Against The Odds

Divorce

2010-11-30T10:02:00.001-06:00

For those of you who follow this you can unsubscribe...there will be no new post. Loren and I each have our own blogs now. I think hers is arockstarjedi and mine is fromafghanwithlove. Enjoy. and thanks for the interest in us.

Love.

2010-07-16T00:24:00.002-05:00

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” ~Albert Schweitzer

I’ve been meaning/wanting to blog. I spent yesterday during my (shittastic) travels and a good deal of today trying to figure out how to put it all into words. How do you take everything in your heart and just lay it out for other people to understand? I’m not sure it’s totally possible, but we’ll give it a try and see where we go.

This was, without a doubt, the trip of a lifetime. If I had any expectations, they were so hugely exceeded it’s as if they didn’t exist in the first place. Going to LA gave me an opportunity to see a friend that I haven’t seen in about 6 years, and have known for about 13. It’s amazing to me that friendships created at 15 years old can carry into our adult lives and still exist there, even when we don’t talk or see each other all the time. This person, who I haven’t seen in SO long, included me in her life, drove my ass around the city, and never once complained about where I wanted to go or how late I was running. Without even a second thought. This is a truly good person. Thank you, Cat, for EVERYTHING over the last week and a half. I hope 25 is the best year yet and it holds only the best things for you.

In the midst of LA, I was given an awesome opportunity to go to Las Vegas for two days to see my besties, none of whom live near me, and I couldn’t even consider passing up an opportunity to see them when they were only a few hours from where I was. We arrived on Thursday and spent the day eating and hanging out until everyone arrived. That night we went to see Bobby Long’s show at the Hard Rock Hotel. I’ll be honest that I really had no intention of or interest in seeing Bobby this time around. Not that I had anything against him, it just…it’s hard to explain. It wasn’t something that was really high up on my list, I guess. I am SO glad that I had the opportunity to see him again. He seemed more confident and happy playing with a band, and I loved the show. The best part was getting to see such a fantastic show with my girls and meeting some ridiculously kind, sweet new people. All I’m going to say on the subject is - don’t judge someone by who they are (or who you think they are). Jealousy is a horrible thing and in the end you’re the one who comes off looking like an ass. Just remember that it’s stupid to hate on someone who you’ve never even met, let alone who’s never done anything to you personally. That night changed my opinions on a lot of things…. I’m not going to go into details, cuz it’s really not anyone’s business. I’m just really thankful for the courtesy, kindness, openness and time that I was given. I never would’ve expected so much. Thank you, and I wish nothing but the best.

Friday we had a lovely breakfast, spent some time out by the pool and then Ali got me all dolled up and took some photos. Ali is an amazing photographer and she’s putting something together for me to give to my husband for when he deploys later this year. You can see my Twitter avi for one small example of what she can do (@RockstarJedi) and you can also visit her blog at http://www.aliparkerphotography.blogspot.com/ to see much more. She travels….just sayin’. That was an experience that’s…not even describable. How amazing to actually feel truly beautiful for once in life. Every woman should do it - whether for someone else, or themselves.

That night, I FINALLY talked the girls into getting tickets to see Anthony Cools’ show at the Paris (where we were staying). I’d gotten free tickets to see him in Biloxi a few months ago and I’ve literally never laughed so hard in my entire life. My hands were literally black from wiping mascara that was running down my face from crying from laughing so hard. My cheeks were in physical pain and my stomach hurt the rest of the night. Not only is the show SO great but he’s an engaging performer, completely hilarious and on top of that, really cool to his supporters. We became friends after the Biloxi show (okay, on Facebook, but that’s as good as being BFF’s. Duh.) That being said, after we got tickets I tweeted about it and how excited I was to see his show again. Anthony tweeted me and told me to ask for someone at the door who would upgrade our seats, and we literally sat front row center for the show that night. How FUCKING cool is that? How totally above and beyond and AWESOME is that? I mean, really. (Getting to watch a 60-something year old man calling people in FL at midnight to tell them he’s “In Vegas, sucking dick for wooden nickels” up close ain’t too shabby either.) We enjoyed a hilarious show and were all so thankful for the seats. He definitely has three new fans out of Amanda, Ali & Lesya. And I have every intention to see him AGAIN when he comes back to Biloxi in November. If he’s playing anywhere near you, you’d be an idiot to miss out. Just sayin’. http://bit.ly/92sNRP

Saturday took me back to LA, away from my girls but also to some other wonderful people. I already blogged about Sam & the Men’s (third) show, so I won’t bore you with that again. (Yeah right, I’d talk forever about those guys. That’s another show you’re just stupid if you miss.) Anyway, the week in LA included live band karaoke which, can I just say, is one of the coolest things I’ve ever fucking seen. Even cooler was Cat getting up to show her stuff and the ridiculously amazing/unexpected company of the evening. A trip to Disney for two Disneyland-virgins, a taping of Craig Ferguson (who I fucking LOVE), lots of talks and drinks and even more amazing music finished everything out. Sam & The Men (or is it The Sam Bradley Band now?) put on another fucking amazing show, the best of all four of their residency I’m told, this past Tuesday to close out FOUR SOLD-OUT SHOWS over the course of their month there. It couldn’t have happened for more deserving, talented people. Of course I was a bit bummed that they didn’t play “Scared” again but I’ve decided beggars can’t be choosers, and I loved every single minute of the show. “Details” is incredible, I cannot WAIT to hear it recorded. And “Like A River” always just….it’s fucking amazing. It was another fantastic show and an amazing end to my time there.

I’m so thankful that I got to share so much with so many amazing people. So I too want to give out just a few shouts to some friends, old and new.

Cat - Once more, thank you so much for EVERYTHING. I am so happy I got to SEE you! It’d been too fucking long. Thank you for including me in your life and your friends, for getting the CF tickets, and to you and Lauren and Ashley both for letting me crash with you. I owe you big time! I love you and miss you already! (And, I love listening to you sing. You already know this, but still. And with you and….um, the dude playing the piano? Heaven. Seriously.)

Lesya - Lord woman, thank you for everything! Thank you for including me on your trip and making me feel like I was just supposed to be there. I am so glad we got to spend more time together (especially since Dallas was so crazay!) I love you, and we’re gonna get our asses to Canadia, whatever it takes!

Cyn - I’m SO glad to have finally met you! And I’m glad everything worked out and you made it to the last show! And I’m glad you now know about someone’s stalkerness. I tried to tell you, I’m just sayin’. Thank you for the calls and for loving my favorite song along with me. You are an absolute doll. Love love love you!

Ali - Ali, Ali, Ali. “Bitch, isn’t there anything you CAN’T do?!!?” I don’t think there is. You’re gorgeous - inside and out, kind, true, and wonderful. And I have never, ever felt so beautiful in my entire life; I have you to thank for that. I love you so much and am so blessed to have you in my life (and not JUST cuz you’re my stylist). <3

Amanda - How did I get so lucky to have you in my life? There are some things that people just can’t understand if they haven’t been through them. And while I hate that you’ve had to go through some of the terrible same things, I cannot tell you how it feels to talk and have someone understand what you say. I love that when we’re together we have fun no matter what we do, even if it’s sitting on the couch watching a movie and eating pizza. If I am half the friend and person that you are, then I feel lucky. I love you with all of my heart.

DeEtta - I am so glad that we had a chance to spend more time together! Thank you for coming out to hang with me at Cat’s birthday party where I didn’t know many people really. You know how shy I am, so it was especially wonderful to have another friend around to enjoy the antics with. I’m so glad that you loved CF as much as I did…that makes it all the better! It was great to go to the show with you and I’m so glad to be any small part of everything with Kaden & the man. That warms my heart like I can’t even explain. I love you!

Meg - My little partner in crime. Can you please play the one with the harmonica? Thanks. Do you have any idea what a truly kind, sweet person you are? The idea of anyone even giving you a dirty look makes me want to scream and pound their faces in. If you ever need anything, I don’t care what it is, you’d better not hesitate to ask. Thank you for taking me & Mr. Shoes to Disney and running around with us like a bunch of kids. I had so much fun with you and Monika and am glad we got to spend some actual time together (even if half of it…okay, like 3/4 of it was spent driving around lost looking for the 2. It wasn’t MY fault. The map was wrong.) I adore you so, so much. Please always remember how wonderful you are.

Melinda - Girl, I’m so glad we met! You tell it like it is and you don’t take shit from anybody, and I’m both awed by and totally envious of that. If everyone was so straight up and REAL…I just can’t imagine how much better the world would be. There’d certainly be a lot less bullshit, that’s for sure. You’re a beautiful and wonderful person - love you, cousin!

Twoshoes - I feel silly calling you that now! You don’t know how excited I am to finally have met you. Well, maybe you do, since we’ve talked about it (haha) but you know what I mean. You are absolutely one of the most genuine, kind and real people I’ve ever met in my life. I “knew” you somewhat through De and Mon and from your blog, but I never could have even imagined that I’d adore you as much as I do. It’s been a long time since I’ve met someone that I clicked so easily and effortlessly with. I’m so grateful for your friendship, and I don’t give a damn how “silly” it is. Thank you for being you, and for being so great to me. Soorry, YOU are the bestest. And I miss you!! <3

I have to give yet another thank you to Sam. Not because he’s a great guy. Not because he’s amazing to people that support him. Not even just because he has the voice of an angel. Because each of you, in one way or another, I have met in some way because of Sam’s music. Music that touched my heart before I knew anything about the person singing it…music that brought me out of a very cold and lonely place. Not only did it wake me up again, but it led me to you, all of you. And he continues to impress and inspire and surprise us (and I’m not just talking about the ninja shit). I still have wonderful people coming into my life in whatever way because of avenues opened by this music. So thank you, Sam, endlessly. You know Shaun & I both adore you, and will continue to support you however we can. Everything else that you do - the Twitter/Facebook, the meet n greets, the pictures and posters, all of it - is so far above and beyond what any of us should expect of you, and yet you seem to love it as much as we do. The music in itself is enough, and yet you always give us more. Thank you, for caring enough to give more. We recognize how special it is, and it’s all why we’ll keep telling the world about you til we’re blue in the faces (and/or lose our fingers).

Everyone not mentioned by name, and all of my friends who weren’t on this trip and so aren’t mentioned, please don’t be offended. I love every single one of you and am grateful to have you in my life. You guys are my heart. I can’t explain the effect this trip has had on me, from those who were there and from the little people in my pockets. It’s like I’ve been falling into this….hole. Being depressed, missing my family, feeling hopeless, waiting for my husband to leave again…dreading it, terrified of being really alone for the first time. I literally feel like you all brought me back to life. I can’t explain it. The quote at the beginning of this is a dedication to you, and a thank you for loving me for who I am and being as great as you are, and for helping me to remember and realize that being away from someone doesn’t mean they have to be gone in your every day, in your heart. I’m sorry to everyone else for how sappy and wordy and silly this is. I just need people to know what they mean to me. If you’ve ever lost someone, you know how important it is to say things you want to say to people when you want to say it. Otherwise, you may not get the chance. Not like I think anything so drastic is going to happen, I just think it’s important that people know how phenomenal they are. And the people in my life are just that. And that is why I am so, so blessed.

