Just another Saturday night in KCMO...

This was one of the acts at the (PG-13 Rated) Donkey Show at Crosstown Station last Saturday. So cool that there are Kansas Citians cooling it up for all to see.

Westside Stories: INTRO

May 1, 2009: Ok, here I go...

Just closed on a plot of land, 37 x 126.5 feet to be exact, on the Westside in KCMO!! Been dying to be a part of this hood for years and years and days! Yep, that amazing pile of dead sticks and trees that butts up to a half burned down garage, is mine....almost all mine...in several more payments of thousands of dollars. :) Couldn't be more prouder or exciteder. Now to sell my house so I can get this party started!

Over the next 15+ months, I will be tracking my adventures in building green (LEED certified) with a mid-century modern twist, on a really tiny budget, while living bare bones style in a studio apt!! My architect and builder and subs, who I will be sure to introduce you to, are Westsiders themselves all trying to adapt greener lives. I will post lots of links and ups and downs and advice and questions as this all unfolds...so stay tuned!!

Please to Enjoy April: Covers

please to enjoy = 50% new + 50% new to me + 50% songs from back in the day + 50% songs that don't quite fit

Link to file:
https://download.yousendit.com/U0d4eVdncG9GOFRIRGc9PQ

1. Digital Love (Daft Punk) - Alphabeat
2. Careless Whisper (Wham) - Ben Folds
3. Thriller (Michael Jackson) - Ben Gibbard
4. Love And Happiness (Al Green) - Big Youth
5. You Give Me Fever (Peggy Lee) - The Cramps
6. Heart It Races (Architecture in Helsinki) - Dr. Dog
7. Boyz in the Hood - Dynamite Hack
8. Independant Woman (Destiny's Child) - Elbow
9. Borderline (Madonna) - The Flaming Lips
10. Black Bird (Beatles) - Foo Fighters
11. I'm Into Something Good (Herman's Hermits) - Jeff Tweedy
12. Wild Horses (Rolling Stones) - Jewel
13. Hurt (NIN) - Johnny Cash
14. I'm Not Gonna Teach... (Black Kids) - Kate Nash
15. Black Betty (Ram Jam) - Nick Cave
16. Just (Radiohead) - Nickel Creek
17. Friday Night Saturday Morning (The Specials) - Nouvelle Vague
18. Fade Into You (Mazzy Star) - Pedro The Lion
19. Against All Odds (Phil Collins) - The Postal Service
20. I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones) - Rhett Miller
21. Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson) - Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
22. toxic (Britney Spears) - tristan prettyman
23. Patience (Take That) - The Wombats

Please to Enjoy 73

please to enjoy = 50% new + 50% new to me + 50% songs from back in the day + 50% songs that don't quite fit

So, I guess the only posts I can manage these days...in between facebook and twitter updates, are musicy. Ah well....that just gives my dad more time to hate new things that I can add to the ongoing list.

Link to file:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/682918658/3abb2c116d130b4cd4384e6dcf02ce12

1. Beard Of Bees - Clem Snide
2. Bows In Your Arms - The Young Republic
3. Cello Song - The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
4. The Crook of My Good Arm - Pale Young Gentlemen
5. Days and Days - Fantastic Plastic Machine (feat. Coralie Clément)
6. Electric Relaxation - A Tribe Called Quest
7. Erase The Lines - The Whispertown 2000
8. Forest City - Newspapers
9. Gold Guns Girls - Metric
10. Hysteric (Acoustic) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
11. Is This Sound Okay? - Coconut Records
12. North By North - Faded Paper Figures
13. Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh - Say Hi
14. Poke - Frightened Rabbit
15. Real Desire - Dan Auerbach
16. Remind Me - Röyksopp
17. Rivers, Veins, and Roots - Mimicking Birds
18. The State I Am In - Belle & Sebastian
19. Strictly Game - Harlem Shakes
20. Tightrope - Yeasayer
21. Train Song - Feist + Ben Gibbard
22. The Will to Death - John Frusciante

Please to Enjoy: March - Sexy Time

please to enjoy = 50% new + 50% new to me + 50% songs from back in the day + 50% songs that don't quite fit

Link to file:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/670816141/47abca42bfc181703db64639ae2ae581

