Day 13 & 14 . . .

We are behind by a couple of days so you get a "Holiday" bonus!

Day 13 - A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure

Hands down Toxic by Britney Spears.   What a great "Alias" inspired video.

Day 14 - A Song That No One Would Expect You To Love


La Camisa Negra by Juanes.   How could you not love this song?  It's the jam!

Does That Make Me Crazy ? ? ?

I so appreciate all 18 of my Loyal Readers and all 45 of my fabulous Facebook Followers.  But let's be honest; most of the 45 Facebook Followers are the same 18 Loyal Readers.

Believe it or not, since the great vast Internet is a public place sometimes people outside our humble little group read my posts and tweets and watch my YouTube videos.

The written word is a powerful medium and sometimes I worry that my opinions and statements on this blog may get me in trouble.  Like the time I received an email from a ballerina who had read my review of the San Francisco Ballet's production of The Little Mermaid.  Fortunately, she saw the humor in my post and actually linked it to her site.

Earlier this week I once again found myself questioning my words.  My friends and I have a saying at work, "Crazy Trumps Everything."  The intention behind the statement is that if you are ever in a situation where you need to protect yourself, just start acting crazy.  Why?  Think about it.  If you see someone with turrets syndrome cussing up a storm at no one or jumping around in a public place, don't you step away?  The theory seems pretty solid.

So on Friday, I made an observation on Twitter about riding public transit.  A gentleman who may or may not have been shelter challenged had an empty seat next to him the entire 30 minute ride into the Financial District.  He was fairly clean and the only thing that stood out was that every few minutes he would let out a big burst of laughter.  He wasn't on the phone or talking to anyone.  I think the random bursts of laughter on a Muni Train kept other passengers at bay.

So I tweeted the following statement, "How 2 ensure no 1 sits next 2 u on muni:  at random intervals let out bursts of laughter 4 no reason #crazytrumpseverything."

I hash tagged it "crazy trumps everything" because I thought the situation reinforced our theory at work.

Well, my tweet was read by the web site munidiaries.com and re-tweeted to their followers.

I always love when I get re-tweeted.  I look at it as a validation of my attempt at being funny.

Then I got a reply to my tweet from MHASF.

MHASF?  Wonder who that is.

Cringe.   MHASF = The Mental Health Association Of San Francisco

MHASF wanted to let me know that "Laughter" is not a sign of being crazy.

And to make me feel even worse; May is Mental Health Month.

Fortunately, MHASF had a sense of humor about my tweet because they added LOL and a smiley face to their tweet reply.

But it does make me stop and think about the power of words and the Internet.  It is never my intention to offend anyone with this blog.

So I replied back to MHASF - "Noted & Corrected ;-) #laughtertrumpseverything"

I hope everyone shares a laugh this holiday weekend because laughter does make the world a better place.  If you are feeling burdened by a mental health condition please visit MHASF's website for additional support.

The Song Of The Day - Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

Day 12 . . .

Day 12 - A Song From A Band You Hate

I actually can't pick just one song that I hate from this band because frankly every song I have heard from this band sounds exactly the same.  

Raging guitars.  Raging vocals.  Raging headache.

The song, Fight Till You Die by Pennywise.

I think my friend Courtley knew that this band's album made my skin crawl so once a week when we would be working in the backroom together at GapKids he would put Pennywise on blast, which was only fair since I played a lot of "pop crap" that he hated.

Late 90's GapKids 9252 Crew

Look, I had hair before listening to Pennywise.  Pennywise made my hair fall out. 

Day 11 . . .

Day 11 - A Song From Your Favorite Band

Hmmmm...I don't really have a favorite band.

So this song is one of my favorite songs performed by a band.

Bright Lights by Matchbox Twenty whom I saw perform live with Loyal Reader Erin at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

"Are you havin' FUN now Santa Barbara?"  That was Rob Thomas' repeated question to the crowd.

Day 10 . . .

Day 10 - A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

Sarah McLachlan's I Love You

Sweet dreams Loyal Readers!

Day 9 . . .

Day 9 - A Song That You Can Dance To

Nine Inch Nails' Closer.

This song was always played in the club when my friends and I would go dancing.  

Funny but true - the first time I heard the song was late at night on MTV.  The "clean" version I heard was the one you hear here.  (And it is not even that clean.) I thought the instrumentation and pulsing beat were unlike anything else I had ever heard. 

