December 2014 – Page 4 – Concert Katie

Music Monday: Nick Jonas – Self Titled

Katie December 15, 2014 0 Comments

Chains
Jealous
Teacher
Warning
Wilderness
Numb
Take Over
Push
I Want You
Avalanche
Nothing Would Be Better
Santa Barbara
Closer

“Nick Jonas” is the self-titled release from (former?) Jonas Brother Nick Jonas. This is his second solo CD (or 3rd, I guess since he started as solo) and I have to say that this is is best one yet. It is obvious that Nick wants you to know that he is all grown up. And as much as I did love the Jonas Brothers and their music, this seems to be leaps and bounds above where they were musically. This is a great CD with no songs that you want to skip. It is a bit of a new side to Nick and I really like it. One of my favorite CDs of 2014 – up there with Ed Sheeran and Hozier’s released which I also loved.

If you are hesitant on picking up this CD, hesitate no more – it is worth it. I have the deluxe explicit version and recommend it highly. (Unless you’re younger then you may want to opt for an edited version!)

I purchased this CD in order to write this review and was not compensated nor asked to write this review it is just something I thought my readers might enjoy.

postcards

Sunday Post

Katie December 14, 2014 0 Comments

Card from David from Action Item. Written in Toronto.

Random

Book Review: Angry Optimist

Katie December 12, 2014 0 Comments

Angry Optimist is a biography on Jon Stewart, who was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz. In high school, he was voted “Best Sense of Humors” in senior superlatives. One of his first jobs was doing a puppet show with disabled puppets for children. He decided that he needed to go to New York to pursue what he really wanted to do – stand up comedy – because all the other jobs that he was getting were just not cutting it. When an NBC slot opened for a nightly show – it came down to Jon and Conan as the host. Conan ended up getting picked and Jon ended up with a show on MTV. Then he decided to head out to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting. During that time, Craig Kilborn left his job at The Daily Show and Jon ended up getting that gig. The whole second half of the book chronicles Jon’s time hosting The Daily Show – how it was affected by September 11th, etc.

A nice biography on Jon, it was nice to read more about him as I watch his show occasionally (and have even attended a taping) but didn’t know too much about the backstory of Jon.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Since his arrival at The Daily Show in 1999, Jon Stewart has become one of the major players in comedy as well as one of the most significant liberal voices in the media. In Angry Optimist,biographer Lisa Rogak charts his unlikely rise to stardom. She follows him from his early days growing up in New Jersey, through his years as a struggling standup comic in New York, and on to the short-lived but acclaimed The Jon Stewart Show. And she charts his humbling string of near-misses—passed over as a replacement for shows hosted by Conan O’Brien, Tom Snyder, and even the fictional Larry Sanders—before landing at a half-hour comedy show that at the time was still finding its footing amidst roiling internal drama.

Once there, Stewart transformed The Daily Show into one of the most influential news programs on television today. Drawing on interviews with current and former colleagues, Rogak reveals how things work—and sometimes don’t work—behind the scenes at The Daily Show, led by Jon Stewart, a comedian who has come to wield incredible power in American politics.

Book Review

Book Review: Baby Santa and The Gift Of Giving

Katie December 12, 2014 0 Comments

Baby Santa is back again this year! This time with “The Gift Of Giving”. In this book, Baby Santa heads to New York City and along with the Bond family, does a lot of good deeds around the city for others. The moral of the story is that giving gifts is only one way to spread the cheer during the holidays – the book gives lots of ideas of other ways to donate your time to help others as well. And as always, the book is written in rhyme. (I love it!) and the illustrations are absolutely adorable.

A great read before bedtime for any child who is waiting for Santa to arrive!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Baby Santa’s back this year for another outing—this time to the Big Apple!

It’s just a few days before Christmas Day when a letter arrives at the bustling North Pole. It’s from the Bond family, and they have a question for Santa: How can they share the spirit of giving on their upcoming trip to New York City?

What a great idea! And just like that, Baby Santa is off, with the reindeer and a couple of elves in tow, to give the Bond family the answer—in person. He hosts them on a day of helping others in New York. Along the way, they find time for the amazing sights of Christmastime in the city!

Baby Santa and the Gift of Giving is the latest installment in this delightful Christmas series.

Book Review

Book Review: Lindsay Lohan: Fully Loaded, From Disney to Disaster

Katie December 12, 2014 0 Comments

After putting together a comic book of the downfall of Lindsay Lohan, author Marc Shapiro decided he wanted to tell her whole story. It starts a bit with more recent Lindsay – her trouble in 2013, but then goes back, all the way back, to the birth of her father Michael and how he met her mother Dina and her troubled family life and childhood. (Dad was in and out of jail when she was a kid.) The book continues to talk about Lindsay’s troubles – Aaron Carter / HIlary Duff triangle, car accidents, bad career moves, Oxycodone addiction and rehab stints.

It seems that every time Lindsay seems to be on the path to get her career and life back together again, a major setback happens. I truly wish her well and that she can overcome all of this because I do like her! I never realized how much trouble she had been dealing with – I have seen the headlines but I guess it doesn’t click just how much of it there is/was until you read it all back to back to back in biography chapters.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Lindsay Lohan is quite literally a trainwreck for the internet age. Her every misstep, personal and professional disaster and emotional trip into career suicide has been chronicled to the point of overkill in the tabloids and gossip sites. Lindsay Lohan: Fully Loaded: From Disney to Disaster: An UnauthorizedBiography tells the whole story in minute detail and, in the process, updates the classic Hollywood tale of talent and promise cut short by alcohol, drugs, promiscuity, a dysfunctional childhood, emotional issues and the willingness of a shark-like media to attack at every turn.

As told by New York Times bestselling-author Marc Shapiro, Lindsay Lohan: Fully Loaded: From Disney to Disaster tells the story of a child brought up in the midst of a dysfunctional and often violent and substance-abusing family. Lindsay’s talent ultimately brought her to Hollywood where hit-movies and growing celebrity had the entertainment world pegging her as the next ‘It’ girl. What followed was a steady decline as Lindsay’s inability to cope with real world realities and the fantasy of ‘Tinsel Town’ manifested itself in countless stints in rehab and run-ins with the law as she slowly but surely burned every emotional and professional bridge on an odyssey that currently has her making a literal last stand in London

Lindsay Lohan: Fully Loaded: From Disney to Disaster is also an indictment of a mercenary press who found that there was more profit in a bad Lindsay Lohan than a good Lindsay Lohan and who took every opportunity to poke, prod and cajole Lindsay into an even darker place for their profit and the amusement of those who reveled in her pain and suffering.

Lindsay Lohan: Fully Loaded: From Disney to Disaster: An Unauthorized Biography is a no holds barred journey into celebrity hell which will have readers choosing up sides. Which side will you be on?

Book Review

Book Review: Want It

Katie December 12, 2014 0 Comments

Want It is the story of Zander and Erin. The two dated in high school but broke up after Erin seemed to ruin Zander’s life by calling the cops after a car accident that led to his arrest and losing his chance to go to West Point. After they had a bad breakup, Zander enlisted in the Army and is now an Army Ranger. Erin is being threatened and needs his help in order to save her mother and her boyfriend who are in Mexico. When she received an email from Zander’s Mom telling her that Zander’s father has passed away, she ends up going to the funeral to reconnect with Zander.

Zander agrees to help her out and gives her information on what to do. They end up hooking up. Then Zander tells Erin that she is not going to Mexico without him “pretending” to be her boyfriend to help her out to make sure that they get her Mom and her boyfriend back in one piece.

This was a fun read because it had a bit of a different side story than most of the other romance novels I have read. Once I got over Zander’s name being Zander (short for Alexander) of course.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

Jennifer Chance returns with another novel that’ll keep you hooked.

Erin Connelly meets alpha male Zander James in WANT IT, the third novel in Jennifer

Chance’s sizzling Rule Breakers series! This one is not to be missed by readers looking

for their military romance fix!

Want to get to know Jennifer better? Check out this exclusive interview!

Rafflecopter for Blitz Wide Giveaway:

Jennifer is offering up two fabulous prizes during the Want It Blitz Event. One lucky

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About WANT IT:

In the latest tantalizing Rule Breakers novel from Jennifer Chance, an irresistible alpha

male follows his ex into a deadly standoff—and reignites a heated affair.

For Erin Connelly, being a good girl isn’t such a bad thing. She’s working her dream job

at a Boston art gallery and staying out of trouble, which is more than she can say for her

deadbeat mom. Unfortunately, her mother’s latest misadventure lands her in the clutches

of a Mexican drug lord. Now the only person who can save her is the one man Erin has

no business asking for help: the sexy-as-sin army ranger who just so happens to be her

former high school sweetheart.

Zander James is no gentleman—and no officer, either, thanks to Erin. Four years ago, she

made a call that terminated his highest aspirations … and their relationship. He’s never

forgiven her, but when he learns that Erin’s embarking on a half-baked rescue mission, he

sure as hell can’t let her go alone. Now, with a treacherous enemy lying in wait, the

electrifying tension between them may just be Zander’s undoing. Because while he may

be able to keep Erin alive, he can’t promise to keep his hands off her.

Goodreads | Amazon| Barnes and Noble

Also in the Rule Breaker series: Rock It (Book #1) and Fake It (Book #2) by Jennifer Chance!

About Jennifer Chance:

Jennifer Chance is the award-winning author of the new adult Rule Breakers series,

which feature sexy, wish-come-true romances that launched with ROCK IT and FAKE

IT in 2014. A lover of books, romance, and happily-ever-afters, she lives and writes in

Ohio.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Excerpt:

Throwback Thursday – Britney Spears

Katie December 11, 2014 0 Comments

Headliner: Britney Spears
Opener(s): O-Town
Cost: $60
Setlist:

Oops I Did It Again
(You Drive Me) Crazy
Overprotected
Born To Make You Happy / Lucky / Sometimes
Boys
I’m Not A Girl Not Yet A Woman
I Love Rock N Roll
What It’s Like To Be Me
Lonely
Don’t Let Me Be The Last To Know
Anticipating
I’m A Slave 4 U
Baby One More Time

Recap: O-Town was the opening act for this show and I won a M&G pass with them through their fan club so I got to meet them and get my CD signed before the show. We were in section 214 because that was the section that I was sitting in when I met Hanson and thought it might be good luck.

I went to this show with my 2 cousins and we were determined to surprise my little cousin so she had NO idea where we were going. Her mom just told her that they were picking me up and we were going on an “adventure”. We did great up until it was time to park. The parking sign said “Event Parking” so her mom pulled up and said “We’re here for the event” and the guy taking money said “Oh, Britney Spears?” He was kind of hard to understand – but of course Britt understood him and FREAKED OUT. We were pretty bummed that it wasn’t us that got to give her the surprise!

Where Are They Now:

Britney has a residency out in Las Vegas (that I’m hoping I can get out there to see but time is running out!)

O-Town as I’ve mentioned a few time has reunited as a foursome without Ashley Parker Angel.

American Idol Concert

Scotty McCreery – December 4, 2014 Oakdale Theater

Katie December 10, 2014 0 Comments

Thursday night Scotty McCreery performed at the Oakdale Theater along with Danielle Bradbery as part of a fundraiser for the 1214 Foundation. Scotty is the National Goodwill Ambassador for this foundation which is to raise money for the community of Sandy Hook after the devastation that happened there back in 2012. He mentioned that before the show started it had already raised $60,000 for the foundation!

Danielle opened the show with a 45 minute set. You may know Danielle from The Voice – Team Blake Shelton. She did many original songs as well as a cover of Katy Perry’s Roar, Paramore’s Aint It Fun and Boston’s More Than a Feeling. She has a great voice but I thought her set was a bit long.

Scotty took the stage at about 8:30. He seemed to have everyone interested, but only the front sections stood for the majority of his set. He opened the show with the song “Now”, which was a great choice to get everyone pumped up. He talked a bit about how he was 16 when he tried out for Idol and was 21 now and that his original plan was to go to college and then move to Nashville to try his hand at music, but instead “Baby lock them doors and turn the lights down low” changed his life and the path that he was on and now he can sing for the rest of his life (but he’s going to college too!). He also talked about how moving out to LA at 17 for the show was a big change and that “Brisk is not Sweet Tea!” and that no one out there knew what Sweet Tea was. I can relate Scotty, recently someone from up here in the North told a Southerner that “Our iced tea is your sweet tea.” Nope. Not the same!! He was really funny when he chatted between the songs. He also talked about how Lady Gaga was a “mentor” on his season and we don’t know the half of it with what went on behind the scenes because they didn’t show it all and he had to remind her it was a family show. He also talked about how the producers wanted him to sing more Pop songs and he told them “I. Am. Country.”

After Write My Number On Your Hand he went around and wrote his number on some girls in the front row’s hands – the number he wrote is 919-800-7527 – they flashed it up on the screens at the end of the song as well. Give it a call if you want! Scotty will answer 😉

Before the end of his set he did a medley of the country he grew up on including covers from Hank Williams, Johnny, Cash, Elvis Presley and Alabama – complete with some Elvis dance moves!

The show ended a little bit after 10 and Danielle was doing signing and photos in the lobby after the show. The line was pretty long so I didn’t bother to stick around and wait.

Book Review: How To Survive Middle School and Monster Bots

Katie December 10, 2014 0 Comments

How To Survive Middle School and Monster Bots is about Howard Bower, a middle school student who is pretty smart and therefore not all that popular. Howard finds out about a robot building contest that the Believer Achievers (BAs) are participating in and he wants to get involved. He creates a robot out of a beloved Snowman his family has – called Mr. Jolly – that is supposed to hug people. He also is convinced that his partner on a project, Trevor, is actually part Android because he saw him remove part of his head in the bathroom. After Mr. Jolly doesn’t seem to be working out, Howard creates a new robot, Monster, that likes to dance.

Somehow – Monster keeps multiplying and creating new robots. There are also vandals on the loose smashing things in the neighborhoods and Howard starts to realize that this may be the robots! He has to figure out what he needs to do to catch all the robots and get them to turn off so they can stop wreaking havoc on the neighborhood.

I thought this was a cute book for kids, the robots multiplying was a bit far fetched – but the lessons in the book about being a team player and not caring if you win or lose and it’s better to help others among others throughout the book were really great.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

About the Book

Sometimes, being smart just isn’t enough

It’s been a rough winter for Howard Boward, science genius. Not only is he caught in the crossfire of winter’s most dangerous weapon (snowballs), his best friend, Winnie McKinney, is mad at him, and the school bullies seem to have made it their personal mission to make life at Dolley Madison Middle School miserable. But when Howard’s teacher tells him about the upcoming robot-building contest, Howard can’t resist using his superior knowledge of science to gain an advantage, especially since he’ll be competing against archrival Gerald “G-Force” Forster. Unfortunately, the secret goo he uses to make his cardboard robot move turns it into a multiplying, vengeance-seeking monster. If Howard doesn’t stop the robot rebellion in time, they’ll ruin everything—including his friendships and the school dance.

Scrapbook

Try It Tuesday: Silhouette Cameo Print and Cut

Katie December 9, 2014 0 Comments

One of the features of the Silhouette Cameo is that you can do “Print and Cut” which is exactly what it sounds like. You import photos (in my case, I imported elements from digital scrapbook kits) and can then print them out using your printer and then cut out around the outline using the Cameo.

What you need to do when you open your new page in the studio software is to go to the registration marks icon (It is a page with marks in each corner, 4th from the right on my setup) and turn the registration marks ON. (If you are using the Cameo or Portrait be sure to select Type 1 – I didn’t my first time and had cuts that were not where they should be)

20141029_151708 — You can kind of see that the cut marks are nowhere near where they should be because I had the wrong registration marks cut! If using the Cameo, one of the corners should be a black box.

You can’t put anything over the dark marks/square in the corners. I’m not sure if you can put anything in the crisscrossed lines. I’ve seen in tutorials people having items placed there but I’ve yet to try it for myself to know for sure.

Send it to your printer and then load it into your Cameo. (Or give it a bit for the ink to dry if you’re paranoid.)

When you send it to the Silhouette it will look for the registration marks. If it fails on the first try – add more light. Open your blinds, turn on an overhead light or shine a flashlight right on to the carriage. If the machine can’t find the registration marks, it won’t be able to match up and know what to cut. (Also you may need to use the “Trace” feature in order to get the outline of your images to cut out instead of just a square around them.)

Overall this is a nice feature to have, but I’d much rather paper piece than just print and cut out around things. (It seems silly to buy a machine to use this feature when you can do pretty much the same with a printer and an exacto knife!)