1. My Little Heart - The Postmarks
2. Gimme Some Lovin' - G Love and Special Sauce
3. some sugar - Nina Simone
4. Fuck her sweetly - Tenacious D
5. Right for Me - Justin Timberlake
6. Black/White - The Raveonettes
7. Wrestlers - Hot Chip
8. Bonnie And Clyde - Jay-Z
9. U.R.A. Fever - The Kills
10. #1 Crush - Garbage
11. The Operation - Charlotte Gainsbourg
12. Sunshower (acoustic) - Chris Cornell
13. Playground Love (Cover Air) - Phoenix
14. Heartbeats - Jose González
15. Daydreamin' (feat. Jill Scott) - Lupe Fiasco
16. The Prowl - Dan Auerbach
17. The First Taste - Fiona Apple
18. Fade into You - Mazzy Star
19. Give me a Reason to Love You - Massive Attack
20. Post-War - M. Ward

vocab upgrade: Blue Beard by Vonnegut

So, in an attempt to biggen my brain, I have been moving on down my reading list, started a few years ago. Here are some fancy words I came across that I didn't know...and the photos that popped up in flickr when I searched with my new fancy word. Sort of magical really....

Blue Beard by Kurt Vonnegut:

pal⋅pate

1  verb (used with object), -pat⋅ed, -pat⋅ing. to examine by touch, esp. for the purpose of diagnosing disease or illness.

con⋅cu⋅pis⋅cent

–adjective

1.	lustful or sensual.

2.	eagerly desirous.

a⋅lac⋅ri⋅ty

–noun

1.	cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness: We accepted the invitation with alacrity.

2.	liveliness; briskness.

ob⋅se⋅quy

–noun, plural -quies.
1. Usually, obsequies. a funeral rite or ceremony.

Please to Enjoy: 72

please to enjoy = 50% new + 50% new to me + 50% songs from back in the day + 50% songs that don't quite fit

Link to file:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/658576660/d428f465b90a8f1c9d434efcb8df7a5c

Please to Enjoy 72:

1. Still Here - Girl Talk
2. Birds Fly Away - Theresa Andersson
3. Float - Sissy Wish
4. Last Words - The Real Tuesday Weld
5. Hiding On the Staircase - New Young Pony Club
6. No One’s Better Sake - Little Joy
7. Photobooth - Friendly Fires
8. Don't Give A Damn - Chairlift
9. Scared - Albert Hammond Jr.
10. Saturdays [Reprise] - Cut Copy
11. Fuck Was I - Jenny Owen Youngs
12. tonight+you+belong+to+me - ?
13. The Dusty Foot Philosopher - k'naan
14. Love is a shotgun - The Quiet Company
15. Oh, La - Ra Ra Riot
16. Fall of the American Empire - State Radio
17. When It Stings - Pictures Of Then
18. Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms - Frightened Rabbit
19. A Thing For Me (Breakbot Remix) - Metronomy
20. Be So Happy - Heartless Bastards
21. Microphone - Coconut Records

Please to Enjoy: January - Favs

please to enjoy = 50% new + 50% new to me + 50% songs from back in the day + 50% songs that don't quite fit

Link to file:

https://download.yousendit.com/Y2o5R0llUzczMWtLSkE9PQ

Please to Enjoy: January - Favorites

1. I Want It All - Warren G
2. Being Bad Feels Pretty Good - Does It Offend You Yeah?
3. We Danced Together (SebastiAn Remix) - The Rakes
4. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
5. Please Please Please - Shout Out Louds
6. Big Poppa (Explicit Album Version) - The Notorious B.I.G.
7. Speed Law - Mos Def
8. Indonesian Love Song - Student Union
9. Oceans & Streams - The Black Keys
10. Hypnotise - The White Stripes
11. Idioteque - Radio Head
12. Eye - Smashing Pumpkins
13. Use Me - Bill Withers
14. don't stop believing - Journey
15. Good Song - Blur
16. Chinese Translation - M. Ward
17. Japanese Gum - Her Space Holiday
18. Young Liars - TV on the Radio
19. Uh - Fujiya & Miyagi
20. 519 Kids - MGMT

lines i like, out of context: "Downtown Owl," chuck klosterman

In no particular order:

1. Before electricity, nothing really happened. Every conversation would have been identical, unless somebody got cholera or was mauled by a badger.

