THE SONGWRITERS NETWORK HAS A NEW DOMAIN - Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music

http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200805/1210...

LOS ANGELES, California – May 9, 2008 – The new website URL of http://www. TheSongNet. org reflects the expansion that has occurred over the last ten years, and emphasizes the organization’s mission.

4:10 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Disappearing act but we are back
Current mood: determined
Category: Music

Thanks to a domain name server pointers mixup on the Internet of miniscule proportions, our website disappeared for 3 days, but we are now back! Come join us at the Los Angeles Songwriter's Network... LA SongNet.

Updated May 9, 2008:
Yup. They did it to us again. This time we just decided to go to a different company and do business with a better service provider. So, we got a new domain name. Our old one is 'parked' while we settle our dispute. It's public record that our songnet.org domain was registered through IPowerWeb, Inc., so we're not telling you anything that you couldn't find out with a couple of clicks of the mouse. We're happy to be working with GoDaddy.com and we are extremely happy with our friends at HostBaby.com. They've helped us immensely.
Tommy, www.TheSongNet.org webmaster
http://www.TheSongNet.org

NOTICE THE NEW DOMAIN URL!
Thanks. (We won't shout anymore.)

 

5:14 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Writing ... Losing My Religion
Current mood: relaxed
Category: Music

This one is for you songwriters and songlovers and REM fans:

"When I think about Losing My Religion, I think about the process of writing and recording it, and how dream-like and effortless it was. The music was written in five minutes; the first time the band played it, it fell into place perfectly. Michael had lyrics within the hour, and while playing the song for the third or fourth time, I found myself incredibly moved to hear the vocals in conunction with the music. To me, Losing My Religion feels like some kind of archetype that was floating around in space that we managed to lasso. If only all songwriting was this easy." - Peter Buck, R.E.M.

(from the liner notes to "The Best of R.E.M., In Time 1988-2003").

Isn't it amazing how songs sometimes almost seem to write themselves?
-TH

9:50 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Viral myspace blog games Round 1
Current mood: cheerful
Category: Blogging

My friend Jimi launched this one on me. It's a blog version of some kind of game, but I have no idea where it started or why it continues. But, I'll be a good sport.

OK Jimi, I guess I'll play the game. Six weird things about me huh? Posted on my blog? OK here goes.

1-I have moved to a new home on the average once every 2 years, have lived in 2 countries, have visited 12, have had 23 homes, and yet  I still live only 1 hour from where I was born
2-I love seafood, I have tried many times but I have never caught a fish
3-I drink coffee like water. No, I drink coffee MORe than water.
4-I work half a mile away from where I attended kindergarden, first had a gf, made my first 'best' friend, and had my first and only run-in with police.
5-Hate cooking for myself, but people love what I cook when I do cook.
6-Like most forms of music and listen to all: Bach to Beatles, Clash to Cash, Gershwin to GreenDay, Handel to Hendrix, Nirvana to Nat King Cole, Shania to SteelyDan, Wagner to Weezer, Zappa to Zeppelin, and even Ozzy to Opera (only occasionally).

I will tag:
Linda G, Cristi, RoseAnne, Leslie W, Phil Dutra, KiKi ...

According to Jimi:

Rules are as follows...once you are tagged, you must write a blog telling 6 weird facts/things/habits about yourself. Then choose 6 of your friends to tag and list their name at the end of your blog. After that, send them a message or comment telling them to read your "it" blog and the game continues!

6 abnormal facts, things, habits...about me for all of you to know...

12:40 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

will u b .200?
Current mood: amused
Category: Blogging

every so often i log on to this my space thing and waste away some more time on the 'net. today i noticed... hey... 199 friends. will u b #200?

who reads these blogs anyways????

lol

11:58 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Happy New Year
Current mood: happy
Category: Life

Happy New Year! We made it to 2006!

Not much to say, but here's hoping that you have a great year in 2006.

7:50 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Dextromethorphan... wow dude is that good for me?
Current mood: rejuvenated
Category: Life

Modern drugs. Modern illnesses. Trying to keep up the pace in the rat race.

It was a fine Christmas Party. Friends, some family, some associates, all came over to enjoy some holiday cheer and wish each other well. Unfortunately I wasn't up to it.

I tried, even through the effects of dextromethorphan, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, guanifesen, and chlorpheniramine maleate topped off with a dose of acetaminophen and salicylate coursing through my veins and in my head. But conversations with me were brief, as I dove for another hot beverage and kleenex.

