It’s getting colder in New York City.

Blues Alley photo courtesy of the DC Government

I had an interesting discussion tonight about cover songs. Covers are both a pretty funny idea and a bad idea most of the time. Many covers, like the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Give a Little Bit,” are basically chord-for-chord rehashes of the original. This makes me wonder why in the world anyone would do an identical rendition of an already good song. Is it worth the time and energy to record a song that is identical to the source material? To me, that’s the worst kind of music, because a lame cover not only sounds bad, but it cheapens the original’s appeal as well. So why even do it? Great question.

This discussion was particularly appropriate today, because I also learned that Jacqui Naylor is going to make an appearance at Blues Alley tomorrow night (1073 Wisconsin Ave., NW). As a deep, sultry jazz artist, Jacqui adds an interesting element to pop and classic rock covers. She adds an impressive mix of both nostalgia and modernity into her work, and they almost remind me of a period piece set in the 30s–sort of like the South Seas Club in The Rocketeer.

The covers don’t sound like the same songs; in fact, “How Deep Is Your Love” doesn’t sound like the Bee Gees at all. This, of course, is a good thing. Also check out “Summertime” (which sounds awfully similar to The Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post”), “Miss You,” and “Shelter” on her Web site here.

I’ve been listening to her most recent album, “You Don’t Know Jacq,” tonight, and she seems to be very adept at mixing genres, even when logic suggests that they don’t go well together. I don’t know if her music signifies a new genre in music or not (“jazzic rock,” perhaps?), but that doesn’t really matter to me. What matters is that these covers sound fresh.

Ultimately, the real indicators of music should be pretty simple: 1.) does it sound good? and 2.) will it sound good when I listen to it again? The answer to the first question is, yes it does sound good. Quite, actually. What will my answer be to the second question? Stay tuned for a follow up post.  While I’m a jazz newbie, I always like late-night music and this fits the bill for now.

Jacqui will be playing two shows tomorrow night: 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Blues Alley web site or by calling 202-337-4141. I won’t be able to make it, and that’s too bad. The music scene has been pretty anemic around here for the past few months, and I am in the market for a decent show. If you go, let me know how it is.

Also, I can’t guarantee that the typical Georgetown crowd will abstain from attending, but Jacqui seems to be a little too sophisticated for the popped collar scene.

This morning I registered for classes. Some of the classes I wanted to take were completely filled by the time I was allowed to begin my registration, and I got into something of a sour mood last night worrying that I’d go frantic looking for classes that weren’t filled. To let off some steam, I played a little song. Yes, I know it’s the wrong season for this song.

Registration wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d feared. I signed up for some classes I’m genuinely excited about. I’m taking Religion & Psychology, Introduction to Film and Video, Introduction to Creative Writing, and human biology. I had hoped to take Acting for Non-Majors, but that filled up too quickly.

Meanwhile, my suitemate (who has accumulated more credits and therefore had already registered) created a strict regimen to develop himself as an actor: every month he is to expose himself to a wide variety of artistic media (including film, theater, opera, television, and  museum exhibits). He also plans to squeeze in vocal training and ballet.

I’ve been working on a student’s short film project in Queens. It’s a lot more work than I expected. We were supposed to do some filming today, but somebody had to cancel at the last minute. So I found myself with more free time today than I expected. That was refreshing.

I’m going home for Thanksgiving soon. I’ve got my route home all planned out. I’m using only public transportation this time.

I’m hoping to spend a day kicking around downtown sometime soon, maybe this weekend. I’d like to try a soup dumpling; they sound delicious.

Hello to all my fans and clients

I am so not good at this blogging. I wanted to let  you know how the business is really starting to grow. We have begun hiring some new housekeepers that are being trained to help you with all your needs. That means learning to communicate and ask questions. Some people assume that we are like all other housekeeping service. We come in clean and dont speak and then gradually decline in our service. This is not us at all. We are the same each and every visit. We also take criticism with ease.