2. Is there any feeling better that being in bed? What could possibly feel better than this? What is going to happen in the course of my day that will be an improvement over lying somewhere soft, underneath something very warm, wearing only underwear, doing absolutely nothing, all by myself? (this is my EXACT thought process every morning!!)

3. Many of the laws in 1984 seemed practical. The world would be better off if everyone had to publicly validate why they were having sex with someone.

4. I always did the best that I could. Which was slightly better than almost okay, most of the time.

5. You just pour in a bunch of Everclear and vodka and schnapps and rum, and then you fill up the rest of the garbag can with Kool-Aid or Tang...That shit is liquid fucknuts.

6. That is when I started to understand that things were very, very different for me. My life had been prefucked.

7. It was like filling the nozzle of a hair dryer with dry ice, holding it one centimeter from oyur retina, and plugging it into an electrical socket. It was like being Helen Keller, in Greenland, naked.

8. So this was the situation. The situation was this: Mitch had to get inside his car, or inside somebody else's car, or inside anything can contained qualities of "insideness."

9. It does not matter what you have been right about, and it does not matter how often that rightness is validated by others. We are what we cannot do.

someone else's list...

I ran across the list below on a blog, which I forgot to bookmark, so I can't remember who posted it originally. oops. Anywho, love the insights. Sometimes it is nice to relearn the obvious.


Here's an extract So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years:

1. Ignore everybody.

2. The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to change the world.

3. Put the hours in.

4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big
shot, your plan will probably fail.

5. You are responsible for your own experience.

6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in
kindergarten.

7. Keep your day job.

8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies
that champion creativity.

9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this
earth to climb.

10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.

11. Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.

12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.

13. Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.

14. Dying young is overrated.

15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is
where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and
what you are not.

16. The world is changing.

17. Merit can be bought. Passion can't.

18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.

19. Sing in your own voice.

20. The choice of media is irrelevant..

21. Selling out is harder than it looks.

22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.

23. Worrying about "Commercial vs. Artistic" is a complete waste of time.

24. Don't worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.

25. You have to find your own schtick.

26. Write from the heart.

27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.

28. Power is never given. Power is taken.

29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.

30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.

31. Remain frugal.

32. Allow your work to age with you.

33. Being Poor Sucks.

34. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.

35. Savor obscurity while it lasts.

please to enjoy 71

please to enjoy = 50% new + 50% new to me + 50% songs from back in the day + 50% songs that don't quite fit

Link to file:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/640998518/33d8d9887a51971728fd1a8d61eb5cb8

please to enjoy 72:

1. Fucken Awesome - Spiderbait
2. Breathe & Stop (max romeo disco remix) - Q-Tip
3. Pablo Picasso - The Modern Lovers
4. Second Chance - Liam Finn
5. Hey Doll Baby - Vetiver
6. Fan - New Young Pony Club
7. Walk In the Park - Oh No! Oh My!
8. High on a Mountain Top - Loretta Lynn
9. I'm On Fire - Bruce Springsteen
10. In The Beginning - k'naan
11. Where Next Columbus? - Jeffrey Lewis
12. Skeleton Boy - Friendly Fires
13. U.R.A. Fever - The Kills
14. Acho Um Pouco Bom - Cansei de Ser Sexy
15. Nosebleed - Illinois
16. All Caps - Madvillain
17. Daylight - Matt & Kim
18. Suspended In Gaffa - Ra Ra Riot
19. Don't Bother Me - The Blakes
20. Bang! Bang! - The Knux
21. Parentheses - The Blow
22. Hurricane Jane - Black Kids
23. With Strangers - Little Joy
24. Unknown Legend - Tunde Adebimpe

please to enjoy: me, and me too!

Ok, I think I finally figured out a simple way to share my random "please to enjoy" cds without having to burn 15 copies for the brave souls who want them.

There are going to be 12 themed mixes, one per month, and this set of 2 cds that I made for a friend that are songs that are a part of me, for lotsa reasons, for better or worse. :) I will gladly accept cds about you...and explain some of the weirder ones on mine if you are wondrin.