Thank you to all of you for making this such an amazing trip…an amazing life. I love you all dearly. xx

L

Kevin Costner in Concert. Yes, THAT Kevin Costner!

2010-04-17T23:52:00.006-05:00

So, we all know I'm a MAJOR concert snob. As if I wasn't spoiled enough from the multitude of concerts I've gone to since I was like 12 years old, with the recent amazingness that is a Sam Bradley show, my expectations have only gotten higher and harder to meet. Well, tonight's show was FAR from a disappointment.

Shaun & I got free tickets to check out Kevin Costner (yes, the ridiculously-famous Kevin Costner of Field of Dreams, Tin Cup, Mr. Brooks, etc. etc. etc.) and his band, Modern West. I actually didn't even know that he was a musician, or that he had a band, or that he was touring. Apparently tonight was his first North American show after returning from a tour in Europe over the last few months. I bought a few of his songs over the last couple of weeks to check out their sound and enjoyed it, but I'll admit I wasn't expecting a stellar show. Not for any particular reason, but sometimes even when the music is good it's hard to fully enjoy a show when you don't know the music. Well, there was no need to worry in this case.

The lights go down, there is an admittedly longer-than-necessary montage of his movie clips from over the years, and then spotlights start waving all over the audience. My first thought is that he's going to show up somewhere in the crowd, but I'm like 'no WAY, no way he'd do that' - again, how wrong was I! Dude comes walking through one of the entrance halls - the place went NUTS. He proceeds to walk along the walkway, down through the lower level, through the middle aisle along the floor section and up to the stage - all the while giving handshakes, waves, hugs and kisses to random audience members. This guys is like...well, I'd say one of the most recognizable actors out there. He's been in a ton of wonderful movies, must be a millionaire. And he walks THROUGH the crowd to get to the stage. No bodyguards, not rushing, nothing. WOW.

Once he GETS to the stage, he asks for the lights on so he can see everyone, and continues to wave all around the room and thank everyone for coming. You'd have thought he was talking to a room full of friends. They started to play and they have a really great kind of rock/country sound (including a phenomenal fiddle player, who was all OVER the place and I kept waiting to either bust his ass or go flying OFF the stage - he was too much fun to watch). Probably 5-6 songs in, random people kept going up to the stage to take pictures (this is a totally seated venue) and the crowds kept getting bigger and bigger, and instead of people taking a picture and going back to their seats, they just stood there up along the stage to watch. Security was trying to make them all go back to their seats. Kevin Costner stops mid-song and asks them to "let these people be, they're alright" and doesn't just let it go, then he TELLS THE REST OF THE VENUE to come up. Security just looked at him and walked away, lol. He said something like 'it's hard to have a party when everybody's sitting down.' I've never seen a performer who is not only fantastic at the PERFORMANCE part itself, but his stage presence and crowd interaction was absolutely...I don't even have a good enough word for it. Fantastic, amazing, phenomenal...I was just absolutely blown away.

Throughout the entire show he was great about this, touching the hands of the now-standing-and-at-the-stage crowd, making sure he went to all sides of the stage, kept asking for the lights on so he could see everyone. He wrote a song while filming "The Guardian" and "Mr. Brooks" in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina hit, and he told that story prior to playing it, which was very touching. He shared a lot about where his songs came from, what inspired him to write them, etc. For one song, he had his daughter come out to sing and play guitar with him. He was practically beaming, you could just tell how proud he was to be up there with her. Of course this brought me to tears (freaking comes out of no where), but it was touching and wonderful, and she had an amazing voice, too.

When they finished their "last" song and would've gone to the "fake encore" (which still amuses the crap outta me) he said that instead of them leaving, then us clapping and them coming back out, how about they just play their two songs and we all leave on a good note, lol. He was incredibly grateful that people had taken the time to check out the show and his music (and especially to the 'husbands/boyfriends/etc. whose wives/girlfriends/etc. dragged them to the show,' haha).

After the two "encore" songs, the band bowed and HE went, again, to pay attention to people along the stage. He popped open a bottle of champagne and toasted the room. He pulled three different people up on stage to dance with him, signed autographs, let people take pictures, the whole deal. Who IS this man? I swear I think if he could've he'd have stayed there all night meeting every single person in that room. To see someone of that caliber of "celebrity" give THAT MUCH to, in reality, a room-full of people who probably more than 50% of only came to see him because he's a famous actor, who does this as a HOBBY, for fun, who in no way needs the money - was completely awe-inspiring and incredible. And I think he said he's been doing this for like 5 years? Artists who have been in the music industry for a hell of a lot longer and have a lot more experience could learn a LOT from this man. The music in itself is really good, and he plays with a band of wonderful and talented musicians. Playing good music and even having a great voice doesn't necessarily mean you can put on a good show. This guy delivered and THEN SOME.

If you have an opportunity to check them out, I hope that you will. For now it seems like mostly Canada dates, but check it out anyway. I promise that you will not be disappointed. Here's the official website: http://kevincostnermodernwest.com/ They also have a new album out that I highly recommend if you like a rock/country kind of mix. I will certainly be buying it and will jump at ANY opportunity to see him live again.

Thanks for reading,

Loren
(Your Favorite Concert Snob)

**EDIT** Since I've been getting some random people reading this entry (hi! and thanks!) I wanted to link to my FAVORITE artist, in case you wanted to check him out. He's mentioned briefly in the beginning. Sam Bradley is an up & coming artist...his sound is hard to describe but it's kind of a mixture of folk/rock music. You can check out his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/sambradley and lots more on his YouTube account at http://www.youtube.com/samueltube1. He's currently recording a new album to hopefully release this year. I promise he doesn't disappoint! :)

"Celebrity"

2010-04-14T03:15:00.003-05:00

The last few weeks or so specifically I've been thinking a lot about what "celebrity" has become in today's world. With the Internet, paparazzi, and other methods of immediate communication, it seems that people have come to the conclusion that nothing is off-limits and everything is their business. What does being a "fan" of someone mean? Does being a "fan" mean they owe you something? What are you entitled to? And if said person turns out to not be who you thought, is it their fault? All things going through my head. I'll try to keep this organized but if you read my blogs you know I ramble sometimes.

A "fan" is defined as an ardent admirer or devotee. Can also be short for the word "fanatic." What does it mean to be a fan of someone or something? I think there can be multiple meanings and I think it can be different for every individual person. I think you can also be a true fan of something on a level separate from just liking it or "being okay" with it. What I mean is, for me personally, if I am really a fan of something, I generally choose to support it and spread the word about it at every opportunity I have. This is partly because when I find something I truly enjoy or believe in I want to share it with others. The same goes when things or people bring happiness into my life - I want to tell others on the chance the same effect may be had on them. Joy and inspiration can hit us when we least expect it and from the most unexpected places. Sometimes, it's exactly what we've been searching for (without even knowing we were looking).

If I decide to talk about a person, group, etc. that I enjoy because I PERSONALLY CHOOSE to, does that mean that actor, artist, athlete owes me something? Sure, I would certainly hope that they appreciated it if they were aware, but it's still my personal choice what I say or don't say. It should never be about gaining recognition or trying to get a "step up" with someone. If you believe in something and want to support it then do it. If you only do it for recognition, from the object of your admiration or otherwise, in my personal opinion, you're not in it for the right reasons. And you definitely don't have a right to be angry just because you aren't personally acknowledged for something (in most cases). In my opinion, if it happens, it's an added bonus, and something to really be thankful for. Not to mention, the ones who take the time to do what they can to reach out to their fans shine even more brightly in the spotlight, in my eyes.

What really blows my mind is that people and fandoms with the same likes or goals can't even find a way to fully work together, or sometimes even to just co-exist peacefully. Music, movies, books - these types of things are supposed to be fun. The opportunities to jump into a fantasy world and escape the difficulties that life often brings us, even just for a few minutes or hours at a time. It's amazing and wonderful that the Internet in general and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have allowed us chances to meet people who share these interests and likes. More often than not, I personally have found that I have much in common with the people I meet that goes far beyond whatever book or artist or actor we met because of.

When that happens, it's great. The rest of it really shouldn't be that serious. It's unfathomable to me how mass groups of people can spend so much time hating and fighting and insulting. What good does it do? Many say they do it out of "respect" or "in defense" of whatever specific celebrity or movie or whatever. Is that what you really think they want? No doubt there are some assholes in the world. We see that plainly in the people that lie and insult and spread unnecessary negativity just for the reaction. But the majority of people, I'd still like to believe anyway, would not want their actions, personal or professional, to cause conflict or hatred between people. I find it very hard to believe that in today's world; filled with war, starving and homeless children and people all over the world, crime, and so many more REAL LIFE, awful things, that anyone would find joy in needless, pointless fighting and hate. Anyone who thinks this type of thing, including spreading rumors of any kind, would be appreciated by your idols is, I believe, sorrily mistaken.

Then again...do we really have any right to judge who celebrities really are? I'm a bit torn on this one. On one hand, we're always going go judge someone or something by what we see. It's human nature. I think that if it's based on what they show us, not what we ASSUME, then perhaps it gives a right to form an opinion. Then again, isn't being a fan about supporting the craft, first and foremost? Absolutely. Am I inclined to care more, or support more outwardly if I also like the person or group as people? Definitely. Being about the art, the music, the story above everything else should enable us to be supportive (or at least enjoy something) for it's sole purpose and not dependent on any outside influences. I.e., I can't stand John Mayer as a person (never could) but I like a good portion of his music. Am I gonna go promote him everywhere possible? Negative. But, I can still privately enjoy the music if I want to. In reality, one should not affect the other. I KNOW in some cases it will. I'd be lying to y'all and myself if I denied it. I've met certain artists who beyond blowing me away with their music and talent have also been so incredibly kind, appreciative and wonderful to me personally. Do I feel more inclined to promote and talk about these artists? Without a doubt. Maybe that's who they really are, and maybe it's not. But I'd much rather go off my own personal experiences than to base my opinions on gossip, rumors or anything else of the sort. It's not fair to either party, really.

So do we have a right to judge or form opinions of these people? Do we ever REALLY know who they are and what they're about? I think there's no way to know for sure. I think people in the public eye show what they want of themselves to those "watching." Who could blame them? When you're front and center anytime, anywhere - wouldn't you want to show off the best of yourself? I've decided we have to go off of what we know and see personally. There's always going to be someone who said so-and-so did this and that, no matter what. If we believed everything that was ever said most celebs/people in the public eye would be about 30 different people in one. We need to take what they offer, without taking advantage, and be grateful for what, if anything, of them personally that they choose to share with us.

As always, these are my personal opinions only. Please feel free to share your thoughts or questions if you'd like. I'm holding out hope that one day everyone will just be able to co-exist peacefully. Or at least respect that just as you're entitled to what YOU believe, so am I.

Love love. xx

~L

Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

2010-02-07T12:12:00.003-06:00

Seriously, WHAT is wrong with people? I find myself repeatedly blown away by the immaturity and bullshit that people insist upon spewing. The worst part about it is, that no one even has the guts to say anything directly TO anyone. Everyone has to talk behind peoples' backs or indirectly. And these people act like they're your friends. What the hell is the point? Is there seriously not enough hate in the world for you? Are there not enough truly important things going on in the world that you think YOU and your CRAP are more important?

