Read This! "Christ The Lord: Out Of Egypt" by Anne Rice

Almost anyone who knows the name Anne Rice knows it from her legendary vampire novels, especially "Interview With The Vampire." Her work has always been meticulously researched, and stunningly written. So when she chose to write about the most well know figure in the Western world, that it would be well-written and well-researched was a given fact. What I didn't expect was the rich passion and inspired thought that went into the novel "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt."

Told from in the first person, from the perspective of a divine seven-year-old Jesus bar Joseph, the first century Middle East springs to life. Jesus doesn't understand his powers, does not yet know the story of his birth and the reason his family fled to Egypt. He is a smart child, a good child, but when he miraculously kills, then revives a child he is confused. Again when he heals his uncle, he doesn't know for sure that he was the one who did it. He doesn't know why his family has been hidden, why the strange reaction of the village people upon his family's return to Nazareth. On the way home, they stop in Jerusalem for Passover, and Jesus witnesses a riot, and watches as soldiers impale a man with spear. That scene replays in his head, especially during a feverish dream. The novel ends when Jesus begins to discover his destiny, and learns the truth about what happened in the sleepy town of Bethlehem.

While the story of the life of Christ is more than well known, Rice's novel colorfully depicts the life a carpenter's family in a small town in first century Judea, masterfully uncovers the emotions of a boy on the verge of discovering his Godhood and evokes true feelings in this reader. I can't wait to read the recently released second volume, "Christ The Lord: Road To Cana"

Stunning New Bjork Video - "Wanderlust"

I'm not much of a Bjork fan, I enjoyed the song "Earth Intruders" last year and of her old school stuff, "All Is Made Of Love" and the Dancer In The Dark soundtrack are the only things I know. So it's not surprising her song "Wanderlust" seems overly noisy and strange. Not bad, but not a fave of mine. But the video is amazing! Like a Norse take on Oriental creation myths, it's beautiful and strong. It's just visually stunning and the ending is awesome. Watch it:

Diva Showdown!

Are you ready for it? Tomorrow we will see if the New Mariah Carey, British pop sensation Leona Lewis, can hold on to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with her white hot hit "Bleeding Love" or if the original Mariah can overtake her with her radio smash "Touch My Body." This is the first week Mariah's song has been available for purchase as a download, and you know I downloaded it. Currently "Touch" is holding fast to the pole position on the iTunes chart, and for my own observation is getting a little more airplay on the radio, so I think Mariah will get her 18th #1, tieing her with Elvis Presley for second place (behind the Beatles) in number one hits. But what if there was another diva ready to pounce? Madonna's collaboration with my boyfriend Justin Timberlake is number two on the iTunes chart right now, and radio has been eating it up. I downloaded it, too. I don't know how many spins "4 Minutes" is getting, but I'm hoping for a one-two-three girl power punch at the top. Whichever glamorous star tops the charts, it seems it's a good time to be a girl with pop chops. Need more proof that Leona Lewis is amazing? Check her live on Leno last week. Lewis's Spirit is out tommorrow. Carey's E=MC2 and Madonna's Hard Candy are available in April.

My New Clothing Obsession

OK, this is going to sound weird, but at Target I got these Merona Mid Rise Briefs, and they are the best underwear ever! The large size fits just right, snugly "supporting" the right things, they don't curl up my cheeks, or fold down at the top. No wedgies, either. The downside? Ten bucks for two pairs, I don't pay that much for undies ever. But I might have to, they are ten times better than the Hanes I bought for $7.99 for six. You really do pay for quality, I guess. I guess it's not that weird to have a favorite underwear, so I'm admitting it. I have a pair of favorite underwear.

Is Duffy The New Winehouse?

After Universal decided to re-release "You Know I'm No Good" the stellar first single from Amy Winehouse's Back to Black it was only a matter of time before the other throwback white-soulstress from across the pond would make a splash here in the states. Duffy has grabbed hold of the UK charts and will not let go. MTV's Buzzworthy compared her to Dusty and Aretha, and I seriously wouldn't go that far, but she's good. It's a little more obvious homage in lead single "Mercy" to "Chain Of Fools" and "You Keep Me Hanging On" than Wino's stuff, but I'm feeling it more and more. Check the new video:

American Idol Recap - Songs From The Year You Were Born

OK, kids, I know I'm late! I had a doctor appointment this morning. Further aggrivation: I had to watch the whole episode on YouTube, 'cause my VCR went evil on me and didn't tape. So I missed a lot of the "patter" which was fine by me! So if I missed Ryan and Simon making out, sorry. I'm sure they there'll be plenty more HoYay! where that came from. In other AI news, Josiah Lemming, he who lived in the car and then bombed on "Stand By Me" during Hollywood week, has a record deal with Warner in the works, per Yahoo Music. Good for him, he was super emo so I'm sure he'll have a hit or two. Thanks Aunt Deb for the tip!

