Funk & Punk #2

- Duffy's album "Rockferry" has amazing songs such as "I'm Scared" and "Mercy", but I chose to blog about "Rain On Your Parade" because it's a bit weird. I enjoy quirky song lyrics such as those by Ingrid Michaelson, where the diction of the artist grabs the listener's attention immediately. "Rain On Your Parade" has quite a negative view point, but I like how she sings the song with pride and it has a nice rhythm.

Duffy was up against Adele for "best new artist of the year" at the 2009 Grammys and Adele ended up winning. Not many people know, but both artists are of Welsh heritage and Adele stated in "Nevermind the Buzzcocks" that Duffy is northern welsh, while she is southern....not a serious competition right? They're both from Wales, it's a win win situation since they're both great singers anyways.

- Shiny Toy Guns are one of my favorite bands since 8th grade and I can't believe Carah Faye isn't part of it anymore! You'll remember her voice from hit songs "You Are The One" and "Le Disko". I'm not sure why she left the band, but Carah definitely beats the new girl, Sisely Treasure (a PCD reject). Even so, I still support the Shiny Toy Guns because their unique and still cranks out great songs such as "I Owe You A Love Song". Check out their new album "Season of Poison" at http://shinytoyguns.com/

Summer 2009

[ ] Paint 3 canvases

[ ] Sketch future paintings

[ ] Yogurtland!

[ ] Eat at Osha SF

[ ] BEACH

[ ] Pack / UCSD

[ ] Exercise…”a lot”

[ ] SFMOMA - Georgia O’Keefe

[ ] SF Asian Art Museum – Lords of the Samurai

[ ] Get a driver’s license

[ ] Harry Potter: Half Blood Prince

[ ] Transformers 2

[ ] Stock up on green tea

[ ] Visit the Doctor

[ ] Re-pot Joshua tree

[ ] Finish painting Munny

[ ] MOCHA

[ ] Internship/ Job

[ ] Transfer desktop to laptop

[ ] Buy dorm supplies

[ ] Road Trip

[ ] Make shorts

[ ] Score a PETA t-shirt

[ ] ♀♪♂♫☼►◄↕1‼

[ ] Feed geese/ pigeons

[ ] Visit the animal shelter

[ ] Volunteer for AIDS Walk

[ ] Emerson: Nature Essay

[ ] BBQ

It Rained on End

I'm a pretty bad sleeper so I usually don't have dreams or even fall asleep for too long. But yesterday was a different story. Not that I'm complaining because it's good to have sleepy time dreams and fall so hard asleep that your mom's opera voice doesn't even wake you. I haven't had a dream in awhile until yesterday. It wasn't exactly a nightmare, but it was a freaky one. I don't think adults have nightmares do they? Or is it just me? I haven't had one since I was little. I only have freaky dreams these days, nothing that would make me scream...I have no clue which dreams scare me anymore.

My dream: It felt like I was in a room surrounded by four walls, but it was really outside in the open. The Earth seemed cube shaped instead of spherical (kinda like a fish tank). The skies darkened and it began to rain. My eyes were targeted at the sky the whole time and I didn't look at the ground, but I sensed there were others around me. So I kept staring at the sky and I noticed I wasn't getting wet at all, even though I was outdoors! The people around me began screaming and I realized the rain was falling up! It looked like one of those overdone music video effects where glass breaks and water spills, then they rewind the film to make it look cool? This was "reality" and it was really happening. The rain wasn't getting anywhere, it just compiled in our atmosphere, like a pool being filled upside down. I could hear people screaming and crying with fear and I knew it wasn't good because the rain was getting closer, inward. I thought to myself that if it kept raining our Earth would be under water and everyone would be doomed. I just stood there and kept staring like it was too amazing to stop. Water soon touched the tree tops and my eyes were getting tired. I stopped staring to rest my eyes and closed them. When I reopened them, the awaiting water of doom had begun to fall and break... It began pouring down like "normal rain" and the screams and cries became silence. You'd expect the compiled rain to hit the ground hard, but it made relaxing sounds that brought relief.

Rain: (http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/)

To dream that you get wet from the rain, indicates cleansing from your troubles and problems. Rain also symbolizes fertility and renewal.

