What fun is a birthday without presents?

My 32nd birthday is approaching with the speed of a state trooper on the highway after you’ve accidentally winked out a contact and misread your speedometer.  While I’m not terribly excited about the ever-increasing number of gray hairs that I keep finding, the last few years have been pretty good so I suppose I should be willing to accept the fact that with all good experiences comes the inevitable passage of time.

Some folks will say that age and wisdom are gifts in themselves.  Call me foolish, but I think I prefer gifts of a more tangible nature :)  So without further ado, the following are some of the drool-worthy goodies I've had my eye on lately.  Enjoy!

Ukulele

John actually received a Lanikai LU-21C for Christmas last year, and we’ve had so much fun with it that I would love to have another ukulele so we can actually play together.  I’ve been learning a lot lately about playing a uke and I think it would be great fun to incorporate it into some of our live Aposematic performances.  While I really like the Lanikai LU-21C, I’m concerned with how quickly it goes out of tune (although this may just be a common occurrence among ukuleles.)  I’m also curious to try some different models to figure out which one would suit me best.   I’m still looking, but I’m currently interested in this Oscar Schmidt OU5. 

 

Microphone Stand Gooseneck Adapter

When I was singing at a show with Warpharin a couple of years ago I had the pleasure of using a gooseneck mic stand adapter and I absolutely loved it.  I felt like I had more control over my performance and it allowed me to get more involved with the music.  I have tried to purchase one on numerous occasions, but the local music supply chain store (to remain nameless) is always out of them- along with everything else we are ever there to buy.

Cupcake Stuff
I have recently become enthralled with all things cupcake oriented.  I can't explain it, nor do I condone the massive consumption of such unhealthy treats, but how can I be expected to ignore the charm of such adorable accoutrements like cupcake beanie hats, cupcake bandages, and cupcake banks?  It's almost like this trend knew I was coming.

Camera

Don't get me wrong, I love my Nikon D40, but I've seen some film cameras lately that I would love to experiment with.  Most of them are fairly cheap and plastic, but seem to take pictures with a lot of character.  And the cameras themselves look awesome! Here are a few that I really like:

Flickr Pro Account

Speaking of pictures, my Flickr Pro account that John gifted me last year is about to expire.  I would love to have that renewed...(wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more.)

Goodness, it sure seems like I want a lot of stuff, doesn't it?  Well I guess while I'm at it I'll throw in a few random items that I have absolutely no use for but would still love to have.

Romantically Challenged

So I finally watched the 1970 romantic drama Love Story with Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw the other day. I had never actively sought it out because I always assumed that it was one of those weepy "oh, their love is so magical that I'll never attain true happiness unless I can have a relationship just like theirs" movies.  I just knew that by watching it I would be destined for Harlequin romance novels and doily-covered furniture.

As it turns out, it was neither here nor there.  

Synopsis (spoiler alert!): Boy meets girl, boy marries girl, girl dies of some inexplicable disease that apparently doesn't have any physical side affects.

I'm sure that I was supposed to walk away with  some deeper understanding of the hardships facing two young lovers from different economic and social statuses during a time when blah blah blah...  I felt that the characters weren't fully developed and I found it hard to get emotionally invested.  So when Jennifer is stricken with some mystery illness that the writer apparently didn't think was necessary to identify, I found the whole thing to be a bit anti-climactic.  Maybe that wasn't a big deal in 1970, but in the age of TV medical dramas like House M.D. it's a little insulting to my self-proclaimed diagnostic prowess to deny me the opportunity to shout, "Lupus!  I bet it's lupus!"

Just like unbuttered toast, this movie wasn't entirely worthless, but it really didn't have much to offer me.  Maybe I'm just missing that romantic gene that we of the so-called "fairer sex" are supposedly born with. 

Oh and about the famous line, "Love means never having to say you're sorry."  I'm pretty sure that love means you should always say you're sorry, even if you know you're right.

So to all of the lovers of this film, I'm sorry.

R.I.P. Sadie Lynn Thies

 You were not mine, but you were a good dog and I loved you.  You will be missed.

New Publicity Photo

I just posted this new Aposematics photo that I'm kind of excited about.  We shot a new video this past weekend for our new song "Walking Upright" and I took a few photos while we were all together.  This is on our bass player Dan's property.  He's so lucky to have some decent land around his house.  Some of us live a little too close to the city to have this kind of setting.

It was a lovely day for a video/photo shoot.  Not only did we successfully shoot an entire video in one afternoon, but Dan and his lovely wife Leslie graciously grilled steaks for us for dinner.

Their adorable pixie-faced daughter Princess Lilly Pants was the life of the party.  Turns out she's quite the shutterbug!  At almost 3 years old she's taking better pictures than some human-sized people I know!  She's a whole lot of sweetness in a tiny little package.  She changes so much every time I see her and it's so fascinating to watch as she takes after her father, then her mother, then her father again...

 All in all it was a good day.  Though we've received a less than stellar response to our latest video, we have high hopes for the coming days.  We've been invited to play 2 benefit shows this summer, and I have been offered 2 photo shoots as well.  As long as we keep our eyes on the prize, I think everything will come up roses!


Omaha Steaks 2 (16 oz.) Private Reserve Bone-In Strips