Thursday, December 31, 2009

Feed Your Ears

Here it is you faithful readers... All the music with artists I have posted over this last year.

Jam'n W/ Gawdun 2009 (the complete list)

'Two Way Monologue'
-Sondre Lerche

'Anne'
-Santogold

'24'
-Jem

'My Superman'
-Santogold

'Ready Steady Go'
-Paul Oakenfold

'More Holiness Give Me'
-Rob Gardner (Missionary Hymn Project CD)

'Stupid Memory'
-Sondre Lerche

'Sleepyhead'
-Passion Pit

'How Will You Survive'
-Azure Ray

'Breath Again'
-Toni Braxton

'Nutbush City Limits'
-Tina Turner

'Storytelling'
-Belle & Sebastian

'Recommendation'
- Mirah

'Leaving Las Vegas'
-Sheryl Crow

'The Way I Are'
-Timbaland

'Village of the King'
-Jessie Clark Funk

'Half Mast'
-Empire of the Sun

'Human'
-The Killers

'Make Your Own Kind of Music'
-Mama Cass

'River Deep Mountain High'
-Tina Turner

'Sweet Surrender (DJ Tiesto Mix)'
-Sarah McLachlan

'Off I Go'
-Greg Laswell

'Where the Road Meets the Sun'
-Katie Herzig & Matthew Perryman Jones

'Van Halen'
-Frou Frou

'Stir It Up'
-Bob Marley

'Sandcastle Disco'
-Solange

'Cuffs'
-Zeigeist

'Relator'
-Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johanson

'Wait'
-Alexi Murdoch

'Filthy Gorgeous'
-Scissor Sisters

'Public Affair'
-Jessica Simpson

'Mama Said Knock You Out'
-LL Cool J

'730 Days'
-PuSHBoX (local band from Reno that kicks all music booty, check them out on myspace) ((You wont find them on iTunes))

'Little Bribes'
-Death Cab For Cutie

'What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)?'
-Ben Lee

'A Diamond and a Tether'
-Death Cab For Cutie

'Rewind'
-Stereophonics

'Look To Me'
-Azure Ray

'I Feel It All'
-Feist

'Medicine Wheel'
-Aimee Mann

'Imaginary Friends'
-Nada Surf

'Feel it in my Bones (Feat: Tegan & Sara)'
-Tiesto

'Magic Perfume'
-Charlyne Yi

'Breakin' Up'
-Rilo Kiley

'15'
-Rilo Kiley

'Roseanne Theme Song'
-TV Theme Players

'Fresh Blood'
-Eels

'Your Ghost'
-Greg Laswell

'Paparazzi'
-Lady Gaga

'Suicide Dive Bombers'
-Juliette Lewis

'Right Back Where We Started From'
-Maxine Nightingale

'Run Rudolph Run'
-Chuck Berry

'Wonderful'
-Gary Go

'Wake Up'
-Arcade Fire

'Resbalosas'
-Susana Baca

'All I Want For Christmas Is You'
-The 88

'Empire State of Mind'
-Jay Z (featuring Alicia Keys)

'We Are the World'
-U.S.A. for Africa

'Next Best Thing'
-Nikki & Rich

'Roller Derby Queen'
-Jim Croce

'All I Want For Christmas Is You'
-Mariah Carey

Happy New Year. Hope your decade was rockin awesome!

-Gawdun

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Yup It Was Christmas

'Next Best Thing'
-Nikki & Rich


Last week as most if, not all, know it was Christmas. Shocking I know. With that came two very important things.

1. Mariah Carey's theme for Christmas...'All I Want For Christmas is You.' Say what you want to but that song is the anthem for this season. I wasn't all ready for the season but then that song came on at work and it was all over. Oh and then she goes and hits that high note, yeah you know what I am talking about...A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I'm just glad she recorded this song before she went and gone all crazy back in 2005. You know when she had to go to the looney bin for having a "melt down."

2. I have successfully made it through another Christmas without ever once watching 'A Christmas Story!' I consider this to be a true talent. I know this is so wrong in all forms for many of you but guess what, deal with it. I honestly feel that I will be very much let down. I have heard soOOOOOOOOooooOOOOOoooooOOOOSSSsssssSSSSooooooOOOO much about the movie that my hopes are much higher and I just know I will be sad and disappointed in the end. So you keep your air rifle and leg lamp I want no part nor lot in it ;-)

In other news:

I know a whole bunch of you are waiting to see the pictures form my L.A. trip and the Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead) festival I attended. I am putting a slide show together and will post it very soon.

