valentine's day City of Los Angeles issues CupcakeCamp LA proclamation

Very cool news - CupcakeCamp LA, which takes place this Saturday, November 20th - I'll be there wearing a magenta t-shirt that says Cupcake on it! - has received a proclamation from the City of Los Angeles. I'm pasting the official text below, via CupcakeCamp LA. Looking forward to meeting many, many cupcake lovers. See you there! If you can't find me, email cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com - I'm especially eager to talk to and photograph/film local cupcake makers and bloggers.



WHEREAS
Cupcakes evoke fond memories of childhood, family gatherings and other good things in life

WHEREAS
Baking and eating cupcakes is a blissful, simple tradition and a source of joy

WHEREAS
Cupcakes have undergone a contemporary revival that transcends nostalgia to become one of the world’s most popular desserts and the ultimate “comfort food”

WHEREAS
Los Angeles is home to some of the world’s best known and most creative cupcake shops

WHEREAS
These new cupcakeries have sprung up across Los Angeles to help spur neighborhood revitalization

WHEREAS
The variety of these shops and the cupcakes they offer is as diverse as the city itself

WHEREAS
Cupcake Camp events have been held in major cities across the globe, but never on a scale as ambitious or befitting the show business capital of the world

WHEREAS
Los Angeles-based BakeSpace.com is bringing the Cupcake Camp phenomenon to Los Angeles for a truly hometown event to raise funds for worthy nonprofit organizations

In recognition of Cupcake Camp L.A. Thank you for your delicious offerings and your service to the City of Los Angeles.

valentine's day Thank you!

Thank you all for your kind words yesterday. Unfortunately we weren't triumphant in the election. With about 60% of the precincts in we were at 70%/30% and it looked good, really good, but we ended up losing by around 200 votes.

Its a sad day, for my family but I also think for our county. I won't go into my own personal opinions about the election, but I was alarmed and shocked by actions of some people. But that's politics right?

My step dad will continue to work for the people of our township in his current elected position as he's done since I was in high school. But I don't think he'll run again after this.

My heart just hurts for my parents, who really gave their all for this election and the people in our area. Its an unfortunate turn of events, but it is what it is.

Thank you again for all your love. You guys are the best!!!

valentine's day Big Day!!

Today is primary election day and my Step Dad is running for Supervisor of Assessments for our county. The election will be decided today since the opposing party will not be running anyone.

I firmly believe my step dad has 5x more experience than the incumbent (because he does, resumes prove that) and is the best person to hold this position.

He and my mom have been working their butts off for the past few months, and I pray we are successful.

Any thoughts and/or prayers are greatly appreciated.

I'll keep you updated!!

valentine's day A little dose of Pug does a body good...

Good Morning and Happy Friday to everyone out there in bloggy land. This has been a crazy week but a lot of exciting things have happened.

1. J had her baby, who will be affectionately referred to as Baby C.

2. All my television shows are back on, yeah for couch potatoes everywhere.

3. Work has been a little crazy, a lot of new projects which is good so I can make some more $$$.

4. Back to $$$, I haven't bought anything this week. Well other than my lunch all week, I've been bad. But I wanted to finish my book and I need to be out of the office to do that.

5. I finished the 1st Sookie Stackhouse book - Dead Until Dark. I really liked it and brought the 2nd book with me to work today.

6. I won an award which I have to blog about later today.

Well, I can't let Friday go by without giving you a little puggie love. There's nothing like a pug that loves to party...

Happy Friday, stay warm wherever you all are. It cold in P'cola today, I'm wearing a wool Ralph Lauren sweater, with a long sleeve tee under it, jeans (yeah Friday), knee high black boots, a hot pink pashmina, and my trusty North Face fleece. Yes, I still live in Florida, but it gets cold up here too.

Last but not least, with inauguration just around the corner, I couldn't help but do this. I know we don't all share the same political views, and I make it a point to not discuss them on here, but I had to do this.

valentine's day 8+

valentine's day "Change" by Oingo Boingo which clocks in at 15:59

"CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN" - Barack Obama 2008 Presidential campaign slogan

The North Carolina Presidential Primary has never mattered. This is why I'd never participated before, why I wasn't even sure if Independents could vote in the primary when asked (they can), and why I got super extra-excited when it started looking more and more as though nothing was going to be decided for the Democratic Presidential candidates until, at least, sometime after May 6th. Heck, at the rate this thing is going the Democrats may not have their official candidate until 2012, but the party took a large step forward this past Tuesday in North Carolina.

