Loose Change and Indie

This weekend I watched the documentary "Loose Change".  As a matter of fact, I watched it twice to make sure I heard it right the first time.  It is quite an eye-opener about what and who could be behind the attacks on 9/11.  I'll keep my opinions to myself but check it out if you haven't seen it.  (We watched it on Netflix.) To console myself afterwards and balance out some karma, I dug deep into my Indie CDs and posted a few for us. 

Analecta

Cinemagic

Madking Ludwig

Mary Lou Lord

I know it may not be what you were expecting from me today, but with the exception of the Mary Lou Lord CD, all of them are rare and hard to find.  Kind of like the truth about 9/11.

Now I'm off to further console myself with green chili enchiladas, Dr. Pepper and an X-Files marathon.  The truth is out there.

Bring Back the Hair Bands!

Growing up in the 80's, in the backwoods of Alaska, there wasn't much to look forward to each week.  Except one sweet thing...Friday Night Videos. Each week, I'd wait in anticipation, with a plate of nachos in one hand and a Cherry Coke in the other, anxious to see which videos were in the line-up. That is when I fell in love with the hair bands.   I mean, what's not to love?  Hot guys, in tight spandex, with long, permed, blond hair, dripping in sweat.  Yum.  Now, I would tolerate the pop stars: Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and Michael Jackson were regulars on FNV, but my heart would beat faster when these guys appeared:

Van Halen

AC/DC

Def Leppard

Def Leppard

 

Yum, Yum, Yummy. 

Go ahead, buy the CD, slip into some spandex and rock on!




 
 

Inventory and Pink Tutus

One of my goals in this blog is to write about the experience of opening a home-based business, newbie to newbie.  One of the biggest challenges to date is posting our products for sale.  Our monthly subscription for our store allows us to have 500 products listed.  I think I have about 165, not at all taking advantage of what we are paying for and here's why...

 Meet Stormy, our 2 year old.  She's a very sweet, lovable girl who has declared war with my computer.  I do most of my work on my laptop, in our living room.  I work a 50 hour week, so when I'm home I love to spend it with Stormy and her play area is the living room.  Here's a sample of my typical day.

6:00 - Wake up - think briefly about getting out for a walk or a run on the elliptical.  Turn over and fall asleep.
6:45 - Like synchronized swimmers, hubby and I exit the bed, to minimize the squeaks our floor gives off.  Having given up coffee for espresso we patiently wait our turn at the machine.  Meanwhile I check what orders we have to ship out and pull the stock from the shelves.  
7:30 - The Storm awakens.  She "helps" me get ready for work.  I fight for mirror space while she practices ballet moves and gives herself kisses.
8:15-6:15 - Work.  I work as an office manager for the local dentist.  
6:25 - Home, eat the delicious dinner that the hubby has made and settle in for a night of working on the store.  I choose what CDs I want to post, check on Stormy who is playing nicely with her toys and grab the laptop. 
6:26 - Stormy hears the whir of the machine and immediately wants me to read her a story.  After the story I settle her down with her toys and grab the laptop.  She comes to sit beside me and starts snuggling.  She snuggles her way into my lap giving the computer a hip check.  Next, she sits next to me and tries to teach herself to type with her toes.
6:30 -  In desperation I turn on a DVD, Barbie, for the zillionith time.  It works for about 30 minutes as long as I take the time to help her dance.
7:00 - Hubby comes in and settles in for the evening, I am exhausted from the dancing and topple over on the couch for a power nap.
7:02  Having immediately drifted off to sleep I wake up because something is tickling my nose.  I open my eyes just in time to see a tutu coming in for a landing.  Apparently, through much trial and error, Stormy has learned the fastest way to wake me up is to sit on my head.  Giving up on the nap, I make an espresso.
7:05 - Fueled up, I settle in again.  I give Stormy one of the earbuds and she listens to music with me while I post a CD.  YES!  For the next 40 minutes she's an angel.  
7:45 - I'm getting snuggled up again and resignedly close the computer to spend time with my little girl.  Stormy senses the victory and promptly ignores me.  I won't have any of that and bug her until she's ready for bed.  Can you say tickle torture?
9:00 - Stormy goes to bed.  Ahhhhh, time to settle in again.  But first I wander into Facebook, which means I wander into Castleville...
10:00 Having used up all my energy in Castleville, I hurriedly post another CD and if I'm feeling creative, write out a blog post.
10:45 - Time for bed because I really need to get up at 6:00 and exercise.  The residual coffee in my system keeps me tossing and turning.  So much for the 6:00 exercise program.

Lovin' life right here in Alaska!


(psst.  message me if you want to be my Castleville neighbor) 


Here's what Stormy picked for you today:

Sleepless in Seattle

Dr Hook

Spring Tonic & Album Covers

It is finally Spring here in Alaska, and it's a beautiful Spring with lots of sun and very little rain.  Alaskans look forward to Spring more than most I suspect.  The winters wear you down with the cold and dark.  As a matter of fact, someone said that the sun was a tonic to our bodies and soul.  When I heard the word tonic, I thought of something else....

Tonic Lemon Parade

Tonic Sugar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, you probably know me well enough to know that I'm going to say that I love this band.  But it is a recent love affair.  Now, I remember hearing some of the songs on the radio years ago but I never listened to a Tonic album until a few years ago and it was actually the artwork that encouraged me.  I simply adore all of their album covers.  It's not the only band that has suckered me in that way, here's another one that I listened to just today and again, I chose to list  and listen to it because of the cover.