Photography work has been super busy this holiday season. I have two more shoots this Thursday! I am pumped and ready to do it. Which reminds me I need to call one of the clients and tell them where we will be shooting. So with that I guess I am going to go and leave this blog world for now.

'Roller Derby Queen'
-Jim Croce

-Gawdun

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Opening the Closed Door

'Right Back Where We Started From'
-Maxine Nightingale

I sometimes wonder why it is that I continue to get up Sundays and head to church? I doubt I could go out and shop and break the sabbath if I didn't go to church because I would feel horribly guilty. However today was a day that reminded me why I love to go. It seemed that most of the talks were dealing with the Spirit. Then you toss in Elders Quorum and Sunday School and you have two more hours full of awesome Spirit topic lessons. I could only wish that it would have lasted longer but one must get home. Plus let us not forget that I was very hungry and we all know that I get kinda mean and WAY over sarcastic when this Gawdun does not eat. With my brother being back in Reno visiting his father it leaves just mother and I here in St. George... We decided that after dinner we would go check out the Temples Christmas lights. I am only happy with the way this one picture turned out as I had no tri-pod with me. I will be going back tomorrow night to retry. Here you go anyways.



In other news I am fed up with the faux hawk look. Yes I am the proud owner and parent of one but I see too many walk around town from the ages of 2-40. Yes it is true I met a guy in his 40's that had one and it wasn't pretty. Here I am to be frank as well... the small child faux hawk look is just plain stoopid, cute but stoopid (spelled wrong to demonstrate my irritation.) It has just become to main stream and that makes me sad, but thus is fashion. So off to new styles and trends as we bust into the new year. I wont share the details as I am keeping that under wraps until I twitpic/tweet it, facebook it, and blog it (my new hair) but I can tell you that it has already raised some controversy with the few that have heard my plan. But really who am I too please? Just the big guy up stairs and we have never had an issue with my hair yet. Emily, my hair cuttin lady, is pumped and ready to make magic hair statements here in south Utah.

'Run Rudolph Run'
-Chuck Berry

PS: For those of you who have been faithful readers and paid close attention to my postings get ready for my New Years Eve post. I will be publishing a list of all the music I have featured in my postings from this year, that way you can make your own playlist of "Gawdun's 2009 Year in Music." All I can say is it will be BIG!

-Gawdun

Saturday, December 26, 2009

'Wonderful'
-Gary Go

I know I had something to blog about but now that I am sitting here and actually have "free" time (what is that for me anymore right?) I have blog-stump-itis. I can tell you that my now 13 year old brother is a hoot and finally developing his quick whit that this family has. Yesterday mother asked us what our favorite Christmas memories were and had us each tell them. There were some special memories shared and I knew someone had to give a 'hoot of a memory.' He told us that last year was his favorite one. When mom asked why he simply looked at her and said, and I quote word for word... "because last year you were trying to get a boyfriend." BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. It is true to a point. My mom was sort of seeing this guy from back in Reno, but she sure as heck wasn't TRYING to get one. LOL. Later as we were opening gifts I was setting up the camera and positioning everyone so that I could get everyone in the shots. As I was doing so my brother exclaimed when questioned to what he was doing, "I have to adjust my crack!" I'll tell you what, I about busted my face from laughing. Oh it was a great way to start gift un-wrapping. We managed to have a wrapping paper war mid through. I managed to get stuck behind the tree and from the angle seen in the photo it would appear I am birthing my brothers head.








My brother David and his new family could not be here as they live in northern Nevada but my sister who has gone distant from the family this year did come over. She even managed to go join us in the family tradition of seeing a movie. This year we went and saw the new Sarah Jessica Parker film... Which by the way was VERY funny.

But let us not forget the Christmas tradition that we kids make breakfast for my mother in the morning. We stuck with the stratta we tried out last year. It reminds me of a quiche but A WHOLE LOT better...


I hope everyone had a CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER!

'Wake Up'
-Arcade Fire

-Gawdun

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

IT'S OUT TODAY!!!!!

Oh yes while I finish my Christmas shopping tonight I will be picking this up. One of the best movies this year!!!


Who wants to watch it?

-Gawdun

Sunday, December 20, 2009

They May Speak Korean But Do They Skate?