Moving right friggin' along with last nights epi. This theme is always one of my favorites, songs from the year you were born. It's always cool to hear them take on a song as old as they are. Let's see how our Idols did:

First up is sweet lil' Ramiele Malubay butchering Heart's "Alone" like it cut her gramma. Sharp and shouty in parts, plus Carrie Underwood done went and brought it in season four. It draws the comparison you don't want drawn, and that is: Ramiele < Carrie. For reals, yo! And I'm sick of the baby talk, you're short not an infant. "My voice went bye-bye" indeed. I think this is the week she goes home. Sorry girl, I used to love ya!

I'm getting the munchies just thinking about Jason Castro toking up some boring Sting song I never heard of. "Fragile" I hear it's called, if you really care. I'm pretty sure you don't. It seemed like a open mike night kind of performance, adequete to get you laid, but not a record deal. Which makes it aaaaawwwwwww good, man. Pass the Sun Chips.

OK, I only know the Alicia Keys version of "If I Was Your Woman" and Syesha Mercado didn't make me want to hunt down any other version. She's just so boring, I don't get it. She was good, I'll give her that, but that song was just a little slow and her vocals not that exciting. Once again, boring. Bottom three for sure.

Oh Chikeize, you drank the boring Kool-Aid too? I don't know this "If Only For One Night" song, all I could hear was "One Night Only" from Dreamgirls. I was surprised, usually he has this strong Luther Vandross sound to his voice on these R&B jams, but this time his vocals were even boring. I keep getting boring! I want exciting!

My homegirl Brooke White is going to bring the drama with a moody piano take on "Every Breath You Take" right? Right? No? Boo! The opening was OK, but she didn't have enough menace in her voice for the lyrics and when the band kicked in, it went cheesy real quick. It was better than last week, but I hope we haven't seen Brooke peak already. She can do magical things behind that piano, I hope she brings it next week.

Wow, Michael Johns should join a Queen cover band already and just get it over with. Apparently he can only impress when doing those songs. I still think he sounds like a really good singer doing kareoke, but it was finally an enjoyable performance after the last five boring ones. And kudos for doing both "We Are The Champions" and "We Will Rock You," since I thought they were the same song when I was a kid.

Carly Smithson needs help picking the right songs. This was not the right song. "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" is a fucking amazing song, but she was shouty in parts and just didn't fit well with her. I was pulling for a great performance after last week's good one put her in the bottom three, but I think there were enough sucktacular ones to keep her out this week. I don't know, though.

Don't you just love the awkward banter Ryan sometimes pulls out of his ass? Poor D. Arch, the boy was clearly put on the spot with the whole prom line of questioning, but he is really adorable when nervous. And all the rest of the time. But the singing, again not so great this week. He seemed hoarse at the beginning and the arrangment was lackluster. I just listened to both KT Tunstall and Rebecca St. James covers of this song in past week and they were much better. RSJ was about a year older than David when she covered it on God, so it's not an age thing. It just didn't work for him. He should've done "Everything I Do" like I suggested. But he's not touching bottom three for another three or four weeks, I would put money on it.

Kristy Lee Cook, you cunning little bitch! You knew you were in trouble this week, it was clearly your turn to go so you get all patriotic with a little "God Bless The USA" and bam, instant save. I applaud your skill at playing America, as much as I despise you for doing it. Shrewd, clever, almost Bond villian worthy. Plus you sang halfway decent and kept the awkward eye movement to a minimum. It makes it hard to hate you anymore.

And let's close the night with my boyfriend, David Cook, and his cover of Chris Cornell's cover of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. Yeah, he steals his cover ideas, who gives a shit? Not the horny boys and girls of America, that's for sure. He just exudes rock star confidence, charisma and hotness, and he sings well. Not shouting like a lot of rockers, or screaming. Plus he's got the most kissable lips.

So, boring night, huh? Clearly Ramiele should go home, and I'm pretty sure she will. Joining her in bottom three land will be Chikieze and Syesha. With a possible Carly spoiler, who knows after last week?

Download Madonna "4 Minutes" on iTunes Today.