This holiday I have put a team together to help you just with those holiday gifts.(more details read other blog) We are also starting to offer organizing your rooms and purging with you. We have found that working with our clients is very fun and get lots done if you have that time. We also do solo work . Also act as a personal assist. to run small arrands(per hr rates)

We have added 5 new clients to are company, that are very happy with our service. All my clients are the greatest, most are very busy in their lives. I am so grateful I can be a part of helping them keep their homes comfortable each week. Not only am I the owner of this company I am a housekeeper and do not sit behind my computer or my desk.

This is your update on Christine’s Crystal Clean Housekeeping service

ANYTHING WE CAN SO TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER LET US KNOW

Happy holidays

Always excepting new clients

Hmmm … apar tot mai multe “furturi” de genul asta.

sau

Sam enjoying the sunshine and the yellow frisbee

We have here a rare example of Sam doing something on the beach not involving a chair.

Sam enjoys going to the beach because its “the one time that I get to sit around while everyone does whatever they want all around me”.

She looks very sweet here.

Birthday cake

Each year Sam asks what kind of cake I wish to have for my birthday. I thought to challenge her this year. “a pineapple upside-down cake”. “OK” she said.

It looked great in the sunlight streaming through the sliding doors. Sunlight is my favorite light source. I used to eschew it in my photograph, now I embrace it.

Summers day

You can feel the sunlight in this photograph. Lily spent the afternoon with me watching Jack ride back and forth on his skateboard. Summer.

Foliage at the Huntington

I am constantly interested in images of texture and motion. This one was my favorite of 2009.

Bailey running at Jog-a-thon

Bailey spent the first 3 minutes of the Jog-a-thon in full stride. The next 27 were spent in levity and goofing.

Mom way out in front

At the Huntington Library with my Father and Mother, my Mother objected to the rate my Dad and I took along the gardens. She chose to pull us along with a 30 pace lead. “c’mon you guys, lets go”

Kenzie on hike

Kenzie is our cousin. She has loads of attitude and long, thick, black hair. Here we are hiking in Snow Canyon State Park in Utah.

New wheels on skateboard

New wheels at the surf shop offered me the luxury of photographing Jack. 8 years old and a fresh set of skateboard wheels. Life is good.

First taste of cake

Throughout our lives, cake is the symbol of good times. That first taste is overwhelming. Grace did not hold anything back, pure instinct took over.

Opening presents (with a little help)

That little girl has it all. New toys, three doting siblings, two doting parents and a happy birthday sign falling down. Good times.

Grace on printer

She is very busy. I thought her dress was sweet and I couldn’t get her to hold still. I placed her high on my laser printer to anchor her. This whole process took 10 seconds.

Awaiting rescue

Every day Grace takes an afternoon nap. Every other day she sleeps. The days that she doesn’t sleep she stands in her crib awaiting rescue.

Trying to sleep

Grace is a fitful sleeper. I wanted a photo of my sleeping baby, as everyone knows nothing is sweeter than a sleeping baby. I had a dim lightbulb in her room and a fan blowing for some white noise. It took two hours for her to go to sleep in these conditions.

She sleeps with the blankie Grandma Smith made for her.

Graces first birthday

The kids love to party. They love their little sister. Its one of the pleasures of having many children.

Si aún no has escuchado este temazo de The Drums, es el momento de hacerlo.

Summertime es el primer EP de esta banda neoyorquina que predica la alegría de vivir pop, de sacarte una sonrisa y sobretodo de ”Let’s Go Surfing”.

A night at Arkansas Repertory Theater’s “Follie Holidays” provided a great time.

Nancy and I were entertained as the talented actors, dancers and singers amazed with their talents.

They were all graduates of The Rep’s Summer Musical Theater Intensive training program and their talents made a great statement for the effort.

The skits about various holidays — major and minor — were too numerous to mention, but among the highlights were renditions of “Danny Boy” and “Summertime” that would be showstoppers in any theater.

“Follie Holidays” runs through Saturday, Nov. 14. Tickets are available at The Rep box office at 601 Main  St. in Little Rock or by calling 1-866-6THEREP or 501-378-0405.