I have heard things in passing over the last week, and I'm honestly shocked and a little bit hurt. People seem to turn on you in the slightest second, without a reason or explanation. If people are truly your friends, don't they deserve you talking to them if they've done something that you disagree with, or to upset you? Especially in lieu of talking behind their backs? Do you think THAT makes you a good friend? A good person?

The bottom line is that no one has the right to think they're better than anyone else. We're all people and we all have flaws and we all make mistakes. Talking behind someone's back and being needlessly hateful especially makes you no better than whatever it is you think that you are above. ESPECIALLY, if everyone is working towards the same purpose, for the same reasons, it is YOU creating discord amongst everyone. YOU and people LIKE YOU are causing less work toward the purpose to be done, because you insist on looking down upon others. Take credit for things and ideas that are not yours, continue to look down on people and bad mouth things you're not a part of. You, sadly, are only hurting what you claim to love.

This is all general. Since I am only hearing mutterings and stories and no one can say anything to me specifically. I may not handle things the best, and I am even worse at letting things that I can't control go. However, I consider myself to be very tolerant. I may voice my opinions when I don't agree with things, or when things upset me, but there is nothing I hate more than fakeness, and fair-weather "friends" and unnecessary bullshit. I will not tolerate people bad-mouthing my friends. And I will not tolerate people talking about me and then being all buddy-buddy. I am far, FAR from perfect. But I am a good, decent person. And I do everything in my power to act that and to be a good friend. I expect the same from people in my life.

Merry Christmas & All That Good Stuff.

2009-12-24T19:25:00.008-06:00

Hello my dears,

I realize that my posts have been lacking (as usual) and thought I would try to update while I have some time. It's odd because I feel like I have so much to talk about, but then when I go to put the pen to the paper (or fingers to the keyboard, as the case may be), things just don't seem to want to come out in any specific subject or order. I suppose, as usual, I'll just write and see what comes along. I know you are all just DYING for updates. ;)

December has been a fairly eventful month, the first part anyway. It began for Shaun & I with a trip to see RENT live on Broadway in Orlando, FL. This would be exciting enough in itself for me as I've been listening to Rent since I was 12 years old, and I never got to see it live in New York. So when Shaun found out it was touring, we knew we really wanted to go. THEN, to add to that, we found out that Mark and Roger were being played by Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp - none other than the Mark & Roger from the ORIGINAL Broadway cast (and movie). I flipped out, of course, because I absolutely love both of their voices, especially Adam Pascal's. So we booked tickets and took a short weekend trip. We ended up sitting five rows back from the stage and it was phenomenal. Lexi Lawson who played Mimi, and Nicolette Hart who played Maureen both blew me away, too. It was really just an amazing show, and I'm beyond thrilled that I had the opportunity to see it performed live, and with such talented performers.

We returned home and I prepared for yet another trip, this time back to Texas. Shaun had a big inspection at work and couldn't join me, but I went to go meet up with Amanda at the airport in Dallas, where we made our way down to Austin to see Bobby Long - twice - once, at a birthday party for some friends of ours where he played a couple of songs, and once at a local venue. This was my second time seeing Bobby live and it was a really cool experience. The party was great because it was very low-key and quite, and we were able to just relax with friends and listen to him play. (I also got to finally meet Katie and Marissa and a bunch of the other girls.) The show was great as well - definitely the best of his sets that I've seen. Even with an injured finger (which is quite important when your act consists of you and a guitar) he played his heart out, and I was furthermore impressed with his vocals. It was also awesome to catch up with Jen and Blair and get to know Ashley and Meg more, as well as meet Christy, all a bunch of sweethearts!

The next day, we got back in the car and drove BACK to Dallas, to see a show for a guy by the name of Mr. Marcus Foster. This was our first time seeing Marcus perform, as it was also for many of our friends who'd be meeting us there, so we were all excited. It was also really great to have the opportunity to see some of my girls again since they all live so friggen far away from me.

Anyway, the lovely Angel was kind enough to let us crash with her, so we spent the afternoon being a bit lazy while Ali and Courtney drove down from OKC. Then it was a bit of a mad dash to get ready and find a place to eat dinner before the show. We decided to hit up The Twisted Root Burger Co, that Shaun had found when we were in Dallas last month, as it was good and walking-distance to the venue. At The Twisted Root, we met up with Val, Amber, LiLi and Kristy for a quick bite, and then we walked our cold asses over to the venue.

It was a really cool place I thought - it was narrow and long and had a lot of seating. There we also met up again with Jen, Blair, Meg and Ashley, plus DeEtta, Christy, Julianne and Ashley (RPP) - I hope to God I'm not forgetting anybody. If I did, it's not intentional, and I'm sorry!) I was having a bit of a rough night for whatever reason, so I chilled a bit in the back to try and get my head on straight. Once again my girls were there and lifted my spirits up. I really have the greatest friends in the world.

I honestly wasn't thrilled with Blue Roses (the opening act) that night, but I think it may have been the sound from where we were. They finished their set and finally it was time for Marcus. He put on a really great show, and I was glad that we had made the drive to see him play. We also got a chance to say hello afterward and he was very endearing and kind. The evening ended in an epic trip to Denny's with lots of fun, laughter, and most importantly - cheese sticks.

We got up the next morning preparing to head off - Amanda and the girls back to OKC and me down to Houston to see Bobby again there before driving with friends to New Orleans and heading back home. Amanda got halfway home and realized she really loved Marcus' show, and wanted to catch the one coming up in Nashville. I should explain that Marcus doesn't tour much in the US, so there are not a lot of opportunities to see him play. We decided to head off to Nashville to see friends and catch his show up there.

The drive to Nashville was long. I, however, slept through most of it, so praise poor Amanda. I'd stressed myself out about some things (like I do) and had essentially made myself sick, so sleeping was just my way of trying to "recover" in a sense. She got us there and we crashed hard. The next night we met back up with Blair and Meg and all headed over to the show early since there was a restaurant there. When we got there, an "early show" I guess you could say was going on. The girl singing was named Emily West, and from what I understand is a new country artist out of Nashville. Let me just say, that girl can SING. She totally impressed me and I was really glad that we'd gotten there early enough to see her. If you want to check her out, you can do so at http://www.myspace.com/emilywest.

Then there was a band that did country cover songs, which was cool but nothing amazing. We were all ready for Marcus! Blue Roses took the stage again and they were really wonderful, which is why I assume it was the sound in the other venue why they didn't thrill me. They were also incredibly sweet and very humble.

Marcus was on next. So, he was okay in Dallas, but he didn't blow me away like Sam has, or even Bobby for that matter. I know they are individuals and should not be compared, but as they're similar in a lot of ways, and I found out about them all together, it's basically inevitable. Anyway, he took the stage and absolutely wowed me. I refer to him now as The Soul Man, because he practically just oozes soul when he's up there. In addition to obviously being a talented musician, he was great at connecting with the audience and interacting with them, and he was quite funny. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to see him again and really GET what Marcus is about. He has taken over the #2 spot. ;)

It was a long weekend, but a great one. Despite the drama and some shitty circumstances and occurrences, it was a weekend filled with great friends, great music, and the opportunity to visit and see new places. I guess if things were just easy, we wouldn't appreciate them as much, right?

Beyond that, life has been pretty much same ol' same ol'. Work is about to get busy as the new year begins; March is our busiest time of year but things pick up in January from where we are now. I know my title to this post doesn't sound very festive, but I promise I'm not a Grinch. Shaun & I just aren't really very into holidays; mostly because we're never together for them. This is the first Christmas in three years that he's actually been home, so it's really nice. We're just using our time off to spend time together and relax. We're also super cool, as we spent yesterday evening watching Star Wars. That may not sound so bad, but what we actually watched was all of the extras and each movie with commentary by George Lucas, etc. It's okay, I know you're jealous. Try to survive.

Even though we don't celebrate (oh, and the fact that I'm technically Jewish - hahaha), we really are wishing you all a very, very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I feel grateful to have all of you in my life, and the great friendships, conversations, support and of course music that comes along with it all. I know I get over-involved in myself and the crap that I'm going through, and one of my many goals for the upcoming year (and life, for that matter) is to be a better person and friend, and improve myself in as many ways as I can. Sometimes life just gets in the way, but it's important not to lose focus of the things that matter to you.

With that, I shall end my novel and leave you with wishes of happy holidays with family, friends, whoever you celebrate whatever you celebrate with. Wishing for a better year for all of us in 2010.

Much Love,

L
xoxo

Weekend Beyond Epicness. With Good Friends, Fun People & Sam Bradley & The Men.

2009-11-28T18:45:00.005-06:00

Well helloooooo! It's been a while...I have a lot to say and share so I'm going to try to wrap it up as best I can.

By now, most of you have probably read Shaun's blog after our Texas weekend. It was so amazing...there just aren't many words (yet, I'm sure I'll still manage to write a novel). I have a bit of my own to share too since a lot of people have been asking...

The weekend began flying into Dallas, meeting up with the lovely Amanda, and driving down to Houston to head to see Sam Bradley & The Men’s show at Meridian. Shaun and I had not been to a show of Sam’s together since New Orleans back in August. I must admit – part of me was dreading this trip and had a feeling that no good was going to come out of it. Shaun and I have been going through some things together, some of which was centered on my interest in going to shows of Sam’s and Bobby’s and general traveling as of late. I was afraid that he would not have a good time, and that he wasn’t going to get along with my friends and the large group of people that we were planning to meet up with there.

By the time we’d gotten to Houston, I think we were both relaxed and everyone seemed ready to have fun. We attempted a liquor run, which in downtown is no easy feat, and eventually made it back to the hotel with just enough time to get ready to walk over to the show (after first going to the BIGGEST liquor store I've ever seen in my life!). The venue was ridiculously irritating and unorganized, but we managed to find a place pretty near the front of the stage. Being the nice person I am (ha!) I spoke with the people in front of us and asked who they were there to see. They were there for Justin, so I asked them if they’d mind if we got up front for Sam, and then moved so they could be up front when Justin went on. They agreed and needless to say we were directly front and just a bit off center of the stage.

Shaun went to go get us drinks and check out Elizabeth & The Catapult and Justin Nozuka’s merchandise that was displayed, and ended up running into Sam. Sam not only recognized and approached Shaun, but remembered that he’d met him in Birmingham (like 6 months before). They talked for a few minutes about multiple things and then Sam went back to the back to get ready for the show. Shaun came back up with us to watch the show, and was already impressed with Sam at that point.

Needless to say, the show was INCREDIBLE. Sam’s performances are always great (especially with The Men supporting him) but you can just tell when he’s having a good night. It totally shows through even more in his performance. Also, since we were up front, we got to really kind of “participate” in a way, just by showing them lots of love and making lots of noise for them. It was a lot of fun and it definitely seemed that they enjoyed themselves as well.

Afterward, we went back to say hello to Sam and the guys. There was a long line, which was awesome! We weren’t really sure how many people were there to see them (even though we managed to convert a few people in the crowd next to us before the show). Eventually we made our way up to say hello and chat with Sam. Shaun and I were both greeted with hugs and lots of smiles (HA!) when it was our turn. We told them what a great show it had been and I mentioned to Sam how many people were going to be at the Dallas show the next night. He said he knew and he was really excited. Shaun also offered his security services and mentioned how he can kill people with his thumbs, which Sam promptly examined and approved, LOL. We told him we’d see him the next night and headed out shortly after chatting a bit with Jeff and Dave and hanging out together.