Hey Madonna people! The new Madonna single featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, "4 Minutes" is available for download today, and you can preorder Hard Candy on iTunes. Rumor has it there will be a vinyl and CD single available, too. I can't find it on Amazon, though, and I don't know where they stock CD singles in the Harrisburg area anymore. I'll be checking Best Buy tomorrow. I wish iTunes had the extended single with the rumored remixes, but they only have the radio single.
As for the song, I blogged about it when it first leaked, and I still love it. This HQ version is much better than the French radio rip I downloaded. It's a touch slower, which I noticed in the Sunsilk ad, which I like, plus it has an intro and outro that were missing from the rip. That takes the song to an actual 4 minutes, which should shut up the bloggers who were complaining about a song called "4 Minutes" that only ran about three. The horns sound less mechanized, ditto on the vocals. I'm excited for the new album, I hear The Neptunes and my boy Kanye also lay down some production. Should be a hot one!

Britney on HIMYM

Last night was the eagerly anticipated "How I Met Your Mother" with Britney Spears making a special appearance. It was a great episode, but that had little to do with Brit. Sarah Chalke (from "Scrubs" and "Roseanne") also guested as a dermatologist who removes Ted's tramp stamp (he got it in the Mandy Moore epi) and was the center of sweet story of mutual crushing that ultimately can't go anywhere. Britney was her receptionist. She falls for Ted, and while her acting was a little wooden, it worked since she was playing a ditz. Although, I think it was the same character she played on "Will & Grace" but whatever works. She didn't overtake the episode, but she didn't exactly establish herself as being "back."

Two Pop Culture Predictions

Prediction one: On tonight's "How I Met Your Mother" Britney Spears will be competently funny, but still not prove she is a comedic actress. But we will all love her cause she's not all crazy and shit. I'll review the epi tomorrow, cause that's how I roll. I love me some Britney, and I really hope gets her act together.

Prediction two: On tomorrow night's "American Idol" (if it is Songs From The Year You Were Born night) cutie D. Arch will do "Everything I Do (I Do For You)" I swear that boy loves a tender ballad, and he already did "Heaven" on Hollywood week.

So, predictions cast in Internet stone, let's see if I'm the next Nostradamus or the next Miss Cleo.

New Paramore Video: "That's What You Get"

Pop-punk goddess Hayley Williams and the gang have a new video for their third single from Riot! "That's What You Get" is a med-tempo rocker, slower than breakout hit "Misery Business" but definitely not a ballad. But who cares about the song! Hayley's hair is always the real story. The solid Cayenne Red color is plenty fierce, and much more natural than the two tone look from the "Misery" and "Crushcrushcrush" clips. Even though I do miss the yellowy blond around her face, this color is super cool and a much more classy way to do punk. As if that was even possible! Anyway, I think Hayley is gorgeous as usual and I am loving this one:

5 Songs On Shuffle Vol. 3

This is the third installment of my weekly blog entry series "5 Songs On Shuffle." I’ll put my iTunes on shuffle and blog about the first five songs that play.

"The Blood Song" - Kirk Franklin feat. Donnie McClurkin, Crystal Lewis & Jaci Velasquez The Rebirth Of Kirk Franklin
I grew up listening to almost exclusively Christian music, but my parents were more into the inspirational pop sounds but I loved the hip-hop, techno and r&b flavored gospel, too. Kirk Franklin was one of my favorites, and this is one of his best. "The Blood Song" calls people of every color and denomination together, because it doesn't matter what color you are, "as long as His blood was red." A great song for the Easter season with two of my other favorites joining in, Crystal Lewis (who also collaborated on Franklin's "Lean on Me") and Latin superstar Jaci Velasquez.

"Dear Mr. Gable/You Made Me Love You" - Judy Garland Over The Rainbow
Who doesn't love Judy Garland? Before she amazed us with her stunning turn in "The Wizard Of Oz" she appeared in "The Broadway Melody Of 1938" singing this sweet song of fandom to matinee idol Clark Gable.

"Something More" - Ginny Owens Blueprint EP
Ginny Owens burst onto the Christian music scene during the Lilith Fair years, where female singer/songwriters were all the rage. Her blindness made her a unique figure, but never overshadowed her lovely songs. On this acoustic EP, produced by old-school Christian star Margaret Becker, her lyrics are brought even further to the forefront in a jazz-flavored coffeehouse setting. One of my favorite gospel albums.

"Fake Your Way To The Top" - Eddie Murphy & Cast Dreamgirls Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Not one of my favorites from this Broadway-smash-turned-movie-musical, but a solid performance from Eddie Murphy, who often times grates in his recent films, but impressed me a great deal in "Dreamgirls." It's no "And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going" but still fun.