'Resbalosas'
-Susana Baca
(yeah I know it's been a minute since I posted with music)

Whelp my full, busy, crazy life is up and slowing down now! I cannot begin to tell you all how excited I am. Over the last month and a great deal of this month most of my time has been set to FHE/Activities in my ward as myself and another girl are the chairs of this combined committee. Every year our ward has this extremely fancy and big deal dinner for Christmas. I guess it has been a tradition since they started the ward 4 years ago. Well mixed with that and work, photo shoots, the ward charity auction, and the lack of sleeping I have been getting I have been swamped.

The dinner was Friday evening so on Thursday myself and the rest of the committee set up the whole thing. And then maybe after they all left my committee chair friend and our other friend stayed behind and busted out this old root beer that we found in our activity/FHE closet.


The paper cups just added to the ghetto-ness of the whole situation that involved this Root Beer. It tasted fine although not one of us three could do our "shot" without making the other one laugh so we had to al go to different areas and not be at the same table. The only cautionary tale to this story is that perhaps you should have chapstick on hand as my lips were already dry and the root beer just made them burn like CRAZY! It was worth it.

Friday night the dinner went off smashingly. We had a simple program that the relief society put together (I was real nervous about how that would turn out). I set up a staging area to do photos of anyone who wanted one done. It was very high school prom scenario but A LOT of fun. Possibly the dinner started at 7 and Rachel and myself didn't get all the minor details done until 6:25 where we then raced to our homes and showered in order to return at 6:45. We also broke a few church building rules so we could finish the dinner. Rachel and I may or may not have done the prep, cooked and backed the desert and green beans in the church kitchen. Desert was a dainty little concoction by famed "30 minute" cook Rachel Ray. We created one of her Apple Crisps that "her sister who knows how to bake" (that is what the instructions read). It turned out real swanky. My mother and brother were one of the many people we roped into dishing up the food in the kitchen so that all us could enjoy the night. It even managed to start minor snowing while we were cleaning things up.

Saturday was a whole rink of fun. Granted I still had to work in the AM but that night was the blast of fun I needed. We headed down to Vegas, Nicole, Jet and I. (others were supposed to attend but then some backed out because it was real rainy BOO). We went down so that Nicole could assist on her first Roller Derby game. She didn't get to play (new girls can't till the next season and if they get drafted per se) but she did "stats" for the teams. Jet and I sat front row on the visiting teams side. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you know that I pretty much "tweeted" the whole game. It was fun central.






There is Nicole with her clipboard




Right before the derby bout whilst Nicole helped set up Jet and I discovered and stalked this wig shop next door through the window as they were closed. I'll tell you what when you put your face real close to the window to see farther in and you forget there is a head right in front of you it's kinda freaky! We managed to track down 1 guy wig and tons of ladies wigs. We managed to have a hoot with the store, even if we were right out side and not inside. However I found a few wigs I would like to purchase and use in photo shoots! Then we went to the Korean market that was in the shopping plaza where the skate rink was. Jet was in heaven and I just loved it. She may have thought I wasn't excited about it but then oh man was I ever! I love asian markets. Heck if I were asian I would open a market too!





After the Derby bouts we headed down to Freemont Street to the Henassey (sp) bar where we dined on greasy food and watch crazy people get drunk and dance. BUT I will say the band for playing Irish sure covered some awesome songs and did great at it.

To end I will show you some of the random shots of the night.




We had no clue if this guy was wearing anything under the getup, but then again we didn't want to find out.

There were a few times a roller girl almost ended up crashing in me! It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G as a certain Seaman kid said while I was on my mission in Tifton.

'All I Want For Christmas Is You'
-The 88

-Gawdun

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Can You Eat Old?

Wow because I fell asleep last night I have not a clue on half the things I was gonna write but I will try...

Old people are seriously the funniest thing since Whoopie Goldberg (80's Whoopie and Nun Whoopie). I had this table at the Ruby Tuesday where they were all kinds of crazy old. The husband was trying the whole time to give me a hard time. Even better he looked just like Doc from 'Back to the Future.' He had the hair cut and and crazed look too. He just needed a DeLorean and to shout something about 'giga watts' and I would have lost it. The wife was just a hoot in a half. If anyone remembers the book series 'Miss Piggle Wiggle' I imagined her to be just like that character. Anyways after they were done eating somehow Lake Tahoe came up and how I miss it and used to live by it and they used to have a time share there. Well when they were leaving she pulled me aside and said she had this funny story involving Lake Tahoe, a canoe, and a 400lb man. Oh man it is a great story but I wont put it on here. You'll have to call and ask me or speak to me in person to get it.

