sunny and 70

what started out as a dreary, rainy morning has quickly taken a 180 degree turn and become simply beautiful here in atlanta. a stark contrast from deer valley, where a group of my friends are snow skiing. i should be there, however, the powers that be, ie: work, have kept me here. i am reminded every day by the picture messages i receive from the ski slope and apres ski. but i'm not complaining, because the next several days here are supposed to be beautiful. is spring here for good? always nice to drive down 10th street and see the Georgia Tech track team out for a run....shirtless.

so it's ash wednesday, and it always makes me chuckle to see all the overweight nurses running for the hospital chapel to get "ashed" by on of the local catholic priests. this is a time where they vow to give up something for lent. diet coke, eating out a fast food restaurants, chocolate, all the things that single nurses cherish in life. only to fall back off the wagon in due time and stretch out their elasticized landau scrubs. thank god for polyester and lycra. and support hose.

so i had an idea for a new betty butterfield skit. cause it has been way too long since we have had any new material from her. in her endless search for the right church, this time betty decides to visit the hospital chapel and take in one of their services. only to find out there way too many prayer requests for Ethel and her hip replacement, or ardell and her terrible case of pneumonia. what about betty and her prayer needs?

she will, however, find it very convenient that the hospital chapel is located adjacent to the gift shop. and those lovely ladies of the auxiliary in pink smocks are happy to assist you with any of your "get well" gift ideas. candles, incense, lace doilies, get well cards, silk flowers. it's like being in a glorified michael's craft store.

on your keychain, or in the coffee spoon

with the winter music conference exactly one month away, new music continues to emerge in hopes of making an appearance in miami. if you aren't familiar with the WMC, it is a week long celebration of house music where the biggest DJs, promoters, producers, and musicians converge in miami for a festival of sorts. the official conference is held during the day, but at night, the city of miami comes alive. each night, record labels host parties at various clubs and venues, some of which are private and very esoteric. having only attended the WMC once back in '03, it is paradise for a DJ like myself. i remember distinctly attending a Nervous records party and standing five feet away from peter rauhofer, satoshi tomiie, and chris cox.

my buddy arjan has already commented on sophie ellis bextor's new track called "catch you". if you remember back four or five years ago, sophie had a popular song called "murder on the dancefloor" that got major play in the US. this time, she returns with a track remixed by none other than miki moto and bobby blanco, collectively known as moto blanco. unlike most of their other remixes, this time they take on a slightly more progressive-tinged house sound that is very refreshing. check out arjan's blog for a streaming sample.

i can't say that i'm not lost and at fault

with all the tabloid coverage of miss spears and her erratic behavior in the last few days, it has me wondering what kind of statement she is actually trying to make. seriously, it kind of reminds me of that old 80s movie, "the legend of Billie Jean", you know where she gets on TV and screams, "Fair is Fair!". I suspect things will only get worse for this troubled Looosianan laydee. next up, britney exiting a limousine in beverly hills with a visible coke ring in her left nare. and if anyone could produce such a photo, it would be perez hilton.

last week, i counted nearly eight new remixes of JT's newest single, "What comes around (goes around". each one a little different. and i really like the track, including Paul van dyk's progressive-trance remix . i'm looking forward to his concert next week here in atlanta. a full review to follow.

don't let this world drive you crazy

so it is Valentine's day, and i for one am excited. maybe it's because i haven't had anyone special in my life to share this day with in four years. and for that reason, i have never made a big deal about it. this year, however, i do have someone special in my life. after a shaky start, things with Tim have only gotten better. and he's exactly what i need in my life. devilishly handsome, extremely genuine, and one of the funniest people i know. the latter being one of the most important qualities i seek in a mate. our time together is easy and effortless, and for that i consider myself lucky. so we're off to South City Kitchen for dinner, y'all have a Happy Ballemtines Germennens...

show me what the girl does, to the boy

after listening to tracey thorn's new album a few more times, i have to say that I agree with johnbrown in regards to track #4, called "get around to it". it's sexy, real sexy. i can't wait to see which tracks will be remixed off of the new album, and if Ben Watt will be commissioned for any of the remixes.

my trip to ikea on saturday was anything but productive. i did have my first dining experience in the cafe where i chose the swedish meatballs and steamed vegetables. and let me tell ya, i have never seen so many fat people from the burbs grazing up in there. and going back seconds and thirds, often pretending that it was their first time at the buffet.

