Rise of the 90's

The 90's seem to be coming back in full force. On TV we have seen remakes of Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place. Musically there has been a sudden renewed interested in dance-pop that reminds me of the early 90's when club friendly songs easily crossed over to the mainstream (Blackbox, Technotronic, Real Mccoy, La Bouche, etc). Well, it seems the great RnB artists of the 90's are also coming back in a big way......although some technically never were gone. Usher has been around since 1994 and while his last album didn't live up to expectations, his most recent offering, "Raymond V Raymond" offers some of his best songs in years (There Goes My Baby) while he still keeps up with the electro craze on songs like "OMG". Even Mary J Blige has re-recorded extra songs the UK edition of her album to capitalize on the recent dance music trend.

However, the biggest surprise is Toni Braxton! Not only is she looking fierce lately but her recent singles have been stunning. I haven't looked forward to a Toni Braxton album since 1996's "Secrets"1 I was equally shocked to find out the first single "Yesterday" reached #12 on the RnB charts. Granted it never graced the regular Hot 100 but when you consider Toni was just a few years ago with no record contract and performing shows at a 2 star hotel in Las Vegas this is absolutely amazing, The song is beautiful. Toni sounds great and she doesn't seem to be trying too hard to keep up with the girls half her age as she has done on her past flop albums. Another surprise is the album's 2nd uptempo single, "Make My Heart". Both songs have gotten extensive club remixes but "Make My Heart" is a floor stomper in it's own right. Toni has always been known for her ballads so to see her get funky like this is shocking!



Perhaps there is still hope for the likes of Brandy! :)

Reading Rainbow

April is really bringing the heat! The temperatures are now consistently in the 80's and 70's and it's only going to get warmer. I love it! I still can't believe how COLD so many buildings and businesses keep the air conditioning. I have no need for AC until the temperature is well into the 90's. So for now I am very content and comfy. I even finally had a chance to go down to the pool. Well, actually I just laid out and did a little reading but I will actually take a dip in the pool soon. Nevertheless the pool area in my complex absolutely beatiful!

As for everything else....I have done a little partying but nothing to get too excited about. I am planning a big night in Miami tomorrow but I think I will be staying in tonight. I have a three day weekend and really just want to use one of the days to relax. I recently landed a second part time pharmacist job but I haven't started yet. I am sure once things are in full swing it will be difficult for me to have days to just do nothing....like today! Of course I haven't been completely unproductive. I did something today that I haven't done in over 20 years.......I got a library card!



The downtown West Palm Beach library is just a few blocks from my house and as I was walking back from Jimmy John's today I had the most random urge to get a library card! I am slightly embarrassed that I never had a library while I was in Chicago. I guess I always used the library at school so I never needed to go to a public library. I haven't checked anything out yet but the interior actually looks quite nice! I will have to do some library exploring another day....because now I need to get some more food!

Ricky Martin....gay!

So the big celebrity gossip of the week is Ricky Martin's official announcement that he is a homosexual. This is about as shocking as when it was announced the sky is blue. While I think it is unfortunate that Ricky didn't come out sooner, I don't think anyone should criticize the delay. Coming out is not an easy process for any gay man and I can only imagine how difficult it is for an entertainer that is surrounded by management and record companies that pressure artists to conform to whatever will make the most money for them......and in the 90's when Ricky was taking off as a solo artist being openly gay would not have jived with the Latin American record buying public.

I have always adored Ricky. Sure, he is super sexy but for me it has always been his voice. Before "Livin La Vida Loca" Ricky had already established himself as an international recording artist with 15 million albums sold world wide. After his big crossover success he continued to release hit albums, including his MTV Unplugged album. That album will forever be my favorite Ricky album because it really strips away all of the fancy production that often dominated his music and left us simply with his amazing voice. So instead of celebrating Ricky's gayness, let's celebrate his fabulous and fierce contributions to the music industry! These are my Top 5!

1. She Bangs - Granted this may be one of his cheesiest songs and I suspect even Ricky hates it now considering it was omitted from his 2008 greatest hits collection, i absolutely ADORE it. It was fun and catchy. The video was sexy and if you look closely you can see the guy back up dancers fondling Ricky. HOT!



2. Juramento - What's hotter than Ricky Martin? A couple hundred Ricky Martin's in the desert! This was from his "Almas Del Silencio" album that proved Ricky could have an international hit once again in Spanish.



3. Que Dia Es Hoy - Early 90's Ricky was a bit tragic but you got to love his take on Laura Branigan's "Self Control" with its cheesy 90's remix!



4. Drop It On Me - This was the third cancelled single from the floptastic "Life" album. The album was a very misguided attempt to update Ricky's sound but nevertheless I LOVED this song!



5. Dejate Llevar - Also from his "Life" album, it was the Spanish version of this song that proved to be successful along with the sexually charged video. I still listen to this one on a regular basis at the gym!



Ok, so I have to pick one more....."Tu Recuerdo" from the MTV Unplugged album and his most recent #1 single. Ricky at his finest!

Health Care Reform

As a health care professional in the United States I am not sure exactly what my opinion is about Obama's new health care bill. Like everyone I am very confused by how it will work and what the ramifications will be for people like myself and for the average citizen who simply wants to receive quality healthcare at an affordable price. The bill went through so many changes and at 2000 pages long I don't think I am going to read it anytime soon. However, I am thoroughly disgusted by the people who are against it because of increases in taxes and/or the harm it will supposedly to the nation's debt. Where were all of these people when the nation decided to fund the needless war on terror? Invading Iraq still remains one of the greatest mysteries to the general public. The Iraqui goverment had nothing to do with 9/11 nor did we ever find evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Yet our former President forged us into further debt by spending billions on a war that really has turned into an absolute mess. Personally, I would rather see lawmakers gamble with the national budget by providing health care for millions of people who can't afford it. Whether the health care system is going to crumble because of poor care under this bill is pure speculation but from what I understand this isn't a national health plan like Canada so maybe everyone needs to calm down and just wait and see.

Return of the Sun

I honestly think this has been the longest gap between blog posts since I started blogging in 2005. I don't know if that means I am busy actually accomplishing stuff now or if I simply had more interesting things to talk about years ago. Who knows! Nevertheless I have been quite the Southern Florida socialite since I last checked in. That doesn't mean however that I haven't been working on some of my goals for 2010. The picture above has nothing to do with my recent accomplishments but I don't think there is anything wrong with starting out with a little eye candy thanks to soccer super star Christiano Ronaldo and his recent Armani campaign ads.



I officially hired a private tutor to help me finer tune my spanish speaking and reading abilities. She is an absolutely lovely woman from Peru and has already helped me expand my vocabulary to a great extent. I already consider myself bilingual but I definitely think there is room for improvement and she has taken a very unique approach to help me develop my conversational abilities to another level. I meet with her once or twice a week and we discuss a particular book that the both of us are readin (in spanish). I guess it's almost like a private spanish book club! lol. I benefit not only by improving my spanish but by also being introduced to some new and interesting literature. I highly recommend these too. One is fiction and another is non-fiction but I think both books compliment each other beautifully.







The papi underwear brand has continued to drain my pockets. How such a perfect underwear could exist simply boggles my mind. Since I already have dedicated a post this this line of under garments, I will only say that the new platinum line and jock straps are rocking my world at work, the clubs, and the gym. The advertising alone is enough to keep me on my low carb diet. Ay papi!

Speaking of hot men and partying, I finally attended the official Miami Beach Winter Party as a local instead of a tourist this past month. Thanks to my Miami Fairy Godmother I was able to get VIP entrance to all the big parties. The beach party was my favorite and I had a chance to hang out with new friends and meet even more new people....not to mention run into a slew of old freinds and acquaintances from Chicago. Some of them didn't even have any idea that I was now living down here. Oh but let me say there was a 6'3 200lb BEEFARONI Cuban bartender that had everyone wanting to go back for more drinks. The picture below doesn't do him justice. I was mesmerized!







My time has also been spent partying it up in Fort Lauderdale. My intial impression of that city was that it was nothing but 50 year old leather daddies but my two new "sisters" have helped me discover the good side of Ft Lauderdale night life. I love these boys!



And while Winter Party had me running into some old Chicago peeps, one of my former co-workers took the time to take me out for my 31st birthday lunch! She was one of the few sane ones at my previous job in Chicago. Such a fun woman! Other than that and a quiet dinner with a friend (well, maybe not that quiet considering there was a St. Patrick Day festival going on) my birthday was very uneventful this year. Either I am not adjusting well to my "Dirty Thirties" or I simply had too much on my plate to plan an appropriate outing. However, I suspect it was due to the latter. :)





This past month has not all been partying. I think I finally found the perfect part-time job at a brand new independently owned neighborhood pharmacy. Ironically I found this job on craigslist! Who knew? I was hesitant to accept the position because the own wants me to work more hours than I originally planned but this offer is simply to good to pass up. The owner is fierce and the location is only 25 minutes from my house. Not to mention, the money is going to be often. By the end of the year I can finally rid myself of the credit card debt I accumulated as a student AND gain some great experience outside of a hospital environment. Speaking of which, my hospital job continunes to be amazing. I truly feel blessed. My co-workers are absolutely amazing and I feel like I am actually making friends. It's so funny how things work out. Never did I imagine I would find myself one day in West Palm Beach but here I am and I am liking it more and more each day. My free time is going to be limited with the new job but when I enjoy being at work so much that doesn't seem like such a bad thing.

