THE REVIEWS ARE IN!

Ok, so maybe just one review (more are coming), but it's a great one! Baltimore Gay Life reviewers Brian and Gina Pizza look at four cds and give their thoughts on each, and my new CD, DEVIANT, was among the four they reviewed. You can read the full review here.

Gina had this to say: "His blunt lyrical seduction is as refreshing as the raw yet refined production of this release. From the dark and dirty drum kicks of "Saint" to the Neptune’s sounding "Make You Scream,” Saturn’s solid and sultry voice will grab you by the you-know-whets and have you screaming in ecstasy."

Brian said: "We’re talking, lyrics oozing with raw sexual energy, and rhythms that are so dark and hypnotic they had me touching myself without even realizing what I was doing."

Wow. I saw this on Christmas day. What a fucking brilliant and unexpected gift it was. Hopefully, it's a sign of nothing but good things to come for this CD.

Oh, and Robert Urban called me "the lovechild of Michael Jackson and Prince." While the thought of that is a bit scary, it's also quite a compliment.

You can pick up your own copy of DEVIANT right here. If you like Prince, Depeche Mode or Bowie, chances are you'll like this release, too. Check it out!

"I'm gonna make U a deviant!"
www.iamsaturn.com

WTF - Shit Flavored Coffee

Shit flavored coffee, U say? I shit you not! Thanks 2 Betty Lynn 4 sending in this scrumptious morsel of news for WTF Day (which is today by the way). Apparently, there's an "exotic bean that draws top dollar from connoisseurs " that is plucked from animal droppings. Yes, imagine the civet, the fruit eating cousin of the Mongoose, gorging itself on some tasty cherry like morsels and then passing the turds in "sausage like clumps". They use these turds to make civet coffee. These turds also give the coffee a "distinctive flavour and aroma". What's even weirder are the stories of how these coffee entreprenuers go scouring the tropical forests for droppings looking 4 these delicate ass-regurgitated beans. To read the full story click here and you too will be saying ...

"What the f@ck?"

Blessings

I have no words to really describe the sadness I feel over the loss of life that occured across the world the other day. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just click here to read all about it. This kind of devastation just goes to really remind you how sacred life is and how many blessings we take for granted every single day. Over twenty thousand people in nine countries are dead, and the death toll keeps rising. I'm still in awe at the massiveness of it and how much of the world was touched by this quake. It may be a selfish notion, but whenever something tragic happens it always makes you cherish life a little more. Why is it that we get lost in the day to day demands and the desires of our hearts and the petty little problems we face all the time and forget sometimes how really really good we have it? Just thinking aloud here really.
I guess that's kind of what this blog is 4. Well, one of my New Years Resolutions will have to be to thank God daily and a lot more than I do 4 all the wonderful blessings I have in my life, because in just a blink of an eye, my life could be taken away.

"Live 4 love."

The Untitled Masterpiece

Ok, so maybe it's not a masterpiece, but it's surprisingly pretty fucking good! I was reading over the 21,000 and some odd words I actually managed to churn out last month for the National Novel Writing Month Challenge and I must admit, I was truly surprised how this story came together. I mean, I literally started with nothing, no idea, no plot, no characters, I just started writing and it came out of me. As I continued to write, of course, I developed plot and character and all that jazz, but I would have never gotten this story out of me had I not had the motivation to just sit down and start writing without judging my skills or ideas.

Now I just have to finish it. It's only about half done and I'm way too fucking busy to try to finish it in a month. I mean, just getting out those 21,000 words in one month was hard as hell ... albeit fun and exciting. Plus, I promised my freind and one and only fan, Betty Lynn, that I would finish it. She's so pissed that I left her hanging!

So, I'm gonna finish it, hopefully by the end of February. That's my goal.

The question is ... should I continue to put entries into my other blog as I write like I did in November or take the blog down completely. I don't think anyone actually ever looked at it besides me and Betty Lynn anyway. If you're reading this and have any kind of opinion, by all means, share!

And, shit! I need a title. No friggin' clue what I'm gonna call this thing. Now, that's NEVER happened 2 me b4.

Tootles!

