Musical Randomosity

~ I bought my first truly copy protected CD. Let me tell you this, EMI, screw you. I had to download special software, but I ripped your copy protected CD and now the files will be on my mp3 player. I paid for that disc, I deserve to be able to do what I want with it.



If it weren't a Keri Noble CD that I desperately wanted, I would be so pissed off. As it is, I'm just mildly annoyed.

~ The Moody Blues are now the artist I love to hate. I've been listening to them more out of habit than love anymore. I think its possible that they've run their course. That makes me sad. However I just don't care anymore.

~ The new Matchbox Twenty is available for preorder on Amazon.



I can't wait for Exile On Mainstream, even though its a Best Of compilation. I heard there were going to be several "new" songs too. Yay! I love me some Rob Thomas. Oh and the song How Far We've Come is damn good.

~ Duran Duran...will they ever finish that new album they've been working on for the last 3 years. What a bunch of lazy wankers!

Take Me Back Tuesday - Week 136

From Music Memoirs

What bands from the 90's that have broken up do you miss?
Semisonic though I'm not sure they've officially broken up, but they haven't had a "real" release since.
Are Smash Mouth still around? I saw that Sugar Ray was doing a concert this year, but I think that I miss looking at the lead singer rather than listening to them, though I have to say I really loved that Every Morning song, even though it was played into the ground.

What was your favorite song from that decade?
There were quite a few good songs from the 90's
Semisonic - Closing Time
Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
Sarah McLachlan - Building a Mystery
Matchbox Twenty - Push
Garbage - I'm Only Happy When It Rains

What was your favorite album?
If I'm totally honest with you....




How did you feel about the whole "grunge" genre that popped up in the early 90's?
One genre that singlehandedly made an entire generation of people not wash or comb their damn hair and the music itself was vile with very few exceptions. I won't even start on my "Kurt Cobain was a talentless man" rant because it's not nice to speak unkindly of the dead. Suffice to say grunge = crap in my book.

What was your favorite 1 hit wonder of that decade?
Hands down it had to be Chumbawumba's Tubthumper. That one still gets stuck in my head every time I hear it.

* Note: Elvis Costello doesn't make the list, though he had some of his most awesome music in the 90's, I wasn't listening to him much then. Actually I wasn't listening to him at all.

Wandering Around In A Daze

This weekend combined with yesterday's trip to Pittsburgh for my father was just too much. I'm exhausted. I'm also so thrown off my routine I don't know how I'll get back on it.

Tired as I am, I'm going to try to go to Jack's because this past weekend was all about eating out and right now I feel like a fatass.

I'm scared to come out of this daze because I know when I do I'm going to be really depressed. The Atlantic City trip has been put on hold and that in itself will put me in a funk. No pretty lights until next year. ~sigh~

However that's a small price to pay for dad not having anything done other than the heart cath. We really expected them to be doing something a bit more evasive that would result in his not being able to drive for 4 weeks. That, thank god was not the case. He should be able to do his running around town by the end of the week.

I just hope that I can get through the day today without passing out cold on my desk from tiredness. At least at my brother's I got nearly 8 hours of sleep each night, but Sunday night I only got about 4.5 and last night about 6.5.

I'm just so exhausted. I don't know whether I'm coming or going. Someone please direct me towards my bed and give me a pillow.

And This Was The Day

~ Dad's heart cath was done and he's home now. Can I get a yee ha for that? They found 2 small blockages that they don't believe will affect anything so they didn't do the angioplasty. The valve that's not working properly is also not as bad as they thought, so they chose not to do open heart surgery to fix. All these are the pluses. The minus is he has a weak heart muscle and they need to find the proper medication for him. My dad is one of the lucky few that don't suffer from hypertension. His blood pressure is actually on the low side.

~ I'm extremely tired after being up at what we like to call o'dark thirty to take dad into the city of Pittsburgh. I need another weekend to get over these last few days.

~ I got everyone to Shadyside Hospital without getting lost or without printing up directions. I am officially the goddess of driving in Pittsburgh. Bow to my greatness!

~ Boston Market sirloin dip sandwiches are delicious. So are the mashed potatoes.

~ The cost to park in a hospital parking lot is insane even when you have a patient in the hospital. WTF? They cut you a break on by charging you only $3.75 when you are picking the patient up or there for outpatient/short stay surgery.

~ UPMC Hospitals are the cleanest and most friendly hospitals I've ever been in. The hospital my sister was in in December gave me the creeps.

Random 10 - Week 118

From Music Memoirs

10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)

This was my traveling music for the weekend...