"What in the world ever became of sweet Jane?
She lost her sparkle you know she ain't the same.
Living on reds, vitamin C and cocaine,
All I can say is ain't it a shame..."
 - Grateful Dead, "Truckin'"

Hey, with all the pharmaceuticals flowing through the system, you'd think I had stepped back in time to a late 60's party hosted by Dr. Tim*  or had ditched into a mid-90s  bAsEmEnt rAvE** . Yes, I was living on cough suppressant, decongestant, antihistamines, Vitamin C and pain reliever*** to make the holiday appearance.
(* Dr. Timothy Leary for all you kids who missed the 60's)
(** Illegal rave party for all you kids who missed the 90's)
(*** all legal substances for you kids who are LE or know LE****)
(**** "Law Enforcement", for all you kids who missed the inner city experience aka rap)
(Rap? Oh come on, where have you BEEN?)
(60's? I was only a kid then, c'mon I learned about Dr. Tim LATER)

No wonder my system crashed the next day, Monday, and I was out of commission for the entire following week. Went back to work Tuesday after Christmas, and yesterday, I did fine. I'm fnally better, its December 31st, and I am taking it easy this New Year's Eve. Blah.

It's really not that bad... it's been a busy year, and maybe taking some time off and having a quiet New Year's is what is needed. The age old remedy of lots of rest, lots of fluids, and good nutrition lives on. Even in the age of modern drugs and remedies.

Peace out.

Have  an awesome 2006.

2:41 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

New life
Current mood: happy
Category: Life

Hey such awesome news. I got the phone call, she arrived safe and sound, and is resting, eating, growing, and repeating in that order....
Once more, again, I'm an uncle.
It's funny and odd, a bit amusing, all we have are nieces and no nephews! I thought this last one might break the pattern, because she's arriving under special circumstances. The sister who for years was independent, unmarried, and quite happy to be child-free, got hitched, got pregnant, and is a very happy new mom tonight.
Congrats sis & hub.
Extra stars are shining in the sky over Texas tonight.
Welcome into the world Katelyn. We love you.

11:30 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Black Friday Veteran
Current mood: awake
Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping

Black Friday.

Just saying it gives a chill up the spine, doesn't it?

HA.

But it's just shopping. It's just shopping. Just plain old shopping, right?

WRONG. This is the first year that I ever got out there to do shopping for gifts on the day after Thanksgiving. Not only that, but I hit the stores at 11:50PM on Thursday evening. Yes indeed, a computer store, which will remain nameless, opened at midnite. Over 300 people stood between me and the door, 10 minutes and counting down....

I just figured earlier that evening, over a second helping of dessert and coffee, that I'd get a couple of things I saw in the store's ad, make a quick attempt at one of the 'featured' super sale discounts, and jet out the door with  the loot in hand, returning to my nice warm abode, content with myself to have started the usual Chrsitmas shopping EARLY instead of waiting until the last week.

What a scene it was! There were soccer moms with glazed but determined expressions pushing shopping carts, iPod teens crowding for the latest at the handhelds counter, jolt cola nerds jockeying for the wireless cards and the deep discount hard drives, bargain-hunting small biz owners loading up on stacks and stacks of spindled recordable media, sad-faced wives on cellphones telling hubbies that the last of the such-and-such hottest electronic gizmo had just been taken by an overweight middle aged businessman or a zealous young mom sporting the latest workout wear, and bleary-eyed overworked and overloaded sales staff with over caffeinated grimaces answering questions and hauling boxes around the store as fast as they could. The aisles were a lab rat test maze abuzz with shoppers bustling past each other with a minimum of politeness and courtesy. Just enough courtesy to get out of a time-robbing fight with another shopper, but polite enough to save face just in case you had to stand next to the same customer in the long checkout line.

I made it to the wireless card aisle. I found the right picture on the box. I double-checked the stock number and made for the DVD aisle. Two detours later, I arrived at the aisle. Oh oh, out of stock, sold out. Maybe in the back in the stockroom? Flagged an employee down. Got annoyed looks from the half dozen other customers trailing him. Decided to look for the cellphones. Empty spot near the wireless counter! Interrupted the girl behind the counter for directions. She points me to the other aisle and in a moment hands me a clear wrapped box with the target cellphone. Hunting down a few more super sale items. Back in the DVD aisle. Found one DVD recorder that another customer decided not to purchase after all! Made for the checkout line. Tick... tock... 2am.... tick.. tock... 3am ... ca-ching! Out the door and into the cold of the night, heading for home.

THREE and ONE HALF hours later, I straggled in the door like a worn out tomcat that had been fighting over turf in the alley.

But did I quit? No. Ever the sucker for punishment, I hit three more stores early this morning after catching barely 4 hours of sleep (yes, I overslept the 'early bird' sale opening, I had had enough the night before with the infamous doorbuster sale at the computer store).

I had lunch. I had a nap. I woke to make a dinner run for pizza. I am now wide awake at midnight.

BLACK FRIDAY.

I am now a believer.

###

12:52 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

lazyness has taken over
Current mood: amused

obviously the lazy factor has come into play on this blog.
months and months and not a single blogged opinion.
could i be so uninformed and unopinionated?
well of course anythings possible, but if you really know me....
...you know i've just been too busy to lift my fingers and type at the end of a long day into MySpace.com
Check out what we're doing at www.songnet.org and it will all make sense.
I hope.
LOL.

