Music to move you

May I present Emin - not to be confused with Eminem, the white (wannabe black) rapper who sings about hate, killing, drugs...all that loveliness.  Oh no.  Emin has nothing in common with Eminem, other than he is male.  But Emin actually sings (good classy songs).  He's not bad to look at, either.

From Azerbaijan (not that I could find it on a map), this singer croons with a tone reminiscent of Chris Isaak and/or Elvis, depending on the song.  Of course it's the international versions of Chris Isaak and Elvis...would you expect anything less than world music from me?  But hey, give it a shot, click on the videos...He's singing in English, I promise!

Here we have my current favorite:  Don't Go.  It's not a true music video, just pictures...but the song is pretty.

It makes me sad that iTunes does not carry his music in the US store.  I mean, they have it in the UK store, but I'm not fully convinced I can switch stores just to buy the music.  Maybe I can?  Do you know a way?

I'd buy this song, too:  Wonder.  (Okay, okay, I'd buy them all.)

Top photo courtesy of the Official Emin site.  Go learn more about him!

There's Machu Picchu, now turning...turning...

Image:  Arvind Balaraman/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Just kidding!  I haven't been to Machu Picchu...

Yet.

The travel section is, was, and always will be where you can find me in a book store.  Walking into Barnes and Noble, I instinctually know where my books are, as if the wild aroma of adventure wafts over to me from the small section marked travel essays.

With a quick wave to my companion, I veer off in the direction of my books.  If the manfriend is lucky, I'll order a drink before disappearing into the books.

God's Middle Finger:  Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre.  I'm going to have to read more of that, but let's see what else.  Too Much Tuscan Sun.  Hmmm...maybe.  Into Thin Air.  I dunno.  I'll Never Be French.  That's for sure.  Turn Right at Machu Picchu.  What's this?  Machu Picchu? The book brazenly demands of you before it is even opened.  I...just...might...  I glance at the back.  Alright, I will turn at Machu Pichhu.  That is, if I ever get there.

I stride back to the table reserved by the manfriend and remaining "half" of a tiramisu parfait, my eyes too busy scanning the first pages of the text to notice the missing part of my dessert.  The  next hour escapes my notice as Mark Adams guides me through his background.

Manfriend:  Ready to go?

Me:  blank stare

Manfriend:  Ready?

Me:  You're buying me this book?

Manfriend:  Can't you get it from PaperBack Swap*?

Me: Not available... You're buying me this book?

Manfriend:  How much?

Me:  (glancing around) Uhhh, $27?

Manfriend:  Isn't it cheaper online?

Me:  You're buying me this book now, or I'm buying it online.  Today.

Manfriend:  How much online?

Me: $17.

Manfriend:  pointed look

Me:  Fiiiiiiine.

I don't know that he believed me, but by the time we walked through the front door, the book was bought and paid for online.  It's addicting, both funny and interesting.  Mr. Adams manages to wind his story of adventure traipsing around in the Amazon with that of the Inca and how Machu Picchu came to be discovered after so many years by Hiram Bingham.

The Amazon.  The Inca.  Rainforest.  The Andes.  Discovery.  History.  Latin America.  It reminds me of all that time I spent in Ecuador, yet with my favorite learning thrown in.  When will this book get here?

I pace around the house, count the days.  Hellooooo, universe, (or Amazon), I'm waiting!

Finally!  Finally.  At long last, it's here!

I might be MIA for the next few days as I get lost in the world of books, but it'll be worth it.  Feel free to entertain yourself in this lull by buying your own copy of the book here.

All anyone's going to see of me in the next few days

*PaperBackSwap is a free online book trading community that mails requested books between members, which is a great way to recycle books and make them more affordable.  Go check it out!

The silly gene

I vant to suck ver blood!

Sometimes you need to be a little silly.  I mean, when I am overcome by a good mood that uplifts my heart and my step...it creeps out into a sing-song voice and actions.

I can literally bounce around the house and act crazy.  The dumbest thoughts come to mind and I actually say them.  It certainly makes for an interesting day which leaves people scratching their heads, but with a smile.

I think it's genetic.

Growing up, each of us had our own chores to do: clean the bathroom, do the dishes, mow the lawn, or take care of the laundry.  If we didn't do our chores, we didn't get allowance.

Being the awesome sister that I am, I sometimes helped my sister in the kitchen.  We would turn on our favorite music and dance around while we put away the dishes.  Fun times.  I highly recommend all sisters to have that joy.

One fateful day, which will be forever engrained on my memory, my sister and I were doing our usual antics in the kitchen to a Five Iron Frenzy CD when my mother walked back into the room.  She took one look at us and laughed.