The next morning, we got up and made our way back up to Dallas. We were really looking forward to meeting up with Ali, Alice, Crystal, Megan, Lesya, and Jen, and the awesome new people that were coming with them that I’d not spoken to before. We litchrally (hehe, Ali) had about 6 rooms booked at the hotel all with people that we knew. On top of that, we were expecting more that were local and that were staying elsewhere, so we were expecting about 40 people that we knew alone to be at the show that night.

We checked in and lounged around a bit and talked after meeting up with everyone and then got ready. We’d decided to go over early and eat at the restaurant downstairs from the venue (Table for 30, please!) and got to meet up with Jen, DeEtta & Kaden, Amber, LiLi, Scott, Kristy, and Ashley prior to going upstairs to the show. We went up pretty early as there was a larger crowd and tried to get near the front. We were about three rows back but again made some new friends with the girls right in front of us who said they didn’t mind if we got in front of them for Sam’s set. (We won’t talk about the two psychobitch crazy girls in the front row that we almost got in a fight with. Achem.) Ali got to move up front with her press pass ;) and so we were pretty dead center for the show (not to mention she got some AMAZING pictures!).

Minus the stupid drunk chicks, it started out another AMAZING show! You could totally feel their energy and excitement at the crowd. They changed up the set list and started with “Watching Over You” (I think) and then onto “Fucking Lights.” Alice was right next to me and she was HILARIOUS the whole time, and kept cracking Sam up too throughout the show (SO funny!). He seemed to be having as much fun as we were.

The next part is a little cloudy, so I’m going to put what I remember. Anyone that can add to this please feel free… So, we’re enjoying the concert and everything, and as the next song is about to start, Sam goes to grab his Whiskey shot from the stage and came back up to the microphone. He says, “Yeah, so…This next song is for Loren & Shaun. I don’t know where they are…” and that’s where my memory stops, haha (and the shock overcame). My girls around me were putting my hand in the air trying to show him that I was right there, but he kept looking in all the wrong places, lol. I couldn’t even see Shaun who’d been at the side of the stage before. Sam seemed to see Shaun eventually, and smiled at him, raised his glass and then he took his shot and then sang the most awesome rendition of “Whiskey” ever. ;) This was, by far, the absolute most amazing thing ever. There's nothing I can say to express my true gratitude, so I'll just say that Sam is an INCREDIBLE artist and individual, and I'm so, so thankful for his gesture...it was so far above and beyond. It means the world to both of us.

The rest of the show was incredible. The guys TOTALLY rocked the shit out of that place.

I had an opportunity to talk a lot with Sam after the show, and he was as gracious and kind as always. He totally focuses on every person he meets and really makes you feel appreciated. It was a pleasure to talk with him and with Dave and Jeff and I truly appreciate all of the time that they spend talking to each and every person that comes out to see their show. These are not only amazing artists, but truly good people. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to see and meet them all.

I'm leaving out some things, so this may seem to jump....but some things are just for us. I really don’t even have appropriate words to end this with. It’s like no words are able to fully cover the whole experience. We kept saying Dallas was going to be “EPIC” and I just don’t even feel like that works. This trip was so much more than I even expected it would be. Not only did we get to meet up with so many amazing people (FINALLY!), but we got these amazing experiences with Sam and that in itself means so much. Not only was that ridiculously awesome enough, but it’s helped Shaun to understand exactly why I love this so much, and to make it even better, it’s an experience that included BOTH of us that we’ll have forever. Sam’s music is incredible, and that’s obvious and an understatement and doesn’t need explanation. But, being a great artist and a great musician doesn’t mean he HAS to be a great person. He is not only talented, but kind, considerate, and 110% grateful and appreciative to every single person who watches them play. He’s also hilarious, very witty and dances funny, so he gets brownie points for that, too. I've not had the opportunity to talk to The Men quite as much, but I know they must be great if Sam chose them to be a part of his band. To say this is an amazing group of individuals is yet another understatement.

The reasoning behind writing this was to try and capture everything that happened in my memory, and to share it with some of our friends that I wasn’t able to explain to then. I know Sam is just another person, but he really made a huge impact on us and as someone who’s always been a huge supporter (me) and someone who is now a huge supporter (Shaun), it’s more than amazing to know that the person behind the artist and behind the music is WORTH that support. Again, not that I had any doubt of that. But, it’s pretty incredible to have had the experience that we did with him and to truly understand how he sees us and know what he thinks of us. I know the man remembers everything anyway, but I hope that this is one more thing that will always remind him how much people love and support him in his career and how much we all wish the best for him.

I was going to add something into this that transpired earlier today, but I don't want to ruin this experience with bullshit caused by other people. So, I think I'm just going to leave it here. I hope if you take nothing more from this that you check out Sam Bradley's music and give him and The Men the opportunity to wow you. I promise that you will not be disappointed. Listen at http://www.myspace.com/sambradley, and you can purchase his EP at the shows or at http://www.sambradley.com.

Much love...xoxo

The Power of Music

2009-11-22T23:14:00.001-06:00

It is amazing the power that one can possess. Who is this Jedi warrior with amazing abilities and powers you ask? Why, the one and only Sam Bradley. I am sitting in my hotel room tonight after doing a lot of traveling and going to two of Sam & The Men’s shows in Houston and then again in Dallas. My very lovely wife got together with the “crew” as I’ll put it from Twitter and Facebook and arranged the trip so we could all finally meet up and be able to see a show together. Sam definitely did not disappoint. They all did an excellent show on both nights and it was incredible to feel the energy in the venues with our “crew” there in full force.

For those of you who do not know Sam’s music and are normally here for my poker inputs and updates, I must say that you have to listen to his songs (plug – http://www.myspace.com/sambradley). His music has done so much for my wife and I that, I could probably go out on a limb and say that if not for his music…well, it was not looking good for our marriage for a little while. His music inspires and reaches out to us, and with it we were able to find a common ground and reconnect. There is no way I could ever thank them enough for all that they have done for Loren and I. They are true and genuine with not only their music but as people as well. They always greet with a smile and remember what show you were at - even if it was almost 6 months ago in two different states (there’s that Jedi shit I’m talking about). The mind powers of this man are ridiculous. He called me by name and remembered the first time that we met at his show. What kind of freak is this guy, I mean really?! Out of all the people that he meets on a nightly basis, he can recall the city and venue. Spooky. Bottom line - don’t Fuck with a Jedi, and I think Sam is a Jedi.

I did get a chance to speak with Sam, Dave, Jeff and Mark over the past two shows and they all are just so completely amazing and down to earth. Never before have I met people with such talent and a true love for what they are doing. What can I say, I envy them. The fact that they know what they want to do and are able to go out and get it; I admire them in that fact I think more than anything else. They truly are incredible people and I would like to take the chance to wish them the best in everything and know that we will support them to the end.

I have mentioned before in my other blogs that I am not much of a people person. I normally do not like people at all, period. I was almost dreading this trip and being around all of these people. I am so glad that I could not have been more wrong about my expectations. Over this trip, I have met a number of wonderful, nice and genuine people. Now please do not take offense to what I am about to say. We may not be “friends” yet but I am happy and proud to call all of you acquaintances. For me, that is a HUGE step, so take it as a compliment. You all know who you are.

In the end it all comes down to the power of music. Truly, without Sam & the Men I would not be in such an amazing place as I am now. My wife and I finally again have something that we can relate to and enjoy doing together. Not to mention all of the people that have been brought together throughout the country, and a few of us have even gone international. God I love Canadians, Aye! Hopefully soon we will be able to become international as well. I just need to quit losing my damn Passport in the Strip club!

Sam Bradley & The Music Industry. (RE-POST from August 6, 2009.)

2009-11-03T22:42:00.003-06:00

I find myself unable to sleep. Inevitably, my mind starts going as I lie awake and I can’t turn it off. I’ve been told that if you can’t sleep, you shouldn’t lie in bed, but get up and do something until you feel tired enough to sleep. To kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, I decided I would write a bit and try to clear my head, and being that last night I attended a concert in New Orleans, that’s where my current thoughts are. This will probably end up as incoherent ramblings (or, quite possibly just bitching) but things irritate me and, as we all know, I have a difficult time letting go of things sometimes. When it comes to respect, dignity and flat-out common courtesy, I have absolutely zero tolerance for idiots. This is all my personal opinion.

Last night Shaun and I went to go see Sam Bradley at House of Blues in New Orleans, LA. This is the second time we’ve seen Sam live, as we attended a show featuring him and Thriving Ivory last month in Birmingham, AL. Sam is an immensely talented singer and song writer from England, and I believe currently based out of Vancouver. I originally heard of Sam because he co-wrote a song on the Twilight soundtrack called “Never Think.” To my knowledge, that’s mostly how the word has spread about Sam’s music, and I will be the first to admit that that’s where I heard his name and decided to check him out. One of my favorite things about music and pop culture in general is that it can lead you to so many other “places.” Because of Twilight, I found out about Sam, who led me to Thriving Ivory (whom I LOVE), plus Bobby Long and Marcus Foster (who also co-wrote songs on the soundtrack), and to go even further, listening to my favorites from the soundtrack on Pandora has led me to too many other songs and artists to even attempt to name (from Muse to Secondhand Serenade to The Killers, etc. etc. etc.).

I’m sure I’m babbling, and if you’re even still reading, I’m sure you’re wondering what the hell my point is. The show in Birmingham last month was poorly advertised (per some local residents) and so the turn-out was not great to begin with. During Sam’s set, multiple girls in the audience made it quite clear that the reasons they were there were not to support Sam, but simply because they were Twilight fans and because of whom he knows (one even had the audacity to mention this person). Is there anything wrong with Twilight fans going to the shows? Generally speaking – absolutely not. UNLESS in doing so you are completely disrespectful to an artist’s time, hard work and talent. I was disappointed in the actions displayed by these specific audience members during the set, and even more so when more than half the room emptied out to mob Sam in the lobby, which continued almost completely if not totally through Thriving Ivory’s set, which most did not return for, nor was Sam able to view the show as he had voiced he wanted to. This was disrespectful to both parties – these people purchased tickets that could have gone to other people who really wanted to see the show, and not that it was sold out, but if you are an artist and you come out expecting a room of 100 people and there’s maybe 50 – don’t you think that would affect you? This is all unimportant in the long-run, but I have such a high revere and love for the music industry and what artists (especially up-and-coming) go through to try to make a name for themselves, and I just hate to see people either acting like they give a shit when they don’t or using people or things for some sort of personal gain. (Added note: I have since met many great friends as well as some people who were at the Birmingham show, and I know that, at least their intentions were all good and to do nothing more than support Sam. Those are NOT the ones I am referring to in any way, shape, or form.*)

Anyway. I thought last month’s show was irritating, but it was nothing compared to last night’s. I had never been to HOB in New Orleans (aka NOLA) and was surprised at how small it was when we got there. After an opening act (named Robin Kinchen, a local with an amazing voice and very cool sound), Sam began his set to a fairly small crowd. Again this was disappointing, but I personally don’t find NOLA incredibly accessible, and the venue was even less so. Anyway, certain types of “fans” here stuck out like a sore thumb (like we have seen in the past in other places with other performers, ay ladies?) and in line with my attempts at trying to focus on the good in situations and not let the “bad” get to me, I tried to give the benefit of the doubt. Not that it’s my place to do so, but I’ve been behind the scenes of the music industry a very little bit in the past and have known people in the industry, so I am judgmental and passionate and that’s just how it is. As I said, these are all my own thoughts and opinions.

