i just read through a warp records email that the merck label is closing shop. back when i was music director & radio dj @ kscu, i sought out merck in an effort to get more music from electronic labels & i fell in love w/ them when i first heard the tiki obmar record (and saw them live at CMJ). they had quite a few artists that i totally dug, including: machinedrum, proem, tiki obmar, helios, deceptikon, syndrome... mostly idm-electronic stuff.

this is what the website has to say: "We are both sad and happy to announce that this will be the last year of Merck Records. Once we have released 51 cds (Merck 047 + 4 Mixes) and 50 vinyls which should be complete roughly around January 2007, we will stop releasing new material. We have many reasons for this, in the interest of briefness we will just say that its time to move on. After we have completed 101 total releases (currently at 94) we will sell off our remaining stock and there will be no more represses. We thank EVERYONE who have supported us over the years, you made this possible. "

the owner's label, gabe, was very friendly and always responded to my emails requesting (begging) for machinedrum vinyl & other merck releases.

R.I.P. merck... i'll miss you.

apparently there is a sister label to merck, narita, that put out some good releases last year. they are up & running, so i will have to check them out.

merck just released their last cd ever, the new proswell (another artist i enjoyed)... so shop them out, and check out narita.

currently listening: npr- fresh air archives.
mood: sleepy.

Labels: electronic music, idm, merck records, narita records

i went shopping during lunch yesterday at streetlight (how great is it that streetlight is in walking distance to my work & rasputin is just a couple minutes drive?). i made the following purchases:

1. the shins- wincing the night away
2. deerhoof- friend opportunity
3. feist- open season (remixes & collabs)

haven't had enough time to absorb any of them to comment.

there's also tons of shows coming up. i've already got tickets for snow patrol (march 1) & ted leo (march 2), i'm also planning on getting tickets to the ponys (march 3), camera obscura (february 16--maybe), muse, kaiser chiefs, japan night @ the independent (march 19) & i heard ted leo is comin' again in april so i'll definitely be there.

time for work.

currently listening: howard on sirius.

this past weekend i learned the following: never split a pair of queens in blackjack; there is now a cirque d'soleil show i am a fan of; what over/under & total points mean in sports bets; driving 152 at 10 p.m. @ night sucks ass.

• i learned how to "really" gamble for the first time, meaning i played blackjack long enough that the cocktail waitress came around at least 5 to 8 times! i got a blackjack on my first hand & i was hooked after that. i doubled my initial $60. starting point & ended up making $125. reno anyone?
• i am in love w/ "love", the beatles cirque d'soleil show & i want everyone to see it.
• i am super unlucky with @ the roulette wheel. just not my thing.
• keno is awesome, especially when you bet 1 number at a time. (hey, i won $2!!). nathan was the champion of keno though.
• sports betting is a little confusing. i placed three bets, 1 for the sharks to win the stanley cup (5 to 1 odds), & two super bowl bets: the bears need to win by more than 8 points, and the total points scored in the game has to be less then 38 points. so lets hope for a 18-10 bears victory! & hey, at least it'll add a little excitement to watching the superbowl; w/o the bets the only excitement would be the k-fed commercial.
• casino coupons rule!
• i dig the smaller, less fancy casinos (like the one we stayed at--the gold coast, off the strip & i also dig imperial palace on the strip).
• video blackjack is a good way to learn what to do & what not to do in certain situations... which was where nathan schooled me that if i was to ever split a pair of queens like i did on video blackjack that the other people at the table would probably henry viii-me.
• oh & catch & release is a horrible movie, and though i love the man, kevin smith should stick with directing & NEVER act.
• click the photo to view the full set of vegas photos.

alright. time to end this blog. i'm two episodes behind on battlestar galactica & i'm testing out some frozen indian meals tonight... me & nate are a little scared. i'll make sure to report back on them & at the very least i bought some fresh naan & grabbed some chutney & tamarind sauce from tandoori oven to balance out the ghetto-ness.

music: otis redding- it's not just sentimental.

mood: hurried.

Labels: black-jack, gambling, las vegas, the beatles "love"

(an its-it icecream cake...made by me!)

nathan's 31st birthday was tuesday. i got creative.




(part of his gift--i framed his kevin smith posters).

decorations!




happy birthday to you...

and a group of about 8 of us went to eat at original joes... which was a surprise to nathan. it was one of those all-round good days.

this weekend, i'm off to vegas and i'm gonna gamble--actually sit my ass down at the blackjack table for a reasonable amount of time--for the first time ever.

wish me luck.

Labels: birthday, its-it, kevin smith

berenice, my hair stylist best buddy fixed up my nasty hair monday. she's still gonna trim it for me, but check out the new color. my hair's a little on the greasy side, cuz i haven't washed it since then. no it's not dirty... because of the color + bleach from highlights i wanted my natural oils to keep it from getting too dried out. dang. don't judge me.

