Anybody want to guess what I've been up to lately??

Here's a hint:  


And it doesn't have anything to do with a career in firefighting, or ballroom dancing.

PS.  If you're in Atlanta and looking for a wedding/baby/event/awesomeness photographer (or otherwise want to document your firefighting, ballroom-dancing exploits), you should definitely check out Julia at Studio Refuge.  :)
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MP3 Free Music Madness!! Josh Ritter, Moby,

There's some great free-and-legal stuff on Amazon right now...

"Gone To Sleep" from Moby and Kelli Scarr.  This isn't Moby's usual sound, but it's beautiful.

"Rattling Locks" off of Josh Ritter's brand-new So Runs The World Away (to read all about my love for Josh Ritter, and find out how to get more free music off his latest album, check out my previous post too)

You can also find nine downloads on the Filter Label Sampler, from artists including Sara Lov, Cary Ann Hearst, and Dustin O'Halloran.  There's a great range of sounds and styles here -- you'll be glad you downloaded it!


Other previously-recommended Amazon free downloads that are still available:

Frenchkiss Records Super Sampler -- Think indie. Eight tracks, including some I definitely approve of, from Local Natives, The Antlers, and the dodos.

March 2010 Saddle Creek Sampler -- Think alternative rock. Some of it is a little weird (umm still not sure what was going on with that Uuvvwwz thing), but I like the Old Canes, Land of Talk, and Mynabirds tracks. Thirteen downloads total.

Au Revoir Simone The song is "Shadows" from the album Still Night, Still Light from last year. They're among my indie-rock favorites, and I think pretty much anybody would find their music enjoyable... or so my biased opinion goes anyhow.

There's also two free downloads from the Lovell Sisters' album Time To Grow-- the title track and "In My Time of Dyin.'" I somehow managed to not know the history of that last song, but it's apparently a blues stand-by that was covered by Led Zeppelin at some point, and gets a fresh, bluegrass treatment here. If you enjoyed the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack you'll probably like these.

One I wasn't planning on mentioning but just stumbled across while I was downloading the Lovell Sisters' tracks is the song  "Way To Here" by Gypsy Tailwind.  Anybody know this group?? As soon as I get some extra time (HA!) I'm going to have to try to do some researching, because this free track is good. It's another folk/bluegrass type, but with some really nice male/female vocal interplay (also known as a duet, but that somehow didn't express it for me)

Then we've got a whole album (11 tracks!) called Great City, from an alternative rock group named Revere. I'm still listening through this one, but I like it a lot so far -- if you like more hard rock stuff then this one is for you. Edit: Aha! I have it now.. I was trying and trying to remember who they reminded me of. I think they remind me of My Chemical Romance, if that helps you imagine their sound...

Ok, gotta make myself stop... that's all for now, but if you haven't already you should consider subscribing via email or RSS so that you won't miss a single update! I promise to keep your iPod slammin' and jammin'. Um yea, I just made that up. But you get the idea. ;)
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Lost: Across the Sea, aka Jacob and Smoky's crazy goddess mother begats a dysfunctional family

Man, I was really hoping that the episode about Jacob and Smoky-Dude's origins would happen amidst Egyptian statues, with a plethora of black eye liner and maybe even a little human sacrifice... but no, all we got in this episode of Lost was a murderous demi-god recluse, speaking Latin and hiding in the jungle guarding a sacred light.  I mean, it was interesting and all, but I feel like this episode just created new questions.  Among them:
  • Just who WAS the murderous demi-god recluse?  Anybody we know from mythology, or did the writers make her up?
  • Where did she come from?  
  • How did she know all that stuff about the light?  Who was HER mentor?
  • Why was Smoky the "special" one?
  • Will we ever find out his #@%#^ name?
  • Why was Jacob acting like he needed to be held back a couple of grades all through this episode?
  • Why did the murderous recluse demi-god thank Smoky for stabbing her to death?  
  • Is there any possibility that Jacob too wanted to die when Ben stabbed him?  Or did Miles say Jacob was upset when he died?  I forget.
  • Who built the Egyptian statue and why didn't we see it in this episode?
  • Just what kind of "powers" do Jacob (and his foster-mom before him) have?  Some sort of magic immortality-bestowing touch, and the ability to "make it" so that Jacob and Smoky aren't "able" to kill each other... besides that what?
  • At what point did Jacob discover how to leave the island and make appearances in the world across the sea?  
  • Did Smoky finish his wheel system, only to discover that he couldn't leave that way because he had been disembodied by the cave? 
  • How on earth did Jacob beating Smoky bloody (twice) and then knocking him unconscious and dumping him down a "worse-then-death" pit of light NOT count as "hurting" him?  As we had earlier been informed that they couldn't hurt each other?  Seems like there's some double-standards in this "rule."
See what I mean?   All these questions, and the only real information we got out of it was:
  • The "Adam and Eve" skeletons aren't Jack and Kate (such a pity!  ;P).  They're Smoky-Dude and his murderous foster-mom.
  • Smoky became an Evil Being almost entirely due to bad luck and the manipulations of his foster-mom.  The only indication given that he wasn't "good" as a child was that he could lie and Jacob couldn't... but his mom still thought that he was going to be the one to guard the light instead of Jacob.  Evil here seems to be an acquired condition.
  • Smoky and Jacob are twin brothers.
  • Demi-gods and immortal beings have dysfunctional families too.
  • I think that's it. 
Anything I missed??  All I can say is... sheesh.  And only one more new episode before the finale!!  Anybody heard new theories on how it will end now that we know a little bit more about the backgrounds of Jacob and Smoky?  And do any of y'all feel any differently towards our twin pals after watching Across the Sea?  I think my feels remain more or less unchanged... I just sort of feel more sympathetic for everybody.  ;P
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UPDATED: Money-Savers on Healthy, Organic, and/or Natural Products