So again, the room was small to begin with as was the crowd. Due to my back problems, Shaun and I were sitting at a table which was back towards the middle of the room rather than near the front, and the crowd that formed up front was encouraging. This was a solo performance (rather than with his band, “Sam Bradley & The Men”) so it was just him and a guitar on stage. I can understand having short discussions or making comments or talking to friends you are with to a point, but the amount of conversation and utter and total disregard for his performance and energy was absolutely appalling. Sam is one of the best live performers I have ever seen to begin with – his voice alone would be enough, but his stage presence and obvious, total love for music is evident every second that he’s on stage. To get up there ALONE takes some guts regardless of who you are or how well you’re known, not to mention playing songs that you have put your own sweat, tears and experiences into. And these girls are going to stand there and scream at each other RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM while he is trying to get his music out to the world?

Why even bother? All you care about is running to his merchandise table after the show to have him sign your Twilight book. Why would you disrespect someone like that? Especially a person and an artist who is so gracious and kind to every person who comes out to see him. Come at the end of the show and let the people who appreciate his unbelievable talent (and likely, some people who have never even heard of him before who are potential new supporters of an upcoming artist) enjoy a show that he’s putting his heart into (and we paid, quite frankly, a lot of money for [side note: Ticketmaster sucks]). While I’m sure that these types of “fans” don’t surprise him, it angers me greatly - not even totally in regard to him, but to these types of situations in general.

Truthfully, things like this are some of the many reasons fans (of Twilight and otherwise) get a bad reputation. It may seem little and unimportant in comparison, but this is a real person and real people that are trying to do what they love. If it were me in that position, I would be deeply discouraged by these types of actions. I am happy to see that, at least by appearance and the experiences I’ve had with him, Sam is a stronger person than I, and seems to realize how talented he is and he obviously has the drive to keep doing what he has to do to make his dreams come true. (Which, from what I understand was endured at TwiCon last week, is no easy feat). I am certainly not saying that everyone is like the girls I’m talking about; I know there are many who are supportive of Sam for the right reasons. Unfortunately, often I think they are overshadowed by skankily-dressed girls all vying for a piece of somebody else, no matter what it takes or who they step on.

I am incredibly passionate about music. Music is in my heart and my soul. Not only has it gotten me through so much in my life, but it’s also provided me with so many opportunities to be a part of events, experiences, other peoples’ lives. It provides an outlet into another place or another world when reality sometimes just sucks and things are falling apart around you. Without music I would not have met some of the people I most value. Music permits people of different races, religions, social classes, countries, cliques, etc. opportunity and reason to be in the same room when they otherwise would likely not be, and connects people in ways that I believe nothing else can. These artists are sharing their gifts with the world and deserve respect (have I used that word enough?) for their craft first and foremost. That is what they want to be known for, which is why they do what they do, and probably play just about any show or venue they can get their hands on. You cannot bite the hand that feeds you, and as an artist I imagine you want word about you to get out however possible. Still, you must hope that once people have the opportunity to see and hear what you can do, that that initial reasoning (if for any alternative intentions) will become irrelevant and they will continue to support you FOR YOU. I certainly would, anyway.

To end my ranting I leave you with some suggested listening (if there is anyone that actually hung around ‘til the end of this). Thanks for listening to me. If you enjoy, please pass the word along and help support these wonderful artists.

I welcome and appreciate your comments.

Loren

Sam Bradley: http://www.myspace.com/sambradley (@samueltwitt1)
Thriving Ivory: http://www.myspace.com/thrivingivory (@thrivingivory)
Bobby Long: http://www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong (@bobbylongnews)
Marcus Foster: http://www.myspace.com/marcusfoster (@marcusfoster1)
Robin Kinchen: http://www.myspace.com/robinkinchen (@robinkinchen)
Pilot Speed: http://www.myspace.com/pilotspeed (@pilotspeed)

Another Bitching Post. Sorry :( by Loren

2009-10-18T01:41:00.003-05:00

Yeah, so, this is probably going to be another post complaining about stuff. I need a therapist. Oh wait, already have one! ;) What I have to say pertains widely to the general public so I figured I could write a blog about it for anyone who cared to read and also try and clear my head so I can sleep. Part of the reason that I can't sleep is because I got up a little bit ago, picked something off the floor and laid it on the bed, went around the corner of the bed and got dizzy and almost fell. I don't know why suddenly I'm so dizzy I'm falling and blacking out and shit (re: previous post). It's got me completely freaked out. What if it happened while I was driving, or in the shower, or while I'm just home alone or something? I'm going to call the doctor on Monday. Just doesn't help to keep me from freaking out until then (you could call me a teeeeny bit of a worrier).

Beyond that, I've been thinking a lot over the last few days about a few things. As much as I plan and try to organize my thoughts on these, I always seem to end up in a big jumble of complaints, so I hope this makes sense and maybe won't be totally and completely random and stupid.

Numero Uno. Liars. I REALLLLLLLLLY hate liars. Seriously, what is the point? If you are a liar, do you like when people lie to you, or does it not even matter? I just wish that people could be upfront and honest with one another. I know I keep saying this, but there is SO much hate and conflict in this world, I just don't understand why it's necessary to add completely unnecessary malice. I feel like....okay. My husband says I trust people too easily, and this is why I get hurt. I am the kind of person who has just always met new people and always enjoyed it. I don't know how you truly get to know people if you don't open yourself up to them. When I was younger, I traveled a lot and had a small group of close friends. Those people were basically my family in a lot of ways, and sometimes I spent more time with them than my real family. So, basically, I just love meeting new people and forming new friendships. If you are in any kind of group situation, place, or social networking-type area, you are TRYING to meet people, or will at least be presented with the possibility and probability of meeting new people. The purpose(s) may be different, but the "outcome" so to speak, is the same. If you are trying to meet people, and build relationships with people (of whatever kind), WHY would you lie? About who you are, what you do, who you know? Any form of relationship, friendship, etc. that you end up having with these people, is completely false and meaningless if it's based on lies. So what's even the point? Do you think that if someone you befriended found out you lied to them, they would still want to know you? Care to know you? Believe ANYTHING you ever say ever again? This is totally not directed to anyone, just in general. I see these ridiculous Twitter/Facebook/etc. "fights" that go on, and I see people misleading other people, and/or trying to make themselves look and feel superior to others because of information or imagined confidences. Here's another word of advice to take however you wish. No matter what you know, who you know, how much money you make, how smart you are, how attractive you are or how successful you are; if you are a liar, cheater, or just plain asshole, you are NOTHING more than a liar, cheater, or asshole. Nothing.

This somewhat ties in with #1, but #2 is about people using other people. Fair-weather friends. Friendships because of convenience. These are NEVER okay. Like, there is absolutely NOTHING okay about them. If you are "friends" with any person for ANY other reason than just that - to be a friend - then it's for the wrong reasons. Friendship is supposed to be about honesty, loyalty, and helping each other when in need. Friendship is not about being someone's friend when it works for you, when it's convenient for you, and then either not being there when they need you or when you no longer "need" them. Friendships should not be to "get" you anywhere or to "move you up in the world." It's called USING. It's called taking advantage of people. It's called being a worthless fucking human being. It's time to grow up and learn how to treat people appropriately. Sometimes you just have to say, "What would your mother think about what you just did, or said?" Or your grandmother, or whoever. Would they be proud of who you are? Would you be proud if your child acted that way? Food for thought.

I just have one last thing, and then I think I'm done. I have been through my own share of....shit in my life. I have also seen people that I love and care about go through a lot. I am currently seeing some friends go through some situations that are really tough, and I often find myself watching them in awe at how well they are handling things. If I didn't know any better, I'm really not sure I would know anything was going on. It just made me think about something, that of course, pretty much ties in with all of my issues regarding trust, honesty, and just plain hateful and mean people. You never know what people are going through. You never know what people have been through. Before you judge someone, or decide to be rude or hateful to someone, take a second to think about that. I am not saying by any means that anyone has any right to treat other people badly because of a situation they're in or a way they feel. I'm just saying that...well, to be cliche, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." If we all took that to heart, how much DRAMA would go away, in general? A hell of a lot, in my opinion. I am far from perfect, but I'm trying to keep this new thoughts in my head and do what I can do be the person I believe everyone should be, or at least try to be. Everyone makes mistakes and bad judgments, but that doesn't mean one has to continue down that "path" forever. You can't change the past, but you can strive to be better in the future. I believe that we're all capable of that, and I believe there's always room to improve ourselves.

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to share any comments. I welcome and appreciate them.

Loren
xoxo

Today's Events. by Loren

2009-10-13T15:56:00.003-05:00

Hi All,

I'd like to start by thanking everyone so much for their concern and messages today. I really appreciate it! I didn't mean to worry anyone, just wanted to let a few of you know I'd be out of touch for a while because I don't get service at the hospital, and to be safe I wanted to go get checked out (everything is okay now).

When I woke up this morning, I got out of bed and was getting ready to hop in the shower and whatnot to get ready for bed. I turned a bit to turn my alarm off so it wouldn't start going off again and....the next thing I remember, I was getting up off of the ground. Apparently I blacked out for a few minutes, and when I fell, I fell onto one of my dog's crates and scraped up my side/ribs. On the upside, I'm really lucky that I didn't hit my head on the wall (am actually unsure how I didn't hit my head), so that's a good thing. After that, I...got sick a few times as well. So, I called my hubs and we decided it'd be best to go to the doc to make sure that nothing was seriously wrong.

The hospital was a freakin' blast - in addition to my ribs/side throbbing, I was lucky enough to get a nurse who was in training to take my blood. While she was drawing my blood, another nurse was explaining to her and another trainy about different kinds of needles and how to take them out properly so as not to collapse the vein or or burst it. WHILE THERE WAS A NEEDLE IN MY ARM. That was so fun.

Needless to say, as I predicted, they couldn't find anything wrong on the blood work, EKG or x-rays. I really figured that they wouldn't be able to tell me what happened, but I've never blacked out like that and it really scared me. Obviously the pain sucks, but scarier than that is that I have no idea how I didn't hit my head, and if I HAD hit my head, I was home alone and would likely not have heard from anyone for quite a while. None of this really matters, because thankfully, that stuff didn't happen. It's just freaky to have something come out of no where and seemingly for no reason.

So anyway, to wrap up - scary moment, don't know why, everything seems to be okay now. Thanks again everyone for your prayers and thoughts, and if anything changes/updates I'll be sure to let you know. Much love!!!

xoxo

Another Sleepless Night. What Else Is New? by Loren

2009-10-10T02:29:00.003-05:00

I apologize in advance for what's likely to be more moanin' and groanin' on my part. It's 2:30AM and I can't sleep. I actually had a decent day and a pretty okay night, yet here I am, wide awake and in a piss ass mood. I can't really explain why I'm in a bad mood or what triggered it. I think maybe other people's moods may have kind of rubbed off, but I don't know. The worst part about feeling this way is not knowing what causes me to feel this way. I'm just going to try to talk about whatever comes to mind and hope maybe it clears my head a bit.

