An avid people & pet photographer, this blog is an easier way to share stories and photos with family and friends that are scattered across the globe. I'm a blonde who finally went back to her natural color after years of being a redhead. I'm in love with photography, reading, movies, live music, history and my Italian Greyhound Dante. Born in Norway, I've been living in SoCal since I was five. {Photo by Nancy Orozco}
Happy Friday everybody! I’m so excited and thankful for all the love and encouragement I’ve received this week, now that Ellingsen Photography is officially open for business! You guys are awesome, for reals.
It’s looking to be a busy weekend for me – tonight my friends and I are heading out to see Richard Cheese, who never fails to disappoint. If you haven’t heard of him before, go check him out now! Soooo fun. Hopefully the rain isn’t too bad – as evidenced above, so far this morning it’s been pretty, but the forecast doesn’t look good. At least it’s not snow, right? :)
I’m downsizing my storage unit tomorrow (luckily the new one is practically right next to the old one), heading to the shelter Sunday to catch up on their new adoptables and then hosting a wee Oscar viewing party Sunday night.
While I'm working at home or wrapping gifts, I love to have my Christmas music mix playing.
Oh, who am I kidding? I put it on any chance I get. :)
Do you have any particular favorites? As mentioned, my all-time favorite song is Nothing' For Christmas by Eartha Kitt. (Of course, she could sing the alphabet song and it would be on my favorites list.) But there's several albums that I like to throw on a playlist and let run, especially on Christmas Eve when we all finally sit down to dinner.
We also love listening to Lys by Jahn Teigen, a popular Norwegian musician. It's my mom's favorite and we've listened to it every year, so much so that now I can't imagine spending Christmas without his voice in the background.
My taste in music is pretty varied and largely determined by whether I like the singer's voice or not (can't help it - I did choir for eight years!). If I don't have NPR on in the car, it's more than likely one of these artists is crooning to me. :)
So here's a few of my favorite tracks right now, the ones I can't stop playing. (And isn't all the album art lovely?)
Mike Phirman, who we saw at the Nerdist podcast live taping last week (the episode is now available for download, check it out and see if you can hear me laughing!) has a new album out and I'm totally getting it. Could NOT get "One For Them & One For Me" out of my head for days.
It's musical comedy, but the best part is that he's actually really good (unlike other musiccom acts...yes I just made up that word) and plays all the instruments himself!
Also, if it's screening near you, you absolutely have to check out Best Worst Movie, a documentary about the making of Troll 2, a movie many consider the worst movie of all time, and where it's cast and crew are now and how the film has developed such a cult following. Mr. Same Same and I went and saw a special screening of it yesterday through a creative screenwriting organization in LA and it was awesome! Hilarious, heartbreaking, enthralling.
So what's been distracting you on teh interwebs lately? Send links to help my poor head, please!
xo
P.S. Can't forget to share this ridiculously cute smiling chihuahua, because it's made me giggle every time I've watched it:
I'm pretty sure I can call Jamie Cullum my all-time favorite artist/musician/performer. Which is quite the achievement, considering how many different favorites I have. :) There's just something about his combination of classic jazz and pop that really tickles my ear drums. Plus there's that rough crooning voice, sooo sexy.
This Thursday night will be my fourth time seeing him live, and I. Can't. Freaking. Wait. He really hasn't performed here in LA since I last saw him in 2005!! (There was one joint event he did at the Hollywood Bowl, but I couldn't afford that.) I cannot believe it's been that long. His new album, The Pursuit, is absolutely killer and really shows how far he's come as an artist and serves to cement his unique style. How many people can rearrange songs from such varied sources as Broadway, Jimi Hendrix, Cole Porter, Rihanna, etc. and make them their own? Exactly. Plus he always throws in some original songs that kick bootie. Here's one:
But the best way to hear him is live, without a doubt. He's one of the "old school" that can work miracles with just a piano and his voice, like he does in this cover of "Frontin'":
I've seen him actually get completely under the piano and kick the bottom of it for a deeper beat! Luckily he's not a huge guy so when he stands on the piano, it stays intact. :)
I remember the summer that Nikki and I could not stop playing that album! We'd have it on repeat on those quiet weekends in the call center. But who am I kidding? We still listen to all his stuff.
Needless to say, the more I listen to his latest album, the more excited I get about Thursday! It's a sold out show, so sorry for you guys. :) I'm even more excited because this time it's at the Avalon, which is a far superior venue to the ones he's been in before. They have a great writeup on him on their website here.
Now, if you watch anything, watch this video, as it's a more recent performance of a song that's on the new album and I can't stop listening to it! It's a Rihanna cover, but bear with me, because he really makes it his own (and I know, it's kind of funny watching him try to dance, but cut him some slack - he's English!):
And that, my friends, is the musicgasm I'll be having Thursday night. What tickles your ear drums?
xo
P.S. Photo at the top is linked, but just to clarify it's by Bruno Bollaert. Check out his amazing photos on Flickr here.
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 12:23PM 
