I'm a big fan of some children's music that has emerged over the past few years. You have Yo Gabba Gabba, which was created by the singer of the Aquabats and features some awesome indie artists singing songs to help educate children and stimulate their imagination. There's Milkshake, who paid their dues in other bands in the Baltimore music scene before forming this band. And They Might Be Giants, who have been around since the 1980s, but did not start out as a children's band.

I purchased the Powerpuff Girls soundtrack that came out roughly ten years ago and I still listen to it sometimes. It's not really educational, but it's still good for children on a creative and imaginative level.

I like the way these recent songs have been written and performed. They don't insult a child's intelligence. Many adults enjoy these songs as well. The music is well-done. It's catchy enough for kids to like, but it's not dumbed down.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K6w8hVv4Ko


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cCC8a6HMz4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDG0c3saE4

I could not find any music videos online for Milkshake, but here is their website: http://milkshakemusic.com

Ray Comfort (better known as "The Banana Man") has a ministry called Way of the Master and started Living Water Publications. He, along with Kirk Cameron ("The Crocoduck") and others, like to go around preaching that you will spend an eternity in hell if you have not accepted Jesus as your savior and if you have ever been blasphemous. They are also Young Earth Creationists who believe the literal word of the book of Genesis. He does not believe in evolution. I could go on and on about how wrong he is and how the actions of groups like these hinder social and scientific progress, but you can read more about him yourself by going to WayOfTheMaster's channel on YouTube or by doing a google search.

His groups are scheduled to be on campuses across the United States tomorrow, November 19, and in various campuses in Canada on November 24. November 24 is the 150th anniversary of the first publication of Dawin's On the Origin of Species. I guess Comfort and Cameron see this anniversary as a threat to their religious beliefs, so they are handing out their version of how they think the book should be. And, based on their evangelical beliefs, I won't be surprised if they try to "save" some students. Rather than celebrate all the progress and advances that have been made because of this publication, they are threatened at how it contradicts their religion.

Now, I am aware that they have the right to do this. They have free speech. That doesn't mean I have to like what they say. And that doesn't mean that if you disagree, you should just stay silent and take it, if you want to stand up for things you believe. You can cause a scene, if you like. But if that's not your style, you can do this: http://www.dontdissdarwin.com/resources.php

I would love to go there and pass out the flyers. I don't attend JHU but I do live close. But I have work all day and school, so my schedule won't permit me go there. I am hoping, especially since JHU is filled with very intelligent persons, that the students will make me proud and take a stand on their own.

For a list of schools that are scheduled to be visited by Comfort's team, go here: http://www.dontdissdarwin.com/schools.php

A lot of people are freaking out at the "news" that Obama doesn't write his own tweets. Did everyone really think he did? And you know what, I want to be Obama's social networking czar. I'd be good at it, too! lol.

I had a cold and decided to stay in this weekend. I ended up catching Taylor Swift hosting SNL. I'm not a big fan of her music. I don't hate it, either. I think she's talented but her music just isn't my cup of tea. And I think she's a lot better than most current country stars.

But she was a great host. I really liked her. There's just something about her that is likeable. She seems like an awesome person and she appears to have acting abilities. I'm not in the acting business, so I'm probably not the best person to ask. But I do think she did a better job as host than a lot of other people with more acting experience, such as Megan Fox. Taylor looks great as a brunette, by the way. I get the feeling that this is beginning of things to come for Taylor and I wouldn't be surprised that as time goes by, her music might evolve into something that I would like.

This year, Hello Kitty turned 35, so Happy Birthday! I have had more HK and other Sanrio items than I can count.

In honor of this, I dressed as her for Halloween.


I'm also a big fan of Badtz-Maru (the cynical DJ penguin) and Keroppi (the happy frog).

I have no idea who is dressed up as these characters. I found this on Google. It looks like it was taken at the Baltimore Convention Center, so I'd guess that this was from Comic Con (or maybe Otakon). But I don't really know, especially since I'd think it would be more crowded. Anyway, it's cute!