Skipping Christmas

That's exactly what I'm doing this year, skipping Christmas. Not because I'm a bah-humbug ... I love this time of year. I'm just flat broke. I don't see the need of going in debt another year all because of the commercialization of what is supposed to be a religious holiday. So, me, my mom and my sis all decided to take Christmas off this year. Paying for that new website made sure I won't have any disposable income for a couple of months. But you know, it's actually been nice not having to stress over what to buy people, having to wait in long ass lines and cussing people out in the parking lots cuz they can't drive for shit. I don't miss that part of it at all.

All I want for Christmas this year is the same thing I've wanted for the last few years. Each year, Santa forgets me. This year, I might just get what I want. It might just happen 4 me. But I'm NOT going to jinx it by telling U what it is!

In any case, dahlings,

HAVE A WONDERFUL & JOYOUS CHRISTMAS!

-the ringed one.

WTF - Jeff Stryker Strikes Again!

It's WTF day today. U know, people never fail 2 amaze me. When I read this, I thought it was a joke. Apparently, famous porn star Jeff Stryker got mad at his neighbor who wouldn't invite him to his music shin-digs because he always got drunk and caused a ruckus. (Sounds like a good reason 2 me.) So, what does Jeff do? He commences to harrass his neighbor by urinating on his car, putting a dead rat in his mailbox, putting shit on his doorstep, AND taking legal action against him! Read the full article with all the unbelievable details here. Once you've read it, I'm sure U too will be left scratching your head, saying ...

"What the f*@!?"

The Musical, The Fag Group, The Half-Blood Prince and the Boy

A day full of nothing but good news! Now how often does that happen? I'm going to see my favorite musical tonight, RENT, Scissor Sisters is coming to the 9:30 club next month and I already have my tickets (I'm so excited about seeing them live I could just slap somebody), the new Harry Potter book is finished and will be released in July! (time to get re-reading books 4 and 5!), and finally ... the boy is back. I'm not going to jinx it again, I'm knocking on wood as I write this even, so that's all I'm gonna say. The boy is back and 4 now ... everything is fine.

"Let's open up a restaurant in Sante Fe!"

Scissor Sisters

Ok ok ... I admit, I'm late, but I couldn't take all the hype anymore, so I finally got the Scissor Sisters CD 2 see what all the fuss was about. Well, I'm completely addicted 2 it. Damn those sisters! They got me dancing and boogying and trying 2 shake my ass while I drive my car like the true disco queen that I am. Love the music, I'm a sucker for some killer pop piano, love the lyrics, love the outfits, just love it.

Here's an interesting article by lead girlyboy singer Jake Shears about their rise 2 fabulousness. Thanks 2 spinme.com for the link.

Cuz you're filthy and you're gorgeous!

Deep Fried Mars Bars

It sounds absolutely disgusting, but I must admit, I'm rather curious as 2 what they taste like. I mean, anything deep fried must be good, right? Apparently, they're all the rage in Scotland. I guess Americans are too health conscious for deep fried Mars bars, which is kind of funny considering all the reports saying we are the most overweight country in the world. Hmmm, I wonder if they named a candy bar a Saturn Bar after me, what it would taste like. It would have to be smooth, sweet, fruity and nutty. Sounds good! Hey, I already developed my own cocktail, why not go the candy bar route. Dip me in a vat of grease, honey!

I'm just dickalicious!

WTF - WHERE'S MY SHOPPING CART!

I almost forget that it's Tuesday, which means that it's WTF Day! Once again, Chuck Shepherd and his News of the Weird never fails me:

Despite a $7.5 million budget deficit, the city of Berkeley, Calif., bought a 40-foot-long refrigerated trailer last year for the sole purpose of storing shopping carts that had been commandeered by homeless people for their "stuff" but then abandoned. According to a November 2004 report in the San Francisco Chronicle, the city says the freezer prevents vermin infestation while authorities wait (up to 90 days) for the "owners" to reclaim their belongings. Critics of the program said the city should just confiscate the shopping carts, most of which had been stolen from merchants in the first place and almost all of which are never claimed, anyway. [San Francisco Chronicle, 11-16-04]

Once again, all I have 2 say is ... WTF???

FLU WHO?

