"You's a Fine MF, Back that {thang} up"

That's right ladies... Back that THANG up!  And by thang, I mean hard drive.

Late Sunday evening, my computer took a turn for the worse.  My beautiful little Macbook... a full blown toddler now... suddenly froze.  I did what any wonderful mommy would do and hit REBOOT.  I waited lovingly for the computer to restart but nothing... just a sad sad black screen.

Finally... after much sweet-talking... the screen came back to life! I was elated!  Until I realized that this was not a normal toddler tantrum... this was bad... oh VERY bad! 

It was a blue screen with a blinking blue file folder that contained a blinking blue question mark.  Never has "?" looked so ugly and vile! Screw you, Vile Screen!

I immediately texted my computer savvy friend (Rob):
"My computer freaked out and now I have a blinking file folder with a "?" in the middle... is this bad?!"

Much to my despair... he called to let me know that my wonderful little laptop has gone cu-putz. 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It's a hard drive problem... which means, he could possibly salvage some stuff by running some sort of fancy computer disk or I can pay a lot of money to have it professionally done but either way, I need a new hard drive and whatever isn't backed up is LOST!  Yes, on an island of missing photos and damaged files.

Ohhh.... the sadness.  I actually cried when telling my husband... but HEY, that is where I have stored EVERYTHING since I moved to Utah!  My digital storage unit is a complete loss. 

So... a word to the wise... back up!  And OFTEN!   Luckily my husband bought me a hard drive for Christmas so I have backed up sometime between then and February.  The problem is that I can't remember what I backed up!  I know I got some photos, but what about my tunes?!

Oh, it will be a long road to Macbook recovery but here's hoping I backed up more than I thought I did!

In the meantime, I will be sporadically using my husband's laptop to fill the Macbook void.   Oh sweet addiction.

Barack On!

Back when we lived in Vegas during the last Presidential Election, J and I were given stickers featuring Obama that said "Barack On!"  .... I thought it was the most hilarious/amazing piece of political merch and have been hooked on the silly little saying ever since.

And... I can't not say how truly excited and thrilled I am that OBL has been brought down!  It is such a day of jubilation and joy... not for his death as a man, but for his death as a symbol of hate and fear. 

I felt honor that a man so hated was still given a proper burial.  I think it showed tremendous respect to honor a man's depth of religion even if he would not grant us the same courtesy.  Obama's address to the nation continued to show the utmost class and I appreciated his mention that the war has never been against Islam. 

I wonder if the announcement will burn in my memory alongside 9:02am on April 19, 1995 or September 11, 2001.   I hope that one day I will recall the tragic tale of these events to our kids and I will speak of his death as a moment of hope for the American people...  that we are resilient and strong as a Nation.  As a People.  As Friends.  As Family.  As Human Beings.

I hope nothing more than that we continue to learn from all the misfortunes of the past so we continue to make better choices in the future.  

Well done Mr. President!  I've been behind you from the start and am still proud to call you our President!

When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy. -Proverbs 11:10

Dear Bands: A Letter of Douchebaggery

This past Friday night, my husband and I went to see a band who was playing a local bar in SLC.  This band is really talented and put on a GREAT show.  They generally tour with larger bands so seeing them in such a small venue with a small crowd was exciting.

The show went off without a hitch!  It happened to be the singer's birthday so a surprise birthday cake was brought out mid set and all the band members wore birthday hats, etc.   It was one of the most fun shows I have been to in a while.

With that being said..... I have to take a minute to vent about one of my biggest pet peeves...

Fake Encores. 

That's right.  FAKE Encores.

Don't do them.  They are ridiculous and make you look like idiots!  Such a buzz kill for an awesome set!  This was the second band that's done it this month.  And with none of my usual sober grace, I believe I loudly cackled laughed and made it known that it was a STUPID poor choice for an otherwise awesome band. 

I blame the IPA. They were delicious.  My phone reminder to blog about this scenario alerted me today like this: "Dear bband: a leTter of deuchebqggery"  ... like I said, the IPA's were delicious!

Onward with the rant...
If you did a heck of a job, your fans will want you to play an encore... GREAT!  Do it!  But don't plan it ahead of time.... save your best songs for the end... and then proceed with a planned out, stupid finale.

Not only does it make you look like a douche-bag, the fake "goodbye" before is always terrible where bands end up looking like they're running off stage before they pee their pants.  Not attractive.


Instead, play your little heart out, engage your fans and have a good time!  You can always tell when bands are performing because they have to rather than performing because they are actually enjoying themselves and having fun.  Your crowd will then no doubt ask for an encore, and when that happens... play an older song that hasn't been played in a while or maybe a brand new one that no one has heard.  I have even seen some great encores where the band will have played all their tunes so when asked for an encore, the singer comes out with an acoustic guitar and takes a crowd suggestion!  Those are priceless and will make your fans feel like they got a genuine experience :)   

My husband has done this real encore with an acoustic version of one of their songs at some of their shows... and it is impressive how much it moves a crowd.  No joke, people cherish those special/personal experiences. 

Just a suggestion... do as you will...

And because they are my favorite band (for real)... here are 2 photos I took of my husband's band... I am quite proud of them :)

End Rant.