MP3 player, you turn me right round, baby...right round!

Right round through the same few songs over and over and refuse to cycle through them all! Why is that? This particular MP3 player is a 1 Gig and doesn't have a shuffle feature but I have almost 200 songs on it and it only plays a few of them then starts over playing through the same few again! I can see all the mp3 files are there when I look on the Windows Media Player, so why won't it play them all???

So frustrating. I just wanna grab my hairbrush as my imaginary microphone and rock out but I'm getting bored of the same 30 songs....anyone else have this issue and know how to fix it without erasing everything and starting over? I chose all praise and worship music for this player and handpicked/selected *just* the right songs, it would be a huge time consuming hassle to erase them all and start over. Can anybody out there help this poor girl make it work???

Rudolph with that nose so bright...

"...won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" Thanks Darlene, now that song is going to be stuck in my head all day!!!!

Isn't it annoying when someone hums or sings part of a song right by you and you spend the rest of the day with it replaying over and over in your head while you're researching the best diet pills for men or searching the want ads online? Heck, until I hear the song in it's entirety or go to sleep for 6-8 hours, it will be stuck there with my brain constantly trying to finish the song. Ack!! I'll get you for this Dar!!!

Casting Crowns Concert-Tonight!

I'm so excited, I'm soooo excited!!! I have loved this band since the very first time I ever heard the first song. Over the years, they have repeatedly blown me away with their albums. From Christmas songs to worship songs...they do it all! And they do it oh so well! Their latest album is called Until The Whole World Hears and there's a song on it with the same title that's very good. It's growing into another favorite of mine :)

I'm just so excited because I'm going with friends from church and I've never seen Casting Crowns in concert before. Busy brides, put down your wedding favors, waitresses put down your trays and make your way to the St. Charles Family Arena for the Casting Crowns show tonight!

'Wicked' movie buzz

I'm hearing some buzz about a production company making the Broadway musical 'Wicked' into a movie in 2010. Everyone here should already know, I am a *HUGE* Wicked fan, it is magnificent! The music, the characters, the costumes, the story, the music!!! I've seen it both times it has rolled through St. Louis and I have the CD soundtrack handy at all times for those Wicked moments I need to sing about. I already know the musical production will be coming back around again to the fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis in June of 2010, so how will the opening of a 'Wicked' movie within the same year affect the still touring production of the musical?

I'm having some reservations about the 'Wicked' movie being able to live up to the very theatrical and dramatic musical production. Will it even be a movie-musical or will they simply make it a movie more like from the book? We'll have to see I guess, but if you have not already seen Wicked the musical, do that first before you consider seeing the movie.

I am excited at the thought that the movie could be a good representation of the magic and pageantry that is the musical because every time it's over, I want to watch it over again! Stay tuned folks, this is a story I will be keeping my eyes on as it develops.

America, you done good! Kris Allen wins American Idol!

This season of American Idol was pretty good. I can't say it was my favorite though. I didn't feel particularly partial to any one contestant this year. If I had to pick, I'd say my favorite was Danny Gokey. I liked his story and his performances. After he was eliminated, I really thought Adam Lambert was going to win.

I mean, Adam has all the attributes to be the next biggest thing on the goth/emo scene! I just couldn't stand to hear him screaming anymore. There's a fine line between carrying a note and screeching and he crossed that line. Alot. I just figured the emo and goth kids who text to the friends they are standing next to rather than speaking in case an adult would happen to hear them, would have burned up the airwaves voting for Adam. The kids these days can text in their pockets without even looking! I didn't even bother voting to be honest, because I thought it was a waste of time and effort...it'd be like calling a Pleasanton motorcycle accident attorney even though the bike went down in Sturgis. You know what I'm saying?

But America voted well! I think Kris Allen is great and I'm glad he won. Congrats Kris! The finale show was great and I enjoyed most of the various performances. Adam fit right in on stage with Kiss (good to see someone does)!!! It was especially satisfying to see Tatiana being corralled by security as she tried to sing her way back into the competition. Never give up hope, sista! LOL In the end, Kris was awarded the winner and I'm excited to see what he will be busy doing in the upcoming months!

