tray's Xanga

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:27:14 GMT

em#5: christmas 2008

christmas, for me, has always been a whirlwind of family gatherings. this year was no exception. video is from three separate family gatherings: Christmas Eve with the Semrad side of the family, Christmas morning with the Apps side of the family… and Christmas evening with the Bernals (my birth family) enjoy!

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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:38:57 GMT

the epic 2008 recap of tapps: the soundtrack!

prepare yourself for a really long entry. see, i have been spending the past couple years creating mix cds of songs that meant a lot to me and recapped my previous year, and sent them to my friends. well after spending all the time on last year’s cd, i never got around to sending them out. so i’m doing something different this year.. i’m making my 2008 soundtrack cd a digital one. enjoy my 2008 recap. it was a rough one… so hang on.. here we go

01: dilate - ani difranco

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my 2008 started off rough, right from january 1st. a relationship that i thought was going well and strong, really wasn’t. at least for the other person in the relationship. i felt suddenly distant and alone while still in a relationship. suddenly my apartment felt so lonely and different.

02: lights on - the pierces

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january 4th marks the day i posted my first video on seesmic after getting an invite code from seesmic founder & CEO, loic. while i just thought “hey, this a cool little website”… it turned out to be much, MUCH more. throughout 2008 i have met and become close friends with many of the wonderful people i have met trough this “little website.” it also turned out to effect me in more ways than one. i traveled to two podcamps (boston and montréal) as well as a random weekend trip to NYC just to meet and hang out with these friends. this song was used in a great mashup video made by my friend hache in columbia.

03: give it 2 me - madonna

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february’s highlight was an extended weekend trip down to corpus christi to hang out and visit my birth mom and siblings. it was weird wearing flip-flops in february… but i had a blast (and i’m not even sure if this madonna song was out yet in february.. but it also relates to some videos i received later on in the year.. but it fits here as well, since i spent most of my nights while in corpus at my brother’s favorite gay bar, and they played a lot of madonna hah!)

04: fill the fields - the restoration project

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come march of 2008, while still working at my old job, had interviewed and got my current job. both jobs i was blessed with great coworkers and a job i loved… the new opportunity just offered a less stressful location (driving-wise), more creative “stuff”, and a bit of a pay raise. i started the new job on april fools day

05: broken - lifehouse

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fast forward to april 2008… where my relationship roller-coaster really gets going full speed. two days before our two year anniversary, the relationship is officially called off. (for the first time)

06: heartbeats - jose gonzález

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i turned 29, and put an offer on my first house on the same day.

07: lovely day - bill withers

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for some reason this song reminds me of my shortest lived relationship in june. she was a great person… just not right for me. i got caught up in all the attention i was given…

08: into the nightlife - cyndi lauper &
09: my heros (SUV) - the cliks

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in june i had the opportunity of seeing the true colors tour and meeting cyndi lauper. it was a great show and me and my ex had second row seats. i still can’t believe i payed so much money for those tickets, but it was worth it. the show was great. (and i even got some pictures & videos of the show… shhh )

10: bala com bala - thievery corporation

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i used to attend summerfest all the time… but had gotten out of that habit lately because of a) cost (seriously, $8 for a wine cooler?) b) the insanely large (and many times very annoying) crowds of people and c) the parking nightmare. but was convinced by my friend jenn to make an exception this year. so we made the walk down to summerfest to catch the thievery corporation in concert (video here). and it was well worth it. what a great live show! even if i was standing on unstable benches and getting beer spilled on me.

11: grey - ani difranco

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“what kind of paradise am i looking for? i’ve got everything i want.. still i want more.” closing and moving into my first house was an amazing experience.. yet having a whole house completely to myself proved to amplify my feeling alone.

12: comatose - skillet

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after closing and moving into my house, i had about a day to settle in, and then was off to oshkosh, wi to take pictures at lifest. the highlight of the music festival for me was seeing skillet in concert for the first time. and not only that.. but having an all access pass for the festival and being able to see and photograph the show from ON the stage… was awesome.

13: rock lobster - the b-52’s

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still not having any time to unpack my boxes at my new house… the following weekend was my first podcamp. i flew to boston and had the chance to meet some of my amazing friends i’ve met through social media. rock lobster came on at one of the bars we were at on the last night together. fun times i tell you. (and the picture of orchid8 and rojopelo pounding on the bar floor during the song… priceless) the weekend was just what i needed.

14: stuck - melissa ferrick

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settling back into reality… and back into the relationship roller-coaster. waiting for the shoe to drop..

15: ain’t no sunshine - bill withers

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not only was i addicted to listening to this song for a while this summer, but i also learned how to play and sing it.. and played it on seesmic. (which, for me is a big deal.. since i am very self conscious on my singing abilities [or lack-there-of]) “this house just ain’t no home”

16: el scorcho - weezer

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enter september… my first trip to montréal… my second podcamp… and one of the most amazing weekends of the year. another great weekend of meeting and hanging out with some of the greatest friends i’ve met through social media. are you seeing a trend in this year yet?

17: inside and out - feist

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i love this song. lyrics kinda sorta fit.. but not exactly. i still love the song. and i think i learned about it sometime around late summer/early fall. so there.

18: everything’s easy - girlyman

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this is actually a live recording from the girlyman show at UWM that i attended in october. girlyman has been one of my favorite bands ever since i was introduced to them a couple years ago. it was great to finally catch them live in concert and get to meet them.