Generally Iowa and New Hampshire pick Presidential nominees, but here was a chance for my home state to shine in the national spotlight and have a very prominent say in who might be the next President of the United States. It was an exciting time in North Carolina politics and it brought out more voters to the polls than ever before. I knew I'd have to find a way to capture the feverishness that was in the air, but how? How best to take advantage of the fortuitousness of being in Raleigh, NC during the 2008 North Carolina Primary? I had no plan, other than to make use of my fairly new camera, and I missed being able to attend the most obvious music blogger-y event by a mere day. So I decided to drive around town a bit, hoping to happen upon something election-related and photo-worthy and go from there. I was thinking, perhaps, a massive cluster of election signs, or a fiery group of either Clinton or Obama supporters at a local polling spot...

valentine's day I headed downtown (Raleigh is the home of NC politics after all). TV news trucks told me I was in the right place.

valentine's day The sunroof was open as I drove. I heard a helicopter hovering in one spot and decided to follow it.

valentine's day Wicked smart move kid. Look at all of those excited people in the street.

valentine's day Wait, those aren't people - they're reporters and photographers. I was definitely onto something.

valentine's day Something indeed! Secret Service types. Exxxcellent. I decided to park the car to get a closer look.

valentine's day (Ah, wouldn't be home without a Mustang or 10,000. Nice rims 'bo.)

valentine's day Walking up to the building that houses The Raleigh Times I noticed bunches of people on each corner of Hargett and Wilmington Streets. Judging by their signs and shirts - all Obama supporters.

valentine's day I stood patiently, the Secret Service guy pictured above bothered the man next to me about the item clipped to his khakis. It was a large cellphone. The middle American male uniform, duh.

valentine's day And then suddenly, excitement! The Obamas! The onlookers went nuts.

valentine's day Barack paused to smilingly shake a few hands for the cameras as he made his exit from the building.

valentine's day And then it happened. Barack Obama looked my way and waved to me. To me! Ahhhh! Okay, well wait. You're right, not to me so much as that he waved to the group of people I was standing with. But still. That Raleigh cop to the top-left of Barack sure didn't like it. Look at him. Heyyy jealousy.

valentine's day I snapped away furiously as the Obamas got in their car. Meaning, I've got a ton of pictures just like the one above.

valentine's day Another wave to delighted Obama supporters. The scent of victory was in the air.

valentine's day Some of the people on my corner.

valentine's day "These hands just touched the LORD!" an Obama supporter explains as he heads our way. (In truth, he pleadingly told us "there are still two hours left to vote and every vote counts, so get out and vote!")

valentine's day Once Barack was inside of his vehicle, this dude stood guard until it was time to go.

valentine's day And time to go it was - the Obama motorcade raced off to Reynolds Coliseum to prepare for the inevitable victory speech as he waved one last time to the crowd. I was torn between feeling as though I'd just experienced something very special and feeling like it was simply politics as usual. Change?? We shall see.

*see more pictures taken at the above event HERE.

Buy Boingo on Amazon.

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Count Basie - "Blues For The Barbecue"
The Besnard Lakes - "You've Got to Want to Be a Star"
M83 - "Couleurs"
David Byrne - "Happy Suicide"
Fleetwood Mac - "Oh Well"
Phish - "You Enjoy Myself"
Green Day - "Homecoming"
Billy Bragg - "Joe Hill"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.

valentine's day Mrs. Robinson (featuring MSNBC anchor Alex Witt)

valentine's day I'm willing to admit the following things: I am indeed a bit of a politics/news junkie... as a result I do tend to watch MSNBC fairly often/more often than I should... and as a result of that, I just might have developed a small crush on MSNBC anchor Alex Witt (above) a few years ago. I think it started sometime around the time that Soledad O'Brien went on maternity leave, which (oddly enough) coincided with a full-time switch from CNN to MSNBC for me. Anyway, for whatever reason, I finally decided to poke around Google early this week and see what I might learn about Alex Witt from, say, the mighty Wikipedia.

In nearly no time at all I was on the MySpace page of her pop band (?!) Mrs Robinson listening to a song about falling in love on Jet Blue...

valentine's day There's not exactly a wealth of information to be culled from Mrs. Robinson's (pictured above) MySpace page, but here's what I've put together so far:

- the band is made up of three women who hold the following occupations: pet grooming salon owner (le Beastro), record label employee (SRP Records), and MSNBC anchor.
- they've performed at various sporting events, on the Don Imus show (see below), and at some event called Mamapalooza.
- they have an album, a single, and some remixes available for purchase on iTunes.
- their overall sound is a little bit Wilson Phillips, a little bit Dixie Chicks, and a little bit R&B.
- the Mrs. Robinson song "Get Up" was featured in the film Single.
- the name of the band is very befitting.
- apparently they "have a sitcom about (their) kookie lives in development... so we fly Jet Blue from JFK to Burbank all the time."

I realize this isn't exactly the newest of news items, but I couldn't help myself. It's like seeing your teacher outside of the classroom doing something other than teach... Alex Witt plays in a band?? Amazing!

Now to see about booking Mrs. Robinson for the next EAR FARM Presents show...

