Eric Whitacre Looks Like Sawyer

Doesn't he? If you don't know who Sawyer is, I won't bludgeon you with my love for LOST.

Eric Whitacre is a phenomenal contemporary composer. If you've never heard his work, it's hard to even describe what he does, 'cause it's probably like trying to explain Pinkberry to someone who's never had it.

I sang his work "Sleep" with the Master's Chorale while I was a student there, and he's been one of my favorites ever since.

Many of you know that I'm not really a "choral music type of guy" but it seriously is a tremendous genre, and when you stop to think about the music that is coming only from voices, it's pretty amazing.

Check out Whitacre's website, and you can go to his main page, or his Myspace. On his Myspace, you can listen to the full recording of "Sleep." Highly recommended. His main page has shorter samples of many more of his pieces. He's also got various CDs on Amazon. Enjoy.

Valentine's Day

Here's a song I wrote for Jess for Valentine's Day. And yes, I did get her other "real" gifts! (I know some of you were thinking "cheap musician...")

:-)

"No Tomorrow"

This life leaves so much left undone
We try to take it all in stride
When it all just unravels
And the world falls apart
You pick me up off the floor

You are more wonderful than all
And I hope you know how beautiful I think you are
When there's nothing left in me
And my strength is all gone
There's just one thing left to do

I'm kissin' you like there's no tomorrow
Kissin' you like there's no time left
Kissin' you like there's nowhere else I'd rather be than here

I love sitting by the fire with you
You are my flame; you're my desire
I can't believe that I'm with you
I can't believe that you're mine
There's just one thing left to do

(Repeat Chorus)

So when our skin gets wrinkled
And all my hair falls out
You'll still be by my side
We'll hold each other tight

And it's not always easy; hard work, for sure, at times
But you're worth it all my dear
'Cause true love is hard to find!

Ah Cultural Differences

This is a video for Japanese students to help them learn English phrases.

I won't say anymore, just watch:

Gin Blossoms

Remember them? "Hey Jealousy" and "Till I Hear It From You" are the tracks I remember from this pop/rock/pre-grunge band.

Anyhoo, they're "headlining" at a cycling expo and festival up here at the Valencia Town Center on February 23rd from 4-10 pm. Apparently there's this big cycling race throughout a lot of California, and they're passing through, in from Santa Barbara, on Saturday the 23rd.

It's free, so if you'd like a dose of early '90s nostalgia, come on up, and give me a call if you do.

Guitar Parodies

This will probably be funny to you if you are into music at all, and especially if you play music.

This guy Santeri Ojala takes this live footage of bands/artists performing, and he overdubs himself playing over the top of them! It doesn't sound all that interesting except that he makes these established artists sound like the beginners down at the local coffee shop!

I can't explain it much more than that, so just give 'em a chance...

Santeri Ojala's Guitar Parody Videos

Pandas

I got this from my friend Lisa Martin's blog. It was titled "Hahahaha." You'll see...

Glorious Hot Dogs

Remember the day you started to hear about all those mysterious things that were in hot dogs? Like how they'd grind up everything that was left over once the rest of the good beef had been used, and then roll it up in links?

I bet you started to think "hmmm, the taste of the hot dog isn't worth this mystery of what gets ground up in there," and either gave up on them, or at least bumped them way down on your list of approved foods.

Well I'm here to say that the culprit we should have had our eye on this whole time was a chemical compound called nitrate. Nitrates have been ruining the taste of hot dogs for years, and depriving us of a staple of the American culture.

Oscar Mayer has these "new" hot dogs called "Oscar Mayer Naturals," and if it's been awhile since your last good dog, it's time to check these guys out. The "Naturals" have no Nitrates or Nitrites (the evil twin of Nitrates perhaps?), and taste better than any hot dog I've ever had in my life. Period.

I figured since I was doing a little PR for Fisherman's Friend in my last post, I'd take another foray into the food critic arena, and recommend these dogs. Try them, and you'll be hooked. For real. So far I've only found them at Von's, but let me know if you see them anywhere else!

I'm also happy to say that we've found a these glorious nitrate-free dogs in a Trader Joe's version, so you can feel extra good about your investment.

So why not have hot dogs for dinner tonight? Let's stop relegating them to the crappy barbecues, and toddler birthday parties, and get them back to the position of prominence that they deserve!

Remember: Nitrate-Free Is The Key!

Fisherman's Friend

I've been battling a cough for the last week or more, and I want to take this moment to thank Fisherman's Friend for being one of few sources of relief.

When I was at Master's, Dr. Plew used to talk about these drops that he'd use when he was fighting off a cough, called Fisherman's Friend. He mentioned that they'd saved him on more than one occasion, and that he swore by these things.

Dr. Plew is an "up-in-front-of-people" kind of guy. If you know him, you'd say that was an understatement. As much as he's in front of people, it makes sense that he needs an extraordinary kind of lozenge to keep coughs at bay.

Until this cough, I'd never needed anything beyond your average Halls, or the delicious Ricola drops. But this cough was a beast unlike any I'd battled in the past.

So one Sunday morning, as I wondered how in the world I was going to lead worship with this ferocious hacking, I stopped in at Albertson's, remembering Dr. Plew's fabled brand.

I'm converted.

The average Halls lozenge has 3.1 milligrams of the active cough suppressing ingredient: Menthol. Fisherman's Friend has 10. Enough said.

However, Halls does have a "10 milligram," extra strength version, which I tried upon finding no Fisherman's Friend at Pavillions when I needed to refill.

Not the same.

Something about those little soap-looking, cakey lozenges developed for fishers of the deep seas near Iceland and the arctic circle, packs a punch that no Halls can match.

"Do they taste good?" You may be asking. No, they don't. To quote the wise Ralph Wiggum, of the Simpsons, "it tastes like...burning."

In this season of flus, colds, sore throats, and those coughs-that-won't-let-go. I dare you to try Fisherman's Friend and not think they're the best out there.

I dare you.

Also, their website is really cool. www.fishermansfriend.com