Tommy James - Isn't That The Guy
Rob Thomas - Ever The Same
Dar Williams - Echoes (I love this song)
Plumb - Free
Justin Hayward - Celtic Heart
Toby Lightman - Real Love
Paul Stookey - The Wedding Song (There Is Love)
Elvis Costello - Who Are These People (Explicit Version)
Anggun - Still Reminds Me
Tom Petty - Big Weekend

And for my picture? My brother's cat BeeBee

I'm Home

I had a wonderful weekend. I almost had my mind off things that are going to happen tomorrow.

Today I went to IHOP for the first time. Mmmmm. Nummy. I hope that chain makes it to my area soon. We're supposed to be getting a few of the restaurants in the next year or so. Fingers crossed that Washington, PA will get one of them. Ham & Cheese Crepes are delicious!

After IHOP we headed to the Akron Zoo or as we were calling it, the Acorn Zoo. I've been to a lot of zoos and that one ranks up there as one of the nicest, right along with the Erie Zoo. The gardens there are spectacular. It was just gorgeous. Hopefully I'll be able to post some photos in the next few days, after things here at home settle down.

All I ask is that you keep my father in your thoughts for the next 24 hours. My fingers are crossed that whatever is wrong can be easily fixed and that he will be ok and home with us by the end of the week.

I'm In Ohio

I can't help but blog, there's a computer in the guest room. Wheeeee! Today we're going to go to Ohio's Amish Country, eat some good food, do some shopping and generally bum around the area. I've only been to my brother's once, when my hard drive crashed and I had him look at the computer to make sure it was nothing worse.

Tomorrow, I'm finally going to IHOP and then to the Akron Zoo. I love zoos. Zoos make me smile.

Oh I have to say I made it here without getting lost.

Can I get a "Yee Ha" for that?

I think so. I think I deserve a yee haw.

More later.....

Top 5 On Friday - Week 136

From Music Memoirs


Top 5 artists you loved in college.

I listened to some pretty odd stuff from 1992-1996 when I attended California University of PA.

1. Michael Crawford - Yes, that would be the Phantom Of The Opera. The only Phantom worth mentioning in my book. I loved musicals. I still do. The only difference is now I can't afford to go see them. Pooh!

2. Sarah Brightman - Dive and Unexpected Songs were the two albums I owed at the time. I loved the song Meadowlark, and well, everything on Dive. I think Sarah does really good new agey pop music.

3. Duran Duran - I didn't get into Duran Duran until The Wedding Album. After that it was just a bad thing. They became an addiction for several years. They aren't as huge a part of my musical life these days, but I still like them.

4. Erasure - I Say I Say I Say came out when I was in college. It was one of my favorite albums, and I was extremely happy to walk in a Sam Goody store and find the CD Single for Always. It brought me much joy.

5. Alison Moyet - Half of Yazoo and one hell of a great voice. I had to discover Erasure to discover her. It was definitely worth it. Alf has one of the best voices out there.

Mini Vacation

Suddenly the one thing I was looking forward too isn't all that exciting. I really wanted to enjoy the trip to Canton, OH that I'm going to take tomorrow, but I just can't now. I'm going to be a basket case the whole time.

At least I'm going to be staying with my brother, whose wife is a cardiac nurse, so she can reassure me that when I come home on Monday everything will be fine. Everything must be fine. Or as fine as it can be.

I'm just so damn tired right now. I've been getting to bed later. I've been trying to get stuff done.

But I am going to try to enjoy the 2 days that I'm away from home. However all I want right now is a few good hours of uninterrupted sleep, because no matter what I do, my body has been waking up earlier and earlier and I haven't been able to fall back to sleep. Maybe when I'm at my brother's where there's central air, I'll be able to zone out for a full 8.

I'll be leaving shortly after work tomorrow and staying until Sunday evening. My brother is a computer guru so I'll probably be able to post after tomorrow morning too.

When The Going Gets Tough

The tough get Prozac. Now pass the prozac. The dad situation is not too good. I'll be taking 2 vacation days on Monday and Tuesday because he's going to be having a heart cath.

They already know there's a valve that isn't working properly and they want to see if there are any blockages etc.

I don't know why this came as a shock to me. I was expecting something like this, really I was, but hearing it was like a blow to the gut. I saw the doctor typing in what was wrong with him, and I felt the air being squeezed out of me, because I knew that nothing he was typing could be good. When do doctors ever type good things into the computer? Especially cardiologists.

I should be used to this, right? Mom's been through it more times than I can count.

Right now I'm feeling totally numb. I refuse to cry. Crying is a waste of energy. It doesn't even do me any good, and believe me I'd know, I've spent more than my share of crying over the last few months. Crying gets you nowhere and nothing.

I'm not a deeply religious person, but right now if any of you send prayers our way, it would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully God hasn't forgotten my family and he'll make everything turn out well on Monday, or at least as well as they can be.

Take Me Back Tuesday - Week 135

From Music Memoirs


Back in the day before the internet ruled the earth and people went to malls etc...

What was your favorite record store?
Oasis Music, which was a division of the National Record Mart chain was my very favorite. It was a huge store located near South Park off Route 88. My CD collection grew large partially due to that store. I loved it to pieces and went there at least twice a month.

Are there any non-chain stores that you still frequent for your music needs?
When I'm in Pittsburgh I try to hit Dave's Music Mine on the South Side. They have a huge vinyl section in the basement of the store, plus they carry imports! That's a big Squee for a girl that loves music from Europe.

What was your favorite "find" at your favorite store?
I found a Duran Duran poster at Oasis back in the early 90's from the early days. I can't remember if it was Rio era or Seven & The Ragged Tiger era, but the poster was mint, and I paid only 50 cents for it!!!

Big Sigh

So much for all being well with the world. My dad had his doctor's appointment yesterday and the results of that visit weren't all that we wanted them to be. All is NOT well.

He's got Cardio Myopathy, and if there's someone that can better explain what that is, I'd be truly happy. I know it has to do with how well the heart is pumping. He has low blood pressure so the meds that they usually prescribe would lower it even more, so his doctor is sending him to a specialist "today" because she was at her wits end at what to give him to get this under control.

All of this makes me feel numb. I'm used to things being wrong with my mother, not my father. He's the older of the two, as well. Which means we really should have been expecting something to come along.

But who wants to think about that? I don't see my father as an 81 year old man, at least I didn't until yesterday. Now I do. Now I've got 2 parents to really worry about.

I went apeshit when the nurses in ER called him an "elderly" gentlemen. I don't like the word elderly much, I think I've mentioned that. (Even if its true)

Now I have to come to grips with reality, a reality that I really don't want to get a grip on.

Please keep my dad in your thoughts and prayers.

Random 10 - Week 117

From Music Memoirs

10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)

I was ripping some different music to my hard drive this weekend, so inevitably some of that was played. Plus there's the music I listened to on my drive to Washington on Sunday...most of which was accompanied by cussing, because my car CD player kept conking out, forcing me to listen to 99.3 The Pickle. (That resulted in more cussing or growling because that meant I heard someone doing their commercials)

1. Anggun - Still Reminds Me
2. The Monkees - Sometime In The Morning
3. Paul Stookey - The Wedding Song (There Is Love)
(I requested that one for my mother on Friday, because I'm a total goof)
4. The Farm - The Man Who Cried
5. Peter Tork - Giant Step
6. Paul McCartney - Mister Bellamy
(This song is so darn trippy)
7. The Beatles - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
(One of my favorite Beatles tunes)
8. Herman's Hermits - Silhouettes
(That was on The Pickle)
9. Shamen - Destination Eschaton
10. Tommy James - Lupe & Joe
(I miss hearing this song on The Pickle)

And now for the picture..found on the Pickle website.



Fishy has silly knees. So glad I talked myself out of going. I would have just embarrassed myself, going all gaga over his silly knees. Stupid cute DJ. Stupid self that still has a stupid crush on the stupid cute DJ. ARGH!

ARGH I've Been To The Mall!

I wanted to get a few new things for my weekend at my brother's so I headed out to Crown Center in Washington.

A few hours later and about a hundred dollars charged, I'm home with two huge bags of clothes. Can you say, "SALE?" I gave equal amounts of money to the Macy's and Dots Gods, who should be sufficiently pleased.

I have some really cute outfits too, for this trip and hopefully my trip to Atlantic City next month. I still need to get to Rue 21 because after last week's Pittsburgh trip, I've got a huge love for that store.

As you might have guessed, I love clothes. I always have. That combined with CDs have been my downfall over the years.

I try really hard not to buy out the stores, but you get me into a good department store or other shop and I see things that are super cute and I go on a binge. Worse still, B. Moss is going to be opening at Crown Center this week. ARGH! More cute clothes.

It wouldn't be so bad if I had someplace to wear them, but my job is super casual, jeans and t-shirts casual. I really need to find places to wear all my new clothes. And this is why I really need a date. However since I'm not going to get one of those, I'll just have to think up more places to go.

Saturday Stuff

~ I can't believe I ordered the two new Elvis Costello Best Of compilations on BMG. I told myself I would not to this, but they had a sale and I got them both for about 7 bucks and that includes shipping. ACK! BMG is evil. It seduces me.


The First Ten Years: Seriously I'm probably never going to listen to this one.



Rock N Roll Music: Again..I think I ordered them because Elvis Costello needs the cash to put the twins through college in 17 years.

~ I'm reading a wonderful book by Theresa Alan.



Granted no one is like a real human being, but it's extremely funny. It's about a group friends in an Improv troupe and their struggles to make it. It has the token beautiful blonde...the token fat girl..a gay guy...cos these are becoming a token character too.

I'm always a bit confused by how writers always make the heroine breathtakingly beautiful or dowdy, or so she believes she is. Its unnerving at times. Oh and even the dowdy ones have jobs, or can afford to have an apartment or a house on waitresses wages. Where the hell do these women live, anyway?

Ah but I shouldn't complain, it's a good book. I just long for something that smacks a little of reality so I could feel that there was hope for me one day.

~ Speaking of romance, ok, speaking of someone I still wouldn't mind hooking up with. Fishy is going to be in Smithton in a few hours. If I had courage, which I don't have, I would go just to say hi and to see how he would react to seeing me in the flesh as opposed to being crazy email girl, whose voice he knows without my even saying my name, even after 4 weeks of radio silence. "I'm the only one that calls him Fishy, besides his goddaughter" or so he said at one time.

But I know I won't go, for two reasons:

1. I don't want to be disappointed by him. If I planned this, I'd get my hopes up that he'd meet me and he'd realize I'm really a normal girl. (Well as normal as I can be) Our friendship would resume. Life would be happy again. My email box wouldn't be lonely anymore and I could listen to Pickle again in the morning.

2. All the pent up emotion would come washing through when I saw him and I'd either burst into tears or hit him. Both things aren't a good idea or a good way to make a first impression.

So you can see my dilemma and you can see why I'm going to be sitting on my butt at home or safely working out at Jack's. I don't think I could stand it the results of either of those reasons.

Top 5 On Friday - 135

This week's Music Memoirs Top 5 topic brought to you by a Pickled Herring. My brain thanks that Fishy too, because after the week I had, there were no creative topics to be found in there.

Top 5 musical acts you would travel more than a hundred miles to see.

The first 2 are artists that I've traveled 100 miles or more to see.

1. The Moody Blues: All but one time that I've seen them has been in a venue in another state. I've seen the guys in Youngstown, OH; Cincinnati, OH; and Atlantic City, NJ.




Would I travel that far to see them again? In a word, NO. I love them, but that love has been waning lately.

2. Gary Puckett: I went to Hersheypark to see him last June. Great show too. Gary is a total sweetheart



What a bunch of goobers. Would I travel to see Gary again? Yes. I had wanted to go to the show in Lancaster, but there were too many bands with him that I wasn't keen on seeing to spend about $55 for. Personally, LAR Enterprises, needs to bring him to The State Theater in Uniontown.

3. Elvis Costello: I would love to see him in a friendly venue, as opposed to any of the rat holes in Pittsburgh.


This photo was taken at his last appearance in Pittsburgh, with the camera I smuggled inside a bra. Muhahaha!

4. Nick Lowe: I want to see Nick terribly. He's coming to Philly. Three words. I HATE Philly. I'd travel to see him anywhere but there.



Nick is one fine looking old geezer. Wait. He's younger than the guy in the first picture. Something is wrong here.

5. Grey Eye Glances: I want to see this band so badly, however they stick near Philly too. Damn them! Driving through Philly is only done when I'm headed to Atlantic City!!!



Jennifer Nobel is my idol. If I were in that phase of life where you try to emulate celebrities etc. I think I would want to try to look her. I would probably fail miserably, but I would try.

Honorable mention: Paul McCartney, I would travel to see him if I could afford the ticket. Diana Krall, I would travel to see her, if her hubby was with her.

Stuff...Stuff...and Stuff

~ Someone please make the DJ stop showing up in my dreams at night. I don't want him there. At least this time I know why he was there, because my CD player conked out on me again last night and I listened to 99.3 The Pickle on my way home from fridge hunting. In doing so, I know that Mr. Fish is going to be in Smithton on Saturday morning. Don't worry, I'm not going, I'm not that foolish and I'm not that masochistic.

~ Dad's home from the hospital. Yay! They found nothing wrong. Grrrrr. My mother was put through hell for nothing. However nothing is loads better than something. But why just because someone is old, do they rule out the obvious. That the heat got to him and the quick change in temperature combined with not eating right, made him pass out.