Listen:
"Fell in love on Jet Blue"
"Get Up"

Watch:
"Choices" live on Imus
"Life Is So Good Now" live on Imus

Visit Mrs. Robinson on MySpace.

valentine's day I Want My MTV - Super Tuesday Special (music videos for Clinton, Huckabee, and Obama)

Super Tuesday! In honor of today's election process, we've rounded up some music videos that have been produced in support of three of the remaining 2008 Presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, and Barack Obama. Perhaps unsurprisingly we were not able to locate any halfway professional music videos made in support of McCain and/or Romney. That doesn't mean they don't exist however, so if you know of any 2008 Presidential Candidate music videos that we've overlooked, give a shout in the comments.

You can see the video for Hillary Clinton directly below - click through to see the video for Mike Huckabee and the two videos for Barack Obama.

Happy voting!


"Hott 4 Hill" by Taryn Southern (above, in support of Hillary Clinton)


"High Hopes" by Anne Johnston-Brown (above, in support of Mike Huckabee)


"Yes We Can" by Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas (above, in support of Barack Obama)


"I Got a Crush on Obama" by Leah Kauffman (above, in support of Barack Obama)

See also:

• Guardian Unlimited: Who are American musicians supporting on Super Tuesday?
• Hard to Find: Indie Rock Votes 2008
• BrooklynVegan: who are musicians voting for on Super Tuesday?
• Stereogum: Deadheads for Barack Obama
• EAR FARM's Presidential Campaign 2008 Mix

valentine's day EAR FARM's Presidential Campaign 2008 Mix

The first big event of the 2008 election season was held last night, the Iowa caucus. Given that I'm a bit of a politics nut, I decided to take a look around at all of the candidates last night to find out more about their taste in music. The search proved a bit fruitless, but then, as the results started to pour in, it struck me - perhaps EAR FARM could pick some songs for each of the candidates, based upon their Iowa caucus results. So that's exactly what we did. Is that stupid? Fine, go away! Does it sound like fun? Then click on through to the mix, brothers and sisters in politique.

EAR FARM's Presidential Campaign 2008 Mix
1. "The Underdog" by Spoon for Mike Huckabee (34%) - the Jared Fogle of candidates did much better than expected. This song would fit very nicely within his campaign, right next to Chuck Norris.
2. "Fake As Fuck" by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien for Mitt Romney (25%) - seems to me, he's kinda fake... seems Iowa Republicans agree.
3. "Act Naturally" by The Beatles for Fred Thompson (13%) - "Fred Thompson?! The actor?!" Sure, I'll buy that for a dollar. And hey, he was pretty great in Die Hard 2.
4. "Tough Guy" by The Beastie Boys for John McCain (13%) - disappointing finish for America's nicest tough guy, or is he just starting to heat up? Either way, I'd hate to make him mad.
5. "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" by The Offspring for Ron Paul (13%) - he is pretty fly, isn't he? Nice caucus turnout for this little-known straight shooter.
6. "Mr. Mayor" by Ladybug Mecca for Rudy Giuliani (4%) - unsurprisingly, "America's mayor" didn't play too well in the heartland. This song's for him.
7. "Friend of The Devil" by Grateful Dead for Duncan Hunter (1%) - endorsed by Ann Coulter, 'nuff said.
--
8. "Something to Believe In" by Poison for Barack Obama (38%) - why is Barack Obama so popular? Because he offers Americans what they've always wanted in a leader: something to believe in.
9. "Sweet Talkin' Guy" by The Chiffons for John Edwards (30%) - Iowa Democrats couldn't resist his charm? Shoot, I'm actually from North Carolina and I find myself being wooed by this sweet talkin' Southern man's honest down-home approach.
10. "I'm Sick of You" by Iggy & The Stooges for Hillary Clinton (29%) - an extremely disappointing Iowa caucus for Hillary means what? Clinton family saturation point? Or just simply that Iowa Dems wanted to tell her "I'm sick of you"? I'm guessing a little of both...
11. "The Potsmoker Song" by Neil Diamond for Bill Richardson (2%) - voted to legalize marijuana in New Mexico in March, campaign damage be damned. Oops!
12. "Aneuryism" by Nirvana for Joe Biden (1%) - enough Joementum to survive two brain aneuryisms, not enough to survive the Iowa caucuses.
13. "I Wish" by Bell (originally by Skee-Lo) for Dennis Kucinich (0%) - his wife's tall, he's tiny.
14. "Here Comes The Grump" by Adam Ant for Mike Gravel (0%) - I submit, based upon watching him perform in two debates, that this is the grumpiest man in all of America.
15. "Mr. Irrelevant" by Cal Leonard and His Orchestra for Chris Dodd (0%) - who? Oh, he's already withdrawn from the race. Bye bye Dodd!

Download the entire mix as a ZIP HERE.