, but still - you’ll like it.)

And for those wondering, I have yet to ride in a hearse, but Boyfriend has one up near Zac’s house in Colorado, and I understand that it may be making a move to the desert soon. I’m sure I’ll ride in it then (in the front, you silly people). Boyfriend wants to start a hearse club here, and we know a couple people interested in it. Once the hearse gets here, the club will be easier to plan. The hearse thing is new to me, but collectible cars are not. My Dad is big on cruise nights and classic car shows, so it’s a similar culture, but without the poodle skirts.

So there ya have it - the coolest video you are ever going to see this Halloween, and I outed Boyfriend as a hearse driver (he’s not a mortician, though. I knew you were asking.)

I went to see Chantal Kreviazuk tonite. She wasn’t touring on her own, but opening for Five for Fighting, but that doesn’t bother me. The ticket price was reasonable, so going to see her for a half hour set was very worth it. She played a few familiar songs, including the one you see above, and then played some songs from her new album, Ghost Stories, and the best thing is that I got to meet her after the show and get it autographed.

Actually, I lied. My boyfriend was dropping me off at Mandalay Bay to see that I got into the venue ok. Then, as I was being my boring old self standing there at the House of Blues all by myself waiting for the concert to start, I was checking the time on my cell phone and saw that there was a voice mail. I called Boyfriend back and he told me to go to the stairs by the bathroom. So I do, and there he is. He bought a ticket to see the show with me because he knew how much I enjoy Chantal’s music. Now is that the sweetest thing ever or what? He did enjoy the show, and said that she is a very good performer, even though generally that’s not his style. He’ll be back at HOB tomorrow night for the Type O Negative concert, which I will not go because loud raucous music is not for me, especially in concert. I’m just not into crowd surfing, ya know?

So I just had to type up this post and 1. share Chantal’s music with everyone and 2. let you all know that I have the Best. Boyfriend. Ever.

So there.

I had the television on the other day when I heard something familiar. I went to look and was greeted with this:

Bread, sandwiches, whatever. But the song was vaguely familiar. Isn’t it from Ren & Stimpy? I watched way too much of that show when I was in high school. I know all the words for the Log Song, which you can see here. And how about Powdered Toast Man? In any case, it’s just not right that something as wholesome as Sara Lee baked goods is being pitched with a song from the original cartoon for grown-ups.

Why is it that when I’m doing my laundry, as I’m about to bring my clean clothes in from the laundry room the sprinklers decide to spew water everywhere? I usually cut through the lawn between 2 buildings, cutting my walk to the laundry room from a half a mile to about 100 yards. But I can’t cut through the lawn when the sprinklers are doing their thing. I don’t have much luck walking on the pathways either, because the sprinkler heads are constantly being trampled on by kids in the area, which leads to water getting everywhere but on the lawn. So much for water conservation.

I still have a massive to-do list, but isn’t that always the way? I’m really feeling the need to get more organized, and it will come, eventually. (Oh dear, I just hear my neighbor next door fart. Through the wall. Thank goodness the smell doesn’t travel - it’s not the first time I heard that). Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. I’m getting there slowly but surely. I think I need to write my to-do list out so I can see it every day, and then check off things as I get them done. Or go back to writing it on my bathroom mirror, since I still have those markers in there. That’s what I’ll do. First on my list is go back to Curves. I used to work out there when I first moved here, until I needed to work a second job and life got in the way. Now, I only need the one job, and there is a Curves studio right next door to my office, so I won’t have much of an excuse. I like going to Curves, and with all the weight I’ve gained recently, I really need to get off my ass and get it done.

I think that’s about all for now. I still have a bunch of stuff I want to get done online, but I don’t want to be up all night.

I was driving home from work this evening, listening to the radio, when I heard the song “Call Me Al” by Paul Simon come on the radio. That song always makes me smile. The video is simple and funny, as seen here:

but it also brings to mind a very fond memory.

When I was a freshman in high school, my uncle, my Dad’s baby brother, go married to a wonderful woman. I was delighted to be a junior bridesmaid in the wedding. Their wedding was wonderful all the way through the ceremony and reception. During the reception this song was played, and my uncle’s new father-in-law was on the dance floor. During the chorus, he’d holler out, “Call me Al!” which was quite funny, because his name is really Al.

That wedding, and my aunt and uncle’s courtship and marriage, have always left me with the warm fuzzies. They met through a dating service in the fall, were engaged at Christmas, and married the following fall. My aunt fits in with the family like we’ve known each other all our lives, and even now, after 18+ years and 3 kids, I can see that they’re still very happy and in love with each other. It’s the kind of relationship that I’d like to have some day.

*Hugs* to my aunt and uncle up on the hill.

