GASOLINE
Current mood: awake
Category: Blogging

            I'm sure by now, you all have felt the impact of the high cost of gasoline is effecting all of our lives. I've never really felt the impact of the economy directly before. Everything have gone up in cost, food, clothes, good and services, etc. I went in Costco yesterday and it was almost empty, it was scary. Consumption is presumably down and yet prices kept going up. Its pushing $5 per gallon and gonna go up to $6 before the year ends.

I live in California and we have the highest prices in the nation. Its hurting a lot of business too, their bottom line is not what they're used to be. In Orange County, the bankruptcy rate is up 150 percent compare to last year and in Los Angeles County, its up 91 percent. Ive seen a Quizno and a McDonald going closing down the past few months. You know its bad, when a McDonald closes it doors.

I'm fortunate, I don't have to drive as much as used to. Since, I live near where I work. I'm consolidating trips to the store more than ever, to save gas and the environment. I've even considered buying a bike a few months ago. Riding a bus is out of the question, because of time is important to me, I can't wait and its cheaper to drive than riding a bus for me. These times I wish I'm in New York where the subway is available.

So, my question is, how are all of you dealing with the rise in gasoline? And have the recent phenomenon inspire you to create art dealing with the crisis?

PS. If you want to know the latest happenings of the community, I suggest you subcribe to my blog like many of you have already.

Steve L.

www.myspace.com/artiststeve

10:44 AM - 54 Comments - 33 Kudos - Add Comment

My favorite 105 songs Part 1 continues
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music

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Favorite 105 songs part 1 continue

51.) Slippin- DMX

(Haunting song, dramatic, and deep lyrics)

52.) Hurt- Johnny Cash

( This just might be the greatest cover song ever)

53.) We Need a Resolution- Aaliyah

(One of the first track laid down by Timbaland that caught my attention)

54.) Ruff Riders Anthem- DMX

(I love the beat to this song, DMX is great, and this song ranks top 10 with American soldiers in Iraq)

55.) If I Aint got you –Alicia Keys

(lyrics and video are awesome, maybe my favorite track of hers, easily)

56.) Youth of a Nation – P.O.D

(I believe this is inspired by the Columbine shootings in Denver, great lyrics and song)

57.) Down With the Sickness- Disturbed

(Used so many times in movies, but still a rock classic track)

58.) Buffalo Soldier- Bob Marley

(first song that got me interested in Reggae music)

59.) A Life Less Frightening- Rise Against

(Awesome band to see live and great song to scream to)

60.) Right Where It Belongs- NIN

(Amazing lyric and listened to it almost every day the year it was released)

61.) Only God Knows Why – Kid Rock

(This proves Kid Rock not only can write, but got a heart)

62.) Smack My Bitch Up- Prodigy

(One of the most memorable song Ive ever heard live, it rocked the whole place, and the video super controversial.)

63.) Unforgiven- Metallica

(My favorite track of the band)

64.) Battle Flag- The Lo Fidelity Allstars

(This would make a great stripper song, great dance song)

65.) The Box- Orbital

(One of the best song in the electronic rock era)

66.) Block Rockin Beats – The Chemical Bros.

(Elecrtronic music at its best)

67.) Me Against the Music- Britney and Madonna

(Madonna's comeback song? It worked)

68.) Breathe –Erasure

(Still going strong after 20 years)

69.) Everyday is like Sunday- Morrissey

(The music pioneer of Alternative music)

70.) Man in the Mirror- Michael Jackson

(Unforgettable video, one of the best song of MJ)

71.) Freedom – George Michael

(A bunch of Supermodels rocking out to this song, doesn't get better than that, awesome video)

72.) Just Another – Pete Yorn

(Great acoustic guitar play here)

73.) Put Your Arms Around Me- Texas

(amazing voice and one of my favorite track of the 90s)

74.) Only Time –Enya

(The most popular Enya song to date and its one of the best)

75.) Trip Like I Do- Filter/Crystal Method

(original song with no vocal is great already, with vocals, it's a classic)

76.) Nookie –Limp Bizkit

(A lot of people hate them, but I love this song, I feel like destroying stuff or driving real fast when I hear this song)

77.) Wonder Wall- Oasis

(the most annoying band when I was in HS, but liked them years later)

78.) Summertime/Doin Time – Sublime

(The song that got me into Sublime, a local band that turned huge)

79.) Blow it Out your Ass – Ludacris

(One of the master hip hop writers of our time, this guy knows how to party)

80.) What a Wonderful World- Louis Armstrong

(If you don't like this song, you're a hater)

81.) Stand By Me- BB King

(Instant classic and the movie is my favorite)

82.) Besame Mucho-Andrea Boccelli

(Seeing him live was amazing, great song)