I've been seeing a lot lately in general, but especially over the last few weeks, people hurting other people that I care about. I feel like there is SO much hate in the world already. Why do people find it necessary to be to be mean and hateful to people to people? Especially when it's so completely UNnecessary. I see people using, and cheating, and taking complete advantage of any and every situation they can find. Why? Seriously. If EVERY person treated everyone how they wanted to be treated, how great would this world be? How calm and drama-free would LIFE be? I just can't understand the purpose of being hateful to other people, especially over stupid and petty shit. Honestly, what good does it do you? What do you get out of it? Does it make you feel big and bad? Here's a few notes for ya:
1) Internet fighting is NEVER cool. Ever. It does not make you bad ass. It does not make people fear you. It certainly doesn't make people respect you. What it does is show how pathetic you are.
2) Twitter fighting is even worse.
3) Twitter fighting with people you don't and will never know in person is even worse than THAT.
4) Fighting with people for having a different opinion is ridiculous. Who are you to say that YOUR opinion is the RIGHT one? The point is, according to the Constitution, even if someone is wrong, and is proven wrong, they STILL have a right to that opinion. You can think they're a jackass, whatever you want, but they still have the right to have and to voice that opinion. Do I think there are right and wrong ways to voice your opinion? Absolutely. If your opinion is hurtful to others, I believe there is a way to voice it and still be "PC" if you will. The bottom line is, other people are just as entitled to their opinions as you are to yours.

The other thing that really bugs me lately: people that think they are superior because they may or may not have "inside information" about certain things. Do you really think that knowing things others may not makes you better than them? Especially when you hang it over peoples' heads so that you can get attention? All you do is make yourself look like a desperate fool. There are some people that choose to share any inside information that they may have in appropriate fashions, and without endangering or disrupting the people or things that it pertains to. While it's true that there will always be people desperate enough to hang on your every word, the majority of people are laughing at you and what a psychopath you are. Bottom line: it doesn't make you important, it doesn't make you special, it doesn't even make you cool. If you "know" something and choose to share it, then share it. Don't use it as a tool to get people to like you and pay attention to you. And if you do, then don't be surprised when you get stabbed in the back and you're "shocked!" when you find out people were using you. What did you expect, exactly?

What else do I feel like talking about...maybe a "happier" note is better. Actually, honestly, this is all I have to say right now. Sorry for the mood of this. I'm just...cranky, I suppose you could say.

I promise for a happier, more upbeat blog next time. Thanks for reading anyway. xoxo

My month in review

2009-10-02T12:15:00.002-05:00

Greetings to all and man am I glad this last month is over. I think that a recap is in order since I as well have been slacking with my input to the blog. Well as many of you know I started taking college classes again to try and finish up my associates. Man going back to school after ten years is not easy but it has been enjoyable. Well I had all of my midterms this week and I think that I did rather well on them so that is good. I did manage to play a fair amount of poker online this month which was also good and what I will mainly be talking about.

As for poker I managed to play 7,098 hands this month which is a very small number in comparison to a lot of the professionals out there, but what can I say, I work full time, go to class three nights a week and spend time with my Beautiful wife afterwards. So manageing to get that many hands in was a good thing. I ended up having a winning month which was good and am continuing to work on my game and get up to the next level of play. I honestly believe that I could go ahead and make the move now but I still would like to fix a few of the leaks I think that I have now. I went out and got a new poker coach this month as well, Some of you may laugh and say a poker coach..well yes they have them and the one I got has been around for a while and is definitely helping my game. I do find it slightly amusing that he is younger than I am and has had such good success at the game and here I am taking lessons from him. One of the things that you must do in order to get better at anything is to set goals for yourself. So this is what I am going to do here and go ahead and set my goals for the next month.

Goal 1- I would like to try and get 10,000 hands of poker in this month. It will definitely be a challenge and something that is definitely attainable.

Goal 2- I would like to have the Bankroll to be able to play the $50NL games on Full Tilt.

Goal 3- I want to work on playing more in position with the bad players and isolating them more. Right now I can see this as being one of my major leaks in my game and I think that I am leaving a lot of money out on the table.

Now I know that a majority of you that read this blog are not poker players and more than likely have no interest in the game. But I do hope that you can take the goal setting and use it in your personal lives, or even your professional lives and make use of it. Whether it be to stay on top of a blog, or whatever it is that you do. I wish good luck to all of you and hope that you find joy in whatever it is that you do.

Frustration. by Loren

2009-09-30T21:54:00.004-05:00

This may be a pointless blog since I've calmed down a little bit, but I've had a very frustrating few days. In addition to the every day fun stuff (stupid emails, dumb questions I've already answered, entitlement issues, etc. etc.), I've had a shit ton of doctor's appointments this week (which are NEVER easy) and I've seen some people do some shitty things to some friends and I don't take that very lightly. I can't say things TO these people, since it isn't my place, so I thought, what better way than to blog about them anonymously? Totally mature. Actually, since it really doesn't have to do with me, I have no shame in it. I'm going to start (and maybe end) with that.

For my disclaimer, I'll start with this: I am blessed with a wonderful, caring husband who for whatever reason, loves me unconditionally, even (and especially) when I don't deserve it. I tell him all the time he's just blinded by love. Regardless, he has never purposely hurt me, and he's always taken care of me and put me first. With that, we go to the frustration that currently has my blood boiling:

#1. MEN. Men are stupid. Men are jerks. Men are cowards and liars and they're weak.

Example 1: Man is upset in marriage. Man tells wife he's unhappy. She doesn't like the person she's become and tries to better herself. He says "Okay, we'll try." He goes overseas. She continues bettering herself for when he returns. She waits for him. He suddenly stops communicating. She's worried. He comes back. He's home for like two weeks. She has to drag it out of him he wants a divorce. She waited for months. He never said anything, and had no intention of being with her when he got home. She could have been starting her own life. Then come to find, he cheated on her overseas. He's still seeing the whore. He's a fucking douche bag, and a coward, and he's dating a home wrecking bitch. But I'm not allowed to tell him that. Next.

Example 2: Man is married. Man meets woman on common interest trip. Woman is not happy in marriage, and has decided to leave. Man and woman are interested in each other. Man and woman have "relationship" of sorts. Man suddenly stops talking, with no explanation. Obviously reconnecting to wife. Woman has already fallen in love. She tells man she can't be only friends, and takes herself out of his life for the sake of him and his family, and cuts off all communication. Months go by. HE EMAILS HER. He starts IMing her. He will be in the same town soon, and he emails asking if she will be around.

First and foremost, there is never. NEVER. an excuse for cheating. This is my opinion, but I fervently believe it. If you don't want to be with someone, DON'T BE. If you want to be with someone else, LEAVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH.

Man #1 is a cowardly, shitheaded scumbag. How can you lie so severely to someone you "love" and vowed to spend your life with? Is a piece of ass all it takes? I don't care if you're lonely. I don't care if you're scared. I don't care if it's someone you can relate to because you're in the same position. YOU HAVE A CHOICE TO CHEAT OR NOT TO CHEAT. I don't care what the circumstances are. At LEAST if you are going to choose to do that, act like a fucking man and tell your wife who is home WAITING for you and COMPLETELY bettering herself in part FOR YOU, what is going on. Let her begin moving on with her life. Not when it's fucking convenient for you. You "didn't want to do it on the phone"? To a point, maybe. NOT WHEN YOU CHEATED. Stupid motherfucker. You are wrong, you fucked up, and basically you're a horrible human being. If that's how you treat people you love, I'd hate to see your enemies. Though, anytime, BRING. IT. ON.

Man #2 is not the only one at fault here, this is true. However, woman was already out of her relationship. While not officially divorced maybe, at least separated from husband and acknowledged on both sides. Man #2 CHOSE to cheat. When he realized it was not what he wanted anymore, he was an even bigger DOUCHEBAG about it. No explanation, no sorry for all the broken promises, no NOTHING. Just silence. Then starts casual conversation a while later. Then woman steps away. Then man contacts her. Do YOU want her? If not, then LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE AND LET HER GET OVER YOU. Quit fucking messing with her head or trying to please your ego or whatever the fuck your issues are. Be a man and either talk the shit out or leave her the hell alone and go spend time with your wife and kids.

Honestly, I'm not angry as this probably sounds, I just get extremely frustrated when my friends are hurt. Not just in relationships, but certainly I find both of these situations crappy. Neither person in either instance is totally innocent, I would never try to claim that. I am also on the outside and therefore only have one side of them. However, some things are in plain sight and some things I watched happen. If you're going to be an adult and play adult "games" - learn to act like one. And a word of advice: if you're doing something that you're keeping a secret from some or all of the people you're closest to - you KNOW you're doing something wrong.

#2, and this will seem minuscule in comparison to other things - do NOT speak down to me because I'm a woman. You are not better than me, I don't owe you anything, and I certainly will not do whatever you tell me to do. You can suck a dick, as far as I'm concerned. It may be my responsibility to assist you in specific ways. That does NOT mean I WORK for you. I am here to HELP you. If you will not take it upon yourself to complete the things you are responsible for and follow what directions I can give, there's only so much that I can do for you. Especially if you're a crotchety old man with nothing better to do than bitch at me and tell me how great you are and blah blah blah.

PS - Try READING AN EMAIL before you ask questions. This saves lots of time, and may prevent people from wanting to smash your head into a wall. xoxoxo

I feel a bit better, so I think that's all I'm going to say for right now. Thanks for listening to my venting. I hope I can bring a more upbeat posting in the near future.

xo
Loren

Long Time No Post. by Loren

2009-09-26T18:44:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone is well. It's been over a month since we've posted, so sorry about that. Sometimes real life (from here on known as "RL") just gets in the way!

I intend this to be a short post for me, just to pop in and get back going again. I have a special post planned for next Monday but we'll get there when we get there. I hope right now everybody's doing well.

We have quite a few trips planned in the coming months! I just found out about this worldwide tour called "Star Wars: In Concert". Yeah, you read that right! Needless to say as soon as I heard it I had a tiny SQEEEEE moment, and then looked it up on the Internet as soon as I got home. I would love to go to the FL show, but it's the weekend before another trip so I just can't do it. I found out then that it's playing in New Orleans at the end of October so I am going to try my damnedest to get my ass there. For those who don't know, since my husband says only nerds like me know) John Williams composed all of the music for Star Wars (as well as Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, FYI) and is a freaking genius. I'd go so far as to say he's basically a musical GOD. So from what I understand the concert is an orchestra that will be playing all of the scores from Star Wars, along to edited clips from the movies that go along with the music. Even if you are not a Star Wars (nerd) fan like me, but you love music, I would seriously, seriously recommend that you check this out of you have the opportunity.