Eating healthy, and even organic, doesn't have to break the bank!  Here's a quick recap of money-savers available right now:
(note: If you don't find these coupons using your zipcode at the prompt, try a few others... at times different things are offered regionally. I usually try: 30033, 92701, 75254, 02108, etc)

Mambo Sprouts:
Barbara's Bakery products $1/1
Dagoba Organic Chocolate  $1/1
Scharffen Berger Chocolate $1/1
Country Choice Organic $1/1
Florida Crystals Organic sugar .50/1
Helios Organic Kefirs $1/2
Organic Valley Yogurt $1/1
and quite a few others, including several gluten-free products

Coupons.com:  
Horizon Organic Eggs $1/2 (zip 92701)
Genesis Today Juices $1/1
Sun-Rype fruit products (zip 92701)
Harris Ranch Beef entres $1/1 (zip 92701)
Hormel Natural Deli Meat .55/1
Boulder Canyon kettle chips $1/1
Yoplait Greek Yogurt .30/1
Caribou Coffee $1/1
Starbucks Ice Cream $1/2 (not healthy or organic... just delicious.  :P)
Alaska Pollock or Cod fresh products, or frozen breaded fillets $1/1
Method laundry detergent  $1/1
Nature's Source Natural Laundry Stain Remover .55/1
Arm & Hammer Vacuum Filters $2/1
Organix and Natural Ultramix pet foods
Olivia's Organics Salad (zip 02018)
Smart Chicken products (organic!  zip 02018)
Kiss My Face organic personal care products $1.50/1
Del Monte Ready-To-Blend Fruit Smoothie (zip 02018)
Opti-free and Renu contact solutions $1/1
Libby's Canned Vegetables $1/3 (zip 75254)
Organyc Brand Feminine Care products $1/1 (zip 75254)
and lots more, including (for people with kids) Huggies Little Swimmers $1.50/1 and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! DVDs $2/1.

Redplum:  
Tanimura and Antle fresh produce products .55/1
Best Life Butter $1/1 (zip 92701)
Smart Balance Milk .75/1
Honeysuckle White Turkey $1/1
Sara Lee Hearty And Delicious bread products .75/1 (zip 92701)
Kelloggs Cereals $1/1
Carolina Gold Rice .50/1 (zip 02108)
Sun Crystals $1/1
Mountain High Yoghurt .50/1 (zip 92701)
Glenoaks Drinkable Yogurt $1/1 (rBGH free!, zip 92701)

Smartsource:
Toms of Maine Maximum Strength Fluoride Toothpaste $1/1
High Liner Sea Cuisine entrees $1/1
Butterball Premium Turkey Franks .75/1
Butterball Fully Cooked Turkey Breast Roast $1.50/1
Newman's Own Pasta Sauce, Dressing, or Salsa .50/1
al Fresco All Natural Chicken Sausage $1/1 (zip 02108)
Fruit2Day smoothies $1/2
Fisher nut products $1/1
Odwalla Superfood drinks $1/2
Mayfield Over the Moon Milk $1/1  (zip 30033)

Whole Foods coupons:
Clif Bar products $1/3
Annie's Naturals products .75/1
Cascadian Farms bars & cereals $1/1 ("stack" with manufacturer's coupon below)
Scharffen Berger or Dagoba chocolate ("stack" with Mambo Sprouts coupons above)
Kashi Organic Promise Cereal $1/1
Pacific Natural Foods Hemp Milk $1/1
as well as lots of others.  