Robin Thicke is coming to my town!

Tomorrow night, Robin Thicke will be in concert at the Fabulous Fox theater in St. Louis and I can't afford a ticket :( Jennifer Hudson is opening and I wouldn't mind seeing her either! Waaah!!!

You may remember a post I did a while back about Robin Thicke, the man is so smooth, he can make baby lotion sound like the best eye cream ever made! He actually has a song about cocaine and makes it sound sexy! This style of music isn't even my 'normal' diggs, there's just *something* about him! I think he has a more recent album than 'The Evolution of Robin Thicke' but that's the only one I have or have heard. Still, shoot! I wanna go!!! Someone should totally give me a ticket out of the kindness of their heart, I only need the one ticket! :-{)

(click on the above photo to go to a 'Lost without you' video)

That's it! Tatiana is schitsophrinic.

The judges finally nailed it tonight on American Idol. They finally figured out that there are many faces to Tatiana :)

I personally think she sings just fine but she is (as my friend Patrick says) crazy! She's very entertaining to say the least. She's up, she's down...even when she seems on an even keel, you can't help but to think some crazy is *just* about to seep out from her. They should have put her through just for the entertainment value alone!

And what's up with that, all of a sudden she speaks with a new accent we've never heard before? Viva Las Crazy, fo sho! My condolences to all the Tatiana fans who are disappointed to see her off the show for real this time....unless someone has to drop out in a couple weeks....Tatiana! There's still hope, again!!!! ;-)

Review: The Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament MP3 Set

This is good, you're gonna love this! Imagine if you could just sit back, close your eyes and listen in while the stories of the Bible came to life in your mind. Now, what if I told you it would come to life with the voices of an all star cast? Well, you don't have to imagine anymore!

The Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament is a set of 3 CD's in MP3 format is over 23 hours of just that! Each book of the New Testament is introduced and explained by either Max or Jenna Lucado setting up the book in an easy to understand format. Sean Astin is the main narrator, you younger generation may remember him from the Lord of the Rings series.

The best part about listening to the CD's for me is the care and hard work that went into the background ambiance and how not only was there great musical accompaniment but also when the stories take you to different places, you can hear the movement. When someone runs from the truth, you hear their footsteps! For instance, when Jesus' parents came back to find him in the temple, you can hear the bustling of the market and town in the background! And in Revelation 4, when John is describing heaven and the thrones and the lamps, you can hear a roaring fire crackling.

This set would be great on a long road trip, I wish I would have had them when A and I drove from Maryland to St. Louis this past December. These CD's would make great gifts for people of all ages, really. I suggest, if you are thinking about giving someone an MP3 player, it would make an even better gift if you loaded it with the Word of God! I plan to enjoy mine for many years to come.

Coming to the Fox Theater: Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening takes its inspiration from one of literature’s most controversial masterpieces – a work so daring in its depiction of teenage self-discovery, it was banned from the stage and not performed in its complete form in English for nearly 100 years.

It’s Germany, 1891. A world where the grown-ups hold all the cards. The beautiful young Wendla explores the mysteries of her body, and wonders aloud where babies come from, till Mama tells her to shut it, and put on a proper dress.

Elsewhere, the brilliant and fearless young Melchior interrupts a mind-numbing Latin drill to defend his buddy Moritz – a boy so traumatized by puberty he can’t concentrate on anything. Not that the Headmaster cares. He strikes them both and tells them to turn in their lesson.

One afternoon – in a private place in the woods – Melchior and Wendla meet by accident, and soon find within themselves a desire unlike anything they’ve ever felt.

As they fumble their way into one another’s arms, Moritz flounders and soon fails out of school. When even his one adult friend, Melchior’s mother, ignores his plea for help, he is left so distraught he can’t hear the promise of life offered by his outcast friend Ilse.

Naturally, the Headmasters waste no time in pinning the “crime” of Moritz’s suicide on Melchior and expel him. And soon Mama learns her little Wendla is pregnant. Now the young lovers must struggle against all odds to build a world together for their child.