83.) Venus As a Boy – Bjork

(My second favorite song from Debut, Bjork at her finest)

84.) Blaze of Glory- Bon Jovi

(I know every word to this song and actually sang Karoake to it)

85.) A View to Kill- Duran Duran

(Classic 80s James Bond track)

86.) Fantasy – Mariah Carey

(A fun MC song and sampled a 80s track in there)

87.) Communication- The Cardigans

(The lyrics really spoke to me at the time and awesome song)

88.) Spark- Tori Amos

(The height of my obsession with everything Tori Amos)

89.) All I Want is You- U2

(Perhaps their best ballad song, with great guitar play by The Edge)

90.) Hunter- Bjork

(What a weird song, but became one my favorite out of the Homogenic tour)

91.) Closer- NIN

(One of the most textured song I've heard, my favorite song of all time)

92.) Shepherd Moons- Enya

(Soothing song, you feel at peace)

93.) You Look So Fine- Garbage

(Great track that was never released on radio)

94.) The Power of Goodbye- Madonna

(It's the last time she actually sang a ballad song and its great)

95.) Long Road Out of Hell- Marilyn Manson

(Manson gets a lot of bad press, but this song is awesome)

96.) The Way I am –Eminem

(The track that got me hooked into his music, great writer, and suprisingly can act too)

97.) Cherub Rock- Smashing Pumpkins

(The e-guitar in this song is insane and the drums are off the charts)

98.) I Need Love- LL Cool J

(Didn't realize the lyrics until I got older, a classic love song)

99.) The Way You are- Shania Twain

(Great melody and her voice is so sexy)

100.) Guerilla Radio- Rage Against the Machine

(You feel like going to the mosh pit when you hear it)

101.) The end is the Beginning- Smashing  Pumpkins

(Darcy,Billy and James underappreciated guitar play in this awesome track)

102.) All Apologies- Sinead O'Connor

(Surprise cover song of Nirvana's greatest song)

103.) Somebody- Depeche Mode

(Lyrically, its everything I ever wanted and the song is a classic)

104.) Firestarter- Prodigy

(Talk about a complicated sound arrangement, this is music at its best)

105.) One-U2

(This song got 3 different music videos and got my full attention to their music)

12:36 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

My favorite 105 songs Part 1
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music

My opinion on music. I cant live without it, I like it loud when possible. I like the hardcore stuff and the soft/slow stuff. There's no such thing as bad music or good music. Whatever is good to you might be crap to other people. A lot of people get really worked up when they don't like a certain type of music or song. And tend to judge the person according to the music they listen to. While others are too ashamed to admit they like a cetain song. I'm fairly open to different types of music, I might not like all, but willing to hear and try it out. I like cheesy, underground, mainstream, indie, foreign  and whatever weird music comes my way. I love music and don't just limit myself only to certain style of music. There's also a lot of songs that I would hate at first and like later. While, some songs or albums take a long time to mature for me to like it. People like a certain songs for a number of reason. Lyrics or memories that goes with that track, or whatever you can relate to or it speaks to you. Music is a communication device and makes you feel a certain way or its outlet of what you want to express, if you wrote the song. And just because a certain track is critically acclaimed, does it automatically becomes a good song? Not necessarily, it just means they have a good argument about it. Good music taste is in the eye of the beholder...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Favorite 105 songs part 1

All in no particular order

1.) Smell Like Teen Spirit [original raw form, found in the box set] Nirvana – (the radio version wasn't always my favorite Nirvana song, the drums are far more apparent here, Dave Grohl is a genius)

2.) Karma Police -Radiohead

(simple video but enjoy listening to it , everytime its on the radio)

3.) 1000 Oceans- Tori Amos  

(One of my favorite song of Tori)

4.) Iron Man- The Cardigans

(A better version of Black Sabbath's song, Nina Persson sound super cute in this song)

5.) Once Upon a Time – Smashing Pumpkins

(One of the greatest ballads of the pumpkins, never received radio airplay)

6.) Mama said Knock you Out –LL Cool J

(One of the greatest video ever made, simple, but memorable, LL is badass)

7.) Milk – Garbage

( A pretty haunting song, waiting for that someone, good lyrics)

8.) Poison- Bel Div Devoe

(when you hear this song, you wanna break out to the dance floor and break dance.lol)

9.) Sure shot – Beastie Boys

( I feel gangsta listening to this song, lol, definitely top 5 Bboys song of all time)

10.) Good Enough – Evanescence

(I think everyone can relate to this song at some point of their lives)

11.) Everything Changes – Staind

(another Aaron Lewis, depressing songs, great writer)

12.) City of Angels -the Distillers

(This song started it all for me, suddenly I love punk rock, Brody rules!)

