February 5th was the night we met but it was March 11th we began our life together 10 years ago today. Thanks for being my best friend, my man and the the raddest guitar player a girl in a band could ever ask for. You rock Mr Murphy.
♥
xo

♥
xo


Dear Friends,
I just read that Mark Linkous of the band 'Sparklehorse' committed suicide yesterday. He shot himself in the heart outside of one of his friends houses in Mick's hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Hearing someone has taken their own life is always so sad and it makes you wonder what was going through their mind at the time. He was such a talented musician and true artist. Today a good friend of ours in Knoxville organized a memorial party to swap stories and share photos in honor of someone she [and many of our other friends knew] who was also a musician and who recently died of cancer. While the Hollywood elite celebrate their big wins on the silver screen, others mourn underground artists who were not a part of the mainstream. Someone very close to me killed herself many years ago and I have to just say that no matter how depressed you get, suicide it is not the answer. It may put you out of the pain but it leaves those you leave behind who love you with a pain and emptyness that lasts forever in their hearts long after you are gone. I speak from experience.
Over the years so many people have written me sharing their personal stories of rape, violence, child abuse, suicide and depression. I am not a therapist so sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming and scary reading some of these letters especially when the people writing are looking at me for answers but I'm just like everyone else and looking for my own answers. I write because that is my therapy just like it is for most musicians I suppose [or for those of us who don't do it for the money, fame or hot chicks anyway]. I write to relieve the ache, find the strength and often confront my own demons. I think Mark Linous felt the same way. He wrote haunting songs filled with entropic imagery, fragile beauty and allusive themes. Ironically the name of the song I am posting a video for below in the wake of his death is called "It's a Wonderful Life".
RIP tonight Mr Linous, you will be remembered.