I remember teen angst. Not a time I would enjoy revisiting, but I know there would be plenty to do over again-differently-if I had the chance. I have a ticket for the musical on opening night, next Tuesday night. It sounds very interesting, I've never heard anyone talk about it, so not sure what it will be like. They have some videos on their website that seem ok so far. Think there will be any custom promotional products? I'll let you know what I think after...

What to do, What to do?

Fridays are paydays for me. Yesterday, after leaving the bank, I was so pleased to see this:

I thought the days of $1.xx gasoline were only a memory!! Something to tell the kids and grandkids about, like our grandmas told us stories of the days before telephones, tv's and automobiles.

Normally, I budget $40 per week for gas. Some weeks over the summer, I actually had to up that amount. I also have a favorite local BP gas station...more specifically, a favorite gas pump at that station that it seems when I fill up at this pump, I almost always have gas left over at the end of the week! Maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe it's wishful thinking and a little OCD.

Anyway, yesterday I was able to fill up my tank for $16!!!! I was so excited, I thought, what to do with the left over money??? I decided to put that 'left over' cash back into the economy and bought myself some new CD's! I visited my local F.Y.E. and picked up some used CD's and a new one. I even bought one for my momma, too :)

As far as my big weekend project goes, I have yet to start on it. I could blame the tv which is usually my biggest distraction, but to be honest, I've been online more than just watching tv this time. Oh well, maybe next weekend!

The Color Purple the musical - Review

***** SPOILER ALERT *****

I finally saw The Color Purple the musical and want to share my thoughts on it. If you have not yet seen it and don't want to know details, I suggest clicking on to some other page. Earlier in the day, I had read a review that gave some helpful information but I wish I had waited until after I saw the show to read it.

The musical was very good! I had not read the book (one is on it's way from Amazon right now, though!) but I am very familiar with the movie version of the story. So this is where I base my opinions. After I read the book, I will come back and have something else to share, I'm sure.

I must admit, I was very much looking forward to the music, I've always been a fan of Shug's song to Celie in the jukejoint and one of my faves is 'God is trying to tell you something' in one of the church scenes. The musical, however, had it's own music and songs and there was not so much as even the hint of the music from the movie. The musical offered up some new and interesting songs which were catchy and performed extremely well!

The cast was great, especially Jeannette Bayardelle who played Celie. Her voice was spot on for reaching those notes. I must say though, the musical was not quite the same story as the movie, I suppose it was geared more like the book. It's just that you are left with only a slight feeling of poor Celie. Whereas in the movie, your heart just broke for her over and over again. You were so vested in her character and all that happens to her. The musical fell a little flat in this sense, to me. I also could have lived without the further exploration of the homosexual relationship between Celie and Shug. The musical also showed that Squeak left with Celie, Shug and Grady, but in the movie, she only said she wanted to. As the yellow car pulled away from the house, only Grady, Shug and Celie were in it.

They music and singing and dancing in this musical were all very good, top notch! The acting between Harpo and Sophia was soooo entertaining, that woman can SANG!!!

All in all, it was a very entertaining show. I'm glad I saw it. My mom and I laughed out loud several times. As I said before, we purchased the book by Alice Walker the next day so we can read it together to get the intended story from the writer who created Celie, once and for all. I'll keep you posted on the outcome of that!

It's here! The Color Purple the musical

Today is the opening day for The Color Purple the musical at the fabulous Fox theater here in St. Louis, Missouri. My mom and I have tickets for seats in the 7th row, center, on the floor. I've never had such great seats for any show at the Fox! We are going with 2 of my friends who have great seats in the mezzanine level, which is the best area of the balcony to be in.

It's going to be great and interesting too. One of my friends has not yet seen the movie The Color Purple so we will see how that affects her opinion of the musical. I think it will be good! Of course she will still need to see the movie...it's a classic and a must see.

Tonight when I get home, I have to get all dolled up. I hope I don't lose my shoes, they are big on me...but I couldn't try them on, I had to order them, so I'll let you know how that goes. The main thing tonight is to not forget the tickets! That shouldn't be a problem though, I already have them in the special purse I'll be taking along tonight. I'll post tomorrow and give a full review of the show. I'm so excited!!

