The End Is Near...2011

There are less than 3 magical days of holiday wonder left of 2011 and I am definitely feeling the urge to tie off the loose ends of this year, banish those things that didn't really nurture my soul and begin the preparations for exciting fresh starts. Few things in the world make me as giddy as new beginnings, and that is probably why New Year's Day is one of my most treasured holidays. 


Whatever happens on New Year's Eve is irrelevant (unless I was seeing Guns n' Roses play at The Joint in Las Vegas), but as the glitter covered revelers count down the seconds, the reset-button of life gets a champagne soaked push at midnight, and once again the first day of the new year is that all-American open road I keep meaning to take (preferably in a vintage 1966 Mustang convertible) for an exhilarating drive across this sexy country. This year we turn 2012 and some say it may be our last year on this planet, at least on this realm anyway. I hope I live this year as though it were our last year our planet had left to live, taking the big risks like there's nothing to lose. 


My plan is to make this the most heavily documented year of my life so far. I plan on using blogs, social networks, photographs, sketches and songs to accompany the journey. I wish everyone love and luck in all of their endeavors this year!


Ciao, Rockers!
K.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Sings! And well!

New Discovery

     Yes, just like Erik The Red discovered our continent in the year 900 or so, heralding in new tidings, of good, bad, and wasteful, so have I discovered a new internet continent giving me more control and organization than Tumblr and more creativity than Facebook.
      It's essentially one gigantic internet inspiration board, made up of millions of smaller inspiration boards, that you can share and subscribe to and get loads of inspiration and ideas from without wading through how badly someone needs coffee (guilty!) or how they wish it was Friday.
     Best part is how the "pins" will link to the original source so I have already found several new blogs I love as well as found 365 new things to make in my crock pot. I'm pretty much hooked!

National Novel Writing Month!

"Not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. Begin anywhere." ~Bruce Mau

It's here! The first day of NaNoWriMo and I couldn't be more excited about it. The idea is to finish writing a full length novel from start to finish in 30 days. People do it every year so it's proven possible. Just last year my sister completed her first novel ever and now she's shopping it to literary agents. This year I, too, shall join their ranks. I don't have a title or a plot for my novel yet but I have a willingness to attempt this and see it through. Wish me luck!

To follow along with me on my endeavor, here is my NaNo page:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/karisabee

Food Network's Candy Corn Cordial!

Ingredients

For the infused vodka:

• 1/2 cup candy corn
• 1 1/2 cups vodka

For the cordials:

• 2 ounces orange liqueur
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 large egg white
• Candy corn, for garnish

Directions

Infuse the vodka: Combine the candy corn and vodka in an airtight container; set aside for at least 3 hours, then strain.

Make the cordials: Add 4 ounces of the candy corn vodka, the orange liqueur, lemon juice and egg white to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Strain into 2 chilled martini glasses and garnish with candy corn.

Candy Corn Cordials on the Food Network

Happy Halloween!

...So this is my last minute costume. I threw it together in about 20 minutes and it was just enough to take some cute new profile pictures which was all I needed it for, since I don't have any parties to attend. I love Halloween, but I am unorganized so I'm rarely prepared for it when it arrives. I love the whole month of October for it's ghouls and spiderwebs (aesthetic ones NOT the real kind *shudders*) and all the crisp air and apples, cider and pumpkins...and lets not forget the scary movies and my annual screening of Sleepy Hollow. Glorious!
...At the same time it's time for me to mourn the death of...well, death, just in time to enter the month of gratitude. I suppose it's enough to be grateful for surviving all the creeps and freaks of the October and time to get all bundled, cozy, and thankful. :-)
...Tomorrow, on November 1st, it's all about the NaNoWriMo launch and getting ready for the holiday season, but more on that in tomorrow's blog.

Halloween Spirit!

A Halloween Cocktail That Will Spirit You Away

A Scary-Good Drink Recipe

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Halloween or not, there’s no disguising your love of a good drink. 

