fo' shizzle??? Nahh...

I woke up this morning to an email with this link:

http://cnnentertainment.co.nr/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/01

And then I saw this:

READ IT AND THEN WE CAN DISCUSS

Ok ... now that you have done the assigned reading, we can review and discuss (can you tell I am in school?) This is the best April Fool's Joke I have EVER EVER EVER seen ... why you might ask? Because the website looks sooo real ... you can click on ALL the links on the page and they go to the right places ... and the informational details are so right on. Snoop Dogg could very well have seen Gladys Knight preform at a Church building - that part is not a joke - she really is a PEEP and gives performances on behalf of the LDS church. The terminology is right and now on further inspection, too right and that PICTURE ... priceless.

Sigh ... I was freaking out for a moment ... I thought for sure the end of the world was coming if the "D - O - Double G" had become a Mormon but I am a believer that it could happen. Its just that I am aware of the "signs of the time," as they say, and I just happen to believe that this could have been one of them.

Just goes to show the amazing capabilities of the digital and media arts and my gullability when first waking up. I know know to wait five minutes at least between getting up and checking my email in the morning.

P.S. at the very very bottom you will find this:


(it says: "You Just Got April Fooled! Snoop's Not Mormon ... YET!")

how can you not know? PART II

Continued from this post.

Picture this:

My roommates and I are sitting around on our computers doing various things ... we start playing songs that we mutually like and reminisce about what they remind us of ... high school dances, vacations, etc.

Then i play some good sappy songs ... like Boyz II Men's I'll Make Love To You and On Bended Knee and End Of the Road - and oh, the break down in this video is priceless. AND THEN THERE IS THIS ONE - MOTOWN-PHILLY. While I realize that these songs were played at my sixth grade dance ... what I forget is that they were in 2nd grade at that time. Sigh.



They stare blankly at me and wonder why I like these songs so much ... ummm ... because they are good - Hello!

Shots Ring Out in the Memphis Sky

I can't believe I never posted this picture ... it is from last year in DC on Martin Luther King Day. I lived by the African American Civil War Memorial on U Street and fittingly there was a service going on there. These boys were so cute ... trying hard to keep up the paintings while the speech went on and on. So sweet.

On this day of remembrance ... this is a good video to sum it all up. Typical I know, but it always gives me chills thinking about how brave and amazing he was. Really, I feel honored to share his birthday (Jan. 15th for all those wondering what the real day is).

For those who do not know, there is a National Monument planned for Martin Luther King, Jr. The National Capital Planning Commission and The Commission of Fine Arts approved the site location for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. December 1999. They broke ground in November of 2006.

This is what it is going to look like:


And this is the future location - between Lincoln and Jefferson right on the title basin:


Its funny because I still feel like I will be back to DC ... I don't know how or when or what ... but I feel like my time is not over in DC ... maybe I am in denial still ... maybe this summer?? I hope!

I am Obsessed

yes, that's right ... obsessed ...

This weekend I saw Across the Universe (at the $1 theater ... or was it a $1.50 - I can't remember but who cares!) Some parts of the movie I could do without - like the crazy circus scene and the army hospital scene ... but everything else is over the top and out of control amazing. So creative and crazy! Echoing the Beatles, the 60's in general, Yoko Ono, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin ... ahhh it was great!

But I am even more obsessed with the SOUNDTRACK than I am with the movie because it is phenomenal ... all the renditions of Beatles songs are stellar. I am not a super fan of the Beatles ... ok lets be honest ... I only really listen to my own mix of their greatest hits ... but these songs are done soooo well. I will be singing Revolution, I've Just Seen a Face, Blackbird, and I want to Hold Your Hand for the next few weeks, among other songs on the album.

Check it out ... seriously.

Shot Through The Heart ...

And Your to Blame, honey you give love ... a BAD NAME ...
I play my part and you play your game ...
you give love a bad name.

Ahhhhh - soooo good. A few of my closest friends came out Saturday night to help me live up some of my last days in DC. If you know anything about me, you know I love to sing in the car, on the sofa, in the gym, really anywhere there is some good music to sing along too. And as mentioned before, I love 80's ballads - they are especially great to karaoke to. Thanks to all the fabulous ladies that came out to support - you know who you are! It was soo fun, I only wish we took some more pictures!

In case you are wondering, some other songs I sang at karaoke besides Bon Jovi?

• Shoop - Salt N Pepa
• Faith - George Michael
• Black Velvet - Alannah Myles (I think this is her only hit - but it is a HIT)

And those were only the songs I stood up to sing with the microphone with my fabulous girlfriends. There was a lot of singing from our table, as you can see here:


And here we REALLY get into it ... we don't just sing ... we have hand gestures and everything because THAT is how you rock out and really mean it.


These are the girls from work - three of my best friends in DC - they put this whole thing on and really made it a rockin good time. Thanks for everything ladies! Truly you are gems.


*pictures courtesy of Lis and her amazingly sneaky photo snapping - thanks!

"love is like a bomb, come' on baby come and get it on"

Tonight I watched VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's ... I almost cried I was so happy. Here is the list ... so you can reminisce. Feel free to sing out loud, because you know you want to. Why was I born in the 80's and thus could not fully enjoy the awesomeness that is 80s music? But then really I am the lucky one ... I don't have to listen to all the terrible songs that accompanied these singles. Greatest Hits albums were made for me and I couldn't be happier. And I don't have to claim any responsibility for contributing to ozone depletion due to the mass amounts of hairspray used ... because lets be honest, hair that big was on its way out by the time I had enough hair to tease.

I just want to point out that I have mentioned THE greatest 80's song here and really it comes up in conversation quite often in my life. In fact I just watched Jon and the boys sing it for LIVE EARTH while in the 'burg. I heart Bon Jovi.

Unfortunately America's voting on VH1 doesn't always reflect the best songs (according to me of course) and I highlight my favs, just for your information. But before you take a gander at the list ... one song that didn't make it and seriously broke my heart ... Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over. Ultimate 80's Bands ... I love the Cure, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Guns N Roses, Poison, Duran Duran, Talking Heads, The Cars ... I can't even mention them all.

Anyway take a look - as the Cure says ... "its just like heaven".