After the show tonight, we have plans to go to Uncle Bill's pancake house for coffee and pancakes and to talk about our thoughts on the show. I really love Uncle Bill's. It's this tiny little place that has been open since before I was born, I think. It's open almost 24-7 and it's wildly popular and known for it's awesome coffee, good food and great pancakes! I think they should think about franchise opportunities and open up a new location! Actually, they did once and then closed it down after only a few short years. Hmmm, I'm not sure what happened there, but the location in the city is still up and running! If you are ever in the area, don't hesitate to call me up and I'll meet you there!

My Fox tickets came today!

Yay!!! I'm all excited because my tickets have finally arrived for the Fabulous Fox Theatre Broadway series! Yay....................................

This season is the first time I am a 'subscriber' which means I purchased a ticket in the same seat for each show, which saves me money and offers benefits like purchasing additional tickets for the shows before they go on sale to the public! Nice. Purchasing tickets is easy for things like this these days since services like authorize.net and others came along. Just a few clicks and you got a seat!

First up, The Color Purple. I'm so excited, it's one of my favorite movies. It's so powerful and moving that just hearing the music and seeing the girls playing in the field in the opening scene makes me cry because I know what's going to happen! I can't wait to see how the movie will be interpreted to the stage. I'm so excited!!! I'm gathering anybody and everybody who wants to go along, let me know!!!

Momma Mia the movie, here I come!

Well, I'm finally going to see 'Momma Mia' the movie tonight. I will be going with my friend Karen and my own momma. It should be a fun time! I've never seen the musical, but my friend Karen who's going has seen it 3 times. So, in preparation of the movie tonight, I've been listening to Abba Gold: Greatest Hits all afternoon! (Like a bride-to-be might indulge in some Ephedrasil Hardcore fatburner in order to fit into that wedding dress she bought that was 3 sizes too small...why do people do that??) Anyway, I'm getting all worked up and excited about it. I'm going to go to the website and watch the movie trailer now :-)

"The Color Purple" the musical is coming to St. Louis!

As many of you know, "The Color Purple" is one of my all time favorite movies! I literally watched it again as late as last Saturday (5 days ago). Nothing makes me cry *quite* like that movie. From the opening scene, I am a basket case because I am thinking of what comes later on.

I heard some buzz a couple of years ago about a musical production well in the works. If memory serves me right, Oprah has alot to do with it, no surprise there. And why not? She has the money to do it! I remember commenting at the time, despite her involvement, I still want to see it! Looks like I will finally get my chance. I was pleased and excited to receive a Fox Theater booklet in the mail today announcing the shows for the 2008-2009 upcoming season because The Color Purple the musical is on the list! Yay!!!! The performance dates will be Oct. 21 - Nov. 2, 2008. I'd better start saving now for the tickets and the kleenex!

For Skittles...

I'd like to share this video found on GodTube.com. I don't think it's the official video for the song, but someone has thoughtfully constructed images & scripture to go along with it and it's a great rendition to enjoy. This song, 'Tunnel' by ThirdDay has been very special to me since the first time I ever heard it. As you listen, let the words fill your heart. You are not alone. I, am not alone.

Hope = God, the light at the end of this tunnel-your tunnel.

It's funny sometimes...

how you can find fun things online quite by accident, that you end up really liking!

So I have this friend, Patrick who DJs a show called 'The Patrick D. Show' over at MoJoRadioLive. Anyway, whilst trying to get to a point that I could listen to his show, I had to end up...well, I'm still not sure how it all works. There's now an iTunes player involved, basically the point of my story is, I've been turned onto this internet radio station called Live365! They have 10,000 radio stations all free and commercial free (except for the ones they inject to get us interested in buying a paid membership, but I don't mind a few of these from time to time. It beats real radio with commercials every 10 minutes for 10 minutes!

Oh, also, not to shock anyone, but I apparently like listening to the fun sounds of a station called Polynesian Underground. I like it! It's sorta reggea & stuff....reminds me of my trip to the Bahamas and such. Good times...