"Losing My Religion" - Suzie McNeill Rock Star: INXS Performance
Covering my favorite REM song for the CBS reality series, Suzie McNeill vaulted her way into a tie for my favorite to front Aussie dance-rockers INXS. She didn't win, but she did go on to impress me with her cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody." I'm still bummed "Rock Star" hasn't returned, it was like "American Idol," only cooler.

A Letter To My Ex

Well, it's been forty-odd days in the wilderness, crying out for that sweetest nectar of the gods. And I've made it through the wilderness, I made it through! But though you really are my sweetest downfall, my beloved Dr Pepper, you do such bad things to me. Why you gotta play me like that?
I had my first taste of you since Fat Tuesday at Easter dinner, and while it was delicious, it wasn't quite the orgasmic release I expected. Perhaps the time apart was good for us, I don't think I'm addicted anymore! I had another today, and I may have realized, I don't need you to survive! Water is my new BFF, thank you. And he doesn't leave me thirsty, he doesn't fill my body with chemicals and sodium and empty calories, he tastes just as good in the store-brand bottles as in a Evian, he doesn't make me jittery when I'm laying in a tanning bed. I think the love affair has waned, but I won't forget the good times. I still like you, just not in that way. We can still hang out, I'll probably still drink you when I need the caffiene, but I sure won't have you in doses of four bottles a day anymore. I was looking better, feeling better and sleeping better during our time apart. I don't want to lose that. Water makes me feel good about myself, you don't. So goodbye, good luck and you'll find someone who will love you. You're still a cool drink!

My Favorite Country Girl!

I love Blender covergirl Taylor Swift, she's just so cute and super-talented. Not only does she have great voice, she wriote or co-wrote every song on her platinum debut album, including the amazing "Teardrops On My Guitar" one of my favorite tracks from last year. When I read at blender.com she was working with my most hated singer/songwriter, Colbie Caillat, I was worried, but seeing how she rocks a cover of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" live, I think she can sing any little thing, regardless of how bubbly that shit is. Watch:

She also covers "Irreplacable" and "Umbrella" live, which makes her my Favorite Country Girl Evs. (Sorry, Reba, you know I still love ya!) Plus I'm pretty sure she'd be a totally awesome hag, she wants to take Perez Hilton to prom, so you know she's down.

Improve Your Vocabulary: "BBLD"

Apparently Rachael Ray has realized that all of her viewers know what EVOO is. The acronym for Extra Virgin Olive Oil was used without explanation on this morning's new episode of "30 Minute Meals" and I'm definitely OK with dropping either the phrase or the explanation. I never understood why Ray felt the need to shorten it to EVOO, and if she did, why take the time to explain it? It doesn't save time to say "EVOO, that's extra virgin olive oil" instead of "extra virgin olive oil" because you just added five more syllables. But that's how she rolls, and people everywhere have adopted this Rachael-ism.
But once you drop one acronym, another must take it's place! I think it's like a scientific law or something. On the new episode, Rachael was making a Monte Cristo-inspired frittata along with hash browns, grilled pineapple with candied ginger (which sounds really tasty!) and pumpernickel toast with a honey-ricotta spread. A rather heavy breakfast meal, so she had to let us know it was for BBLD; Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch or Dinner. Oh, Rachael, another acronym? Only this time it's stupid, I can recall several meals where she suggests making breakfast foods for a brunch or even dinner, but now she has to pull out a new word for it?

My first post at Blogger!

OK, so I decided it was time to create a real blog, I've been blogging on my MySpace profile for about a year now. If you want to check out those archived blog postings, go here.
I blog about music mostly, I review CDs and singles, rant about songs I don't like, recap American Idol and I just finished a series on my top ten favorite songs of all time. I also have a weekly series called "5 Songs On Shuffle" where I put my iTunes on shuffle, and blog about the first five songs that come up. Some pretty random shit comes up, you'll find I love all kinds of music.
I also discuss movies, TV and books. I sometimes write about work, family, friends and other personal stuff, in fact my last two posts on the MySpace blog have been of a personal nature, but I usually stick to pop culture goodness. I usually post at least a couple times a week, it all depends on my work schedule. And if there is anything good to blog about.
And if you are wondering where the title for my blog came from, it's based on a quote from one of my favorite books of all time, Alice In Wonderland. In the first chapter, Alice peek into her sister's book and see there are no pictures or conversations. "'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversations?'" So here they are, Alice's missing pictures and conversations sprung fresh from the deranged mind of a man who has too much time on his hands.