I also managed to be the only one on shift that knew how to change a beer keg (I love that the Mormon knows how to change a keg but the drinkers don't) and there was a new bartender on so I had to teach her how to change it. Well it started out great and smooth until I went to put the pressure line back on the new keg. That is when all Apricot Wasatch Heff broke free. It started spraying up the wall and at me! Mary was laughing so hard because there was nothing she could o to help and I kept saying "it's not supposed to be this way!" Well thanks be we got it fixed and I only had to wash my arms as that was all that got beered on. (yes I said beered). It was the funniest this ever. I imagine that kind of thing only happening on a 'I Love Lucy' episode. :-)

Tonight I assisted Kevin Hulett (that photographer I have assisted in the past) with another girl. It was fun. We did a high school basketball shoot in Parowan, UT which is 45 north of St George. It was great as last night my final class in the photo area I had ben taking was on setting up lighting shoots for portraits. Kevin had all sorts of lights and even though he was the one telling me where to put them I understood why he was doing it that way and didn't have to ask Q's.

Well darn tootin I just got a call from a friend who I haven't talked to in 3 years so I must go till later!


-Gawdun

Now Cut Foot Loose

I love how when i have days off from Photo shoots and waiting tables I have things to do but I always discover the best stuff online and I get trapped searching for more. This is no exception.

I just randomly fell onto this song and video. HOLY CRAP (if it could be holy that is neither seen nor heard of) it is amazing! However as I watched the video I kept waiting for Kevin Bacon or John Lithgow to make an appearance and fight over the right to have a dance.

ENJOY!!!

Chromeo "Night By Night" Video from GreenLabelSound on Vimeo.



-Gawdun

PS: You can't iTunes this song. You have to go here: http://www.greenlabelsound.com/artists/chromeo/ AND IT"S LEGALLY FREE

Monday, December 7, 2009

Public and not Political Enemy

'Empire State of Mind'
-Jay Z (featuring Alicia Keys)

Oh man I have this obsession and most of you know what I am talking about. Let's be honest I am not speaking about my photography obsession. I am referring to my love of the late show Roseanne. Yet maybe I am sitting here watching it on TV LAND as I write this and right before I go to bed. I'm for sure thinking I need to own this on DVD and it should have been like yesterday. I sure hope whoever I end up with understands my love and joy of certain weird things, plus let's be honest I will support whoever she is on the weird things she likes. We will be weird people together.

Now this is not why I am posting, here are the real reasons. Life has been super busy and I will give you the highlights in a word form.

1. My brother turned 13 the other day.
2. I have been swamped and slammed with photo shoots this month and it hasn't slowed as I just booked a possible 3 more. (anyone wanna assist me?)
3. I continue to travel to Vegas on Wednesday to support my friend Nicole on her Roller Derby quest.
4. The main events in the ward that I have been heading up are almost all done with. Just the annual formal ward dinner this upcoming Friday and then the annual charity auction on 12/14 and then I can hide.
5. I am planning my absence from large events once #4 is over with. This may include a self deserved trip back to the south, New York or a few other options.
6. A good friend Amy Hansen got married over this past weekend.
7. I have assisted a local photographer (I want him to shoot my family stuff once I have one) twice and was asked tonight to assist him in another shoot this upcoming week, He is the best and I have learned SSOOOOOO much.
8. Ugly Betty is making me laugh out loud for real this year as I am finally catching up on it. Case in point this little jingle from a past episode... "Eat me I'm a hot dog, and I'm a Whole Wheat Bun!" BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
9. Cooked yet another Thanksgiving Turkey.
10. Black Friday sucked this year so I stayed home this year and slept till I worked. :-)
11. My 13 year old brother learned how to use Google chat on my mom's Blackberry thus making it easier to harass me and it is good.
12. I got a haircut.
13. I'm starting the Book of Mormon over.
14. New favorite phrase... "dork-in-law."

And this is just a a snipit but there have been other things and happenings but they are left for them who know and would care.

'We Are the World'
-U.S.A. for Africa

-Gawdun

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

One Day I Will Too!

I found this in the newspaper, or the paper that St. George calls a newspaper, a few weeks ago. I crack up when I read this! And man-alive look at that hair! Can we say 80's glamour shots.




-Gawdun