8:18 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Check out this event: Friend List
Current mood: tired
Category: Music

Hosted By: ELIZABETH MACDOUGALL
When: Thursday Nov 17, 2005
at 7:00 PM
Where: myspace.com/harmonysweet
ventura county, CA
US
Description:
ELIZABETH MACDOUGALL

Click Here To View Event

12:02 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

laid it down
Current mood: sad

ah sh---zzz what i saw this morning really sucks.

you see i was moving along the 101 freeway here in California just fine this morning, keeping up with the 80 mph traffic on this stretch of the unofficial 'autobahn' of the California coast. suddenly the traffic backed up, red brake lights all ahead of me, and we came to a sudden stop a few seconds later. it didn't look good, and there we were all lanes completely stopped, with no exit for over 1 and a half miles. the cars behind me of course were in worse. after a few minutes the emergency vehicles rolled past me in the emergency lane, a fire truck, followed by a paramedic ambulance, followed by a highway patrol truck. i figured it was an accident, and it was.

traffic crept slowly past the accident scene, and i was no more than some 200 yards from where it happened. as i made it to the accident, i saw what was left of a nice motorcycle, laid down on its side, small pieces of it scattered about the 3 lanes of highway. i also got a fair look at the rider who laid it down. the EMT's were working urgently, i could see them earnestly looking over the rider, flat on his back, shirt torn back, as they must have been trying to stabilize him medically. a bit further, was the SUV that had clipped him or cut him off, and caused the motorcycle rider to go down. its not the first time this kind of accident has happened on this stretch of the 101.

i prayed for the guy as i passed by, just in case it would help. it seems a match of fools: a ton or more of steel SUV against a human body riding on a small steel frame, scarcely protected by a fiberglass helmet shell and a few millimeters of riding leathers. i hope this fellow makes it. but it reminds me how dangerous it can be for a biker out there. and my brother rides. and i used to ride many years ago.

please lookout for these guys when you're rushing on the highway in your car, well-protected by the steel shell around you. there's no such thing as a fender bender on a motorcycle.

10:54 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

shut up and sing?
Current mood: working

Sit down and listen is more like it.

Just the other day I was chatting (offline, not the Internet kind) with a colleague, who got into right-wing conservative red-state "I won't listen to the left-wing liberal biased media" mode and started harping about an AM radio talk show host/commentator that's doing the LA radio market right now dissing everything she considers 'liberal'. (Clue: the subject line is the title of a book she's written).

She's got a website of course, and her book is for sale through various outlets on the web. One blogged comment/review from an avid buyer struck me as interesting: He said he had gone to a Bruce Springsteen concert, pre-2004 election, and at some moment during the concert, shouted out 'shut up and sing' at the Boss, who apparently was commenting on the American political scene. The blogger sounded proud of his outburst at the Boss.

Now, I'm not particularly a Springsteen fan, mind you I think he's a good writer in his genre, and that many many many people relate to what he says through his music. I understand it and appreciate it, and listen carefully to what he and other writers like him are trying to say through their music. Cool. But the whole "shut up and sing" mentality is so NON-The Boss, I thought 'what the heck is this guy doing at the concert to begin with?" I mean, Springsteen is singing about the common American voice, the voice of the guy who sometimes is lost amid the shuffle of industrial corporate machinery and left in the dust. Shut up and sing? It's the very 'voice' in Springsteen's music that gives it authenticity.

And that's my beef today. While wrapping themselves in the American flag, the hard-right wing of society wants to shut up dissent. Dissent is an important freedom in America. And whether an artist sings it or speaks it, when we're talking about the Americana and Folk genres, 'shut up and sing' is antithetical and oxymoronic doublespeak.

Where would we be without the sung voices of Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, John Mellencamp, Woody Guthrie, and the 60's folk movement?

If you disagree, either tune it out, or move on. But don't squelch it.

2:28 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

blood money
Current mood: distressed

Blood
money.

Blood
money.

Today, the LA Times printed an article about William "Bucky" Bush,
whose corporate stock profits from Iraq War contracts have so far added up to
a nice, hot $450,000 (and growing, no doubt).

Who is Bucky Bush?

Well,
his NEPHEW is the current President of the United States.

Coincidence? Yeah right.

Read the Los Angeles Times article here:
Uncle
Bucky Bush Makes $450G's From Iraq War

"Fair Use" Excerpt:

February 23, 2005
By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Times Staff Writer

3:55 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

what the world needs now*
Current mood: optimistic

...is for artists; songwriters, poets, musicians, painters, dancers, writers, and all creative people to express what is in their hearts through their art. Whether that expression is light or dark, happy or sad, playful or serious, humorous or somber, gentle or shocking, I believe the world is better off when artists seek deeply in their hearts (or wherever the inspiration comes from) and express the truth of our emotions, thoughts and feelings. Enough of the media and political spin brainwashing. Ever read Abraham Maslow's work? We are easily motivated to mere REaction when we are fearful. The media and the pundits know this. Artists bring the fear out into the light, into the open, and into discussion. This puts love* into action. Let's do it, and let's get the party started!

*"What the World Needs Now" (Bacharach/David) and sung by Jackie DeShannon

4:34 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment