My "I'm Not a Celebrity" Playlist

I offered this idea to itunes - the "i'm not a celebrity playlist" but they weren't really interested so it is making its debut on gotmoxie08.com instead. Nothing eccentric or surprising. Just good beats worth sharing.

She Sings - (track 1) One of my fav tracks from the Pawnshop Kings - but there's lots to like from their first album Locksley. Out of LA with some (apparently deep!) soulful Southern roots. You will want to sing along.

Two - (track 2) Had no clue what Ryan adams was all about until I happened upon this song from Easy Tiger. Now I can't get enough of him, including trax from Whiskeytown and his work w/ the Cardinals. He writes his own stuff. Extra points for that.

New Soul- (track 3) I had to google the imac air commercial to find this song. Yael Naim is an uplifting singer/songrwiter with a French/Israeli background. I literally played this song 20 times in a row after I downloaded it. Its that good!

Silly Love Songs - (track 4) Paul McCartney and Wings -need I say more. An oldy but goodie and on my list for sentimental purpose.

Indescribable- (track 5) Chris Tomlin sings this most upbeat song about God and how truly cool He is.

Hallelujah - (track 6) this must be religion! Jeff Buckley...sigh.

Love like this - (track 7) THIS WILL STICK. Like, you will be singing it all day long. Natasha Bedengfield surprises.

1234 - (track 8) those apple marketing gurus sure can pick the winners. One YouTube review of the video said it will make you smile for 3 minutes. Its true - plus, makes ya wanna dance.

Solsbury Hill -(track 9) pop this in on a car ride and drive for a long, long time. Peter Gabriel's best.

Once in a Lifetime - (track 10) Sometimes I just need to wake up!!

NoOne's Gonna Love you (track 11) Band of Horses - sound is suspiciously similar to the Samples. But I like.

Everybody Knows (track 12) - told you I couldn't get enough of Ryan Adams. Lots of heart and easy to relate.

Read my Mind (track 13) Melancholy w/ a cool beat. No playlist of mine complete w/out something from the Killers.

In a Big Country (track 14) Good times! Also fun for a long distance drive.

Let's call her "Easter"

Around this time last year, the sweetest little hummingbird built her nest right outside our second story office windows in downtown San Francisco. For several weeks, we had the pleasure of watching her flit back and forth at lightning speed, never leaving her nest for more than 5 minutes.

Through a cold, cold March, she sat.

Through pounding rain she sat.

Through powerful winds and even hail, she sat....guarding her precious jelly bean sized gem and all the while her little hummingbird heart beating at 250 beats per minute.

It's more than remarkable because our building is part of the concrete jungle, with no signs of nature besides the four trees ouside and even they are dwarfed by the dark shadow of the tall buildings and no sun.

So this time last year, as we were busying ourselves in our world of meetings, phone call, emails, deadlines, budgets and office politics, there was Easter. On the outside, working just as steadfast as the rest of us, on her own small, but very important project.

With Spring came Easter's baby. Sitting snugly in her nest while Mom skirted to and fro to feed her baby as we marvelled at this sign of Spring pop its little head out of the nest, growing and waiting for her own turn to grow up and start her own circle of life and fly some day at a speed nearing 40 miles an hour.

Quite soon after he came, Easter's baby did fly and we would watch them sitting on the phone lines, mother and baby, looking down and all around their city world. (Me, always wishing they would move to the beautiful park just down the street...with trees, a waterfall, flowers! )

Why did Easter pick a city street with only four trees and no sun?

Alas, it was sad to see them go, Easter and her precious baby. But I hoped we would see her again.

Just two weeks ago, someone noticed an ash colored blob on the trees outside our window.

"She's back!"

Nature's little mascot, sent as a tiny envoy from God himself perhaps, to remind us that the world outside our office is much grander than we may remember as we toil away.

"She" needed a name.

I suggested"Easter" because of the time of year she picks to build her nest. Perfect!

I was thrilled to see Easter, sitting on the phone lines or in her nesting tree. The ash colored clump growing slightly bigger but Easter wasn't roosting... until today.

Seeing her, I spread the good news out to the handful of colleagues who appreciate Easter, and all she represents. "Easter is sitting on her eggs!"

No sooner did I make harken this revelation when we heard somobody say,

"Uh-oh, we've got a problem." Then there was a a bit of a scene- not a typical day in the office!

At least a dozen people clamored to the window and one woman banging against the 4 inch thick panes, screaming "NO! NO!"in an attempt to scare off a nasty black crow who happened upon Easter's jellybean sized eggs while she was off to feed somewhere.

It was a devastating moment to see the crow with the ash colored nest in its mouth, and chomping on Easter's eggs. The ash color I later discovered came from Easter herself when I read that hummingbirds pluck out their own feathers to make a home for her baby to be.

The office recovered quickly from the Animal Planet type drama, Oh well.

But me... I had Easter on my mind. How would she handle this?

Minutes later, Easter returned to her ransacked nest and how she handled it made her more endearing to me than ever. Easter went right back to work to fix her nest! I couldnt believe my eyes. What a trooper.

After she fixed it, she sat for a while on a banch as if pondering, what to do now? Then she flew off. I dont know enough about Hummingbirds to know if Easter can or will lay more eggs? Or if she will return.

I do know that I am happy Easter came.

Hot Diggity Blog!

I am beginning to feel what the hype has been all about. Blogging is cool. Especially if you have a passion for writing. Blogging is the way to go.

It means you put your creative pants on, sit your ass down and write. As an inspiring writer this is critical.

Oh! The absolute best part about blogging - INSTANT PUBLISHING. I get to see my work published on the world wide web.