To see and hear rain falling, symbolizes forgiveness and grace. Falling rain may be a metaphor for tears, crying and sadness.

To dream that you are watching the rain from a window, indicates that spiritual ideas and insights are being brought to you awareness. It may also symbolize fortune and love.

To hear the tapping of the rain on the roof, denotes spiritual ideas and blessings coming to mind. It may also suggests that you will receive much joy from your home life

SF Westfield + Winona

SF Westfield + Winona. Like grass hoppers we decided to walk around SF all day long….why we didn’t stop for lunch was beyond crazy. All I had for breakfast and lunch was a Naked: Green Machine Smoothie! I suggested we go to Haight halfway through day, but Winona wasn’t up for it and told me they had Kidrobot stuff at UO. Indeed that was the only store I was looking forward to anyways.

We wondered into Bloomingdales after the Vans store and were greeted by numerous amounts of scents. We realized we had hit the fragrance section and I remembered a cologne I wanted to try: Narciso Rodriguez For Him. So the dude: Chad Carreon greeted us and sprayed it on a paper square for me….ended up smelling like crap.

I think Chad had a thing for Winona, but of course she denies it (he gave us his card and Winona got some perfume samples, c’mon!!). He recommended us a few perfumes and colognes and my new favorite is Kenzo Power. The bottle is a little plain, but it’s designed by Kenya Hara and the scent is awesome. Kenya Hara is a Japanese graphic designer and curator who designed the opening/closing ceremony of the NaganWinter Olympic Games 1998. http://www.kenzopower.com/EN/KENZO-POWER.html

My loot of the day includes a Standard Cloth brand western shirt and a new necklace (I don’t quite get the theme yet, but it’s cool) from Urban Outfitters. They were having a “Yard Sale” and it really looked like one, junk piled on top of junk. Winona found a pair of Nike red suede blazers for half off. I wanted the Nike tweed blazers, but they didn’t have my size. It was a good day after all besides the tornado of hunger!

Funk & Punk #1

Nico Vega - "Iron Man"/Sarah Connor - "Under my Skin". Nico Vega's self titled new album features some great Indie/Rock hits such as "Iron Man" and "Be Giving". The lead vocalist Aja Volkman has one of the best voices I've heard yet. People compare her to Janis Joplin (who I admire as well), but I think she sounds like Ida Maria as well. Her voice is unique and it really sounds great raw when she sings 'Iron Man".

Sarah Connor is a German singer and songwriter. With a name like that, I think she would look more like Ingrid Michaelson, but apparently she's quite the stuff. She kinda looks old in certain angles, but great video right? I've recently discovered her, but she debuted her first album "Green Eyed Soul" in 2001. Some of her other hits include: "bounce" and "let's get back to bed".

Skyline Graduation - June 5th, 2009

"The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works is the family." ~Lee Iacocca

June 5th 2009. It was awesome being late and wondering if I really needed that little index card (cause that was definitely not in my hands). I was excited to see how our Skyline graduation would go down because I knew all of us happy people were going to be even happier when we exit those double doors. I have to say it was a pretty sweet day, a sea of red & white, nice pleather diploma case, what more could a graduation have? One of the best parts was knowing how much culture was in the Paramount Theater that night. It's already awesome how we all got along with each other, but it was da bomb how our friends and families shared our happy moment together in peace.

It never seemed like high school would end, but faster than ever 4 years of my life had past. So many great experiences for everyone to remember, but I'll always remember my freshmen year, 2006? Reflection is such an important part in life because we look back in order to build our futures. I still remember my sister telling me how freshmen get thrashcanned and I was truly anticipating it, but I'm glad reality isn't a tv show. There's people that I met in freshmen year that I didn't talk to until now and it turns out we have many things in common. It goes to show that second chances are a part of life.

It's amazing how people can change so quickly. I know that I'm not the same guy who sat next to Ms.Tyla Brown in Ms.Napier's BIO class. Then there's those people who became smarter and even more unique as the years went by. I'll never forget the amazing individuals that I've met and it's best we end connections with people who were negative. My wish for my fellow 2009 SHS graduates would be to remember the fun times in life as well as our struggles because without struggles you would not know the difference between depression and true happiness! Don't forget it : )