feeling kinda cagey

My election day working vacation in Florida put me up close and personal with the DARK SIDE a few years ago. I was there when some pretty suspicious things went down. What I didn't know is that plans were apparently in motion for months and months before election day rolled around. In fact, the DARK SIDE engaged in a very suspicious practice called "voter caging" to keep some folks off of the voter rolls.

Have you ever thrown away junk mail? Well, after you watch this, you will never want to throw it away again. That junk mail might be part of a practice called "voter caging" that sounds pretty sketchy. But that's how you roll if you've got the Justice Department full of your personal henchmen.

loving: Blue Stone

They've got no promo. No marketing. No nothing. So you probably won't have heard of the music. But it's thoughtful and great background music, a clever blending of technics and organics.

a charmed life

I've lived a charmed life for the last decade. I have attended an incredible school and met some fascinating characters. I have flown alongside a seeker as he raced after the golden snitch. Once-invisible thestrals -- truly magical creatures -- took me on a journey of understanding from innocence to experience. A giant friend introduced me to his (gianter) half-brother. A funny pair of twins introduced me to delicious treats and hilarious hijinx like puking pastilles. Hermoine taught me that house elves have rights, too. (Who knew?) Mostly, I think, I will leave this journey with a better appreciation for the values of loyalty, friendship, trust and patience. Yes, I've seen the darker side, too. There have been moments of complete disillusionment at my care-givers, along with some terrible losses of friends and family.

It is truly amazing to me how authors create entire worlds out of thin air. J.K. Rowling took a panoply myth and magic already present in real (muggle) world folklore and, with a delicate touch, wove it into an intricate parallel world. In this world, she told a complex story of growing up. A story of learning about friendship and enemies. A story of black, white and ever-present gray.

We have grown from the awe-filled, wide-eyed world of a first-year student to the darker, world-weary cynical world of political intrigue and war. It has been quite a journey! Thank you, Jo, for letting us into your rich and wonderful world.

This summer's biggest highlight for me was the release of the 7th Harry Potter book. I have to admit that, this summer, nothing else really compared to this book. The rest of the season I've pretty much just phoned it in. Yes, I worked hard at composing music for the fringe festival and I had an OK time in Cape Cod (yawn), but nothing has compared to the visions of big HP7.

chocolate jesus: first show!

Everybody loves a delicious sweet surprise, don't they? Think about those little easter treats and only then can you fully realize the power of poor quality milk chocolate. Ah, the smooth and creaminess of it all! Yes, chocolate is a powerful drug. Combine that with the power of Jesus and you will begin to understand what we experienced last night!

About 35 folks got to enjoy chocolaty goodness last night at the premiere of Speakeasy DC's Fringe Festival show, Chocolate Jesus. It was the first of at least two sold-out performances, according to Fringe executive director, Damian Sinclair. Our talented cast and director put on a wonderful show and I was so happy to be a part of it! It was a fierce brew of personal stories, all reflecting on the theme of religion. The stories were all real -- this is a nonfiction performance -- and are, by turns, heart-warming, hilarious, nearly unbelievable and truly poignant. Stephanie talks about her time as a fertility goddess (really). Travis recounts his trials as a recovering southern baptist (ouch). Eva laments her fate as a child of Argentinian hippies, while Amy gives us the low-down on her crazy Jewish summer camp. All of the performances were pitch-perfect and very earnest. This is the opposite of acting -- this is real storytelling at its best.

I composed some music for the show that I'm more than happy to share. (My particular favorite is "postshow," a megamix. Where else can you find "If I were a rich man," Madonna's "Like a prayer," Beethoven's 9th Symphony "Ode to Joy," Jeffrey's "Jazz piano improv on Madonna's like a prayer," and the "We shall overcome" latin house mix?)

Download away, kids -- just remember that the bulk of my music is elsewhere.

Back to the show... I hafta say that last night's crowd was great: receptive, warm and truly eager to hear the stories. I hope that we have the same amazing reception next time!

Special thanks and shout-outs to cast, director, volunteers and everyone who made it happen!

Mer's summer o' fun (TM)

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Originally uploaded by YoyoGrrrl

Our view from the top was kind of like this. We were near the top of RFK stadium. Mer, a pal from speakeasy, invited me to a Nats game last night. It was a blast. The Nats went up again the Chicago Cubs. The Nats so lost. But the people-watching was good and the company was great. We discussed all of the important issues of the day. Like boys. And food. And summer. And boys, too.

After we waved (and gang-signed) goodbye, I had a little adventure. Somehow, I managed to take the train on the wrong side of the platform. Then, when I realized my mistake, I got off at the Benning Street station. Yes, that's right, one of the sketchiest areas of town. So I exit the station, embark on a scary "find the ATM that hasn't been robbed and vandalized" hunt. I went to two gas stations without a working ATM. Strobing police lights put me in a daze. Stumbling toward gas station number three, I could detect the subtle scent of stink weed. Finally, I got my cash, flagged down a taxi and got home before I turned into a statistic.

Fun stuff!

new logo

Bob always had a rough time getting things into position on his powerpoint slides. He needed my help. Me? I was the handsome young personal assistant that Bob hired after his promotion to VP of Marketing.

Bob had the corner office, the new title and a penchant for adultery. I was helping him get ready for a big meeting, prepping him with his powerpoint presentation, when he made the first move. It was the ol' "hand over the hand holding the mouse" trick. We changed positions of a few things and left the presentation behind, so to speak.

Imagine my surprise when he showed me the new design for the corporate ID -- he wanted to commemorate our "meeting" with the new logo. So that's how A-Style Architecture got its new logo.