I finally went to see Little Miss Sunshine tonight. Thanks, Macoosh, for the recommendation. It was excellent - the kind of excellent that has one scanning the new DVD releases so as to buy it the minute it goes on sale. Here’s the trailer:

A terrific ensemble cast, and Steve Carell has never been better. I can’t say enough good things about this movie, so you should just all go out and see it, unless you have something against smart, independent films. But I don’t, and I thought this was hilarious - funnier than Tommy Boy. Funnier than Elf. Even funnier than The Forty Year Old Virgin. Those movies played up the comedy for the specific reason of labelling the movie a comedy. This movie had such a sense of realism to it and excellent character development, and that touch of reality is what made it so much funnier. Just go see it.

Now for the TV part. I don’t usually like to invite heated discussions by bringing up controversial topics because frankly, I have my opinions, you have yours, let’s just leave it at that. But documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock of SuperSize Me fame has a tv series on F/X called 30 Days, where he tries to, at the very least, get people to open their minds up about opposing viewpoints by immersing them in some type of foriegn culture for 30 days. I do realize that with any documentary, there are editorial liberties taken, but this show is very thought provoking and does its best to show both sides of the issue at hand fairly. If you get a chance to watch it, I highly recommend it.

Now, I want to know WTF is up with my broadband connection. My tv is working just fine, but my internet has been a bit wonky the past few days. I’ll be surfing online and all of a sudden my connection goes out. My modem looks just fine, all the lights are one, but I have to reset it and sometimes restart my computer. It’s really freaking annoying, but I’m hesitant to call the cable company because the modem reset works for at least a few hours, so the not-so-brilliant people at tech support won’t be able to get to the root of the problem. It’s just really annoying.

Well, it’s after 9 now and I still have to eat some dinner. I also thought of a use for the little pineapple snack cups that I bought a while back and haven’t touched. I’m gonna make Pina Coladas! I bought some pineapple sherbet and coconut rum, and I’ll crank up my little single cup blender and makes me a frozen drink. I don’t drink a lot and don’t know what’s in a real pina colada, but this will do the trick just fine. Cheers!

I’m amazed that after the day I had today I’m still awake enough to put together a coherent thought and tell you about my day. Work at the office was fine, Colorful Texan got back from vacation so it wasn’t so quiet anymore, which was nice. I was starting to think the 3pm nap was normal for the office. Then I headed out to Job#2, which I thought would be a typical Friday night a in Vegas - as in, we don’t work in or anywhere near a nightclub so it’s usually pretty slow. Not anymore. Besides the boatloads of shipment we’re still trying to find somewhere to put besides in everyone’s way, we had some amazing sales tonite. There was a lot of hootin’ and hollerin’ when we closed and ran the final numbers. I think it was some sort of record for us - maybe not, but it was pretty exciting. The store looked not unlike my family’s living room on Christmas morning, but we got it to a manageable level within an hour after closing. When we were cleaning up, I joked to Shoe Boss that I was starting to get a headache on my way in tonite, but it’s been so busy that I didn’t have time to feel the pain!

We shoe geeks also never get to go out together, the whole staff at the same time, mainly because we work ridiculous retail hours and some of us even have a life outside of work. But we did it tonite, because it was time to say goodbye. Our assistant manager has decided to go back to Japan. Not permanently, thank goodness, but for a little while because she needs to think about the next step to take due to some major life changes. She’s fun to work with, and I like to laugh with her about the differences in our cultures. We had a shoe that was called “Mostra” and I kept calling it “Mothra” - as in Godzilla vs. Mothra. I also told her my get rich quick scheme - I would open a photo hut in Japan. Anyone who’s ever travelled overseas knows how photo obsessed the Japanese are. I remember many times coming across a group of Japanese tourists and all of a sudden getting a dozen cameras thrust at me with requests of “Photo! Photo!” Then you hand them your camera and go thru it again, and half an hour later you’re on your way. And when Lost in Translation came out, she laughed with me when we talked about the scene in which Bill Murray’s character was filming the commercial, and the director kept babbling on and on in Japanese, but all the translator would say was, “More intensity!” Are you sure that’s all he said, because it sounded like it was more. Oh, there was lots more, I was told, but she never told me all of it. We’ll miss her, the store won’t be the same without her, and with any luck, she’ll be back at least part time when she returns from Japan.

Ok, so now it’s nearing 1am and I still have to get the pictures from tonite over to the rest of my coworkers, so I’ll just finish up this post, send the pics to my co-workers and get to bed. I’d like to get up before noon tomorrow (actually, it’s today now, isn’t it?) because I have tons of things to do before I leave for vacation, and I’m working nearly 40 hours between Sunday and Wednesday. No rest for the weary, but don’t worry, I’ll still find time to blog, somehow.

If you need a laugh, check this one out. Thanks, AJ, for introducing me to YouTube!

Warning: Some material may not be suitable for all viewers.

More Foamy clips can be seen here.