Alta May

If you like pure hard rock, you should give these guys a listen.  There's a lot of talent there.  Looking around, I noticed that there are not a lot of their CDs out there, so I posted it right away.  Better in the hands of a fan than sitting on my shelf.

Now it's time to go soak in some of that sun tonic, and maybe enjoy yet another kind of tonic, if you know what I mean.

Kodaks, Alaska and a little rant about the Economy

We are passionate, really down right zealous about our cameras here at AK Music Storm.  I'd estimate that we have close to 200 of them.  Which is why it hurt so much when the economy tanked.  Camera sales were our bread and butter for a long time, but now...zip, nada, nothing much happening.  Mostly because we got stubborn and refused to list them for less than what we paid.  Well, after watching sales (and the economy) for the past year we decided to go ahead and sell them.  So our lose is your gain.  We offer the best customer service, if you have any questions on how to operate, need accessories, advice or down the road, any repairs, we are here for you.  Here's a few of the offerings from simple and cheap to more complex and more expensive.

Kodak P712

We were tempted to keep this one for ourselves.  It has super zoom, 7.0 mp.  It comes with a full kit of camera bag, battery, charger and neck strap.

Kodak CD1013

Nice compact, point and shoot camera with high mega pixels, 10.3 to be exact.  

Kodak C180

Love the color on this one.  It also has high megapixels and priced a little cheaper than the CD1013.

Now, here's why we love our cameras.  Just a few shots of where we live.  Alaska is very photogenic and I'd say all of these pictures were taken with a simple, point and shoot cameras. 

Mountains over Homer, Alaska

Baby Moose Twins in yard

Pond in backyard, Alaska

Now, I bet that you live in a great place as well.  It's so awesome to grab the camera, push on, point and shoot.  Hardest part is picking out the model you want.  Click here to see our full selection and here to see more great shots of Alaska.  the rest of it is easy smeasy.

Showing Easter Some Love

Today was Easter and it only seemed fitting that I spent some of the day posting and promoting some Christian music.  Most of our music is still listed in our eBay store but I tried to give you a selection.  Here's something if you like gospel:

Psalms

 Perhaps you like some Christian Rock...

Saith

Or since it's Easter maybe something for the kids...

Prince of Egypt

Right now, I will admit that the choices for Christian/Gospel is pretty slim be assured that it is on my mind and will be something that we will be proud of.  But for now, I'm thankful for the blessings that I have been given and that includes all of you.  From my family to yours, Happy Resurrection Day!

The Pretty Girl Genre

Let me start out by saying that I love my husband and everything about him I find adorable, including this.  His favorite genre is definitely the pretty girl genre.  It really doesn't matter who they are, or what style they sing, if they have a cute picture on their insert, he is interested.  Here is a prime example:   

Liz Phair

Ok, so he really isn't that bad.  He did download this CD but only after he was a fan of Liz Phair.  But it is true that when we receive new CDs, during the sort process, we set aside all the pretty girls.  With that said, if you are also a fan of the pretty girl genre, you are shopping in the right store because he keeps us well supplied.

Ashley Jade

Kelly Clarkson

Now to be fair, my iPod is full of male artists. I believe it's just a guy-girl thing.  So no worries, I'll do my best to keep up with the cute guy genre.  How about this one?

Bon Jovi

Alternative Rain

Have you ever had a hard time picking out music?  You know, you keep scrolling through your iPod, or flipping through your discs.  I'm feeling that way this week about choosing what to post on the store site.  It seems I always go back to what I know and enjoy and tonight is no different.  So while the rain is falling here in Alaska, I posted some alternative rock CDs.  Here's the new offerings.

Fairweather Johnson Hootie & the Blowfish

Collective Soul

Gin blossoms

The 90's were the best for alternative music and these 3 are solid albums.  My good news for you is that they are each priced $3.99.  Right now we are running a 3 for $10 special on all our CDs priced $3.99 and under.  Just use coupon code 123 at checkout. 

Shhhh - just so you know, of all the songs on these albums my favorite is Hey Jealousy by the Gin Blossoms.  What's yours?

The Year 1992 and the Coupon Code

As I was adding more CDs to the store today I couldn't help but to notice that the year 1992 was a pretty good year for music.  Now, I have a couple of pretty good excuses for not noticing this before.  First, the 90's are not my favorite decade for music.  I loved the hair bands and was pretty much rebelling against their departure.  And, I had a baby in 1992, that alone wipes your memory.  Here's a few examples of year1992:

Eric Clapton Unplugged

I remembering crying when I heard Tears in Heaven. I also remember wishing I could be loved like Layla.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

I'm a pretty picky country fan but Mary Chapin-Carpenter makes the cut.   Passionate Kisses, He Thinks He'll Keep Her and The Bug are a few that I would sing my heart out to.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Enough said.

All of this leads up to our new special.  We are running a 3 for $10 special.  You get to pick any 3 CDs that is priced $3.99 or less and use the coupon code 123 at checkout to get them for $10 with free shipping.  Now, the selection is pretty good and I'm adding more everyday so keep checking back! (and please let me know if you have any problems at checkout.  This is my first coupon code).  1992...who knew?