I must also say that the Congress getting chewed out by Obama was kinda well deserved but his body language was pointing directly to the Republicans during that "chewing out" which was an interesting side note to the drama. He said the Republicans aren’t showing leadership when they say no to his policies and repeated that in a few different ways. For him to say “its not showing leadership” made no sense because what it comes down to is there are some people [myself included] who simply do not think his agenda is the best for our country. Obama is both dismissive and condescending in his dislike for anyone who does not not endorse or has a persistant disagreement with his policies but what exactly has been accomplished with a Congress that had majority membership before on the left? This Congress's performance has been poor at best and people like Pelosi and Reed need to be reminded who they really work for. They also need to get a clue as to what is really a priority to the American people! I believe Americans are starting to finally wake up and speak out and it’s about time. Our political leaders need to pay attention, listen and understand, not just hear. There is a big difference.
As much as it appears to be about policy, the purpose of last night’s speech was mostly political and partisan. I just want to say for the record, I’m really tired of so many far left Liberals still acting so self-rightous in light of the fact they have been handed a few reality checks lately with the stunning upsets Obama actively engaged in such as (Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts) now showing just how dramatically the political landscape has shifted during his first year in office. As an American I would very much like affordable heath care on the other hand, I do not want the government running my life or telling me what I can and cannot do so I will say it again—I am against big government!
Another bone of contention with me during his speech was when he stated so matter of fact like: “Throughout our history, no issue has united this country more than our security. Sadly, some of the unity we felt after 9/11 has dissipated. We can argue all we want about who's to blame for this, but I'm not interested in re-litigating the past. I know that all of us love this country. All of us are committed to its defense. So let's put aside the schoolyard taunts about who's tough. Let's reject the false choice between protecting our people and upholding our values. Let's leave behind the fear and division, and do what it takes to defend our nation and forge a more hopeful future for America and for the world. That's the work we began last year. Since the day I took office, we've renewed our focus on the terrorists who threaten our nation. We've made substantial investments in our homeland security and disrupted plots that threatened to take American lives. We are filling unacceptable gaps revealed by the failed Christmas attack, with better airline security and swifter action on our intelligence.”
This whole sentiment is nice but in reality does not really ring true considering Obama was more worried about “political correctness” than the safety of his country and correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t it Obama and his administration that said they didn’t even want to use the word “terrorism” so they invented the catchy little “pc” phrase “man caused disasters”? I for one do not believe Obama is commited to our defense. Far from it. He’s been commited to apologising for our previous administration’s commitment to our defense. Again, correct me if I’m wrong but we had not one terror attack on U.S. soil after 9/11 until the attack on Ft Hood by the self proclaimed Anti- American Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan who was a card carrying “Soldier of Allah” which was on Obama’s watch and has virtually been played down past the point of insult by the U.S. military’s recently released 86 page report detailing various slipups by Army officers but not once mentions Major Nidal Hasan by name or even discusses whether the killings may have had anything to do with this Terrorists view of his Muslim faith. The fact that there is so much silence in America and by our government when it comes to Islamic extremism shows you how deeply entrenched the values of “political correctness” have become and it’s definitely getting worse. How many more dead bodies do we need to learn a lesson and how many more business cards do we have to read before we can identify someone for who they really are publically? It has nothing to do with “schoolyard taunts or who’s tough”. Sorry but I would rather have a tough president who means what he says and says what he means rather than one who is willing to bow dow to all our enemies. As for what happened this past Christmas. My thoughts are this-- It shouldn’t be up to passengers on a plane to stop a Terrorist attack. It should be up to our government to keep us safe so something such as this does not happen but when our president is more worried about saving face than saving lives that’s when “political correctness” has gone too far and that’s when America needs to wake up before we have another 911 on our hands and a president apologizing to us for once for not paying enough attention to the seriousness of the situation.
After watching his speech I went online and decided to do a little research myself and take a look at some of his claims Obama very arrogantly made and stated as fact and how they compare with the actual facts. It seems there was a lot of “fact checking” going on after this speech but not much as it was being written. It bothered me when he brought up the new idea of a “spending freeze” saying it was part of HIS solution to the exploding deficit yet it was Obama who once considered government spending freezes “a hatchet job” and criticized the man who initially came up with the plan. He didn't explain what had changed his mind or even give credit to the person who before his came up with this idea but he sure did pat himself on the back as though he thought of it all on his own. The best part is that he is only freezing a very small percentage which basically is a move just for show to try and make it look like he’s moving to the right. Here are a couple points in his speech which I found interesting in comparison:
OBAMA: "Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't."
THE FACTS: The anticipated savings from this proposal would amount to less than one percent of the deficit -- and that's if the president can persuade Congress to go along. Obama is a convert to the cause of broad spending freezes. In the presidential campaign, he criticized Republican opponent John McCain for suggesting one. "The problem with a spending freeze is you're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel," he said a month before the election. Now, Obama wants domestic spending held steady in most areas where the government can control year to year costs. The proposal is similar to McCain's.
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OBAMA: He called for action by the White House and Congress "to do our work openly, and to give our people the government they deserve."
THE FACTS: Obama skipped past a broken promise from his campaign -- to have the negotiations for health care legislation broadcast on C-SPAN "so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies." Instead, Democrats in the White House and Congress have conducted the usual private negotiations, making multibillion-dollar deals with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders behind closed doors. Nor has Obama lived up consistently to his pledge to ensure that legislation is posted online for five days before it's acted upon.
I was impressed when Obama vowed to work with Congress to repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”-- the military policy that bans openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving. I agree with that 100%. Do I think he made an honest effort to set aside the partisanship that has marked his first term so he could find some real solutions to the problems facing America? No. Do I think he gave any real examples of ways he is willing to move to the center, perhaps by embracing several initiatives from the other side on taxes, spending and the true size of government? No. As I said above, it felt like more of the same recycled talk as he continues to press ahead on his current course and as more and more people lose faith in his message of “Hope & Change” nothing has changed except for the fact that “Obamamania” is finally starting to die down. The lacklustre poll numbers now speak for themselves and the political stakes are high, perhaps as high as they have ever been for president just beginning his second year in office. Most poll numbers show the country ready to embrace the the other side once again as a way to voice their continuing frustration with Washington and although I am not a Republican. I don’t blame them. For a man who based his whole platform around change, he has quickly come into Washington and it’s been business as usual.