I went to the record store to buy the CD Single and let's just say I was shocked when I put the CD player on blast and heard the "uncensored" version of the song.  So naive was I.

Well, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has come a long way.  This year he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network.

Day 8 . . .

Day 8 - A Song That You Know All The Words To

Tainted Love by Soft Cell

Here is Tainted Love featured in one of the best commercials for Levi's Wide Leg Jeans which was directed by Spike Jonze.

I'm Fierce And I'm Feeling Mighty I'm A Golden Girl I'm An Aphrodite . . .

Saturday night Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue brought her Aphrodite Live Tour to San Francisco.
Kylie has sold 68 million records around the world but has never achieved super star status in the United States.

She is often compared to Madonna because of her success in Europe and her shows are known for similar theatrics, costumes, and dancing.

When I heard Kylie was bringing a scaled down version of her Aphrodite Tour to America I was stoked!

The costumes were spectacular, the aerialists were phenomenal,  and Kylie herself was gracious and charming.  Throughout the show she took time to acknowledge fans who had dressed in her likeness and read the signs they held up for her.

She came across as genuinely pleased with the audiences enthusiasm for her performance.

The show held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium was general admission with no seats on the floor.  This allowed my friend Shamoli and I to get very close to the stage.

The Aphrodite Tour is now one of my top three favorite concerts!

Kylie opened the show with the song Aphrodite off her current album and the show never slowed down!

I can't even tell you how exited I was when she performed Slow and combined the "slow" and "fast" remix version!

The Song Of The Day - Aphrodite by Kylie Minogue

Day 7 . . .

Day 7 - A Song That Reminds You Of A Certain Event

Dancing in the club to Robin S' Show Me Love!

This song is perfect to get your Saturday going! 

On that note - what are you all doing this weekend?   I am super excited to report that besides the end of the world happening today, I also have tickets to see the artist that appeared on Day 3!  That's right!  Miss Kylie Minogue!

Kylie is performing her Aphrodite Live Tour!  The tour has received great reviews so I can't wait!

Day 6 . . .

Day 6 - A Song That Reminds You Of Somewhere

The first time I went to Maui the rental car radio station was pre-programmed to the Christian rock radio station.  Over the course of a week driving around the island I heard this song several times.  Juxtapose the lyrics of this song against the beautiful back drop of the island and you see why Everything is Glorious.

Day 6 - Everything Glorious by David Crowder Band

Day 5 . . .

Day 5 - A Song That Reminds You Of Someone

A dance at prom to Mariah Carey's Can't Let Go - appropriately cheesy!

This song taken off of Mariah's second album Emotions was pure pop perfection.

Love her or hate her; Mariah was the first artist to capitalize on the strategy of "Strike While The Iron Is Hot" - (Think Lady Gaga of today releasing four singles before her album is even out or Rihanna's back to back albums.)  Mariah released a full length album almost every year from 1990 to 2000 and these were not just filler; she had radio hits on all of them!  One more thing; Mariah writes or co-writes almost all of her own material!

So it's no shock that she went a little crazy by the time 2001's Glitter came out.  Girlfriend was just TIRED! 

I say throw Mariah a bone - she gave us a lot of good music!  That is why I have stayed a true fan through the good and the bad.

Finally - The winner of the Just Jon's 3rd Birthday Mug Give Away is Loyal Reader Sean!  I am sure Sean's Loyal Reader wife Erin will also utilize this prize.  

Congratulations!

Day 4 . . .

Day 4 - A Song That Makes You Sad

I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan

And to add intensity to the song it was played during the final scene on one of the seasons of The Real World when the last roommate left the house.  So sad.

Tear...

Day 3 . . .

Day 3 - A Song That Makes You Happy

The first time I heard this song I absolutely hated it.  Total disappointment.  The song; Slow by Kylie Minogue, was well, SLOW!

Kyle had finally achieved some success Stateside with her album Fever with songs like Can't Get You Out Of My Head and Love At First Sight.

Naturally I was excited to hear where Kylie would go next.   Slow was the lead single off the follow up album Body Language.

The more I listened to Slow the more obsessed I became with the song.  It really was like nothing else.  Then I heard the Chemical Brothers Remix and I was HOOKED!  I like both versions of the song but if I has to pick just one I would get the Chemical Brothers Remix.