THE DRUMS
Let’s Go Surfing

The Brooklyn (by way of Florida) duo (sometimes quartet) of Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham claim to only write about two feelings…..one is the first day of summer when you and all of your friends are standing on the edge of a cliff watching the sun set and being overcome with all of your hopes and dreams at once. The other is when you’re walking alone in the rain and realize you will be alone forever. Well…I’m uplifted and depressed all at once…I guess ‘Let’s Go Surfing’, off of their ‘Summertime’ EP, draws more from the former feeling than the later. The boys are workin’ a wonderful new-wavey/post-punk vibe with the low-fi guitars, trash can drums and doo-wop backing vocals and the music press seems to be noticing, with even NME calling them “New York’s official Coolest New Band”. Check out The Drums on their website or over on MySpace

Inauguro este blog dedicado a videos del youtube con un clásico del Jazz.

Se trata de un concierto inolvidable en el Berlín de la guerra fría. Una de mis versiones preferidas del clásico Summertime.

Ella Fitzgerald – Voz

Paul Smith – Piano

Wilfred Middlebrooks – Contrabajo

Gus Johnson – Batería

Am vazut ieri Stuck on you, foarte frumos film, nu prea greu, nu chiar superficial, Matt Damon si Greg Kinnear facand o pereche buna.
Si la sfarsit o cantat foarte frumos Greg Kinnear ceva melodie de-am mai auzit-o candva si ma prindea asa cu fiori si nu stiam unde-am auzit-o si-am cautat-o si-am gasit-o.
Si o canta Billy Stewart, mort saracu de prin ‘70, da’ noroc ca si-o inregistrat ceva albume.

No bird and mist watching for me last weekend – son and his family came to visit. Great weekend, lots of kids and lots of laughs. We are so lucky to have this large family – six kids, two married with kids, the remainder mostly with partners. Tomorrow, we off to Sydney to cruise around the northern beaches and to do the Bondi –  Tamarama walk and view the Sculptures by the Sea. We’ll catch up with old friends and enjoy ourselves tremendously.

Summer is here this week – temps in the high 20’s. My office is too hot in this late afternoon sun – the swimming pool beckons. Prawns, mango, avocado for dinner tonight.

Ellie from AAtheory/SB sat down with Magnetic North & Taiyo Na for another episode of EMT (Ellie Meets Talent). They all got to chat while on set for the Music Video shoot for ‘Summertime‘. A lot of topics are covered here so don’t miss this one.

Ellie Meets Talent, EMT, is back with another episode featuring the always handsome Taiyo Na and the talented duoMagnetic North. Reigning from the West Coast, T and Direct got together to form Magnetic North back in 2003 and it’s only looked up from there. The hip hop group,  known for their “mix of refreshingly honest rhymes and organic beats,” are definitely AA forces to be reckoned with. Fast forward 6 years later, and the emcees have garnered respect, fans, and love from all over the country. Watch out for their new album to be released in late 2009.

Born and raised in the great City of New York, Taiyo Na, is a singer, songwriter, MC, producer, and spoken word poet. His debut album, “Love is Growth” received much acclaim with Okayplayer.com writing, “establishes himself as a multidimensional talent with a unique creative voice that fuses the rhythms of the city that raised him with the soul of the Asian immigrant culture that birthed him.” But don’t be fooled by his pretty boy looks, this AA artist is one of the most respected artists on our neck of the woods and exudes talent every time he hits a mic.

Na and Magnetic North have collaborated in the past, but expect their music video for “Summertime” to drop summer 2010. Our team was lucky enough to sit with the talented threesome to talk music, collaborations, crushes, and more. All here on the 3rd episode of “EMT.”

So for the past 3 of my posts it has been about 2 girls from American Idol season 3. It was coincidence that I posted about them in sequence, but now I’m purposely doing this . Personally, it was the best season because the talent was exceptional. That was the season where Fantasia won the title, with other contestants like, Jennifer Hudson (woo!!), LaToya London, Jasmine Trias, Camile Velasco, Leah LaBelle, George Huff and so on. So this post will be a dedication to my favourite performances from that season (if I can remember all of them). Don’t get me wrong, other seasons have had spectacular moments, but I won’t get into that now otherwise I’ll be stuck here forever. So, let’s proceed!