["LIVE FREE or DIE"-->The Revolutionary✩Holocaust!]
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Dear Friends & Readers,
In honor of his birthday, it seems today is officially "talk like Paul Stanley day" so I want to share this little clip featuring some of his classic stage banter. Paul rules and this is just another example of why.

I found this photo of a poster I shot in 2002 for Tattoo Magazine in my files today so I decided to post it in honor of his birthday but it kinda makes me sad because I wore it so much it became a shredded rag. I now use it to dust with but whenever I dust I make sure i'm playing KISS~!

(March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010)
R.I.P. † TEDDY BEAR
A true R&B legend and the man with the velvet voice.

HAIL SATAN!
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That being said, please check out the latest video clip of yet another prime example of bullshit religious propaganda straight from the mouth of another clueless television evangelist. As Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said "well over" 100,000 people may have died in the recent natural disaster, in Haiti, Pat Robertson took to the airwaves today and said that the country has been "cursed by one thing after another" since they [get ready for this]---> "swore a pact to the devil." According to Robertson, "something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about it" but he apparently felt it his duty to spill the beans on his show and let everyone know [as fact mind you] that the people of Haiti got together and told Satan "We will serve you if you get us out from under the French". I love how he says this is a "true story" and then goes on further to actually quote the Devil by saying "and he said okay, it's a deal". Really? Like he was right there to witness the whole thing. Wow!
It's bad enough the country of Haiti just went into total collapse and chaos but now this creep has to add his self righteous know it all 2 cents and kick em when they're down! Real "Christian" of him might I add but i'm not surprised because Robertson has a habit of doing this.This is not the first time he has made controversial comments in the wake of disasters. Remember when he said Hurricane Katrina was linked to terrorist attacks and legalized abortion and 911 was a punishment for sinners? Obviously he seems to think he has an exclusive hotline to God that empowers him to instruct the world on God's motives. Well here are some words of wisdom from my lips to God's ears.... Pat Robertson is a f**king crazy old kook of a fruitcake! He's also a deluded egomaniac who needs to stop sippin the Holy water and shut the hell up. Can you please fire him or atleast send him on a long overdue vacation to visit his pal Lucifer whom i'm sure he made his own pact with considering he's still on television?

[Photo @ Rios, Leeds - England]
Keri Henfry & Sophie Neumann are two very special hot rockin ladies I have had the pleasure to meet while My Ruin was on tour in the UK in 2008! They have been at more than a few of our shows and always give it back to me with their screams front row as good as I give it to them from the stage. Since they have taken the time to frame something of mine, I have decided to frame something with them....
A MOMENT IN TIME

This past year these beautiful and blasphemous girls bought one of the very first stamped leather hearts I created for the launch of my new online store in honor of the heart I designed for My Ruin's last album cover "Throat Full of Heart". Recently Keri & Sophie sent me these photos and a note which read:
"We have decided to do something a little different with the TFOH we bought from you. We wanted to keep it in perfect condition, and always have it on show, so we have framed it in a special box frame."





I ♥ Cheese Puffs and I ♥ Elvis.
[A HUNKA HUNKA BURNING ROCK]
Those with suspicious minds may scoff – but this 1,800-year-old relic is the spitting image of Elvis Presley. Complete with quiff and strong jaw, the likeness to the singer in his Las Vegas years is uncanny.It has been verified by experts, who say it is a decoration found on the corners of a Roman coffin.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the KING of ROCK & ROLL~!
If life was fair, Elvis would be alive


Thanks to Mr Scottie Deablow I have just been reminded why I never liked Mike Love. Being a California girl and a radio child from the 70's I grew up listening to K-EARTH 101 and The Beach Boys so this fued has always fascinated me in some weird roundabout way. I especially like the last shot of this video montage that shows Brian giving Mike the finger followed by the end credit which reads "Paid for by a partnership for a better Mike Love". As for the song, priceless~!