Tuesday Timewarp: Forget Nicole... Here's Lionel

I wasn't a huge Lionel Richie fan in my day, but he did create one of the best Latin based pop songs of the early 80s and one of the best dance videos ever made. (Think of how NEW some of this dance was to the American public.)



Doesn't this totally make you miss bright colors, chunky jewelry and perms?

Ok, there's a new Law & Order on tonight. Gotta go!

Timewarp Tuesday/Wednesday: The Late/Early Edition

My dear boyfriend got back from Germany yesterday. In the fall and spring, my boyfriend travels enough that I get a lot of "me" time, for better or for worse. Thankfully, he is a very attentive boyfriend. I certainly have had boyfriends who are more physically present, but who have otherwise checked out.

So, last night, we had a computer moratorium, which was quite remarkable since he is also quite the computer nerd (heh, heh). Hence, today's late/early edition.

Since I am taking German these days. This is Dienstag Timewarp. Here's my favorite German punk.

Timewarp Tuesday: Photography of Me

My scanner arrived today. True to my name... Analog in Digital...I've taken on the ambitious project of digitizing important family photos and other critical documents.

So, here's a little song about photographs. If you didn't try to style your hair like A Flock of Seagulls, then you can hardly call yourself a child of the 80's.



And here's a little taste of things to come. Here are my brother and I at the Silver Dollar Fair, circa 1974 is my guess....Vrrroom, vrrooom....

Saturday Sighting: Obama and Me

One of the cool things about living in Washington, DC are the "celebrity" sightings. Friday I was walking down Connecticut, iPod on (learning German... "Woher kommst du?"), when a woman in a black trenchcoat and an earpiece puts her hands up, stopping the sidewalk traffic. Out from the Washington Sports Club (a local health club chain), come a group of men in black, including in a black athletic wear and a baseball cap, Obama! Off he went into his getaway vehicle. It all happened so fast.

I wasn't quite this close, but almost. This is from the Obama campaign office in the building where I work. While I vote in DC, I'm thinking of volunteering for the campaign since I spend almost 1/3rd of my current life in the swing state. Obama's looking especially shiny. It must have been the workout.

By the way, this morning while I was on my way to German class, the streets were blockaded for, I presume, Bushy. *Yawn*

Timewarp Tuesday: Vintage U2

Another vintage clip. Why U2 this week? Well, as I've been developing my guitar calluses, I actually learned how to play "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (chords, not all the cool stuff the Edge can play) this week in addition to having a "Sunday Bloody Sunday" this last weekend. (See last post for clues.)

I can't tell you how many times I've watched this footage from U2's "Live from Red Rocks" concert. It came out in 1983, during the early MTV days when they still had lots of music on "Music Television." They broadcast the whole concert several times. Do you know how many times a 14 year-old music lover can watch this seminal concert?

The answer: many, many times.

I own the live album on vinyl, too.

Timewarp Tuesday: The Bee Gees Vortex

This week I'm going a little further back in time, but my contemporaries will appreciate this one. How this week's timewarp came to be... honestly, I was a the gym and heard the song "Emotion" by The Bee Gees. As I'm in a premenstrual funk/bloat, I thought. How appropriate!

Except then I got suck into the vortex of YouTube. You know, the one where you watch one thing, and then it suggests a bunch of new videos and then you watch one of those, and so on and so on, like a bloody shampoo commercial! Anyway, I went from Bee Gees to Andy Gibb to Leif Garrett to Leif Garrett with Brooke Shields to The Blue Lagoon and then I knew I was in the deep end.

So, back to dry land and to the Bee Gees images that are emblazoned in the minds of any girls who ever had disco dancing contests in their basements. Enjoy. (But don't get dizzy. I kinda did, but thankfully, I was sitting down.)



And here's "Emotion" in case you were curious. I vaguely remember the late 70's negligee-lip gloss-bedroom eye style. Man, were those wild times! (FYI: The Bee Gees do the back up vocals, if you're not clear on the connection.)

Sunday Sober: Welcome to DC

A few days after the fact...but on 9/11 the Dupont Circle metro station was swarming with police. Not putting together that they were on alert because of 9/11, I decided to take a picture, as I often take pictures of cops, ambulances, and motorcades.


I snapped this shot, the cop turned around, having noticed my camera flash, and I ducked into the train, my heart racing. "Shit! What have I done! He's going to memorize the car I'm on and I'll be picked up at Metro Center and put under suspicion as a part of a terrorist plot! What I am thinking taking photos in the Metro in DC on 9/11!"

Well, that didn't happen. I made it to work as usual. Phew.

Tuesday Timewarp: Vintage Bjork

I was out late again tonight, so not much commentary. I always enjoy Bjork's otherworldly music to take me to dreamland. Here is some true vintage Bjork a la the Sugarcubes. I saw the Sugarcubes in 1989 at the Shorline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California when they were touring the album "Life's Too Good." I could have sworn PIL and New Order were on the same bill.

Bjork looks like a baby here. Enjoy the fun, predigital effects in this video, too.

Saturday Stay-Inside: What You Can Do When Staying Overnight in the Munich Aerport

As we on the lEast Coast are hunkered down for Hannah, I will share an informative photoessay I produced especially for AiD readers called "How to Entertain Yourself Late at Night in the Munich Aeroport after Everyone Has Left the Building."

Simulate the view from the cockpit and realize that it is actually incredibly dull, especially since the stewardesses stopped wearing cute outfits.

Experience the podlike structures straight out of 70's sci-fi movie sets. Runner!!! (This is where I slept, btw, and I didn't feel as renewed as I thought I would sleeping in a pod.)

Help yourself to as much kaffee and news as you like! Wilkommen!

What you do after you've drank all of the kaffee you like. (Until they shut off the TV at 11.)

Pretend you are the bionic woman by running up and down the moving "walk"ways.

Hmmmm. Tempting.....

Admire Bavarian Motorwerks engineering in Bavaria.

Take your time choosing a seat for you 6am flight.

Timewarp Tuesday: The Wednesday Edition

As my friend Jessica calls it, this is a SUPER timewarp since it is in fact late. (I haven't really figured out the relative physics of that. Let me know if you do.) As I was gagging myself with a spoon listening to Rudy Guiliani tonight at the RNC, I was hoping to come up with a thematic timewarp. Jessica said anything from the 80's would work since the Republicans appear to be stuck in the 80's. Good point, Jess!

Since I wasn't really feeling the love from the Republicans, here's a whole lot of love from ABC.

Monday Mellow: Scenes from a More Tranquil Sea

A big PHEW for my beloved New Orleans this evening.

As promised, more sights from my vacation.
Here is a video to contrast with water lapping over the Industrial Canal in NOLA.



And since that one is a wee bit short, here is another of Wood, Florian and Richard playing in the water.

Tuesday Timewarp: Cool for Cats

Squeeze was in town recently. I was out of town, but here's a flashback to the early 80's. Romeo and Lucky especially like this song. The German subtitles are for my boyfriend's benefit.

Sunday Slow-Down: Back from Vacay

After just a mere 40 hours of travel back to civilization (Washington, DC) from the birthplace of civilization (Greece), I return to blog central.

I took a rare pic of myself on this trip, but here is one from day one, after lazying about in bed most of the day one (jet lag-induced). It hardly looks like summer, right? It rained 2 of our 3 days in Berlin. Thankfully, we had a very cushy bed and the Olympics on tv.


We headed out to eat shortly there after at one of Wood's favorite Turkish restaurants. (Berlin has the largest Turkish population outside of Turkey.) I admired the place's multicultural touches. And then we enjoyed our celebratory, vacation-commencing glasses of German beer.
Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, Wood got violently ill in the restroom and we rushed back to the hotel. By 2am the next morning, I insisted we go to the hospital so he could get IV fluids. It was an inauspicious beginning.

We spent a fair amount of the next day in our very lovely hotel room with its very lovely view.

To be continued....

Saturday Sojourn: Kittens Left to Their Own Devices

I'm about to leave for Berlin and Naxos (Greece), so the kittens are being left to their own devices (and the pricey catsitter).


Here is a rare picture of them lying next to each other. It was Romeo's idea. Lucky likes her personal space. This lasted for, oh, about a second. Romeo will try to work you in trance.... turn away before it's too late!!!!

I may or may not blog over the next two weeks.

Tuesday Timewarp: These Are The Days

One of my favorite bands in college hands-down was 10,000 Maniacs. Much like R.E.M.'s Murmur was to my older brother's cohort, In My Tribe was to my friends, meaningful college pop, full of idealism. (Remember idealism?) I saw the Blind Man's Zoo tour while in college. Natalie Merchant is one of the most genuine artists I have ever seen perform.

Here's a little bit of Our Time in Eden. This particular song always inspires me to live life to its fullest. It also reminds me how popular baggy clothes and bob haircuts were in the late 80s/early 90s.

Saturday Sentiment: Oh, Sh*t!

I was going through my photos and just realized what I caught on camera. Just moments after that cyclist was struck.

Friday Freeflow: Waiting for the Catsitter

Yes, I admit it, friends. My first decent blog post in a while...

It's Friday evening, and I am waiting to meet with the catsitter that will take care of my kittens while I go on vacation to Berlin and Naxos. Friday evening is a good time to unwind and process all the stimulus from the week... kind of like how your dreams process all the random sights and sounds from that day. Basically, Friday is the colonic of days, which is why I tend to like to sit still, so I can flush everything out of my system. It also makes me feel better to think there is a reason I'm at home talking to my cats and waiting for the catsitter.

Remember that cyclist that I featured in the blog a few weeks ago? You probably remember the photo. The ghost bike still sits at Connecticut and R Streets.

I had been talking to my boss about how I wished I could ride a bike in DC, but that the bad drivers make me nervous. He mentioned that this cyclist was struck by a garbage truck. Ugh. Wow. A helmet doesn't protect you from that.

It's getting down to the wire on So You Think You Can Dance? Can you stand it???


I know my fellow dance fans totally get it. Believe it or not, I'm so addicted that I've resorted to reading the forums on the SYTYCD? website although I don't understand the strange dialect they use there. The posts overwhelmingly include comments like "OMG! That wuz so hot!" and "Puhlease! I h8 (enter dancer's name here)!!!" Perhaps someone can e-mail me a translation.

I FINALLY reunited with one of my good gal pals from college. Amy lives in Bristow, Virginia which is about 40 miles outside of DC, with her husband Jim (also a friend from college) and their two kids. We got back in touch last summer when I was "between jobs." That was June 2007. Please note that it is now August 2008. It was great to see her, but I now realize why I sit home on Friday nights. Between kids and commutes, thirty-something people are too damned busy here to have social lives. Case in point...I am getting together with my friend (a new mom) Susan next week and I haven't seen her since, oh, last June! And then there are a couple more friends from my past: Jay, who I've been trying to meet up with for about four months, and John, a more recent project, but both have kids under 5. Surprise! Not that I want to live in kid-ville. (I don't) But I'm so over hanging with twenty-somethings. (Minus a few especially cool ones.) Albeit my boyfriend is 28, but deep-down he's 45.

Speaking of reunions, my friend Beth came to town a week ago.


One benefit to living in DC is that it is a place people visit (for work or "pleasure"), which can't be said of Salt Lake City, except for a small winter sport contingency. Beth was the most recent in a trio of friends who have had conferences in DC in 2008. (Shout outs to Erika George and her annual international law conference and Susan Rutherford and her, uh, sprinkler runoff conference or whatever it was.) Anyway, I always enjoy the visits, especially since it reminds me that I do, in fact, have friends. Come to DC!!

Ok, where is that cat sitter?

Tuesday Timewarp: Dark Rooms and Liz Phair

I have a ticket to the sold out Old 97's show at the 9:30 Club tonight, but have decided instead to stay home watching Weeds. (Unfortunately, not smoking weed.) I think my body, my shoulders in particular, is reconfiguring itself. Between the hot baths, icing, weight training, yoga, and racquetball therapy (ask me later), I hope to eventually get over a hump physically somehow. In the meantime, the pain has gravitated to my neck and head, so I am lying still in a dark room.

Here's a sold out show at the 9:30 to which I don't have a ticket.



Ok, back to Weeds now.

Saturday SYTYCD: My Faves

A few weeks until the So You Think You Can Dance? finale... Here are some of the highlights this season. Catch it on FOX Wednesday nights at 8pm. You'll see that I obviously love Katee and Joshua since they appear in half of my fave dances.

Tuesday Timewarp (x 2): Return to Our Roots

It's been a few weeks since we did a true "Timewarp," so here are two from Visage... Enjoy all all the boys in make-up and the neato visual tricks they employ.