The Great White PumpkinServes one

Ingredients1½ oz. dark rum
½ oz. pumpkin puree
½ oz. Cointreau
¼ oz. lime juice
2 oz. heavy cream
½ oz. simple syrup
Fresh nutmeg

1. In a cocktail shaker, combine rum, pumpkin, Cointreau, and lime. Shake well and strain into a martini glass.

2. Shake heavy cream and simple syrup separately until thickened and layer on top.

3. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

From Daily Candy http://dailycandy.com/all-cities/article/91016/Halloween-Cocktail-Recipes-Drinks-for-Halloween

Jane's Addiction & Studying

     Jane's Addiction are blowing my mind right now with their spectacular new album The Great Escape Artist. Pretty sure I'll be playing this every day for awhile. I'm listening to it on Spotify, which is where I've been testing and trendspotting all my new music lately. This one's good enough for a download purchase though. It's kind of dreamy and ethereal. I admit, my experience with this band ended with "Been Caught Stealing" back in the 90s, so I have no clue as to whether or not this album is a departure or in sync with their usual stuff. I get really excited when I get excellent new albums from actual rock stars.


     I realize I need to get serious about my class work. My attention is divided into so many factions right now, and I tend to compartmentalize or I wont ever get anything finished. I have already wasted so much time today on random web surfing and following various bunny-trails but I tell you: I must study!


     Okay, got that off my chest, and now I will get some lunch and settle down to study all about Martin Luther's Revolt.
Ciao!

October halfway point! Yikes. I have a midterm, a photography field trip, and a bunch of other stuff to do. Aside from school there are 3 things takin up most of my concern:

1. NaNoWriMo- begins on November 1st, which is fast approaching. I need to have the apartment stacked with a month's worth of food, a month's worth of clean clothes and a lot of organization. I also need to complete character sketches.


2. Guns n' Roses are coming to Bridgestone Arena!!    (December 4th)


3. Christmas (Duh!) on December 25th.

September 30

It's the last day of the month and Ii can't even remember it. If I try really hard I think the first week was rained out, the second week I was sick, and the third week I was trying to get back on track. This past week, I've spent mainly on school...so, yeah, september, not very glamourous. On that note lets see if the last day can bring it up a notch. I have some chronic trepidation about my job right now because of some dame with chronic negativity, but...I have faith that God can handle her even though my chest tightens at the thought of spending eight hours with her. Light conquers darkness. Happy Friday!

Hello September! Hitting the books & the playground this month

     Well...it's September 1st and I'm officially back in school. So far I like my classes and feel genuine interest for the subjects. My major is still up in the air but I'm pretty sure I'm going for Liberal Studies, which will allow me to keep this erratic course selection I've been choosing and still graduate at a semi-decent date. More than anything, I am trying to find a way to make money doing things I already love to do. 


      My interest in writing has never been stronger. This is unfortunate in a way, because my sister, the self-proclaimed "greatest writer in the world" (and rightfully so) has narrowed her focus on this area of her particular giftedness as well. So like singing before it, I find myself in the "me too" category of a talent that I am genuinely good at...but perhaps not as genius at as the aforementioned sister. Still, I am good enough and the lifestyle beckons me as none so strongly have beckoned me since my acting aspirations. I know MY category is supposed to be photography (and I DO like it...a lot) but it's more of a pleasure hobby, for me....a great escape. I tend to glaaaaze over when the technical jargon kicks in.
     
     Anyway, I suppose the only way to wrestle myself from that second status, into a niche of my own is to actually write something that I'll actually allow other people to read. Ha ha! Yes, I do write things just for me...but seriously, it's time to write in public. Funnily enough, the more I read, the more I like to write, and the more I write, the more I want to write anything. So I'm going to have to give myself a writing assignment, designed for public consumption and SHARE IT. I think I'm going to push through NaNoWriMo this year and emerge with a product. And I think I'm going to pull from my unfinished Script Frenzy bone-yard.


     **On a totally off-topic side note: I am keeping up with my fitness better than I EVER have in my life! I work out minimum 30 min x3 weekly! MINIMUM. If I had a bike, it would be more. The best thing about committing to fitness is that I'm not suffering through torturous sessions...I'm re-learning how to play. Yes play. Play is fun and it's why we all miss childhood so much sometimes. It doesn't have to be the kind of organized games called "sports" that the masses expect adults to do. It can be silly and crazy and fun. It can have no rules or made-up rules. It can be whatever gets you moving and laughing and enjoying yourself and I guarantee it will burn calories...laughing burns calories. 