So the past month has been very fruitful and I am looking forward to more! Before I end this post I must say that i am REJOICING that the queen of "Rocktronica", Jes has returned with a sophomore album even more fierce than her 2007 debut "Disconnect". Her rendition of the Cure's "Lovesong" is brilliant!

Kick Her With Your Louboutins

People just love to kick someone when they are down and since it was announced a few days ago that Jennifer Lopez had "amicably" departed ways with Sony Records (DROPPED ON HER FAT PUERTO RICAN ASS is more like it) bloggers and entertainment columnists have wasted no time to bring out their claws and celebrate the fall of a struggling and aging diva. While I am not one to take pleasure in one's failures (unless it's someone I can't stand like Beyonce) I tend not to get happy over the flop and drop that happens to so many aging pop divas. However if the rumors are true then J-Lo is a nasty bitchy cunt who probably is getting what she deserves. BUT, I don't know the woman so I am going to stick to the facts here.

J-Lo's career is on life support because she let herself turn into shit. Plain and simple. She hasn't made a good album in years and there has only been a good single here and there since the early 00's. I remember when her debut album was released. She really was like this generations Paula Abdul. She couldn't sing to save her life but she had all the right material and dance moves to keep everyone entertained. Eleven years later "Waiting For Tonight" is still the freaking shit. But by 2003 J-Lo had left behind the fluffy and fun latin-tinged pop of her first album and now was "Jenny From The Block". Oh yes folks, the bitch was hardcore with all her guest rappers and bling. The tired rnb and faux hip-hop got old very quick and by 2005's Rebirth (or Afterbirth as I like to call it) no one care about her tired ass. Sure the Spanish album was slightly charming but considering her anorexic hubby's skeleton fingers were all over it from start to finish there wasn't much to like other than the lead single, "Que Hiciste". Jennifer's follow up tour was actually quite entertaining but her next album proved to be even more forgettable than Afterbirth. Now in the world of Gaga's, Beyonce's and Ke$ha's she tries to reinvent herself as some sort of pop supreme mistress with "Louboutins". It sounded like a horrible unsused Lady Gaga demo. Oh dear Jennifer. Please stop before you hurt yourself. oops too late, you already busted open your knee at the American Music Awards.

So I guess I couldn't stop myself from being a little catty too. It's not because I enjoy watching La Lopez flop but I get very frustrated when people ignore the signs that they need to change....or else! J-Lo chose to ignore her critics and still thinks this is 2002. Pobrecita.


Well, we will always have "Waiting For Tonight" the GLORIOUS Hex HEctor remix. That shit still sends tingles down my spine!

If I Were a Vampire

So the other day I read that "Ugly Betty" was getting cancelled. I was shocked to hear this sad news. What will become of the cast? I love Vanessa Williams but if this means she will spend more time on her music "career" I am afraid we will only be getting more crappy soccer mom albums. As for the show's star, America Ferrera, how can a girl that is already homely as hell find another role as perfect as "Ugly Betty". Poor thing. Hopeful the gay nephew can land a spot on Rupaul's Drag Race. As much as I am distraught by the news, I must admit that I haven't seen an episode of Ugly Betty since the first season's Thanksgiving special. While I was in school it was simply impossible for me to find time to watch TV but now that I have somewhat of a regular 9-5 schedule and practically every TV show you can think of gets a DVD release I am re-discovering so much stuff.

"True Blood" has quickly become one of my FAVORITE shows as of late. Yes, I am about 2 years behind but I don't give a fuck. I enjoy anything with vampires.....movies, tv shows, books, etc. Surprisingly I have never been a vampire for Halloween. Perhaps because it is too cliche? I am not sure but I definitely think I would make a good one. Nevertheless there are certain vampire themed stories that are complete shit. Twilight would be the perfect example. Vampires are not meant to be made into romantic love stories. How fucking bullshit. I was hesitant at first to watch True Blood because I assumed it was another bastardization of the vampire genre however the $20 I spent at Target was not wasted and I was proved wrong! The show is witty, sexy, funny, smart and at times a little gruemsome.

I somewhat sympathize with the bad vampires of the series. If I were a vampire I wouldn't want to mainstream myself and drink synthetic blood. How boring. Sorry, but if I were to be cursed to be a creature of the night for all eternity I am going to make it fun! On a side note, was I the only one who recognized hottie Nicholas Gonzalez as the homosexual human sex slave of one of the vampires in episode two. I guess his career isn't going that well! LOL