This is in no particular order.

JHud singing Elton John’s Circle of life. That voice, my gawwwd!

JHud again singing I have Nothing by Whitney Houston.

…and again!! I really like this one..

Jasmine Trias singing Inseparable

Jasmine with I’ll never love this way again – I love Vonzell Solomon’s American Idol performance of this too!

LaToya London with All by myself

LaToya with Somewhere from the musical West Side Story

LaToya singing Don’t rain on my parade, Big band week

Leah LaBelle singing You keep me hanging on, sadly this was the last song she got to sing in the show.

Camile Velasco, One last cry by Brian McKnight. Love this

Camile singing Son of a Preacher man

Fantasia with Summertime. WOW!!!

Diana Degarmo 1st runner-up singing Don’t cry out loud

Diana singing Because you loved me

George Huff singing Against all odds. Loved this! I feel like I can reach out and touch his voice LOL

George Huff singing Dock of the bay.

This is when the Top 2, Fantasia and Diana sang with previous winners Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard – Impossible Dream. I really enjoyed watching this.

The incredibly emotional winning moment for Fantasia. The raw and true emotion is inspiring. Best winning moment throughout the seasons!!! Singing I Believe, Fantasia!! Sadly, by user request I am not allowed to embed this video so to watch this, click here.

Well. I’m sure I’ve missed some out, but I hope you enjoy. Wow this was kinda long hahaa! Given me some inspiration though, hmm what should I do? A cover, anyone??

By Cassie Turner

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Published: Sunday, November 1, 2009

Updated: Sunday, November 1, 2009

Emre Kelly

Audience members rose to their feet and exploded with applause when UCF junior Michael Newman accepted the title of Mr. UCF 2010, beating out nine other contestants in the annual scholarship pageant.

Students watched as 10 students dressed as zombies took the stage in the Pegasus Ballroom in the Student Union  on Friday as they danced to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Newman, who won the judges’  favor and the audience popular vote, took home over $2,000 in scholarship awards courtesy of Student Government Association and the UCF Alumni Association. He said his main objective as Mr. UCF this year would be to spread awareness.

“I carry the world on my backpack,” Newman said as he performed a poem he found online called The Renditions of a Homeless Man for the talent competition. Newman dressed in layers of jackets and carried a sign that read: “Hungry any spare change helps please.”

“Students a lot of times feel disconnected from the community around us. Two miles down the road there are people that are homeless,” Newman said. “There are a lot of people that stay within the circle at UCF because they don’t really understand or realize what’s going on around us.”

Newman said during his interview that he wants to bridge that gap between the community, students and faculty, which he believes is part of the UCF Creed.

Newman is currently an ambassador on the President’s Leadership Council, the community service chair of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and a member of the Student Sustainability Alliance. 

The pageant winner was not the only student heavily involved in campus and community activities vying for a shot at the Mr. UCF title. Spectacular Knight and Campus Activities Board Director Samantha Nemeroff said 15 students auditioned for the event, but only ten competed in the pageant.

“They represented UCF in a great way,” Nemeroff said. “They are all very involved in the school and the community. Their talents were impressive, too.”

Jonathan Parker sang the bluesy Porgy & Bess classic “Summertime.” Matthew Miller, clad in a glitter jacket and rhinestone glove, moonwalked to a version of “Billy Jean” by Michael Jackson. Marcus Williams dressed in a red and white checkerboard shirt, and performed a hip-hop line dancing routine to a music mix. James Jarman broke out the red vinyl records and turntables, scratched and spun a house and Latin mix. 

Tyson Nales, Mr. UCF 2009, and Dasha Gonzalez, Miss UCF 2010,  hosted the pageant with a panel of five judges. The bulk of the contestants’ scores came from the talent competition followed by their audition interview, formal wear, beachwear and a final on-stage question.