     Anyway, all for now. Hello September, nice to see you, please be gentle. :)

Just Say No!... to the end of summer

Everywhere I look, something or someone is trying VERY hard to convince me that summer is already over. Seriously! It's only the 21st of August. Summer doesn't end for another entire month!

It began with swimsuit clearance in July. The stores weren't quite ready to stop making money off the surfers, swimmers & sunbathers so they rolld out new lines of swimwear mid-July labeled "Resort 2012"; as though you'll only need a swimsuit in July if you're planning some vacation to the islands in January. It's baloney.

Then all the back to school nostalgia from when kids went back to school after the summer harvests, before they went to year-round school that has them back-2-School during the summer. People don't like to think of poor kids having to sit in classrooms during the summer, it ruins their fantasy of summer vacation as a free-for-all & also ruins the idea of new back to school sweaters, crisp apples & chilly mornings. It's easier to pretend it's already fall...in July.

But now the weather itself is conspiring. I don't remember a summer before that had such cool mornings in August. But they are already cooling off. The days are getting shorter too...even though Halloween is still 71 days away. I expect the fashion magazines and Walgreens to be ahead of the seasons but the weather itself is working against me.

I'm determined to soldier on and see summer out to the end. I will keep swimming in my pool & eating ice cream until it gets too cold. I will continue to wear tank tops & flip flops by day and a single sheet & double fans at night until it really gets too cold and Halloween & the end of Daylight Saving's are closer.

I plan on squeezing every last drop of summer in the next 4 weeks until it really turns to fall on September 22 or so. Enjoy. The rest of your summer! Don't let corporate advertisers short you of your most relaxing, gloriously fun filled, low key, inexpensive month from you. Hold your ground with me & let's jump back into the pool!

Ummm...

I've been busy. Sorry. I'll return with something mesmerizing soon I'm sure. I'm trying to get a focus on what this space means to me...

Is it a soapbox for ranting? A forum for art? A dumping ground to complain? A spot for shits and giggles? I'm figuring it out. As soon as I do, this space will reborn. :)

I want this! I NEED this!!!

It's almost here...

California Love: Repost of Last Year's MySpace Blog!

Im showing love to my home state, which bore me, raised me and was essential during my formative years. I miss it and here are some reasons (in no particular order) why:

Sunshine year round (okay Bay Area is overcast alot)

Oakland Hills

Skaters

BART
Burrito Trucks


2Pac

Green Day

The Sunset Strip

Tower Records (R-I-P)
Jack London Square
California knows how to party
Fred Segal

The Lost Boys (on location in Santa Cruz)
Riots!

Spanish names of cities and streets

San Francisco fog
Snoop Dogg
Francis Ford Coppola

Counter-culture

Haight-Ashbury
Gap

Guns-n-Roses
Compton
The Rainbow
Poison
Wish they all could be California girls
Amoeba
Richmond High School
Chris Isaak

Surfers

In-n-Out Burger
The Castro
Graffitti (sometimes...the good stuff not general tagging)
The Whiskey

ILM (Industrial Light & Magic)
Skywalker Ranch
Sublime
Hollywood Walk of Fame

Good Sushi (and Sake)
The Beach Boys

The Fillmore

Pier 39

Good Chinese food
Heritage festivals
Metallica
The State bear on the flag
The Barrymores (I heart Drew)
Cal Mex

vintage cars for general use
winding hilly streets
Harvey Milk

Berkeley
Motley Crue
Baja

Mullholland Drive
Red Hot Chili Peppers
DISNEYLAND!

Mount Shasta
Garlic Festival in Gilroy

Death Valley

Wind Turbines
Cowboys and Indians
Chicken & Waffles

Tai Chi in Golden Gate Park
Napa Valley and Sonoma County Wineries

Malibu
San Francisco Victorian Houses (the "painted ladies")

Tea salons
Californication
Elusive element of Cool

Diversity

Dr. Dre and NWA
Solano Avenue
Smoke shops
Racers
Baywatch

Drifters
Gold Rush
Chinatown
A's, Giants, Raider's, 49er's and the Sharks
Great America (in Santa Clara)

I might've left off some, I'll add them as they come to me. Much love Cali! I don't care about your dirty streets and problems with the homeless, drugs or immigration, I don't care if San Francisco smells like urine or if there's graffitti on the Neiman Marcus...I don't care if panhandlers shake cups at me or the air is smoggy or hookers proposition you on Hollywood Boulevard. I love it!