In November I get to go to my first live Bobby Long show down in Florida with what I think is going to be a totally fun crowd! Later that month, Shaun & I are flying down to Dallas to meet up with some of my awesome Twitter babes (that sounds dirty!) for none other than Mr. Sam Bradley & The Men! SO excited for that, even though it's been like two months since we saw his last show, I'm definitely going through withdrawals. I've also never been to Dallas so I'm definitely excited to check out a new place. For all updated news on the boys (including Marcus Foster), please be sure you check out http://shackofsoul.com. You can also follow them on Twitter at @ShackofSoul (they're Sam-Approved!). Of course, obviously, if you haven't already checked out the boys' music, what the fuck are you waiting for?! You can do so at the following: Sam Bradley: http://www.myspace.com/sambradley, Bobby Long: http://www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong, Marcus Foster: http://www.marcusfoster.

I also highly recommend you check out Thriving Ivory (http://www.myspace.com/thrivingivory). On the same musical note (witty, eh?) we had what I now consider to be a great privilege to see Taylor Hicks live on September 11th. I liked him on American Idol but never really cared too much beyond that. Let me tell you - he was no less than AMAZING live. His voice is incredible, his stage presence is fantastic, and you can tell it's what he really loves to do. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you check him out. (Specifically, my current song-that's-annoyingly-on-repeat "The Runaround").

In December we got tickets to see RENT live on Broadway in Orlando. To say that I'm THRILLED would be a gross understatement. I have loved Rent's music since before I knew what it was about (listening to it in like 6th grade on the way to Hebrew school - seriously!) and have only fallen more in love with it as I've gotten older. I never got to see it on Broadway in NY, so this was so exciting to find. It also has the two original "Mark" and "Roger" 's so I absolutely cannot even freaking wait!

Lots of news in the Twilight world...New Moon is out in less than two months and I know I'm not the only one who's excited! We bought midnight show tickets last week so I'm totally stoked about that. Not to mention that we fly out the day after for Dallas (where I believe the ladies and I will be seeing another screening together, because we're cool like that) so it will definitely be a fun week. For some fun blogs that always keep me entertained & informed, check out: Rob My World at http://robmyworld.com/ and Eyes of Amber at http://eyesofamber.blogspot.com. Even if you're like me and just love anything Twi (and not specifically Rob ;) ), I guarantee you will at least get some great laughs, so check these ladies out.

Last but definitely not least, a big thank you to everyone for all of their concern as far as my personal "issues" go. I do have some minor health stuff going on, all of which is being taken care of as best it can be. If you want details, let me know and we can talk in a more private setting. :) I truly appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers through everything.

Much Love,

Loren

xoxo

Gross Invasions of Privacy. by Loren

2009-08-10T20:30:00.002-05:00

Well my Monday was pretty much a normal one (does anyone really have GOOD Mondays?) Anyway, it wasn’t necessarily bad, just long and a bit tedious. I can safely say my day was much better than some though. Today’s topic is Invasion of Privacy. Because unfortunately, there were SO many examples of this in one specific group of people, it pains me to imagine the world at large. Can you tell lots of my posts are going to be about the entertainment industry?

#1. Ashley Greene (Alice from Twilight) had some nude pictures that leaked out today, via Perez Hilton (who, just by the way, is a douche bag who hates any person or celebrity that doesn’t give him the time of day and/or kiss his ass). Personally, I do think it’s somewhat silly to take nude pictures or videos and not expect that someday, somewhere, they’re going to get out. Especially if you are going into any kind of career where you are in the public eye. However, that doesn’t mean its okay for someone to leak these personal photos for their own gain (or for the “subject’s” embarrassment). This is probably some old boyfriend that Ashley sent personal pictures to that wanted to make a buck of his now-famous ex. While she is one of the lesser-known “Twi-Cast” she has still become a prominent figure on the gossip sites and in the magazines and her privacy is increasingly limited as time goes by. The bottom line is: NO ONE deserves to have pictures, videos, letters, etc. etc. etc. leaked, sold or given to ANY outside person or entity without their express permission, no matter what the circumstances.

This same thing just happened to Vanessa Hudgens again. Obviously, if you are going to take nude pictures you should probably be a bit “choosey” of whom you share them with, and that’s certainly on you to decide. But, the assumption of privacy should be there, even for celebrities unless he or she decides to release said pictures, etc. on their own officially.

#2. Ashley Greene is unfortunately also the topic of this. (NOT been a good day for this poor girl). While this is not nearly as “extreme” as nude pictures being leaked, some other pictures were taken this morning apparently of her making out with Chase Crawford. I understand the pictures look as though they’re taken from some sort of hidden area when the two clearly thought they were in a private setting.

#3 ties in with the above as it was a picture of Rob Pattinson (Edward from Twilight) apparently in his hotel room. Like, IN his hotel room. Like I said before, being a “celebrity” should come with a certain expectation of losing a certain amount of privacy. Absolutely. In our culture, people want to know EVERYTHING about celebrities, especially their personal lives. But, there is NO excuse whatsoever to have flat-out SPYING pictures in peoples’ rooms, homes, movie trailers – any private dwelling should be just that. Even if it’s a hotel – they are paying for their room and that is their place of residence for whatever length of time, and whatever they do there is their business and NO ONE else’s’. THOSE are places that anyone, famous or not, should be able to have an expectation of privacy.

What would any “normal” non-famous person do if someone took pictures of them like that? Are there not laws against that? If there’s not, there should be. If there are laws against that, why is it okay if they are a celebrity? Does a person being famous mean they sign away ANY right to privacy whatsoever? Are they no longer entitled to any personal moment for the rest of their lives? I don’t think that’s fair and I don’t think it’s valid. Yes – actors, musicians, etc. CHOOSE to have a career where they are in the public eye. They should still be entitled to some form of private life outside of that career, and if they can’t get that in their homes, etc., where the hell are they supposed to go?

The bottom line is that in being a celebrity or any kind of public figure, you would expect your level of privacy to deteriorate greatly. However, there has GOT to be a limit to this. It would be great if celebrities could be completely left alone during their “off-time” but like I said, that’s not a reality and we all know it. At the very least, they should be able to have an “escape” to their homes (or temporary residences) without outside interference and people hiding on rooftops and in bushes and breaking into hotel rooms to get their shots. These people should not be paid for these pictures – they should be arrested. It’s trespassing and it’s out of line. Releasing someone else’s’ personal pictures is just as bad. You may think that in sending out these pictures, a person “gives up” their right or expectation to privacy. This is not the case, and while I certainly may be wrong, I believe the law SAYS it’s wrong. Sending out the pictures to someone else doesn’t change the fact that the person who sent them initially is the person who OWNS those pictures. They are their property, and theirs to send to whom they choose and do with them as they wish. They are not for someone else to distribute as they see fit, even if they were sent to them for whatever reason.

I am disgusted once again by certain members of the media and their blatant disregard for ANYONE’S personal rights. I urge you not to repost any of these gross invasions of privacy on any of your sites or blogs, and I also strongly urge you not to read or support any of the sites or magazines that do choose to feature any of them, especially Perez Hilton. If they stop getting the hits, maybe they will stop the inappropriate behavior and leave some people the hell alone. If you are really a fan of any of the people this has happened to, remember that it was without their consent or knowledge, and put yourself in their positions.

As Eclipse filming begins this week, I hope everyone will show their support for the Twi-Cast in respectful and appropriate ways. They are already under an immense amount of pressure to make a good movie for us all, and to deal with this type of scrutiny and complete and total lack of privacy on top of it takes quite a group of individuals. I hope things slow down and they’re able to actually enjoy this experience.

Thanks for reading. If you agree, please RT/pass along.

Loren

People Need to Grow Up. (And the Media Needs to Grow a Conscience). by Loren

2009-08-09T17:38:00.006-05:00

Hello to all!

I’d like to start by thanking everyone who took the time to read and comment on my blog from the other day! I truly appreciate it and genuinely hope that it reaches at least one person who may have been going to a Sam Bradley, Marcus Foster or Bobby Long show now or in the near future. After hearing some experiences at Bobby and Marcus’ shows in California over the last few days, it’s become even more apparent to me how far some people are willing to go beyond common decency. Especially the paparazzi (you shameful, shameful human beings). It’s reminiscent of Princess Diana, and we all know how that ended. I hope that something will be done before something as devastating as that happens to someone else.

The bottom line is that even celebrities who have “chosen” this occupation and “chosen” this lifestyle are entitled to a certain amount of privacy. Of course people are going to care about their personal lives, but the first and topmost concern should be related to their current, WORK-RELATED projects. Because I think it would be naïve and unrealistic to expect them to be left completely alone during off-time, I believe that there should at least be lines drawn and laws in place that prevent downright (wow, how MISSISSIPPI is that word?) invasion of privacy and full-out stalking. This has become a danger to individuals and their companions (and even worse, in some cases – their children), and should not be allowed to continue.

I hope that the events of the last few days not only bring attention to how people should act at – or better yet, NOT act - a Brit Pack (or other “friends-of-celebrity" artists) concert (for a humorous yet extremely true list of these do’s and don’ts, check out: http://scripturesoftristianity.blogspot.com/), but also brings an awareness at how today’s A-List celebrities are treated by paparazzi who will do anything to get their shot, no matter what it takes or who they crawl over. Somehow, I find the two eerily similar.

One last piece of bitching, and then I’ll be done with that (for today, anyway). I have noticed more and more the HATE passed around on all these social networking sites. WOW. Twitter is my current obsession (reminiscent of the old-school AOL chatrooms I think, haha), and I think it’s been really cool to find all these networks for different things. I’m amazed, though; at how incredibly mean some people are to others, who in reality they probably don’t even know anything about beyond their screennames. I have literally, just in the last couple of days, seen insults to the person, insults to their family, wishes or hopes that they’d killed themselves – really, folks? Really?! There is SO much hate in this world – is it honestly necessary that we spread more of it over unimportant things and issues? Why “follow” or read posts from someone you don’t like, or don’t agree with what they say? In the interest of exploring other peoples’ opinions and potential other views on topics, and maybe even learning something, healthy conversation and even debate are not always bad things. I just think it’s pointless in today’s world to waste energy on all-out fighting with people, who you probably don’t even know in “real life.”

Anyway, other than that been an uneventful weekend. I haven’t been feeling too well, so I crashed around 7 or so last night and slept for around 18 hours. I am still feeling a bit under the weather, but at least a bit better. Shaun & I went to the Beau and played some poker yesterday, but that didn’t go really well. I didn’t play my best, but didn’t end up down a whole lot at least. I have started playing cash games more lately instead of tournaments, which is all I used to play and I thought was more my forte. As I am learning more about cash and the differences in tournaments, I think I am improving (at least I hope I am). Going to keep trying and doing what I can do.

Unfortunately, I am not very interesting and don’t really have anything else to write about right now. I would like to apologize for the grammar/spelling/etc. on my hubby’s post, as I am one of the people that that stuff bothers the CRAP out of. (Love you, babe). Maybe I’ll try to sneak in later and play editor.

Thank you, again, to everyone who read, commented and passed along my previous blog. I appreciate it and look forward to talking with y’all more. Again, I welcome and appreciate all comments and thoughts.

Loren

Shauns 2nd Blog post- I know original title huh

2009-08-09T15:52:00.001-05:00

Ok so on to Blog post number two. What to discuss what to discuss. Well let’s start with poker, since that is what I have been doing lately. Oh yeah one thing I forgot to say in the first blog of mine. I am not too concerned with proper English or exact punctuation so if something doesn’t sound right or I am missing a comma or something do not hold it against me. I write all of these on Word before I publish them and basically just go off of its recommendations. I write how I speak and normally that can lead to made up words and run on sentences and such.