13.) Hurt - NIN

(I would rank this track 2 of all time on my favorite song list, this is what makes Trent Reznor a music god)

14.) Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground -  The White Stripes

(Rock and Roll is back with this track, makes me wanna pick up a electric guitar and rock out!)

15.) Ode to my Family – The Cranberries

(Great melody and vocals, the lyrics are great too, you understand your folks better the older you get.)

16.) Jumpin Jumpin –Destiny's Child

(Great party song, or dance song ,like in a club)

17.) Gone Away - The Offspring

(If you ever lost someone dearly, you can relate to this song)

18.) Teardrop – Massive Attack

(First track that got me into this great band, who produces great beats with a guest singer on a lot of the tracks)

19.) The Man Who Sold the World- Nirvana

(inspired me to play the guitar when I was in HS, this is a David Bowie song)

20.) Nothing Compares to You – Sinead O'Connor

(One of the most memorable videos of the 90s, I love this song)

21.) Secret Garden – Bruce Springsteen

(Jerry Maguire made this song popular and makes me feel, haha)

22.) Philadelphia – Neil Young

(What a sad song, great melody)

23.) Blue Moon – The Mavericks

(This song was sung by so many singers, this is the best re-make of Blue Moon)

24.) Maid of Orleans –OMD

(the best 80s song that never played on the radio, scared me when I was little cuz of the video, but  love this song)

25.) My Own Prison –Creed

(This was played on radio when they werent big yet)

26.) Sweet Jane – Cowboys Junkies

(Literally took my bro and I years to find out who sung the damn song)

27.) Never Let Me Down Again – Depeche Mode

(My favorite DM track for a good 10 years)

28.) Chasing Cars- Snow Patrol

(These guys are destined for greatness, this song can be in any movie)

29.) Friday – Ice Cube

(This is west coast gangsta at its finest)

30.) Ghost –Tupac Shakur

(Not one of his most recognized songs, but I like the flow of the song, and the lyrics are schocking)

31.) Deep Cover –Dr.Dre/Snoop

(Never a fan of gangsta rap when it started the early 90s, but slowly I embrace some of it, but this is the song by 2 great rappers)

32.) Close to You -The Carpenters

(The most amazing voice ever heard, Karen died prematurely in the early 80s and the lyrics are awesome)

33.) Dancing Queen –Abba

(Still hip to listen to this song after all those years, disco music at its best)

34.) Jesus Walks- Kanye West

(My favorite track of whatever year it was released, there were a lot of layers to this song, very well produced)

35.) I Against – Massive Attack/ Mos Def

(I never heard of a song like this before, great collaboration)

36.) Battle with Honor –Tomoyasu Hotei

(You might remember this song from Kill Bill, Tarantino makes obscured tracks cool)

37.) Into Dust –Mazzy Star

(Very mellow and soothing song)

38.) In Da Club- 50 Cent

(Didn't like this song at first, but now it's a classic in my book)

39.) Wild Horses –The Sundays

(Great song, but the movie "Fear" took this song to a whole another level, if you know which scene Im talking about)

40.) I am the Highway – Audioslave

(Perhaps the greatest guitar solo ever in a song , done by Tom Morello)

41.) Hero – Foo Fighters

(This is when I wish I can play drums, beat the crap out of the drums like Dave Grohl)

42.) Welcome to the Jungle – Guns n Roses

(Never even heard of this song til I was in college, crazy intro and unique)

43.) Violet – Hole

(Alternative rock at its best, led by Courtney Love)

44.) Letting the Cables Sleep- Bush

(Lesser known track for the band, great ballad song with top notch guitar play)

45.) Nobody's Listening – Linkin Park

(Mike Shinoda adding a little Japanese feel to the song, one of the most underappreciated LP rock-rap song)

46.) Porcelain –Moby

(easily Moby's most commercialize track, but it's a classic)

47.) Take My Breath Away – Berlin

(It just remind me of the 80s)

48.) Crazy For You- Madonna

(One of the earliest song I ever recorded on tape, and still love it til this day)

49.) Shout – Tears for Fears

(Definitely one of my favorite track when I was little, the cheesy video just made it better)

50.) Drive – The Cars

(Powerful lyrics, remember the video pretty well when I was in grade school)

To be Continued in my other blog

12:34 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Reflecting 2007

Its almost the end of the year and 2007 is definitely an unforgetable year. I don't think there's a time of my life where, I've experience so much high and low in a time span. I experience different levels of emotions that I didn't know existed within me. Well, I know I have emotions but unexpected feelings  I guess. Its just not emotional, I experienced some physical pains too. Body aches, here and there, that lower back pain earlier in the year was a bitch. Stupid me, try to walk it off like I always do. I'm learn to take of myself this year. Instead of pushing/abusing my body, I'm trying to take care of that machine. If only I treat it nicely, like I treat my car,haha.