I'm obsessed with this song! It runs through my head all day & I love it!

My Script

Well I'm still sorting the script out. I have a lead character and a basic premise. My lead character has also evolved from a platinum blonde, alpha female; to a feisty red-head girl ready to break free from her opressive home life and find out what she's made of. All by page 4. Nice.

I can't help it, I have to let these things unfold organically. I am an intuitive writer and I have to let the characters tell me what they are like...I get that  that has a kind of new-agey vibe, but its my method, I don't have another one. =)

I'll be posting updates periodically!

Book Review

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My mind is blown. I'm not sure I have even had the time to process this book thoroughly yet, but here are some impressions:


The book is several things. It is a portrait of a man who left an impression on everyone he met. It is a war story. It's also part social commentary, part investigative reporting.

Author Jon Krakauer seamlessly weaves between the details of Pat Tillman's life and the rise of US involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. He has a rich writing style that draws the reader in, immersing them in the worlds he writes about, taking his time to give details without weighing the story down.

The story of Tillman's life is interesting, but kind of normal. The story of his death is both fascinating and horrific. The realities of combat and service are shocking to the average civilian reader who suddenly becomes aware that they are "the public" and "the American people" while reading this behind the scenes look at war, government, and public relations.

This book was recommended to me by a friend; I don't normally read war or military books, but this one I will recommend to everyone. I can't believe how little I knew about what is going on in the world, and what our country/government is/was doing in other parts of the world and why.


View all my reviews

Script Frenzy

I've always wondered what would happen if I ran Hollywood. And that, for me, begins with the screenplays that are being written. You have to have to start somewhere and so I'm very excited/nervous about attempting Script Frenzy this year because although I have started many writing projects- I haven't finished any (with the exception of term papers and a personal rap segment from my 90s girl group B. E. G. 4 Funk). Also, I have never written a script at all. I have to learn the formatting and everything. So if you wonder what has happened to me, come April, now you know...I will be busy creating my cinematic masterpiece. Wish me luck!
Click here for more information on Script Frenzy!

I'm sorry...

Oh, Blog! I've been neglecting you...I promise to get caught back up with you soon...xoxo
~K

Vintage Trouble

These guys prove good music doesn't need stunts and hype to make people feel...

Willpower...

McDonalds 1. Me 0. Need to turn this score around. Ha ha!

Obsessions! (February)

The latest album by My Chemical Romance has me obsessed. I can't stop playing it. My favorite track on it is the retro-sounding Bulletproof Heart. This record is a concept album, somewhat in the style of Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown or American Idiot. Even as I'm typing this, I keep repeating the song. It's just that killer.

The book I'm reading right now is Virals by Kathy Reichs. She is the author of the Temperance Brennan books that the television series Bones is based on. This is her first foray into YA writing. It follows the story of a group of friends who become mysteriously infected by something that changes their DNA. Part Hunger Games, part Spiderman...I've only just started it, but it has me sucked in.

My favorite look of the moment. This is a whole lot of look, but it's so well balanced. I LOVE those pants! And they're perfect with those shoes. This is a casual-chic rocker look that is easy, yet totally pulled together. I'm going to have to try and copy it. =)

Lastly, my latest food network crush is on Bobby Flay. Iron Chef Flay is a fiery New York City bad boy chef and also Food Network's television darling. This year he launched a new show on the network's spin-off Cooking Channel called Brunch @ Bobby's. Here he shows us how to use beer for brunch-looking super-hot in the process.Yeah!

Hazy Shade of Winter

     I'm buried under an avalanche of schoolwork at the moment. This is the point in the semester where all the easy intro stuff is behind you and you have to actually start learning the new concepts. I can't believe how deep into February we already are!
    
       We are supposed to get more snow later this afternoon/evening, and I have a ton of reading for my women's studies class. Spring break can't come fast enough! I would actually LOVE to go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras next month...any excuse to drink in the street! Bye for now.