Labels: berenice, hair cut

damn. i am tired. is it sunday yet, because that would be great.

last night i had a dream that i was trying to recruit people to go to a karaoke party where two people were signed up to sing journey. apparently i was a club promoter, and one of the performers (karaoke singer), was afraid i didn't have any journey cds. i told her, don't worry i will just have my boyfriend bring his journey's greatest hits cd.

weird. i think it's a combination of my love for journey + the fact i (youth i work with) have a big event planned for saturday (dance away violence--which i've been heavily promoting--check out yesterdays eye section of the mercury news, page 3?--best bets for youth :)

so that's that. i gotta get ready for work. stop bothering me.

Labels: dance away violence, journey, karaoke

Labels: bill wilson center, dance away violence, dance competition, hip hop

that shopping whore would be me.

1. the hold steady- boys & girls in america (FINALLY!)
2. girlsareshort- early north american (i fell in love w/ this when i reviewed it at KSCU back in the day [2003]
3. figurine- transportation + communication = love
4. the rapture- pieces of the people we love
5. the jim yoshi pile-up- picks us apart

actually didn't do so bad; i managed to stay within the $25- $50. guidelines, and got most of the cds used & under 6 bucks.

the BAD shopping whoreness took place at old navy, which came out to be about $150. damn. though i did buy mostly sale items. i managed to get: 3 pairs of pants, one jacket, a boys hoodie, an orange cashmere pullover, a red work shirt, and two camis.

not to mention a bought a couple things online earlier from fred flare. eep. that's what happens when you get paid and the rent & all the bills have already cleared! you see $$$ and you must consume, consume, consume.

plus, how on earth could i resist this duffel bag? you know my heart obsessed-self could never!alright. i'm starving, time for a popcorn snack and some more ugly betty episodes (bless fox family for airing that marathon on new years).

mood: satisfied. music: girlsareshort- early north american!

Labels: fred flare, old navy, rasputin music, shopping

just discovered the ponys are playing noise pop. hee-haw. i'm super stoked on that one, and i actually have a friend who's into them as well--thanks teshia! so i don't have to go it alone. i've seen the ponys twice. i do miss their previous singer, but i'm still digging the current band. their new album is supposed to come out this year... (they signed to matador).

so that means... three shows in a row that week. snow patrol (3/1), teddie leo (3/2), and now the ponys (3/3). i look forward to all of them.
.......................
i've decided that once a week i will go record shopping. ever since i've left kscu my music collection just hasn't been the same. nowadays i rely heavily on online-music listening through myspace or music blogs, and i miss record shopping. so if i can limit myself to $25-$50 bucks a week to music, i would be pretty happy with myself. it may seem like a lot of money, but i've got a lot of catching up to do.

while i usually try to support streetlight records over rasputin, streetlight these days (or months or years) has been pretty disappointing. i go in which a handful of records i'm looking for and leave with nothing. they aren't good about carrying a lot of new releases, restocking doesn't seem to take place very often, and their used section sucks now because you spend all your time on the floor.

rasputin on the other hand, has a pretty rad used section that is well stocked, and definitely laid out in a way that makes it easy to search genres. a lot of their new releases though are way over priced--which is where streetlight has them beat (if you can actually find it there).

either way... i'll let you know what my latest additions end up being.
......................
and while i'm out, i think i'm going to pick up some new pants from old navy. you know its bad when you are LITERALLY wearing the same pair of jeans EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK. i know... i know. i seriously don't know what i'd do if i couldn't wear jeans to work.

Labels: noise pop, rasputin music, streetlight records, the ponys

Labels: gingerbread houses

nathan created an axl mii. obsessed?

Labels: new years, wii

i've gotten a lot of work done so far today, surprising after the holiday & being sick, but the office is quiet (people are still gone), so it's been pretty easy. until now. i'm hitting the afternoon slump. those 2 p.m.--4 p.m. hours where you just can't self-start. dangit. i need remedies for this. usually i am busy and out of the office around these hours, but since the schools are just getting started again i'm stuck here.

perhaps caffiene will help. i've been drinking lots of black tea & honey to give me a boost + work the whole sore throat angle with the honey. seems to be doing the trick.

oh yeah, and happy new year! as for resolutions... i am giving up starbucks coffee. i don't really go there all that often as it is, so i'm going to attempt to avoid it (and avoid bringing the youth to it as well). it's not that they are the only big coffee evil, they are just the biggest evil; they are the walmart of coffee.

my other resolution is to really work towards being more green. i'm actually fairly good about it, but it's time to step it up.

tea time. ciao!

Labels: green technology, starbucks, tea