Ok now on to poker. Well as many of you know I am constantly searching for the path that will lead me to poker greatness. Initially I took a liking to the single table tourneys like I said before and branched out a little into Multi-table tournaments. I stayed away from cash games since you never heard of cash game players. The big names in poker when I was starting to learn were the tournament players. I longed for the fame and fortune of being on tv and showing the huge bluff or the amazing call. Hell, I still long for that but the variance and game has changed so much since I started playing almost 5 years ago. The amount of startup money needed and the amount of time and volume I would need to put in to consistently turn a profit are not available at this time.

I ran across a good website for poker from a good friend of mine who is writing a blog for their site. The website is www.pokercurious.com . There is a lot of good information on the site and some interesting links. One the links I found was to a site called www.donkeytest.com , it is a cool site that offers a 50 question test and gives you a rough idea of your strengths and weaknesses in poker. They have a lot of testimonies from some top ranked pro’s and some not so good players . So I took the test, it took me about 25 minutes to complete it and got my score. I did find humor in the fact that even though I have been playing tournaments for about 5 years it says that tournaments are my weakest point. So since taking the test, getting the results and thinking more about what I can do to actually make a good amount of money I have decided to simply concentrate on cash games. One I get a bankroll of about $50K I’ll look into playing tournaments and maybe learning the game but until then lets try to make some consistent money in the cash games. I do enjoy playing live poker but unfortunately the stakes are not low enough for my current bankroll. So once I get a healthier bankroll I am sure I’ll be playing more live.

So I hope that some of you at least found some interest in this. I know a majority of you reading this blog are here for my wife’s post and that is fine, but if you happen to have a thought that you want to know my opinion on or anything else please feel free to comment. If you don’t like it and it is not interest,…hell feel free to comment as well. To all of you left good luck on the felt and in life. Especially, if the felt is you life.

Shaun's First Post. by Shaun

2009-08-06T17:14:00.003-05:00

OK so we are starting a blog together. This should be fun and interesting in the very least. Well as my wife’s first post stated we went to a concert at House of Blues in New Orleans. The show was Sam Bradley and a local chick opened for him. She had a good jazzy sound which can be expected from a New Orleans artist. She was good and Sam was great. I liked the show with the full band better, but this show was very good as well. I will agree with my wife that the girls that were there simply because of who he knows and that had the nerve to disrespect someone by having full conversations through his entire set while he was playing were extremely obnoxious. We did manage to catch him after his set to say hello and that we saw him in Birmingham before he was mobbed by the desperate housewives - aka the groupies that follow Sam Bradley around and yell things at him when they tip the scales at 225 lbs+. Anyways enough of that, my wife is more up to date on all the Music and entertainment industry so if you are here for that then you might as well just read her post.

Ok well now on to one of my true passions…POKER. The game in question is No Limit (NL) Texas Hold ‘Em. I started playing almost 4 years ago and with deployments and all I have not been able to spend the amount of time that I should have to take my game to the next level. I have been playing in cash games live at the Beau Rivage lately and am slowly breaking into cash games. I am planning on grinding the Single Table Tournaments also known in the poker world as Sit and Go’s (SnG’s). These are quite honestly the best way to make some money. There is a strategy to beat these that is fairly robotic and some of the best players online in these things have put a website together. So the plan is over the next couple of months is to take the info I learn from their website and practice myself with some ICM software that I have and hopefully can find a way to make a few grand every month from home. It would definitely be nice way to make some extra income. Well if anything strap in because this should be a fun ride, as far as poker and this blog project goes. Please leave feedback and let us know what you think and if there are any topics that you want to hear us discuss. Later.

Sam Bradley & The Music Industry. by Loren

2009-08-06T14:34:00.004-05:00

The first post is a serious one, written at 5am this morning....

I find myself unable to sleep. Inevitably, my mind starts going as I lie awake and I can’t turn it off. I’ve been told that if you can’t sleep, you shouldn’t lie in bed, but get up and do something until you feel tired enough to sleep. To kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, I decided I would write a bit and try to clear my head, and being that last night I attended a concert in New Orleans, that’s where my current thoughts are. This will probably end up as incoherent ramblings (or, quite possibly just bitching) but things irritate me and, as we all know, I have a difficult time letting go of things sometimes. When it comes to respect, dignity and flat-out common courtesy, I have absolutely zero tolerance for idiots. This is all my personal opinion.

Last night Shaun and I went to go see Sam Bradley at House of Blues in New Orleans, LA. This is the second time we’ve seen Sam live, as we attended a show featuring him and Thriving Ivory last month in Birmingham, AL. Sam is an immensely talented singer and song writer from England, and I believe currently based out of Vancouver. I originally heard of Sam because he co-wrote a song on the Twilight soundtrack called “Never Think.” To my knowledge, that’s mostly how the word has spread about Sam’s music, and I will be the first to admit that that’s where I heard his name and decided to check him out. One of my favorite things about music and pop culture in general is that it can lead you to so many other “places.” Because of Twilight, I found out about Sam, who led me to Thriving Ivory (whom I LOVE), plus Bobby Long and Marcus Foster (who also co-wrote songs on the soundtrack), and to go even further, listening to my favorites from the soundtrack on Pandora has led me to too many other songs and artists to even attempt to name (from Muse to Secondhand Serenade to The Killers, etc. etc. etc.).

I’m sure I’m babbling, and if you’re even still reading, I’m sure you’re wondering what the hell my point is. The show in Birmingham last month was poorly advertised (per some local residents) and so the turn-out was not great to begin with. During Sam’s set, multiple girls in the audience made it quite clear that the reasons they were there were not to support Sam, but simply because they were Twilight fans and because of whom he knows (one even had the audacity to mention this person). Is there anything wrong with Twilight fans going to the shows? Generally speaking – absolutely not. UNLESS in doing so you are completely disrespectful to an artist’s time, hard work and talent. I was disappointed in the actions displayed by these specific audience members during the set, and even more so when more than half the room emptied out to mob Sam in the lobby, which continued almost completely if not totally through Thriving Ivory’s set, which most did not return for, nor was Sam able to view the show as he had voiced he wanted to. This was disrespectful to both parties – these people purchased tickets that could have gone to other people who really wanted to see the show, and not that it was sold out, but if you are an artist and you come out expecting a room of 100 people and there’s maybe 50 – don’t you think that would affect you? This is all unimportant in the long-run, but I have such a high revere and love for the music industry and what artists (especially up-and-coming) go through to try to make a name for themselves, and I just hate to see people either acting like they give a shit when they don’t or using people or things for some sort of personal gain.

Anyway. I thought last month’s show was irritating, but it was nothing compared to last night’s. I had never been to HOB in New Orleans (aka NOLA) and was surprised at how small it was when we got there. After an opening act (named Robin Kinchen, a local with an amazing voice and very cool sound), Sam began his set to a fairly small crowd. Again this was disappointing, but I personally don’t find NOLA incredibly accessible, and the venue was even less so. Anyway, certain types of “fans” here stuck out like a sore thumb (like we have seen in the past in other places with other performers, ay ladies?) and in line with my attempts at trying to focus on the good in situations and not let the “bad” get to me, I tried to give the benefit of the doubt. Not that it’s my place to do so, but I’ve been behind the scenes of the music industry a very little bit in the past and have known people in the industry, so I am judgmental and passionate and that’s just how it is. As I said, these are all my own thoughts and opinions.

So again, the room was small to begin with as was the crowd. Due to my back problems, Shaun and I were sitting at a table which was back towards the middle of the room rather than near the front, and the crowd that formed up front was encouraging. This was a solo performance (rather than with his band, “Sam Bradley & The Men”) so it was just him and a guitar on stage. I can understand having short discussions or making comments or talking to friends you are with to a point, but the amount of conversation and utter and total disregard for his performance and energy was absolutely appalling. Sam is one of the best live performers I have ever seen to begin with – his voice alone would be enough, but his stage presence and obvious, total love for music is evident every second that he’s on stage. To get up there ALONE takes some guts regardless of who you are or how well you’re known, not to mention playing songs that you have put your own sweat, tears and experiences into. And these girls are going to stand there and scream at each other RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM while he is trying to get his music out to the world?

Why even bother? All you care about is running to his merchandise table after the show to have him sign your Twilight book. Why would you disrespect someone like that? Especially a person and an artist who is so gracious and kind to every person who comes out to see him. Come at the end of the show and let the people who appreciate his unbelievable talent (and likely, some people who have never even heard of him before who are potential new supporters of an upcoming artist) enjoy a show that he’s putting his heart into (and we paid, quite frankly, a lot of money for [side note: Ticketmaster sucks]). While I’m sure that these types of “fans” don’t surprise him, it angers me greatly - not even totally in regard to him, but to these types of situations in general.

Truthfully, things like this are some of the many reasons fans (of Twilight and otherwise) get a bad reputation. It may seem little and unimportant in comparison, but this is a real person and real people that are trying to do what they love. If it were me in that position, I would be deeply discouraged by these types of actions. I am happy to see that, at least by appearance and the experiences I’ve had with him, Sam is a stronger person than I, and seems to realize how talented he is and he obviously has the drive to keep doing what he has to do to make his dreams come true. (Which, from what I understand was endured at TwiCon last week, is no easy feat). I am certainly not saying that everyone is like the girls I’m talking about; I know there are many who are supportive of Sam for the right reasons. Unfortunately, often I think they are overshadowed by skankily-dressed girls all vying for a piece of somebody else, no matter what it takes or who they step on.

I am incredibly passionate about music. Music is in my heart and my soul. Not only has it gotten me through so much in my life, but it’s also provided me with so many opportunities to be a part of events, experiences, other peoples’ lives. It provides an outlet into another place or another world when reality sometimes just sucks and things are falling apart around you. Without music I would not have met some of the people I most value. Music permits people of different races, religions, social classes, countries, cliques, etc. opportunity and reason to be in the same room when they otherwise would likely not be, and connects people in ways that I believe nothing else can. These artists are sharing their gifts with the world and deserve respect (have I used that word enough?) for their craft first and foremost. That is what they want to be known for, which is why they do what they do, and probably play just about any show or venue they can get their hands on. You cannot bite the hand that feeds you, and as an artist I imagine you want word about you to get out however possible. Still, you must hope that once people have the opportunity to see and hear what you can do, that that initial reasoning (if for any alternative intentions) will become irrelevant and they will continue to support you FOR YOU. I certainly would, anyway.

To end my ranting I leave you with some suggested listening (if there is anyone that actually hung around ‘til the end of this). Thanks for listening to me. If you enjoy, please pass the word along and help support these wonderful artists.

I welcome and appreciate your comments.

Loren

Sam Bradley: http://www.myspace.com/sambradley (@samueltwitt1)
Thriving Ivory: http://www.myspace.com/thrivingivory (@thrivingivory)
Bobby Long: http://www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong (@bobbylongnews)
Marcus Foster: http://www.myspace.com/marcusfoster (@marcusfoster1)
Robin Kinchen: http://www.myspace.com/robinkinchen (@robinkinchen)
Pilot Speed: http://www.myspace.com/pilotspeed (@pilotspeed)