1 "Livin’ on a Prayer" Bon Jovi
2 "Pour Some Sugar On Me" Def Leppard
3 "Hungry Like The Wolf" Duran Duran
4 "Billie Jean" Michael Jackson
5 "When Doves Cry" Prince
6 "I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)" Daryl Hall & John Oates
7 "Sweet Child O’ Mine " Guns N' Roses
8 "Like A Virgin" Madonna
9 "Walk This Way" Run-D.M.C.
10 "You Shook Me All Night Long" AC/DC
11 "Don’t Stop Believin'" Journey
12 "How Will I Know" Whitney Houston
13 "With Or Without You" U2
14 "Walk Like An Egyptian" The Bangles
15 "Jump" Van Halen
16 "Need You Tonight" INXS
17 "Here I Go Again" Whitesnake
18 "Come On Eileen" Dexy's Midnight Runners
19 "Time After Time" Cyndi Lauper
20 "Jessie’s Girl" Rick Springfield
21 "Beat It" Michael Jackson
22 "Just Like Heaven" The Cure
23 "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" Cyndi Lauper
24 "Take On Me" a-ha
25 "Our Lips Are Sealed" The Go-Go's
26 "Welcome To The Jungle" Guns N' Roses
27 "Too Shy" Kajagoogoo
28 "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" Wham!
29 "Burning Down The House " Talking Heads
30 "Love Is A Battlefield" Pat Benatar
31 "Under Pressure" Queen & David Bowie
32 "Sister Christian" Night Ranger
33 "Tainted Love" Soft Cell
34 "Every Rose Has It’s Thorn" Poison
35 "In The Air Tonight" Phil Collins
36 "867-5309 / Jenny" Tommy Tutone
37 "Janie’s Got A Gun" Aerosmith
38 "Pride (In the Name Of Love)" U2
39 "I Melt With You" Modern English
40 "Love Shack" The B-52's
41 "Dr. Feelgood" Motley Crüe
42 "London Calling" The Clash
43 "Look Of Love" ABC
44 "Cruel Summer" Bananarama
45 "Nasty" Janet Jackson
46 "Every Breath You Take" The Police
47 "We’re Not Gonna Take It" Twisted Sister
48 "Born In The U.S.A." Bruce Springsteen
49 "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right
(To Party!)" Beastie Boys
50 "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" Eurythmics
51 "Round And Round" Ratt
52 "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" Dead Or Alive
53 "White Wedding" Billy Idol
54 "Push It" Salt-N-Pepa
55 "I Ran (So Far Away)" A Flock Of Seagulls
56 "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" Bonnie Tyler
57 "Mickey" Toni Basil
58 "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" Culture Club
59 "Jack & Diane" John Mellencamp
60 "Bust A Move" Young M.C.
61 "Mr. Roboto" STYX
62 "Take My Breath Away" Berlin
63 "Whip It" Devo
64 "Straight Up" Paula Abdul
65 "I Want to Know What Love Is" Foreigner
66 "Just Can’t Get Enough" Depeche Mode
67 "Keep On Loving You" REO Speedwagon
68 "Fight The Power" Public Enemy
69 "It’s The End of the World As
We Know It" R.E.M.
70 "I Love Rock N’ Roll" Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
71 "Super Freak" Rick James
72 "One Thing Leads To Another" The Fixx
73 "99 Luftbaloons" Nena
74 "Faith" George Michael
75 "Little Red Corvette" Prince
76 "She Blinded Me With Science" Thomas Dolby
77 "Candy Girl" New Edition
78 "Call Me" Blondie
79 "Don’t You Want Me?" Human League
80 "It Takes Two" Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
81 "Word Up" Cameo
82 "Tempted" Squeeze
83 "Kiss" Prince
84 "All Night Long (All Night)" Lionel Richie
85 "Addicted To Love" Robert Palmer
86 "I Want Candy" Bow Wow Wow
87 "Rock Me Amadeus " Falco
88 "Ain’t Nobody" Rufus & Chaka Khan
89 "Brass In Pocket" The Pretenders
90 "Wild Thing" Tone-Loc
91 "Walking On Sunshine" Katrina & The Waves
92 "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" New Kids On The Block
93 "Cars" Gary Numan
94 "Start Me Up" Rolling Stones
95 "Only In My Dreams" Debbie Gibson
96 "Down Under" Men At Work
97 "What I Like About You" The Romantics
98 "My Prerogative" Bobby Brown
99 "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" Wang Chung
100 "Working For The Weekend" Loverboy

"and you may ask yourself- well ... how did I get here?"

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?
-Talking Heads, "Once in A Lifetime"

One could say that I have been on an extremely interesting literary kick these days. Apparently it started in April with a book I began reading in May 2006. I had put it down and forgot about it until April 2007 when the weather turned nice again. For some reason I like to read on the metro in the Spring and not so much in the winter. I think its just easier to listen to the pod on the metro when you have a winter coat and hat on and two bags on your shoulder (the purse and the gym bag - in case you wanted to be able to visualize it). So anyway - I was hungry to read again come April and picked up The Collapse. I was coming up on my beach vacation to North Carolina when I decided to stop by my neighborhood used book shop on The Hill for some reading material. While I have The Kite Runner sitting on my shelf at home, just waiting for me to dive into it and love it (like EVERYONE says I will), I don't feel like reading it yet. Don't get me wrong, I want to read it (thanks for the Christmas gift April - you are the best) and I will. I just don't feel like it right now. The other day I made a statement casually about why I hadn't started reading it yet and I think that it actually might be the real reason why I haven't. I said, "For some reason I like to read all these popular books after everyone else has read them. After they are the "it" book to read." I am not trying to be "to cool" for the cool book, but I just feel like there is too much pressure I guess. Plus they are often cheaper once the hype has died down.

