MY NEW YEAR'S ADVICE TO YOU, IN FLORIDA IPHONE PHOTOS

OMG THE YEAR IS CHANGING AGAIN!!! DIDN'T THIS JUST HAPPEN 365 DAYS AGO??? WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THIS??? Well, off you go 2012...2013 is barging its way into town and we all gotta DEAL. Since this occasion is often marked by thoughtful reflection I thought I would use a few photos I've taken around Florida the last few days as prompts to give you sage advice you probably don't want. But please to enjoy anyway and DON'T DRINKENDRIVE! 1. If you are...

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PEOPLE LIKE LISTS: MY 15 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2012

Once again, my year was filled with great new music. If you believe 2012 did not have great new music, you are a doo doo head. For me, this year was hyper-focused on all my beloved California-based garage/psych/punk favorites; it's really what I kept going back to, but a few outliers got their hooks into me, too. THE ONE BRILLIANT SONG ALBUMS S/T by King Tuff (Sub Pop): This is a good album, but "Anthem" stands out as majestically rock n' roll...

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IPHONE PHOTO ROUNDUP: THE FLORIDA TOURIST SHOP

I've had my eye on this HUGE Florida souvenir shop in Hollywood for awhile now, and finally got inside it today. WHAT A LOAD OF FABULOUS CRAP! It just goes on and on and on. I ended up buying a mood ring with dolphins and turtles on it, a couple of t-shirts, some Key Lime cookies, an alligator grabby thing, and some flip-flops. I took photos of some of the displays for you. Please to enjoy! ...

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HEY! FLORIDA FOLKS! SOME SOFLA TRANSPORTATION HAIKUS

Hey! Florida Folks! Stop with all your jaywalking! You are risking death! The crosswalk is like Ten feet away! Go to it And remain alive! Hey! Florida Folks! Stop with all your swerving cars! Cutting off trucks! Cars! What are you thinking?? You aren't all NASCAR drivers! Wait! Maybe you are! Hey! Florida Folks! Allow people to merge, 'K? Ev'ry other car! It assists in the Efficient flow of traffic And stops rage build-up. Hey! Florida Folks! I...

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WELCOME BACK TO FLORIDA, POPTHOMOLOGY!

Hey now! Well, guess WHAT? Popthomology will be coming to you for the next couple of weeks once again from sunny South Florida! I can't even believe by the end of the first week of January, I will have spent six weeks of the year here! All due, of course, to the gracious and generous hospitality from the friends I have made here, and I thank them profusely. Miss Ten is also with me again -- the trip was her surprise Christmas present, the thing she...

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MY MOM'S CHRISTMAS LETTER TO MY FAMILY, 12/25/12

I think this was my favorite present that I received for Christmas: a letter from my mother, which we opened and read here at home in Washington State. She is 2000 miles away in Wisconsin today. Here it is. "Evidence of the existence of love is visible by smiles, hugs, kisses, words. It is invisible as well, evidenced by a warm feeling, a sweet memory, a safe haven in the midst of a bitter cold storm or a lonely place. Love is not only received...

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20 WEIRD RECORD COVERS FROM THE CHRISTMAS EVE GOODWILL STORE!

It was a first: I must say I have never, ever before spent part of my Christmas Eve shopping at Goodwill, but that's where I was tonight, looking for a few small crucial last-minute items. While I was there I could not help but peruse the record section, and as always, found some oddities to share with you, MY HOLIDAY GIFT TO YOU. Please to enjoy! WHY WHY WHY WHY would a band name themselves after one of the UGLIEST MONKEYS EVER and then have the...

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PHOTOS: "THE ROLLING STONES" HOLIDAY PARTY WITH DANCER & PRANCER, TACOCAT, DJ MIKE NIPPER @ TRACTOR TAVERN, SEATTLE, 12/22/12

The Tractor Tavern in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood was packed last night with happy rocked-out revelers, many (LIKE ME) dressed in holiday-themed clothing, ready to roll with three of our MOST FUN BANDS: garage poppies TacocaT, holiday-themed surf instrumentalists Dancer and Prancer (featuring Santa on jingling things), and a very fine Rolling Stones cover band called, yes, "The Rolling Stones." My pal Kitty and I arrived early and got...

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MY 20 FAVORITE 2012 CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY SMILES, CAUGHT BY YOURS TRULY, ME

I'm so grateful for yet another wonderful year for concerts for me, made extra super by being able to photograph shows from my homebase of Seattle all the way to a crazy tourist bar in the Bahamas. I've shot at big arenas and tiny clubs and festivals and on a cruise ship. I've had the luck to be able to photograph some of my most-favorite artists several times in one year. I hope that I have been able to continue to improve as a photographer, while...

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WELCOME TO RANDOM FRIDAY: SOCCER TURKEYS, AUSSIE SIGNS, & ONE OF THE BEST COVERS OF "GLORIA" EVER

Hey, I'm going out tonight BECAUSE I CAN and OUT IS FUN! YOU, however, are stuck at home reading THIS THING. In my infinite compassion for you, here I bring you... Three tri-color Texas turkeys playing soccer... ...funny signs my friend Beth found while living in Australia... ...and finally, this WICKED 1967 cover of Them's "Gloria," which I heard this morning on the always-perfect Aquarium Drunkard on SIRIUS XMU's Blog...

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A BRIEF QUESTIONING OF "SANTA & JESUS" ART

I remember as a tiny girl trying to work out the concept of "Christmas." I would pepper my mother with questions as long as she could tolerate WHY WHY WHY BUT HOW AND THEN HOW before redirecting me to something less complex like a snack. It would go something like this: So, what is Christmas? The celebration of Jesus' birth.  So, it's like a birthday party but for someone who is dead? Well, yes, but he's not really dead.  Why doesn't...

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MISS TEN'S "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" A-Z ALPHABET BOOK

At some point in their school years, I think most kids are asked to make some kind of "A-to-Z" picture book, similar to all those they probably looked in their earliest years. Today, Miss Ten came home with her "United States of America" A-Z book, which I found delightful. It's heavy on holidays, not fantastically correct on the spelling end of things, but rather artistic and an interesting view into KID MIND. USA USA USA! Please to enjoy! ...

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THIS YEAR'S HOLIDAY POST OFFICE LINE HAIKUS

'Tis seven days 'til Christmas and lo! Here I am! Mailing packages. Why so late? Indeed, I ask myself each year, and The answer is: DUMB. The line, she is long The patience, she is short, and All are so grumpy. Hey, Lady In Front, Don't you glare at me! It was Not I who farted! Express Lane! Single Item Only, the sign says. People cannot read. Even more must leave The counter to fill out right Forms. They, too, are dumb. Everyone! Listen! I...

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STOCK PHOTO FUN WITH PHOTOSHOP!

I find this very relaxing to do and very entertaining. Click to enlarge the creepiness and please to enjoy! ...

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I'M WAY BUSY, BUT HERE IS A TODDLER LAUGHING AT A CHRISTMAS TREE

Hey, it's better than most of the the dumb holiday specials, it's only 32 seconds long, and there are no commercials. SOLID CONTENT! Baby Laughs At Christmas Tree ...

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HOLIDAY HEAD CLEARER: THE WORST "O HOLY NIGHT" & WHO DUN IT

Are you like me at this point in December, nearly in a bloated diabetic coma from too many holiday sweets, irritable because WHERE IS THE TAPE and WHERE IS THE DAMN SCISSORS when I need to wrap a package to take to HELLISH LINE in the post office, and annoyed to have to go and stop my child from taking advantage of the patient dog, who does not enjoy being dressed up as Rudolph? If so, maybe you'd like to do what I like to do to clear my mind and...

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THE ONLY THING I WILL SAY ABOUT YET ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING

If you believe that as an American citizen, you have the inalienable right to own any kind of gun and to carry it anywhere you go, so be it. You've got millions of people who agree with you. My suggestion? If you insist on your guns coming with laughably-poor access controls, I insist that you bear your part of the responsibility for the thousands of gun murders we have in the United States every year.  Your gun license should arrive...

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PHOTOS & SHOW REVIEW: TY SEGALL, NIGHT BEATS, SANDRIDER @ NEUMOS, SEATTLE WA, 12/11/12

It's a good thing Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood is known for its funky diversity, for I had a public moment last Tuesday night. As my friend Kitty and I walked to Quinn's to get a pre-show dinner and meet up with mutual pal Mike, across the street at Neumos through an opened side door BLASTED Ty Segall's soundcheck. I couldn't help myself. I started leaping up and down and singing along like a damn grinning maniac. "AHH!!!" I exclaimed to...

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MISS TEN'S SCHOOL CARTOON

Two pages, sums it up pretty well. Click to enlarge. ...

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"A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS" IN SNOW GIFS

Charles Schulz' 1965 holiday classic, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," was a game-changing, genre-busting piece of filmmaking, disguised as a simple children's television special. Blending in darker elements of pop psychology, religion vs. secularism, and the easy cruelty children often show each other, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was thought-provoking, complex, and yet very entertaining and uplifting, accessible to both children and adults. It was one...

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MY FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK PAGE OF ALL TIME

I don't know where it's from. I don't know when it's from, although it smells like mid-1980s. It matters not, because the all-around awesomeness of this one high school yearbook page transcends time and place. I can't definitively decide which graduating senior I like best here...but perhaps it just has to go to Mike Diana. Yes, I think so. Click to enlarge and please to enjoy! ...

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A FEW PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTIONS FROM MY MOM ON HER 86TH BIRTHDAY

My mom is 86 years old today! I asked her for a few reflections on the day. How lucky can you be? I can follow my interests. I can see, so I can read. I can walk and get around and do things by myself!  As much as this big house is a burden and not appropriate for someone my age, it's like I live in a park, with beautiful pines and oaks. I made chicken soup the other day, and threw the extra stuff out into the side yard and watchied...

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