19: heart beat - melissa ferrick

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. AudioPlayer.embed("audioplayer_19", {titles:"Heart%20Beat",artists:"Melissa%20Ferrick",soundFile:"aHR0cDovL2V2ZXJ5bW9tZW50Lm9yZy9hdWRpby8yMDA4LzE5LWhlYXJ0LWJlYXRfbWVsaXNzYS1mZXJyaWNrLm1wMw"});

melissa ferrick came to milwaukee in october. with all the new house expenses, i had cut my “live music” fund to almost nothing… so i ended up volunteering to help out at the show to get in for free. it was fun. i also got to take pictures there. as for this song, it’s my latest addiction. it also has a bit of a deeper meaning as well.. but i’m not sharing any more than that. hah!

20: athiest - the restoration project

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also in october i hosted my first house concert. tracy howe of the restoration project played a concert in my living room. it was great fun. i even started planning my second house concert for later in the year before the first house concert was even complete. one of my favorite things about owning a house is having the ability to do things like these house concerts and inviting my friends to come and enjoy my talented musician friends.

21: feel like makin’ love - marlena shaw &
22: untouchable face - ani difranco

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back to the emotional relationship roller-coaster soundtrack… that’s all.

23: music is my hot hot sex - CSS

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this band was introduced to me this year. and i have found it very fun and helpful to listen to CSS while coding CSS. music is always playing at my house while i’m here. music is my girlfriend.

24: alla this - ani difranco

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ani’s new album was released this year. and it’s full of happy music. this one is my favorite. “i am many things, made of everything, but i will not be your bank roll. i won’t idle in your drive-thru, i won’t watch your electric sideshow. i got way better places to go.” better places.. like flying to NYC to spend a weekend hanging out with some amazing friends and having an amazing time. oh, and it’s great to have elected a president that i will happily follow and serve. time to un-do all the crap that we’ve buried ourselves in this past 8 years…

25: black hole sun - steve lawson & lobelia

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welcome december and my second house concert… and the wonderful opportunity to meet two great friends (also met through social media… do you see the pattern *now*? i hope so) in person for the first time. what an amazing experience to have two of the most talented and lovely people in my house for a weekend of great music and even greater fun! this show was also recorded.. so check it out here

26: all around me - flyleaf

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it’s been quite a year. but i’m alive.

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Saturday, December 27, 2008

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 18:22:15 GMT

em#3: steve lawson and lobelia

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a house concert, and a weekend of great fun with two of the highest quality (not to mention most amazingly talented) individuals, Steve Lawson and Lobelia, all wrapped into a short little video.

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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:53:33 GMT

thanks. giving.

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reflections on thanksgiving, family and personal connections throughout life.

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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:52:32 GMT

em#2: designers gone crazy

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after hours and hours of sitting in front of computers… something strange happens to our brains at work.

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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:59:43 GMT

looking for something to do this saturday?

Well i have the *perfect* thing for you!

My friends Steve Lawson and Lobelia are flying from the UK (and as far as i know, they should be landing in NYC soon!) and will be making a stop in my living room here in brown deer!

Saturday, December 20th they will be performing a concert, starting at 7:00pm. (For all of my friends out-of-state or beyond, I will be broadcasting this concert live on LivingRoomSessions.com!) Also, if you are interested in learning about how the lovely and talented Steve creates music the way he does, come early for a masterclass covering things like looping, layering and solo performance at 4:30-6:30pm

Both the concert and the workshop will be in my living room, at 8131 N. Green Bay Road / Brown Deer, WI. For more information, take a look at LivingRoomSessions.com

Also, to help out with travel costs, I’m asking for a small donation from everyone. But there is no “tickets” to buy.. and friends are *more* than welcome! Come early to get a good seat!

Please send me an email to let me know if you are coming, so i can make sure to have enough refreshments for everyone! I hope to see you on Saturday!

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:23:06 GMT

i’m thankful for YOU

yes… you.

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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:54:11 GMT

a small change in direction…

hello faithful everymoment.org blog readers! *pauses for the cricket sounds*

yes.. i know i have been a slacker blogger. which is why i’m thinking about changing the direction of this site a bit. (but not *too* much… just a little.)

i’ve been talking about starting up a podcast for a while now, so i finally decided on trying out my luck at the “video podcasting” world. now i thought of buying yet *another* domain name for such a venture.. but when i look at my godaddy.com account and see that i have to PAGE THROUGH all my domain names… i think it’s a good idea to stick with what i have for now. (who knows.. maybe it will expand to another domain… but for now i think it’s safe enough to just utilize what i have)

so everymoment.org will soon be changing directions.. from a blog… to a video podcast.

now this probably wont’ happen overnight (although.. i have been known to stay up all night and create a website.. actually.. most of my websites were done in that manner…) but i will be putting together a completely different look to this site… and you’ll start seeing more video than text. (plus, it’s easier for me to just talk than to type all this. and my thoughts are to keep the archive of the blog up here, and possibly keep a category for text/picture blog entries.)

oh yea, and if you want to see my new “toy” for this endeavor… take a look at this video of me unboxing my brand new mino HD flip cam!

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Monday, October 27, 2008

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:43:42 GMT

vote for hope

what an amazing video. enjoy.

Obama ‘08 - Vote For Hope from MC Yogi on Vimeo.

tray's Xanga

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

em#5: christmas 2008

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

the epic 2008 recap of tapps: the soundtrack!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

em#3: steve lawson and lobelia

Saturday, December 20, 2008

thanks. giving.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

em#2: designers gone crazy

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

looking for something to do this saturday?

Thursday, November 27, 2008

i’m thankful for YOU

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

a small change in direction…

Monday, October 27, 2008

vote for hope

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

this friday, you’re invited!