Encouraging!

Nevermind that the sum total of people reading this is a whopping 2- maybe 3. (thanks Dad)

Note to my support team and self: I hope to get better.

Blogging?

What a trip!

Coffee Klatch..er uh Klash

Today I re-visited one of my old haunts after a 3 year hiatus and remembered why I havent been in a hurry to get back. In days of yore, my morning started with a walk to the local Peet's to get my wake up shot of caffeine and chat with the other early morning regulars. My routine changed when I moved to the City for the last three years and had no reason to go to the burbs for coffee. I mean come on! San Francisco coffee houses are legendary and I had my pick of places to go.


North Beach delivered nostalgia and while in Noe Valley I could drink in my coffee and a bit o' sun. Of course, coffee in the Castro was not only convenient because that's where I lived but coffee places there are always filled with interesting, diverse folk. But I digress. Since I moved back to the burbs four months ago, I have had no desire to pick up my old routine of coffee @ Peets.

I've thought about it but just couldnt be bothered. I have been perfectly content taking in the morning light with the coffee in my French press and my journal as my companions.
Until today. I was out of coffee.
So off to Peet's I went.

I purchased my 1/2 lb. bag of my favorite Garuda blend, got my free cup and congregated outside with the usual suspects. I slipped quite comfortably back into the chatting it up, laughing, and poking friendly at one another. I even impressed myself when I easily re-directed the table topic away from politics. As a conservative Republican (that's right) I just don't feel like dealing with the overly confident and obnoxious Democrats. Besides... it was still early and I hadn't finished my coffee yet.

My intent was to visit and I did but then they started dong what they do and talked about how rich everyone around us was. Yuck. The old anxiety that used to chip at me when I was with these people came back. I really had little to contribute to the conversation when it 'went there'. Typically, I don't spin my wheels in awe of how rich other people are. I really dont care.

I guess whose got what is really an age-old obsession in America. But it bores me. Who wants to talk about how rich other people are? I mean...what's it going to do for me except piss me off? Let people have their fortunes and I am going to try to keep looking at what's on my plate.

I got over the abundance of wealth in the Bay Area a long time ago. I am unaffected really by people with money. People have homes, jobs, and bank accounts worthy of coveting. But hey, I just woke up and havent seen you guys for 3 years? Cant we talk about something else?

Dont get me wrong. Money is important. But I dont want to spend my time talking about how rich other people are.

What the heck is wrong with me?

I dont know.

Lucky I guess.

The Trouble With Heath Ledger

Hollywood is our royalty and Heath a royal Prince. Kissed with good looks, a stellar physique and an electric smile, Heath Ledger had loads of "X" factor marking him for stardom. Heath delivered more memorable roles in a few short years than some can ask for in a lifetime. With a self- professed desire to "hunger" for each new role, Heath didn't jump at every role tossed his way. He cherry picked the opportunities that would stretch him as an artist. We benefitted from his trepidation in which roles he selected.

As true muses to us, the consumers, we expect celebrities to live their "celebrity lifestyles" doing all those things that buckets of money and star status allow for while we co-exist in our parallel universes. The "sought after" and the "seekers". We piece together snippets of Hollywood's glam from an impression we get in a film, or reading the tabloids. We may even think we really know someone after reading a decently constructed interview somewhere like Vanity Fair or an appearance on Oprah. We put all this together and toss with our imaginations and we create our own image of a Hollywood celebrity.

I can imagine running into Heath in line somewhere, and in my glib- un -star-struck manner, I'd say, "Hey, nice work as Ennis DelMar wanna grab a beer?" And Heath in his very unaffected- by- star- status way, would accept and we'd be fast friends.

They live their lives and we live watching them live their lives. This is just the way it is. They make exorbinant amounts of money, looking great, dodging paparazzi, going to parties, and all the while, we are entertained and hungry for more! More details, more picture! Whatever secret glance we can make into their private lives is satisfying. We find respit in the tabloids. A glimpse into Hollywood for 5 minutes in the grocery line to make sure that Brangelina and their brood are all still pukifyingly perfect, and that Paris Hilton crashed another ex-friend's birthday party at some club in Vegas and phew! All is well in the world. This is what are celebs are supposed to do! They are not supposed to be found dead in their swanky $23,000 a month New York apartment from an accidental overdose at a much too young age of 28.

Heath's very guarded private life ending in a fiercely public death. And me, secretly wishing it could have been any other actor. Is that bad?

Why are so many reeling from the death of Heath Ledger? A complete stranger to us all, someone perhaps we thought we knew from his roles. Were we drawn to the free spirit in him? Was it that he represented a more likeable Hollywood glam pack? A super star but humble and even a bit shy. Not attracted to or comfortable in the limelight. And yet, he couldnt help it. Doing what he loved meant being in that limelight. In fact, it created it. If he lacked talent, it would have been a different experience. But he was talented and diverse in his abilities. His brilliant flame snuffed out way too soon. They way he died, so unfair. A blow to all his fans.

The world will be a lesser place without Heath Ledger. Lucky for us, we have great character portrayals to remember Heath's dedication to his work as an actor. Heath made us laugh, cry and fall in love with him in his roles and roles yet to come when the highly anticipated "Dark Knight roars it way into Summer blockbuster status and we are introduced to Heath's very own creation of "the Joker".

As for Heath's greatest contribution EVER, I pray she is bringing joy and comfort to her mother, grandparents and all who loved her dad and must be grieving much more than the rest of us.

Alas, there will be no beer with Heath. Not for me, not for you and God love him not for Daniel Day Lewis. Not this side of Heavens gate anyways.

Damn it.