This is NOT a paid post! Look, it's link-free!!! ;-)

Fabulous Fox Theatre presents (again) Wicked the Musical!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

Dec. 12, 2007 - Jan. 6, 2008

I saw this a couple of years ago. I had not (and still haven't & don't want to) read the book, but I wanted to see it. My boss pooled his birthday bonus and Christmas bonus for me together and paid for my ticket ($60, big bonuses, huh?) But I went, by myself and I loved it! I then received the soundtrack on CD from my cousin Misty for my birthday! She wanted to go with me, but our schedules just conflicted to the point that she didn't get to go at all.

Now it's here again, and we have already began to make arrangements to get our tickets early. I hope we can get great seats this time. The most expensive seats are only $70 & $75 depending on which night the performance is on.

The Wizard of Oz is one of my all time ever favorite movies EVER!!! So I was leery of what this musical would do to damage my love for that. I was really worried it would change my feelings about it, but honestly, it didn't! I mean, they are sort of related, but I think this could stand alone as it's own interesting performance and not need to influence the timeless movie at all! It definitely puts a twist on the ideas behind it, and frankly I think it's quite cunning!

I am looking forward to all the songs, which by now I know by heart (sorry everyone who will be sitting around me!) I can't wait to see Glinda the 'good' witch "Toss, toss" her hair and Elphaba take flight for the first time! It's so powerful and moving and overall one of the most entertaining live shows I've ever seen! I can't wait to see it again!

Hairspray: A movie review

I went to see this movie on Sunday with my mom. We got there after the previews had already begun, so we didn't get our first choice for seating. We ended up sitting 1 row from the front off to the right side.

That being said, I did have an idea for what the movie would be about before I went in, because I had seen the Oprah episode a while back, featuring some of the main characters. I don't think my mom knew about it though. It was nice to see so many recognizable faces! I didn't realize there would be so many big names. I think that the brand new actress, Nikki Blonsky did a really great job. In a way, she reminds me of myself. I think everyone likes to think they could be an actress, if only given the chance (any talent agents, please contact me straight away!).

Over all, I thought this movie was pretty good. It was very predictable at times (and I've never seen the original either, from 1988 with Ricki Lake.) My mom made a comment towards the end of the movie, that they were wearing her out with all that dancing! It seems that once it got started, it didn't stop. I actually didn't care for John Travolta playing the mom in this movie. I mean, I get it, it was funny, but he does NOT make a good woman actress. He did nail the Baltimore accent in his voice though. I think I kept getting turned off by his manly hands and arms. Anyway, it didn't work well for me. I did really love Queen Latifa in this movie. She always has a great presence. Also, Christopher Walken was great as well. There's a scene with a whoopy cushion bed, that about made me pee my pants!!! Had I been at home, I would definitely have rewound it! Michelle Pfeiffer is one of my favorites from all times, so of course I think she did a good job. The movie delivered high energy, lots of fun songs that could easily get stuck in your head, and all in all a great story of determination. I would recommend it.

Spoiled by technology

I have been officially spoiled by technology. It was bound to happen, really. Maybe you've heard of a little device called a DVR?

My digital video recorder is such a great treat! I've had it for about 2 years or so. I don't know how I ever got along without one in the past! Recording shows for to watch at my convenience, rewinding live TV and even just to pause live TV in case of interruptions too! It's a busy person's dream for television entertainment. All TVs should just come with one built in or something! I am so very spoiled by it that I get frustrated when I'm at someone's house and they don't have it. Maybe I've stopped paying as close attention as I should because I've become a tad reliant on it??

Try this one on for size: I'm listening to the radio, right. I was only 1/2 paying attention between songs and I heard, "...blah...blah...call now....blah....could win $10,000! Don't forget to mention the secret word we just gave you, good luck!"*

WHAT??!!?!?!?!? What was the secret word???? And I promptly lifted my hand to the radio controls to rewind it so I could hear it again. Yep, nope. Now I'm frustrated for not being able to rewind live radio!? LOL It's only a matter of time....mark my words!

*The radio scenario was a dramatization...