Thursday, February 12, 2009

Darn you Mangonett

not that anyone else reads this but yes, I have been tagged:

6 things that make me smile:

1. my zygomatic muscles
2. my family
3. the idiosyncrasies of my peers
4. when something turns out better than expected
5. great music/art/food/people
6. pictures

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Rant Time with Tammy - GRAMMYS

Sunday February 8th, 2009 was the 51st Grammy Awards. I had a group over my home to watch and critique the event and boy did we have plenty of material to go off of.

Highlights of the show were indeed the collaborations between Coldplay and- and I am ashamed to admit my pleasure of this performance- Kanye West, T.I with Mr. Justin Timberlake, Lil' Wayne and Robin Thicke, Justin Timberlake and Al Green, as well as the performances with Adele, Sugarland and the incredible Jennifer Hudson. These performances highlighted the arguable fact that perhaps there is still a glimmer of talent in this sad sad generation in which I find myself. I questioned what occurred to the producers and individuals in charge with arranging the performances as I watched the "collaboration” between MIA, TI, Kanye West and Jay-Z; Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift. That was surpassed by the aneurysm I suffered when the curtain revealed a performance between the generational star Stevie Wonder and the un-explained phenomena that is The Jonas Brothers. I will digress at this juncture; if you have any positive emotional attachment towards these three individuals I warn you that reading from this point on will not be to your favor.
The Jonas Brothers are much like that rare oddity such as Sponge-Bob Square Pants, Rock of Love, Momma’s Boys and Paris Hilton- the question WHY is never answered. Why have the Jonas Brothers become such a Pop Phenomena? Why do people keep linking the word “talent” with their names? Why are they not flogged when comparing themselves to Elvis Costello? And why, for the greatness of all that is holy not stopped when stepping on stage with Stevie Wonder?? WHY!? Someone please answer this three letter word for me!
Alright, if you skipped over this digression you are welcome to re-join at this point. After the blood began to flow to its delegated locations once again, I continued in amazement as the presenters took the stage and the winners their awards. In an homage to the late Anna Nicole, Whitney Houston made a come back into the world of 3 digit poundage as she presented the award for best R&B Album to Ms. Jennifer Hudson. With her heart felt acceptance speech, Hudson thanked her family living and gone for their support as well as the public for theirs.
Kate Perry, an advertisement for Jamba Juice and Smoothy King, took the stage with an all out performance of “I kissed a girl”. Proving all the more that studios are now focusing on over producing vocals, Perry tried her very best no doubt to sound a notch above late night karaoke at Uncle Bob’s Pub.
U2, constantly trying to distinguish themselves from Coldplay, brought out the rainbows in their performance- an attempt to hypnotize the public into donating all of our 401K and investments towards famine and overseas causes?
The star of the evening was no doubt Lil’ Wayne, taking home 6 out of 8 awards for Best Rap Album, Best Solo Rap Performance, Best Rap Performance & Rap Performance for Duo or Group.
Coldplay had their share in awards for Best Rock Album of the Year, Song of the year and best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals.
The surprise of the night was unquestionably the award given to Alison Krauss and Robert Plant for Best Album of the Year along with 4 other award. They were accompanied in this category by Coldplay, Neyo and TI. The quiver of disagreement and disbelief rippled through the audience as Robert Plant tried to stay hip and modern stating that in the past this would be called “selling out”. That statement flew over the low hung heads of all as they tried to grasp the reality that Robert Plant and Alison Krauss had beat out Coldplay, TI and Neyo.

The evening salvaged itself with the onstage magic that was B.B. King, John Mayer, Keith Urban and Buddy Guy as they made tribute to the late Bo Diddley. Without this life-saver of a performance, the evening would have been all to easily dismissed as material for Talk Soup and Best Week ever rather than a tribute to music and entertainment. In all, this year rose above last years elementary school recital award show but lacked in what is most important- TALENT.
Here’s hoping that 2010 brings with it something more.

Monday, February 9, 2009

WHAT!?



WHATT!?!?!?!?!?!?!!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Tushy Cushion

Alright, So I normally don't post stuff about decor and all that jazz but after today's driving extravaganza to find every clearance and outlet center known to man- south florida- I feel I must vent and divulge our findings.

My mother has taken it upon herself, yet again, to redo our dining room after donating our pre-existing furniture to a needy cause- the newlyweds. Not a pity donation, rather, the passing of an heir-loom. With that came the need to replenish our newly barren and dismal dining area. We had been most graciously given a temporary table, an EthanAllen one a that, but it came to it's end as we could no longer do with the "un-matchiness" I believe the word is. And now with the pending fate of the the buffet disappearing, we had to get the march and find our new decor! This time, we were hitting it with a budget and a mission! Here's what we got:


The thing with shopping at clearence and outlet centers is the simple fact that everything is on clearance. "what?!" you may ask... well, yes. At $40 a pop, there are thousands upon thousands of items- chairs alone filled one room. But the issue comes in when you need 4 or 6 or 8 of the exact same style chair! There are odd numbers or pieces that are damaged or pieces that look the same but AHA are not! If you don't mind a completely different style for each chair, then there's your meca. We were striving for the min of 4 identical chairs and then 2 end chairs with something to match. After visiting 3 stores, we came upon the one above. Now, I couldn't find the exact one online but there's an idea. The legs at the moment are maple and the fabric is a light green, almost asparagus. We are going to paint the legs to match the table which is an espresso brown/black. The fabric also has button-holes which add a nice detail and they match the rest of the house. We would love wing back or captain chairs for the ends. But that will come with time.
The table we found first at the outlet near my sister. Amazing find! A few "worn-in" marks but nothing too striking. The buffet/dresser/console we found at the Rooms-to-go in Pompano first and then after trecking south to Miami, went back up and purchased. It's very stunning in person and gives plenty of room for the china we currently have.
All in all.... good day. But OYE-VAY! All that for a tushy cushion!