It was probably 5 seconds that she stood there and just watched us.  And then something overcame her.  She grabbed the nearest item (which just so happened to be a spatula), and joined in.

Here's the song (if you can get through the first 45 seconds of "When I go out") to help you picture it.  Keeping perfect time, my mother pranced--that's right, pranced--through the kitchen and into the living room, spatula swinging and all.



My sister and I collapsed on the floor laughing.  When we could breathe again, we stood up and gave our mom a great big hug, because not everyone has such an amazing mother.

And now we know where we get it from.

This is not a serious post by any means

"Prince Ali, mighty is he, Ali Ababwa!  Strong as ten regular men, definitely..." resounded through my bathroom this morning while I soaped up my hair.

Just kidding!  I don't sing in the shower.  Well, not typically.  Sometimes I do, but it's more like this:



But without that fantastic voice.  Picture a teenage male hitting puberty.  It's more like that, but slow and in Spanish, like this guy.  (Yes, I am female...so what if I have a rather masculine singing voice?)

However, today was different.  I was singing in English.  That infernal song, Sky Mall Kitties, was stuck in my head in the shower this morning.  Thank you, Aunt Becky.



PS.  Yes, I do randomly break out into the songs from Aladdin.  Often.  Just ask anyone who knows me.  Most of the time people just roll their eyes and walk away.  It hits me at the most random times.  But I have never had that song pop into my mind while scrubbing myself clean.

PPS.  Did you know that they make toilets that can play your music?  I think I need one!  And then I'd put in the Tarzan song by Aqua...Can't you just picture it?  Check it out:



My life would finally be complete.  What do you think?  Could you live without a toilet that sang to you?

Exploratorium

Hands on science:  having fun while learning.  Thus is the idea behind the Exploratorium.  It may be directed at kids, but aren't we all kids at heart, even if we have a bit bigger body to experiment with?

The Exploratorium is located at the Palace of the Arts, which happens to be an incredible building.

Yes, I'm slouching. But look how big the urn is!

There are more experiments to play with than you could imagine.  One area is dedicated to magnetic fields, another to biological science, yet another area deals with sound, space, etc.  The current exhibit at the Exploratorium is Color.  It was fun to play with light and how colors change (and do everything you can imagine with color).

A modified polygraph was interesting.  It measured excitement levels in the body.  What's the most embarrassing thing I can ask you about in front of this crowd of people...?  I also talked to a computer program (Daisy) that was just learning language... it wasn't too thrilling.  I think she could have been programmed better.  She liked to repeat herself.   There was also a special activity of dissecting a cow's eye.  How cool is that?  And creating a functioning motor.  And a forever walking slinky.  And...and... I managed to take pictures of a few stations.

Ever thought about how different colors change your mood?  Let's find out...

Blue (becoming purple) is soothing

Red makes you anxious/excited

Purple!..I dunno...

Let's create a magnetic field and project it on a screen, shall we?

Can you tell I'm attempting to take a picture?

How about making different colors with light?

Oooh, special disappearing tubes...

And my personal favorite:  The unattainable spring.  There is a light that shines in this little box in the wall.  Okay, what's so cool about that, you say.  Well, try to grab it.  It looks like it's right there in front of you.  But it's not.  Your hand goes right through it.  No, no, it's not a ghost.  This is a science museum, after all.  Not the unexplainable.  Geez.  It's just a trick!

Hint:  If you walk around the corner and look into the other window, you can see where the spring is located...and the concave mirror that reflects it to look like it's right in front of you.

Space-y type stuff was towards the end.  There was a satellite orbit simulation, which is cool, until you jet off into space or crash into earth, (zero gravity?  I didn't hit the zero gravity button...).  To further explore, dry ice demonstrates the way asteroids move...

Pretty, isn't it?  All the twirling...

Anyway, to sum it up, the Exploratorium was fun.  Definitely something to do with the kids that's educational as well as time consuming, but fun for adults, too.

Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog

I had the distinct privilege today to introduce innocent victims...erm, special friends...to a new time waster or rather high quality entertainment: Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. This is by no means new, it was created several years ago. My intoduction to it came through my ever-sharing brother.

It came around while some actors apparently had too much time on their hands.  If only my friends and I could create something so entertaining with our own free time...oh well.  I'm content to watch others' randomness.

It's newly on Netflix, which is how I'm watching it today. But for those who haven't seen it, take a peek via YouTube:  Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog: Act 1 Part 1

There are multiple Acts, so make sure to watch them all!