Here is the trailer to the movie I did earlier this year. I'm only in it for a split second (shortly before the 1 min mark). But hey, it's not about me. Look how good the movie looks for an indie film on a shoe string budget. ;)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjL1WXPw8QI

Dave Nenner - a musician whom a lot of people in the Baltimore scene would know from Truth Be Told (and was formerly in To A Science and Cylix) - has a new solo side project. I am excited to be working on new songs with him.

Here is the ReverbNation profile: http://www.reverbnation.com/davenenner
There will be some demos posted in the near future.

I think I just puked in my mouth a little. It appears that the UK has a singer who is about as credible as Avril Lavigne:


From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wish_I_Was_a_Punk_Rocker_(With_Flowers_in_My_Hair):


Not only are there some major inaccuracies in her song, but apparently there was a fake grass roots story that was created by her record label to promote her as a musician. Sort of goes against the things she's complaining about in her song, doesn't it?
Supposing ... Sandi Thom is the musical antichrist

Here is a video tribute of Bryan Burken. It has pictures of him, along with his photography.



The video is also on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCvtM7WKoUQ

I posted some photographs of Bryan in a previous blog entry. I've added 3 more pictures since I originally posted it. You can view that here.

Here is an email I received from okcupid a few weeks ago. It's funny that some of the places where I've been considering moving are the places where I have the best matches.

On August 22nd, Bryan B passed away. He was a close friend of mine and he positively changed my life in many different ways. He was certainly taken from this world far too soon. I miss him terribly. I will never meet anyone else like him.



There is also a video tribute to Bryan here: Video in Memory of Bryan Burken

To those of you in Baltimore, please come out to Recher Theater on August 21. I will be making a special guest appearance on a couple songs with my former band mates in Skitzo Calypso. Candace from Another Lincoln will be appearing on a song as well!

I have wanted this shirt since as long as I can remember. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. I saw the "Beat It" video repeatedly as a young child. Since I was already taking piano lessons at that time, when I saw Michael Jackson's shirt, I wanted one so much. And now I can have my own. 

Now, which size do I order? What if I order the wrong size? Ahh, the blessing and curse of internet clothes shopping.

Choosing a favorite Michael Jackson song is about as hard as having to choose a favorite song of all-time. Here are two of my favorite MJ videos that no longer get as much attention as, say, "Thriller".

Notice the fake newspaper headline in "Leave Me Alone" that appears:

In the first grade, there was a school carnival during the weekend and I won $200 in a raffle.

In the summer of 1999, I was in a clothing store in the Atlanta, Georgia area. There was a drawing to win an iMac. A couple months later when I was back in Baltimore, I found out that I had one a blueberry iMac! This actually altered my life a lot. For one, I wasn't that interested in computers before this. Sure, I was one of the first people at my school to start using the internet in 1994 when it was still uncommon. But I didn't care much about the programs on the computer or anything other than just signing onto AOL. I found that even using basic, common applications was a huge headache and I just didn't really "get" computers, how they worked, why they behaved in a certain way, and why they kept crashing, haha! Getting an Apple computer changed all that. I found out I was just not into Windows but I immediately took a liking to my iMac and the Mac OS (which was OS 8 at the time). I started using programs on there and learned a lot about computers and eventually ended up taking classes in college in Interactive and Graphic Design. I am now majoring in Information Technology at school. I use my computer for many different reasons now, including recording my music. Being comfortable with this technology has changed me personally and professionally. Having a better grasp at the Mac OS helped me to eventually become better at understanding Windows as well. I still need to become familiar with Linux but that will happen in the not-too-distant future as I have to take a course in school on this anyway. 

It just goes to show you that little things can alter your life. If I had decided to not enter that contest or not even go to that store at all, I would not have won the computer and who knows what I would be majoring in at school right now, if anything.

I have a lack of updates lately and part of that is because of being busy and a part of that is due to Twitter. My desire to create well-written, thought out entries has been replaced by trying to create cleverly-written 140 word or less messages. I need to get back into writing more in-depth posts. Just trying to think of what to write for this blog is harder than it would have been a few months ago. Twitter has helped me being more effective at communicating what I want to say in a condensed form but I also need to make sure I don't lose my writing capabilities and my ability to explain something in-depth.