Cheers!

Happy Birthday, Axl!

My #1 absolute favorite rock n' roll singer is having a birthday today! I wish him all the best and hopefully a U.S. tour this year. I have so much love for this man, despite all the things you may have heard about him. Axl Rose has an authenticity that goes unchallenged by his peers. Much love and respect. xoxo 

Best 2011 Accessory

These gloves are the coolest things I've seen yet for 2011. I love them. It's as if fingerless motorcycle gloves made love to Madonna's 1980's lace gloves and had the most magnificent rock n' roll glove-child (sorry. lol)  Must have them.

From Champagne to Chocolate

     January is a month that is not so hard to say goodbye to. Mainly because the frigid air makes it hard to focus on anything beyond scooting closer to the fireplace wearing foot pajamas with a firm grip on an oversized mug of hard cider, Irish coffee, or leftover holiday wassail.
     To be fair, those are all great (if a bit unproductive) things, but you do them while being bombarded with images of fitness resolutions, and so all the drunken coziness is served alongside a hearty helping of guilt.
     I don't care for guilt, but I'm all about fresh starts (it's the finishing, I'm still trying to master) and so seeing as the new year is typically ushered in upon a wave of champagne bubbles, I felt I should continue the effervescent feeling of good cheer (let's be honest, GREAT CHEER) by declaring January A Month of Champagne!

     Apparently, I was not alone. One of my favorite blogs "Fashionally Bombed" also dubbed January a month of Champagne http://www.fashionablybombed.com/2011/01/january-is-champagne-month.html and Food Network Magazine gave us a list of champagne related activities for the whole month. I did my best and drank more champagne in January than I have in my entire life...and it was great! It actually made me SAD to see January give way to February.
     And so, to make Febrary more of a contender, I am taking the initiative (and copying Food Network Magazine again) to dub February A Month of Chocolate! It's these little indulgences that help make this unusually snowy, icy winter a whole lot more tolerable. Have a wonderful February and a romantic Valentine's Day. I going to look for some chocolate now. Cheers!

Hello February!

     It's hard to believe that January is already over and February is already here. So far the only real accomplishment I can claim is getting my spring semester class schedule figured out and so far I'm on target with my classes, grades-wise.
     I need to find some interesting things in town to do this month. I'm working on a events project called Girl Friends Only with a girl/friend I know online http://girlfriendsonlyevents.tumblr.com/ were trying to put together low cost or free things to host girls night out and afternoon/day plans. If anyone has the 411 on any really cool things happening in Feb/March let me know.
     Winter has been ROUGH this year, so let's all pray collectively that Punxsutawney Phil does NOT see his shadow tomorrow. I know I will be keeping fingers, toes, and anything else I can cross, crossed. I'm ready for Spring!!!

Quote of the Day:

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." ~Marilyn Monroe

Kat Von D Tweeted this the other day-artist food for thought...

About My Blog

I want this to be a place I can collect a variety of random things that catch my eye and/or inspire me. It can be photos, songs, poems, news articles or anything else that help me to evoke a mood, or refer to when I need a burst of creative inspiration.

It's pretty safe to assume that rock n' roll, California, hot guys, badass girls, books, movies, and music will be featured often. I'm going to try not to self-censor too much.

I encourage anyone reading my blog to play one of the music widgets while reading because it will definitely support the context to my writing. I almost always write with music playing unless it's a term paper for school.

Totally in LOVE with this song right now.

Kindle Love

I just got a Kindle from Amazon and I love, love, love it!! I've already read more in a week than I normally do in a month. I just finished reading Mockingjay, which is the final installment of the dystopian Hunger Games trilogy. This is one of my favorite types of genre in books, actually in movies too, for that matter. A girl basically gets sent into a type of futuristic gladiator ring and nothing is ever the same again. There is also a side-story romance, but it's more of a sub-plot than the main story. I loved it. It's a quick read, as they are considered "young adult" books, but they can get pretty violent and brutal, so fair warning.

January 2011

New Year's Resolutions finally made! I only made 3 this year but they're good.

• #1 Live in the moment
• #2 Don't procrastinate (just do it now)
• #3 Let go of anxiety-it's not productive (in other words- quit trippin')