But I digress, as I am sure you are quite accustomed to by now. This strange literary kick I am speaking of is that I have only been reading books that have to do with how the world ended up like this - that's the best way I can describe it. These books address the environment, economics, sociology, history, cultural studies and now a little bit of psychology. So how did I get on this kick? The answer to that question encapsulates everything that is Bethany Johnson - so we won't even attempt at answering it (I believe that is a life-long pursuit that no one person has tried to take on just yet). But this particular literary fetish was facilitated by my inquiry at the used book store for something along the lines of The Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel. I felt like I was learning so many new and interesting ideas and ways to see our global culture and how we got to this point that I wanted more. I felt like my mind was stretching and the ideas were just soooo interesting to think about. The clerk was extremely helpful and suggested a bunch of books - two of which I purchased. Freakanomics and Fast Food Nation. This then lead me to comb the economic and social science sections of bookstores for another batch of thought provoking and mind blowing books. I limited myself to purchasing two books again. I am now reading Generation Me and it is fascinating! You especially know you picked the right two books to read when the first one you pick up (Generation Me) quotes the book you have already bought to read next (Bowling Alone). Needless to say I was pretty pleased with my choices.


I decided to get Generation Me because it addresses the demographic that I find myself in - mid-twenties, college educated, upper-middle class background. I am extremely interested how my age group is dealing with this historically new modern life we lead ... basically I am wondering if my feelings and experiences (as well as those around me) are "normal" or "typical". And how does this shift from the past effect us, our relationships, our happiness - our lives in general? I am also interested in this because I feel like many of us have such different mid-twenties experiences than our parents. Isn't that interesting? Lots of things I think, feel, want, and do are pretty traditionally rooted and I wonder how to reconcile all of this with my day to day modern life. Lots of aspects of modern life are pretty great and amazing - but I still feel we are missing some things. So far this book is blowing my mind. My next post will have quotes as I dive into understanding my generation a little bit more. I have already marked some amazing points the author is making ... hope you won't mind another book review!

To be continued ....

oh, oh - we're half way there

The houses in the Outer Banks are crazy big. So fun to run around and see all the different ones that the Peeps were staying at. We took a picture in this house with the big sale boat in the window. You could see it from the street - it was great!

Matt, Bethany, April

Some other highlights include:

- theme song of the trip (it doesn't get much cheesier and good than this people):

Summer Love ~ Justin Timberlake

"tell me how they got that pretty little face on

that pretty little frame ... girl"

"let me buy you drinks, better yet rings"

"I can't wait to fall in love with you,

you can't wait to fall in love with me -

this just can't be summer love, you'll see"

- Lighthouse trip (you saw the pictures here)

- church with 800 plus people
- "secret, secret, I got a secret" (thank you styx)
- Livin on a prayer - Bon Jovi ... three times (I could sing this song all day long)
- Karaoke
- dance parties ... lots of JT

Me bustin a move in the karaoke bar.

- wide open spaces - the beach and houses are far removed from town, which is small anyway ... but it was nice to be out of the city.

- making memories with old and new friends.

- getting sunburned (oh wait - NOT a highlight)

Victoria, April & Bethany - we hit up all the parties together (hahaha)

I am so burnt ... it hurts just looking at the picture.

- what on earth is a Brew Thru? We saw tons of them! I was so confused.

- a sales girl at a surf shop commented on the fact that I was one of the only people she has heard pronounce the brand name RVCA correctly ... April informed her that I grew up in CA and it all made sense to her.

- the KFC/Taco Bell fast food place only had KFC! Ever since leaving the west I have come across many places that just don't have things at the moment - how strange is that.

- speaking of fast food - I started a new book at the beach ~ Fast Food Nation. Once again, it is incredibly interesting! More about economics than the food. Bet you didn't even realize how Fast Food changed America did you? - don't worry I will tell you all about it in future posts.

Last but not least on the list of highlights:

- being pulled over outside of DC by a Virginia State Trooper for speeding ... he thought that April and I were kids in the back ... until he saw our white trash Miller Lite portable cooler. Yeah - it had cut up veggies in it - not beer. And if that officer only knew what April and I were talking about back there! Ahhh, good times.