Day 2 . . .

Day 2 - Your Least Favorite Song

For my least favorite song I went with my "current" least favorite The Time (Dirty Bit) by The Black Eyed Peas.

For the record, I like The Black Eyed Peas.   I like them a lot.  But this song is a gross display of song sampling gone wrong.  Shame on you Peas for taking the beautiful love song from the classic film Dirty Dancing and applying auto-tune vocals over a tired electronic beat.

You can do better!

Day 1 . . .

There is a challenge currently taking place on Facebook called the "30 Day Song Challenge."

The challenge consists of thirty questions that you must answer with a song.

One of my friends said she wanted me to take the challenge.  (Thanks Hillary!)

To be honest, the thought of having to narrow down my song preference to just one for each question was overwhelming.  But then when another friend started the challenge I had to be a part of it too.

So younger Loyal Readers be warned.

The songs that are going to appear over the next 30 days may contain explicit lyrics.


Day 1 - Your Favorite Song?

Future Lovers by Madonna

A couple things to note about the above song and video clip.

• Future Lovers was never released as a single to radio
• The video clip is from The Confessions Tour DVD.  She opened the show with this song.
• If you listen closely the baseline of the song is taken from Donna Summer's I Feel Love which Madonna sings toward the end of the song.  
• This tour took place shortly after Madonna had her horseback riding accident.  (At one point in the show x-rays of her broken bones where projected onto the screens.)  

Heaven Is A Place On Earth . . .

"If this ain't heaven..."

Then I don't know what is!

The irony in this graffiti on the side of a building I pass on the way to work each day is not lost on me.

The Song Of The Day - Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle

Dreams They Can Come True . . .

Who knows what May 10th is?

A.  Cinco De Mayo Plus Cinco

B.  Tuesday - Just Jon's Favorite Day Of The Week

C.  When A Milkshake Brought All The Boys To The Yard While Katy Perry Kissed A Girl

D.  All Of The Above

The answer is D - All Of The Above!

But most importantly May 10th is Just Jon's 3rd Birthday!  (click the above link to see how it all got started - we've come A LONG WAY!)

So to celebrate here is a trip down memory lane!

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this blog!

Now to celebrate the blog's 3rd Birthday; one lucky Loyal Reader is going to win a set of 3 Just Jon Java Jugs!  

To be eligible to win please leave a comment on the this blog post before Tuesday May 17th, 2011.  All eligible Loyal Readers will be placed into a random drawing that will be held on May 18th, 2011.

The Song Of The Day - Dreams by Gabrielle

Chocolate . . .

Last week I went to visit my friend for lunch who works for Ghirardelli chocolate.  As I followed the driving directions to her office I couldn't help but roll down the car window when I read the last instruction that said, "If you get lost, follow the smell of chocolate."

She wasn't kidding.  If heaven exists it will smell like this nondescript street in the East Bay which was filled with the aroma of melted chocolate!

The first thing I noticed was a sign that said "Factory Store Up To 60% Off Retail."

This could be a problem for this chocolate lover.

But friendship with an employee of Ghirardelli has its privileges.   I got to have a sample of chocolate right off the assembly line.

Then it got better... and by better I mean a bag full of random goodies!

Which almost all made it home for refrigerator drawer organization by flavor!

The Song Of The Day - Chocolate by One Eskimo

Eh En Gee Ee El . . .

A sunny day in The Bay ...

is perfect for a photo hike on Angel Island.

I spy with my little eye a sail boat.

Angel Island = The Ellis Island of the West

Behind these gates immigrants were detained

Immigrants carved poetry into the walls of the barracks

They traveled so far for a taste of freedom that seemed so close beyond bars fences and gates

The Barracks

The Compound

This place was the Immigration Station - North Garrison

Called China Cove.  It held the immigrants . . .

Faith

Hope

and Dreams!

The remains of Fort McDowell - East Garrison

A decaying stairwell

A room with a view

a piece of history

Across The Bay lies the hustle of The City

But here is the calm on Quarry Beach

The Bay Bridge spans the water from The City to Treasure Island and on to the East Bay

The Golden Gate rises through the reeds

and I still stand despite my burns for you to see your beloved City through my naked branches

Fin

The Song Of The Day - Angel by Natasha Bedingfield