The scholarship pageant began in 1989 and benefits both students and the community. Sidney Porter, Sunshine Princess and Lake Highland student, donated a midback ponytail of hair to Locks of Love and the audience favorite vote raised $920 for Children’s Miracle Network.

SGA provided scholarship awards of $400 to the third runner-up, Warren Jackson, $650 to second runner-up, James Jarman, and $1,000 to first runner-up, Marcus Williams.

Additionally, Jonathan Parker won $500 in awards for nonfinalist best interview and top ad sales. David Cohn won $350 for nonfinalist best talent and David Yu won Mr. Congeniality and $150.

The pageant is open to all full-time male undergraduate and graduate students who hold a minimum 2.5 GPA.

Nemeroff said she can relax for a week before she begins planning for the Miss UCF pageant, with 25 girls set to compete for the title on Feb. 6, 2010. 

UCFnews: Michael Newman crowned Mr. UCF: http://bit.ly/1×2pjS http://bit.ly/1WvEkf

“we only write about two feelings: one is the first day of summer when you and all of your friends are standing on the edge of a cliff watching the sun set and being overcome with all of your hopes and dreams at once. the other is when you’re walking alone in the rain and realize you will be alone forever.”

they are the opening lines to the drums’ bio, which pretty much sums up the drums perfectly. jonathan pierce (the blond-haired guy above) and jacob graham (the guy in the coca-cola t-shirt) have been friends since their childhood days. they played in a electro-pop band named goat explosion originally. in 2003 pierce started a new indie rock project, elkland, and graham formed a band as well, horse shoes. years passed, and they both left those projects to reunite in 2008 as the drums; deciding to swap the synths for guitars (even though, neither of them knew how to play). adam kessler and connor hanwick completing the lineup.

the drums sound like the beach boys’ second coming, which isn’t a bad thing by any means, but if i told you they were from brooklyn, would you believe me? yes, that’s right they’re from new york, not some sunny californian beachside town. they’re debut ep, ’summertime!’, sounds like the kind of vinyl you’d find at your local recycled record store lifted straight from the 1950s. its, well, jolly? and beachy? and its hard to avoid the beach boys comparisons with songs like ‘let’s go surfing’. but it’s the second track of the ep that really shines, ’saddest summer’ is the song you need playing while you’re checking the surf from the headland carpark in your vintage convertible.

listen:

the drums – let’s go surfing

the drums – saddest summer

These days, when strolling through the grassy paradise that is Prince’s Street Gardens, it is not uncommon to see elderly people sitting on benches, reminiscing about their youth, complaining about the state of things and just generally relaxing.

The benches which line the main path through the top of the gardens are often festooned with OAPs drinking in the atmosphere in the post-festival dwindling sunlight.

As the summer blues and greens shift slowly to the browns and reds of autumn, the pensioners still faithfully flock to their benches despite the increasingly bitter chill in the air and the damp, cold nights.

Robert Macarthur, 78, is one such gentleman, a patron of the park at Princes Street.  “I come a walk here every other day.  It gets me out of the house.”  His eyes wrinkle into a nostalgic smile as he remembers no doubt the countless happy times he’s spent in the park.

“Me and Margaret used to come on walks through here when we were courting.  In summer we’d sit under the trees with a picnic and laugh for hours.  Nowadays it’s hard to relax with the roadworks up on the street.”

His wife, Margaret, died of a stroke in 2004 aged 71.  “She loved it here,” The smile remains on his face as his eyes begin to well up with tears.  “We came here a lot together. I used to have her for company.  Now I just sit and watch the trams…” he branches off for a second, taking time to patiently observe the Japanese couple, stood in front of the bench, photographing the castle in the evening twilight.

I look around and see tourists, everywhere, buzzing bout with their SLR’s and their, presumably, new Scotland baseball caps.  They all seem oblivious to the ground level heritage which is present everyday in Prince’s Street Gardens, instead focussing on the more obvious heritage provided for them.  In reality they’ve barely scratched the surface.