I have posted HERE a never before read essay of mine titled Swear With Conviction. It was for my Advanced Writing class this past spring. I actually had to give a speech from this paper, and if you know me then you know that me and speeches don't go well together. So after you've read this you may understand that my normal anxiety over speeches was heightened due to the subject matter of the essay. Enjoy!

ALIAS NEWS:
It has just been announced that Justin Theroux, the Irish baddy from Charlie's Angels 2, has been cast to play Syd's new love interest. AND Melissa George, who I've had my eye on since she was in Thieves (a TV action show with John Stamos that didn't last but should have), has been cast as Vaughn's new wifey. *puke* She was also the "hot nanny" in Friends. These two should make for an interesting love square!

One of my greatest pleasures in life is finding new music. I can spend four or five hours straight in front of my computer just following thread after thread, searching for new music. It's rare these days for me to find good music from Mtv or the radio, which is disappointing. But what's even more of a let down is the crap they play on Mtv. Particularly people who can't sing, ahem Lizzie McFuckingGuire. I'll give pop music a chance if the person can sing, but this chick CAN'T. ProTools doesn't even make this little beatch sound good! Don't get me wrong, I'm not raggin on pop music cause I like pop, but it's gotten to a really bad point. It's probably a good thing the youth of America can't vote till they're 18 because if that was the case Justin Timberlake would be the new governor of California.

Now, in my far-reaching quest for new music I have some good music to pass on to you. There is a radio station in the Detroit area that has a Sunday morning program called "New Adventures in HiFi," and they post the playlist from the show on their website, www.963dvd.com. The show is dedicated to music that isn't mainstream but is good, and today's two music reviews are from this playlist.

Dana Glover - Testimony - www.danaglover.com
Aside from being smoking hot, this woman can actually sing. And for those of you who've paid attention to my music choices in the past then you'll know who I'm talking about when I say she sounds like a cross between Chantal Kreviazuk and Shea Seger, both awesome singers. Dana Glover combines powerful singing and piano with some deep-rooted southern soul. The first song on the album, "Rain," is like a punch in the face with a ray of sunshine. (right click song title to download) Other notable standouts from the album include "The Way (Radio Song)" and "Almost Had it All."

Weekend Players - Pursuit of Happiness - www.weekendplayers.com
If I was to categorize this music I would have to lump it in trip-Hop, with the likes of Morcheeba and Esthero. When I think of trip-hop I think of melodic dance electronica with singing, and that's what Weekend Players is. They are a male/female duo from England, with the lady, Rachel Foster supplying the vocals, and the gentleman, Andy Cato of Groove Armada, supplying the beats and production. So if you like chilled out dance music then you'll really dig Weekend Players. My favorite song on the album is "21st Century." If this song doesn't make you move your ass then there is seriously something wrong with you! A couple of other good songs are "I'll Be There" and "Pursuit of Happiness."

Check back soon for another update! I have much more info from the past week than I anticipated so the updates should be steamrolling out. Thanks for visiting, ya'll come back now, ya here?