~ I'm so sleepy right now I don't know how I'm going to stay awake for the rest of the day. I've had a bunch of late nights and last night I managed to get into bed before 11, but that didn't make me any less tired today.

~ I need to go to Jack's tonight. No exercise in 4 days is not good for my butt, especially in weather that makes me retain water like a sponge.

~ Found a fridge at Lowe's last night that's suitable for the family and under $500. I think an 18.2 cu ft. will do nicely. I don't care as long as it's got a decent freezer! Will return there on Monday after my dad's doctor's appointment to buy it.

Dad Update

There is still no word on what might have caused him to black out and fall on Monday. They've run every kind of heart test imaginable. Nothing so far, but yesterday's results aren't in yet. So today's another day of waiting and wondering.

We're all nervous because the tests yesterday were for Stroke symptoms as well as heart.

I remember when I walked into the ER and asked about my father on Monday and they said the last ambulance brought an elderly man awhile ago. I wanted to deck the nurse. That elderly man IS MY FATHER!

I hate that word. Because I don't think of my dad as being elderly. Occasionally we'll call him an old fart, but not elderly. That word just sounds nasty to me.

He's in good spirits and hasn't had any episodes since his spill on Monday. He wants to come home and we want him to come home too. I hope everything is clear so life can return to normal soon. This is too much craziness for me to handle. My mom is actually worse then he is when she's in the hospital.

Pray for our sanity my friends, pray for our sanity

Take Me Back Tuesday - Week 134

From Music Memoirs

I know. I'm a day late and a dollar short this week. Things were crazy yesterday though.

Are there any bands that you like now that you didn't like when you first heard them?
Most of the bands that I like from the 80's I didn't like then. It took The Wedding Album for me to obtain my deep and misplaced love for Duran Duran. In the 80's I hated them. They were overplayed and obnoxious. Now they wish they could get some airplay, however they are still obnoxious.

What bands that don't record anymore do you miss the most?
Oh there are so many. Oingo Boingo is high on the list. Glass Tiger is another one, though they still tour. So many of my favorite 60's bands aren't recording anymore. It would be fantastic to hear new material from Herman's Hermits or The Grass Roots. All you get from these people are those independently done live recordings. Blergh.

Did you ever buy an album by an artist you didn't necessarily like but because everyone else had a copy, you had to as well. If so, what was it.
In a word yes. I've done it twice and I'm ashamed of both albums. I own a copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller on vinyl ~shudders~ I also own a copy of Nirvana's Nevermind. BLERGH! I have no idea why I bought that one, except that I was caught up in the wave of bad music that started in the early 90's. I hate Nirvana with a passion that cannot be described. I will say one thing, I don't have that cassette anymore. It got tossed in the garbage, where it belongs, because I find Nirvana's music, and I use the word music very lightly, to be garbage.

Travel Plans

Believe it or not I'm still trying to get to Atlantic City this fall. I can't be sure it's going to happen, but I was on every website known to man for good deals on hotel rooms. I found Hotel Reservations today when I decided to give it another go at finding a reasonable rate.

All I can say is wow! I did get a better rate than I was finding on my own. The site was easy to use and like many of other travel sites, offered deals on flights, cars and even vacation packages.

Being the type of person that harbors delusions of fantastic vacations, I decided to do a lookup for rates on Las Vegas, which is my dream vacation. I got rates as low as $410 for airfare and hotel accommodations! Round trip, airfare! That's fantastic! It's better than some of the deals I've got through AAA. I think it was better pricing than what I saw one a few other sites too.

I know for Atlantic City, The Hilton Casino never came up at all in any of my searches, and it was the best rate by far for Sunday and Monday, which are the days I'd need the room for, if we go.

The best part is that the site is easy to navigate. Plus it offers discounts on hotels and flights etc all over the world. Not that I'd have any use for international travel, but one day. One day, when I get brave and decide to go to London or Dublin, or let's be more realistic, Toronto or Quebec.

I know that I'll probably use this site when booking my trip to Atlantic City in September, assuming that all goes well with my father in the next few days.

I checked on their rates for car rentals too, though nothing comes up for my area, other than the rental places near the airports, but from what I'm seeing their rates are very competitive too.

So I must file away for further use. I've already written the phone number down just in case. I don't know why but I always end up with questions and thankfully, you can talk to a person if you need to with this site. Reservations can be booked online or by phone. That's a plus for people that don't like to give their credit card info to a website too.

Now if only I had the money to take an awesome vacation, and if only my dad were home from the hospital so I could stop worrying.