(Keep in mind that these are store coupons, so you only can use them at Whole Foods or at a store that accepts competitor coupons. However, you *can* stack them with manufacturer's coupons, so it can turn things into a great deal really fast if you're lucky enough to be able to use them)

Target.com coupons:
Merona swimsuit and accessory items
GE Energy Smart Lightbulbs (*Target store coupon!*)
Brita water filtration products (*Target store coupon!* Stack with All You coupon below)
Seventh Generation household products

Other Good Stuff:
New Neutrogena Suncare Product $2/1
Scott's Naturals paper products $1/1
Coleman Natural and Organic meat products (take a survey, get $5 in coupons, link lower left)
Organic Valley (milk, eggs, butter, etc)
Stonyfield Yogurt and Dairy products (*heart*)
Muir Glen organic tomato products
Cascadian Farms products $1/1


All You coupons:
Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt $1/1
Bear Naked Granola $1/1
Contessa meals $1.50/1
Brita filtration products

If you're like me and have been having trouble finding your favorite organic foods on sale at your local grocery store, it's well-worth keeping your eyes open for Organic manager's specials on Amazon.  Right now they have some good deals on products from PranaBar, Health Valley, Yogi Tea, Garden of Eatin', Arrowhead Mills, and lots of others. There's a huge selection of pure fun organic candy on sale right now too.

Let me know about any exciting healthy/natural deals y'all find!

Note: Some of these are affiliate links. :)
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MP3 Madness: Free Disney Downloads!!

I know the Disney fans among y'all will love this one... Walt Disney Records is giving away a new free MP3 every day through sometime in June... 50 all together.  So far they've offered up a Hannah Montana song, and tracks from Nightmare Before Christmas and Mary Poppins.  Today's MP3 is "One Jump Ahead" from Aladin.  To get in on these freebies, "Like" their facebook page, and keep your eyes open for a notice on their wall each morning when the new download becomes available.  Each track is available only for that day, so don't delay if you want it!
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Lost: The Candidate, aka, mourning the death of our friends as the tension grows...

Sheesh!  Last night turned out to be quite the emotional rollercoaster.  There was a great deal more poignancy and pain going on in this last episode of Lost then there has been since Ben told Ilana that he believed Smokey-Dude was the only one who would forgive him.  And I'm pretty sure that all of America would agree with me that the shot of the Kwan's hands drifting apart underwater was pretty much heart-wrenching even if you didn't know the story, and hadn't invested five years in their characters... which of course, we all had. :(

It does seem particularly unfair that after spending so much time getting back to each other, Sun and Jin would then proceed to die together within hours after their reunion.

The LA reality's version of Locke and his dad as guilt-ridden and comatose, respectively, is particularly fascinating...  how does that fit with Sawyer's search for Anthony Cooper?  I'm guessing Cooper is still a bad bad man, but Locke just doesn't know it?

 Other points of interest:
  • Whether or not Kate's name was written with the others on the roof of the cave has been a point of debate since we saw those names for the very first time.  Now we find out that it was there, but crossed out.  I'm so curious about what could have gotten her eliminated!  Though come to think of it, I had thought for a while that the cave could have been Smoky-Dude's list and not Jacob's (dark-cave vs light-house, remember?) so who knows.
  • Sayid wasn't completely evil after all!  I was so busy being happy about his heroic redemption, I barely remembered to be sad that he died.... oops.
  • So far, multiple people from Oceanic 316 have encountered one another in the LA reality without having regained memories of their island existence. I wonder what the trigger is then?  Some people on the message boards thought it was connected to the person you had loved on the island (Hurley and Libby, Charlie and Claire, Desmond and Penny) but how would that work then with, say, Rose and Bernard, or Jin and Sun, who already are living and loving together in the LA reality?
  • So... what IS Widmore's goal? Did he lock up Sawyer and the others to try to protect them from Smoky-Dude? Is his goal to see Jacob's successor emerge, or does he just want to kill Psuedo-Locke?  I guess a lot of that will become known once we find out what he wants with poor Desmond.
  • Ok y'all... what HAVE Ben and Richard been doing all this while?  I mean, besides working on their tans, which we know happens all the time on the island just by default...
  • This is just idle curiosity, but how was Psuedo-Locke going to try to kill all the candidates had Widmore not planted that bomb so conveniently?  ALSO, would the bomb have gone off had Sawyer listened to Jack and just let it be???
I'm definitely doubly invested in the idea of the island reality somehow meshing with the LA reality at the end of this season now!  I keep clinging to what the writers said in a podcast a while back about parallel universes colliding... fingers crossed that they come through for us!

Did I miss anything important??  Theories and opinions please!  :)
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