i did find a small wall mount bathroom cabinet, perfect to organize all of my hair product and salves, only to later find that the aforementioned piece of furniture is only available online. i find that place to be totally confusing when it comes to locating an item. much like i find itunes to be completely user unfriendly. first you have to know the name, then the location based on aisles and rows. the only problem is that the one item that I was interested in had neither of these. and when i attempted to use the "computer finder kiosk" it wasn't much help either. so i left empty handed.

dinner at sweet lime on saturday night was great, and an overdue trip to mary's was fun as well. though the crowd was anything but cute. being on call, i couldn't get quite the buzz in needed to perform at kary-OK. clearly, there are a few regular performers up in there. including the cute but annoying pocket-gay army cadet, part of the second series military line. apparently, he likes to get up on stage every saturday night and see just how well he can butcher a song in hopes of coming across as super cute. sort of a Top Gun character though not nearly as handsome but equally as crazy as Tom Cruise. i probably could have come off as talented had i chosen to sing right after him.

and sunday featured a nice visit with the family and a celebration of mom's birthday. it's funny, we all got together for her special day and she ends up cooking. but she loves to cook, so the digital meat thermometer was a welcomed gift. as well as the fancy chocolates i picked up at chocolate pink. she called me today to tell me how good they are. my nephew Carter, pictured above, is finally in that stage where he is starting to interact. i can tell by his red hair and demeanor that he is going to be a handful.

whenever blue teardrops are falling

so it's true. i may have secured a promo copy of Tracey Thorn's new album, "out of the woods", due to be released on March 7. guess it pays to have dj friends in Europe. this is the first solo release from Tracey in twenty five years, the last one coming out in 1982 just before she joined Ben Watt to form Everything but the Girl. and i have been listening to it all week; in the car, at home on my computer, even at work during procedures. and the more i listen, the more i like it. she has such a beautiful and unique voice, though at times on this album she reminds me of annie lennox. my favorite track so far is #11, called "raise the roof". more reviews to come.

cause in the dark of the night you're all i can see and you sure look like a star to me

so i promise not to bore anyone, especially that brat Beatrice-Elizabeth, with an hour-by-hour recollection of the weekend, including menu selections and kryptic komments. she's just jealous as she had to spend her weekend with a bunch of private-school thespians......that's just typical.

Rockefeller returns this year with a remake of Marvin Gaye's track "sexual healing". the remix comes from none other than the Freemasons, and it is pure funky house in nature. Rockefeller, who is made up of , Mark Nieuwenhuijzen, Dennis Christopher & Dimitrie Siliakus, first came to my attention last year when they produced a remake of the SOS band - take the time (do it right). This time, they return with solid production that only lacks the original vocal by marvin gaye. due out later this year, i am sure it will be in heavy rotation in ptown this summer.

FUPAstar

i've recently had some snide comments about my blog. people saying it's boring, filled with nothing more than menus and such. well, if you don't like it, then stop reading it. and lay off the hateraide for once in you life.

i have had a couple of dreams about davita dialysis debuting a new "drag therapy" program up at the hospital. and as foolish as the idea may appear at first, i think it could be quite entertaining and therapeutic for some patients. and if doesn't go over well at piedmont hospital, i am sure it would work well at the gay retirement home i plan to open one day...... i can only imagine buffet brunch conversation to include, "y'all, last night at the T-Dance i did two bumps of Geritol and ended up in the biggest G-Hole. I lost my walker and my shawl".

on to the music. Above and Beyond return this year with a new single called "for all i care". the track is being released on their very own Anjunabeats label. above and beyond, who is made up of Jonathan Grant, Paavo Siljamäki, and Tony McGuinness, originally came together in 2000. but it wasn't until 2002 when they made their first dj debut appearance in japan, in front of 8000 tokyo clubbers. since then, they have performed all over the world, even making Pete Tong's infamous essential mix show on Radio 1. the remix of their new track "for all i care" comes from an up and coming dj duo called spencer and hill. i predict these guys will be huge in 2007 with their signature big room house sound that is versatile and could fit in many different venues. check out their website for a clip of "for all i care". it's groovy, with synthesized melodies and just the right amout of vocal.