Link to file:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/640978486/00d3ff8db82031f286a9e24b80a6caa6

Also, I am still going to posting my good ole please to enjoy mixes semi-regularly.

please to enjoy = 50% new + 50% new to me + 50% songs from back in the day + 50% songs that don't quite fit

please to enjoy...me:
1. Drinking Coffee - Rufus Wainwright
2. Expectations - Belle & Sebastian
3. Act Nice And Gentle - The Kinks
4. Good Days Bad Days - Kaiser Chiefs
5. Dirty Mind - Ben Lee
6. Love of the Loveless - Eels
7. I Will - The Beatles
8. Together - The Raconteurs
9. Electric Feel - MGMT
10. Drop it like its Hot - Snoop Dogg
11. Revelry - Kings Of Leon
12. Overpowered - Roisin Murphy
13. Solo Impala - The Fashion
14. Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun
15. Heart It Races - Dr. Dog
16. Oh, Sister (Bob Dylan cover) - Andrew Bird
17. Move (Cut Copy Remix) - CSS
18. Psychotic Girl - The Black Keys
19. Hi-Fi - M. Ward
20. Too Drunk Too Fuck - Nouvelle Vague

please to enjoy...me too:
1. Dancing In The Moonlight - Billy Corgan
2. DARE - Gorillaz
3. Lived In Bars - Cat Power
4. The Warning - Hot Chip
5. Strolling Down the Highway - Nick Drake
6. How Low - Jose Gonzalez
7. Four Leaf Clover - Badly Drawn Boy
8. Lullaby - The Cure
9. Creator - Santogold
10. Through the Roof 'n' Underground - Gogol Bordello
11. Young Forever - Aberfeldy
12. Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare - Matt & Kim
13. Downtown - Peaches
14. Go It Alone - Beck
15. I'm On Fire (Springsteen Cover) - Bat For Lashes
16. I'm Straight - The Modern Lovers
17. Big Jumps - Emiliana Torrini
18. Willow Tree - Chad VanGaalen
19. Top Yourself - The Raconteurs
20. Reasons To Love You - Meiko

A Karaca Gray kind of Christmas

Spent my first xmas in Chicago with my bro and Chip, Gray also making a first time xmas appearance, and it was an awesome time. Feel so lucky to have cool new family traditions, like champagne at every meal, caviar, gourmet meals by Chip, live piano music from a mostly in tune piano, scrabble, baby drool, new friends and family, catching up on shows, and chicago snow slop! (granted, there were af few parts I could have done without...what exactly does it mean to be called a liberal communist by a crazy person?!?!)

Here is a snippet of the annual xmas eve tree lighting....with real fire...




And here is our perfect little grinch.

1st Annual THXgivin in October!!!

Highlights:
• No water at my house, party moved to Sir Bretly of Brooksideshire's house.
(Muchos Thank Yous Bret!!!)
• Turkey started at my house, finished at Bret's
• "Baby Come Back" was the soundtrack to turkey carving.
• Argyle!!!
• Joshy wins for Most Effort....Adam wins Least Effort (seriously, you could have at least worn matching socks)
• Rachel - Turkey and cranberry salad
• Aaron - Sweet potato bake
• Bret - Cheesy potatoes
• Adam - Stuffing
• Joshy - Rice Krispie turkey
• Amanda - Creamed corn and green bean casserole
• Albert - Bread and berry shortcakes
• Casey and Lori - assorted breads
• Nina - mashed pumpkin pie
• Lindsay - Pumpkin custard
• Kristy - Mac and Cheese
• Mandy - Her sweet self :)


Man oh man, we are so thankful....

tuesday's with joshy!

Place: Skillet Licker Cafe, 6th Street, KC, Kansas

Rating: 5 outta 5 Joshys!!!!!

Highlights:

• Fresh donuts! Before your food comes out! Fresh frickin donuts!
• Joshy's tenderloin sammich was bigger than his face.

• Super nice waitress / owner?

• Old school juke box with fancy tunes

• Bandages held on by rubber bands (someone has been watching MacGyver)

• B.J. and Top Gun are tied in our 13 Tournament of Champions
• Bootsie pulled a crazy fast win out her ass. Probably will never happen again.