            I guess its 50/50 in terms of  good and bad. However, without the bad stuff my ass will never learn. That's how it should be, you live and learn. Life experiences are priceless, I definitely experience a great deal this year. Its another major step out of my comfort zone, another notch up in my confidence level. I still have a long way to go in terms of learning. I wanna keep learning til the day I die. I met some cool people this year and lost some along the way. I know better days are ahead of me cuz I'm psychic,lol.

Steve L.

www.myspace.com/artiststeve

9:31 AM - 6 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Requirements for Artist of Month
Category: Art and Photography

"Artist of the Month" Requirements

1.)    Your profile cannot be set to private, people should be able to SEE your work. Create another profile if you must, for people to see your art. You can still maintain your privacy.

2.)    Your profile must be complete (A REAL PROFILE with your info) , so  I don't consider you spam.

3.)    Its gotta be your own work and not some other person's work

4.)    One of your 5 pictures must contain one picture of you with your work

5.)    The other four body of work would be selected by me and presented in my picture galleries. You will have your own album/portfolio in my galleries.  I will link your work to your myspace profile

6.)    Your work will be formatted to no bigger than 4x6 in jpeg form, give or take when presented in my gallery.

7.)    All members of the community are welcome to participate, you can be from anywhere from the WORLD. Only members (THAT means YOU, If you're on the artist Community's friend list, you're in) can participate, add yourself to the AC's list so you can see bulletins and blogs.

8.)    I'm currently only looking at "Graphic Artist" and "Fine Artist" profiles at this point. 

9.)    Send me a message via myspace if you like to participate as the "Graphic Artist of the Month" or "Fine Artist of the Month" and if you can, attach your work with your message. The easier you make it for me to access your work, the better your chances for me to see your work.

10.)                        Don't sweat the details too much, just have some work to show and you'll be ok.

11.)                        I cant really think of anything else, so lets your masterpieces people.

Artists of the Month will be featured the first week of every month and their work will be on my page forever as long I have space for it.

PS. If you want to know the latest happenings of the community, I suggest you subcribe to my blog like many of you have already.

Steve L.

www.myspace.com/artiststeve

9:35 AM - 23 Comments - 23 Kudos - Add Comment

NEXT MAJOR STEP
Category: Art and Photography

Hey fellow members of the community,

            After giving some thoughts, I concluded the next step the Artist Community is to have a featured "Graphic Artist" and "Fine Artist" every month. You can be from anywhere in the world. In the future I will expand the category. It's the obvious thing to do, I wanted to do that from the beginning but don't have the time to look at everybody's work except the work that they posted on my page. Every Artists of the month will have their own Album in my picture gallery with 5 of their best work posted for others to critique. And one of the picture is you with your art, so I know its actually your work. I will link the work to their respective myspace profile. You will get exposure from members of the community and whoever sees your work. Details of the presentation of the artists' work will be posted at a later date. I will provide you with the basic requirements to qualify as a "Featured Artist of the Month".

My initial idea was to get artists together and network. There arent really any Art Communities out there, so I created one online. I don't have a lot of time in my hands, because I run my family owned business. However, I'm willing to provide some time on it.

The second thing that I want to do is to create some sort of project to get the members of the community involved. Im starting with the local scene first, before I go on in a national level or even in a international level. Projects that I will be hands on are all from within the Los Angeles and Orange County. If you havent noticed, I created a "Artist Community 2" for people living around my area. I want serious people who are committed in doing something with their art. I also need a team to help promote the artists. Have a legitimate business plan and we'll go from there. There's some talented and hungry artists out there. Serious inquires please, I've talked to some people that wasted my time. Don't waste mine and I wont waste yours.

I will be more active in terms of having bulletin annoucements and blog updates. So subscribe to my blog if you havent already.

Steve L.

www.myspace.com/vangoghpainter

6:52 PM - 33 Comments - 25 Kudos - Add Comment

Suggestion Box

     I'm looking for ways to improve "Artist Community". I wanna hear what the members have to say. I have some ideas already but I wanna know yours. Here's your forum to discuss this matter.

Steve L.

www.myspace.com/vangoghpainter

11:02 PM - 41 Comments - 17 Kudos - Add Comment

Radiohead [6.29.06] Los Angeles
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Music

Last night, I saw one of the greatest band of all time, Radiohead at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. There were a few songs I didnt recognize because Kid A, Hail to the Chief, and Amnesiac were albums that disappointed me greatly. Ok Computer and The Bends were masterpieces and Pablo Honey was their first. Tom Yorke played a few old ones, but the new songs are incredible. I cannot wait for the album to come out, gonna have to wait for 2007.

Inspiration
Current mood: