Michael's Musings

I'm Alive, So Alive...
Michael Shinafelt

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than be loved for who I am not" - Kurt Cobain 

Today would have been Kurt Cobain's 53 Birthday. "Yes" I am a Nirvana fan. It took me a while to get on board, but when I did I was hooked. Translation: when I actually took the time to really listen to their music, rather than sort of engage, I then discovered it's brilliance.

I'm glad that I'm still around to enjoy them, time to sound off minions!

FYI - I possess he gift of creative revenge when I'm very angry

Today I am thankful for the Foo Fighters, because I have never been threatened by a Foo. That means they are doing their job 😃

Gently kiss the light

A friend asked if I think the Denise Richards/Brandi Glanville hook-up on the upcoming season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is a story that was done for ratings. My Magic 8 Ball says "Most Definitely"

Plant your flag in my mouth...

What if one day your dog said "Nobody is ever going to believe you" and then never spoke again???

Make lying wrong again

No matter your candidate of choice I think we can agree that the world needs more eggplants 

Woman Crush of the Week - Cindy Crawford...Just Because...

You want to show that special someone the very depths of your soul, but your competition has cocaine and Metallica tickets, discuss

Christian Bale just ran naked through my mind

For your safety & protection there will be a five minute blackout

I wonder what the guy who was punching the back of the airplane seat is doing right now?

Does anyone remember Ring Around The Rosie?

Join me in the second circle of  Hell at:
https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/MShinafelt   

Hump Day & Chill

Sexy Over 60!
Greg_DC

With a lot of focus on body positivity and ageism of late here is a Hump Day & Chill that addresses both, in the most delightful way! Woot! 

Let me present to you 61 year old model (who will appear nude, before your very eyes) Greg_DC photographed by MW Photo MD.

Greg is a role model, proving it's never too late to try something new and that you're never too old to strip down before a camera.

His journey is an interesting one, and I highly recommend you check out this crisply written, insightful piece by Tye Briggs via his Favorite Hunks & Other Things blog.

Being 54 and always up for a new challenge I relate to not wanting to get into the some ole routine day after day...just say no to ruts!

So follow his example of adventure and see what Greg has to offer. "Yes" I command you to give him a Hump Day & Chill salute! I know you get my drift, so let go and do it like a Rock Star!

Jump on Greg at the link below, you know how to below don't you? Just put your lips together and...

https://favoritehunks.blogspot.com/2020/02/fantasy-fulfillment-gregdc-by-mw-photo.html

The Vinyl Revival

THE VINYL REVIVAL

Fascinating documentary from the makers of Last Shop Standing exploring the renaissance in all things vinyl 

Arriving on DVD on April 10th via Wienerworld (UK)

Includes interviews from Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Philip Selway (Radiohead), Ade Utley (Portishead), Joel Gion (The Brian Jonestown Massacre), The Orielles, CASSIA and many more

From the makers of the acclaimed Last Shop Standing, this new film, The Vinyl Revival, charts the amazing revival of vinyl over the past several years. The film explores the whys and hows with industry pundits, artists, record shop owners, vinyl fans and many more.

Directed and produced by Pip Piper, we hear from passionate new record shop owners as well the established die-hards still going and thriving. The film discusses the importance of the record shop and vinyl as a whole. We answer the why's of vinyl's revival, the human need for belonging, the love of history and the stories of how the humble little record shop has shaped so many lives.

Record collecting has lost its image as a hobby for middle-aged men and become instead a pursuit of the most fashion-conscious consumer. Will it last? What is the future for record shops when vinyl becomes less fashionable? Why are we in danger of another record shop decline? Why must we support these bastions of culture?

Features an 8 page booklet chronicling the making of the film, with contributions from director Pip Piper (Last Shop Standing) and author Graham Jones.

"The vinyl record is the equivalent of whether you have the tea bag or the Japanese tea ceremony; the tea ceremony is the right way to approach music." 

- Nick Mason, Pink Floyd

"It's a Lazarus moment." 

- Phil Barton of Sister Ray and ERA

Hi, Ho, Silverback Coffee!

Yesterday I was invited to attend the grand opening of Silverback Coffee of Rwanda in Echo Park, CA. Silverback is dedicated to giving back. Their mission?

SILVERBACK COFFEE OF RWANDA™ is committed to participating in the rebuilding of Rwanda and its wildlife, and to giving back to the people who were affected in the genocide of 1994 by providing the world with the highest quality coffee and tea.

Thanks to PR dude Robert Hensley for the invite, and some good times, eats & tea! Here are photos from the event...

Jeremiah Hahn
Actor

Delicious Waffles!

The V.I.P's!

Shannon Hemmings
Actress

 Dogs Allowed

Moi & Stacia Gates of Art Quench Magazine

Matt O'Neill
Actor

It's never been so amazingly delicious to give back!

https://www.facebook.com/silverback.coffee/ 

Just Because...Christina Hendricks

Streets of Fire!
Christina Hendricks

Just Because I am a big fan of the show Mad Men, Just Because she looks fabulous & Just Because she is painting the town red, here's Christina Hendricks on the streets of NYC!!!

While I believe they ended the show Mad Men when the should of, with what I thought was a brilliant series finale. I still lament the fact that it's gone. I loved it so much!

All of the characters were so interesting, even if they weren't particularly likable. 

Christina Hendricks portrayed one of my faves Joan Holloway. "Joanie" as she was often referred to on the show, was well dare I say it, always the smartest person in the room. She was in control of who she was and pretty much controlled everyone else. She knew how to leverage her considerable sex appeal to her advantage, while still maintaining her dignity.

Not things were not always smooth sailing for "Joanie" she always managed to keep herself together. 

I wonder how "Joanie" would navigate today's world, being as it is way different. I believe she was the type of woman who would know how to work any situation in any time and place. Thus she would handle today's world like an expert, business as usual, carry on.

Mad Men on IMDb -
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804503/

"Get Happy" With Leigh Nash

GRAMMY NOMINATED SINGER-SONGWRITER LEIGH NASH RELEASES NEW EP 

Platinum selling artist Leigh Nash releases GET HAPPY, a brand new six-song EP featuring two never-released tracks, “Something Worth Leaving Behind” and “Get Happy,” as well as a newly re-recorded and remastered version of the Sixpence None the Richer track, “Kiss Me,” the song that brought Leigh to the forefront of female singers in the late 90s.

After seeing the Oscar-winning film JUDY, Leigh was struck by the similarities in her own trajectory as an artist with that of Judy Garland. The movie, and especially Renée Zellweger’s performance of “Get Happy,” resonated with her in many ways. “When you’re an artist, and you’re the most down, you still have to put on a smile for the crowd, for the people who paid to see you. I love the lyrics to the song and feel the words deeply.” She wrote “Something Worth Leaving Behind” after picking up her father’s guitar and thinking how great it was that it didn’t have to be plugged in to work. While her dad had passed 12 years earlier, his guitar was ‘something worth leaving behind.’ “I wanted to sing about what lasts, what is enduring, what is going to matter as you grow. The song is about keeping those things dear.” Other tracks on the EP include “God Gave Me Horses,” written with the award-winning songwriter Connie Harrington (Tricia Yearwood, Rodney Atkins, Lee Brice ), “My Love, My Drug” and “Don’t Let me Die in Dallas,” a song about her father that was written with Tom Douglas (Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum). The project boasts production credits of Nash’s husband, Stephen Wilson, Jr. as well as Ben Shive’s (Colony House, Dave Barnes, The Gray Havens) twist on the 20th Anniversary version of the Sixpence None The Richer hit, “Kiss Me” 

While Leigh calls the experience of re-recording “Kiss Me,” the song that made her and her band globally famous, a “delightful friend to revisit,” this new release has made her fall in love with writing music all over again. “I am hopefully wiser, and my heart is more open, than five years ago. GET HAPPY is more representative of where I am right now. I am so thankful I still have the chance to record music…I am feeling pretty joyful about it!”

In support of GET HAPPY, available here: https://www.leighnash.net/get-happy-player, Leigh will be playing select shows in March, with summer touring plans to be announced soon.

https://www.leighnash.net  // @leighbirdnash (Instagram) 

Team "Sentimental" For Valentine's Day!

"Sentimental" Much?
Sandy Zacky & Mike Clifford

Well it's arrived, Valentine's Day 2020 - I guess this is a day where one gets "Sentimental" for the most part. Well nothing is more "Sentimental" than the "Journey" Mike Clifford and Sandy with a "Y" not "E" Zacky take us on with their cover of the Doris Day classic, "Sentimental Journey" what else were you anticipating? 

So celebrate the old VD with a song that covers the word "Sentimental" on every level imaginable and then some.

Hit it after the jump minions, oh, and Happy Valentine's Day! 💝

Mike on the WWW -
https://www.reverbnation.com/mikeclifford6
https://www.facebook.com/MikeCliffordsWonderfulWorld/

Sandy on the WWW -
https://www.reverbnation.com/sandyzacky
https://www.facebook.com/SandyZackyDiva/