I can see the light!! Today I don't feel quite as bad as I've felt the entire last week. Good grief, flu season sucks. Granted, I don't think I actually had the flu, just a really really bad cold. I think I've only had the flu once in my life. I was in 7th grade and it was one of those 24 hours bugs. I'd much rather suffer for 24 hours than drag it out for weeks on end if I had a choice in the matter. But anyhoo, I feel better today. I can actually breathe and taste food ... only now I have a swollen gum. It's always something, ain't it?

Cold or not, I'm going out tonight. I hate sitting at home every night, which is basically what I've done for the past week, well, except Saturday night. Even though it's cold as a bitch outside. Whew, I really miss Texas winters! And let's not even talk about snow, lord knows I'm dreading that!

Give me a ray of light over a snowman anyday!

When It Rains ...

So, it's been grey, gloomy and wet all week here in Baltimore. Yesterday had to be the highlight of the week for me though. I've been sick all week fighting a really nasty cold, my back has been killing me again ( a problem I thought I had taken care of), things with planning the CD release and promoting have been going hellishly slow and I realized with a jolt just how behind I am, and then on my way home from work there was an open hole in the ground that wasn't covered as it had been all week - no cones or construction signs or anything - and I ran right into it! I got a flat immediately and Lord only knows what damage it did to the underside of my car. That's just fucking great. As if I have money to go take care of this now! To make it worse, the bozos they sent out to fix my flat last night were a couple of bumbling idiots who didn't know what the hell they were doing! My car fell off the jack three times! How hard it it to change a tire??? Had my back not been hurting so bad and my nose not been running a marathon, or if I could even BREATHE though my nose for that matter, I'd have done it myself. Now, that would have been priceless. AND to make it all worse, the "boy" still has not called me. I don't get it ... one day he's calls me, like clockwork, and says he'll call the next day at noon ... and then that's the last I hear from him. He won't return my calls or anything. Now it's been ten days since he called last and twenty since I saw him last. What the hell is wrong with people? It's a simple fucking courtesy. Pick up the phone and say, "hey, I don't want to talk to u no mo'." Guess he's just a coward.

I hope the sun starts shining next week, I hope I get over this cold and I hope my back stops hurting. When I was a kid I used to hope that people would stop hating and killing each other, but I gave up on that long ago. Just wasted prayers.

"When all else is dim, I can still feel the music, my heartbeat ..."

IAMSATURN goes LIVE!

My new website is officially up and running, and my new CD "Deviant" is officially 4 sale. I'm not sure if I like the new design better than the old one, which I loved, but I felt I needed a change. This one isn't as artsy, but it has more features. Stop by the new site and tell me what U think! Don't forget 2 pick up a copy of my new CD while you're at it! ;-)

"I'm gonna make U a deviant!"
www.iamsaturn.com

Grammy Nominations

No real surprises here this year. Though I am glad to see Prince was nominated for "Musicology." While Musicology is a really good album, it isn't as good as his 2001 album "The Rainbow Children" which went completely ignored. I guess people couldn't get past the religious psychobabble. I've never put any stock into award shows. Awards are always subjective and really it's driven by a mixture of timing, marketing and what the tastes of the masses at the moment, which is usually in a constant flux. I wonder if I'll ever have all three forces on my side there.

I'm glad that Kanye West and Alicia Keys got a shitload of nominations, they deserved em. I think Usher is good, but way overrated, IMHO anyway.

If you haven't seem em yet, here's the list:

Nominations in top categories for the 47th annual Grammy Awards, announced Tuesday:

Record of the Year: "Let's Get It Started," The Black Eyed Peas; "Here We Go Again," Ray Charles and Norah Jones (news); "American Idiot," Green Day; "Heaven," Los Lonely Boys; "Yeah!" Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris.
Album of the Year: "Genius Loves Company," Ray Charles and Various Artists; "American Idiot," Green Day; "The Diary of Alicia Keys," Alicia Keys; "Confessions," Usher; "The College Dropout," Kanye West.
Song of the Year: "Daughters," John Mayer (news) (John Mayer); "If I Ain't Got You," Alicia Keys (Alicia Keys); "Jesus Walks," C. Smith and Kanye West (Kanye West); "Live Like You Were Dying," Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman (Tim McGraw); "The Reason," Daniel Estrin and Douglas Robb (Hoobastank).
New Artist: Los Lonely Boys; Maroon 5; Joss Stone; Kanye West; Gretchen Wilson.
Pop Vocal Album: "Genius Loves Company," Ray Charles and Various Artists; "Feels Like Home," Norah Jones; "Afterglow," Sarah McLachlan (news); "Mind, Body and Soul," Joss Stone; "Brian Wilson Presents Smile," Brian Wilson.
Rock Album: "The Delivery Man," Elvis Costello (news) and the Imposters; "American Idiot," Green Day; "The Reason," Hoobastank; "Hot Fuss," the Killers; "Contraband," Velvet Revolver.
R&B Album: "My Everything," Anita Baker; "I Can't Stop," Al Green; "The Diary of Alicia Keys," Alicia Keys; "Musicology," Prince; "Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2," Jill Scott.
Rap Album: "To the 5 Boroughs," Beastie Boys; "The Black Album," Jay-Z; "The DEFinition," LL Cool J; "Suit," Nelly; "The College Dropout," Kanye West.
Country Album: "Van Lear Rose," Loretta Lynn; "Live Like You Were Dying," Tim McGraw; "Tambourine," Tift Merritt; "Be Here," Keith Urban; "Here for the Party," Gretchen Wilson.
Latin Pop Album: "Amar Sin Mentiras," Marc Anthony; "SinVerguenza," Bacilos; "Pau-latina," Paulina Rubio; "Diego Torres: MTV Unplugged," Diego Torres; "El Rock De Mi Pueblo," Carlos Vives.


As Prince once said:

I don't wanna be a poet cuz I don't wanna blow it. I don't care 2 win awards. All I wanna do is dance and music, sex, romance and try my best 2 never get bored!

WTF - Pandrogyny

What the hell is Pandrogyny U ask? Well, until this morning, I'd never heard of it either. It's Tuesday, which means it's WTF Day (WTF = What the Fuck? for those not in the know) and once again, Chuck Shepard's News of the Weird does not let me down:

Eccentric British rock musician Genesis P-Orridge (born Neil Megson) and his wife and partner, Lady Jaye Breyer, are gradually transforming themselves surgically into gender-neutral human beings ("pandrogynous") resembling each other, so that eventually they will be indistinguishable, to demonstrate how overrated gender is as a point of reference. (For example, he wore a lace dress at their wedding, and she dressed as a biker guy, with moustache, and for Valentine's Day 2003, each got breast implants.) P-Orridge told SF Weekly in October that their goal is to jointly become a third person, distinct from either of them. [SF Weekly, 10-27-04]

All I have to say to Mr. Neil and Lady Jaye is ... WTF????

The Poor House

Apparently, that's where I could wind up if I continue on this path I'm on trying to make a career as an independent artist. There's a really great article (which I found on the ever enlightening spinme.com) in which ten very successful and touring musicians are interviewed about how they manage to balance their life with their music career. Long story short, just about all of them have other sources of income or other jobs ... they have to because they could not survive on music alone. I have to ask myself what measures success? How will I know when I am successful? When I can quit my day job and just work for myself? When I stop losing money on music and actually start making a little? Or am I successful everytime somebody buys my CD and really enjoys it? I don't know. The article wasn't very inspiring to me, though I think that was the intent To me, what it said was that even the most successful indie artists can't support themselves solely through their art. So, I have to ask myself, what am I gonna do? I can't work a dead end job all my life. The time has come for me to start thinking seriously about what my fiscal career will be, because obviously my music career isn't going to support me, even if I attain the level of success that the artists who were interviewed have attained after years in the business. I wonder if it's too late 2 be a porn star! (joking, people, joking ... kind of) Hey, it worked for Paris Hilton!

Anyhoo, I'll have to ponder these heavy issues tomorrow. I've made more corrections to the new website, which will launch this week hopefully, and my lil' ass is tired.

One sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep ...zzzzzzzzzzzz

JINX

Yep, that's what I've done surely, I've jinxed whatever relationship might have happened with a certain beautiful boy just by merely saying how happy being with him made me in my last post. I don't know how else to explain it. Not a call, not a word, not an email in over 5 days. Nothing. And I haven't seen him in even longer. I'd like to think it was something I did or it was something wrong, but the fact of the matter is ... it's just typical. And to make it all worse the little fucker has my cd. I was doing so good with being a closed-hearted playa ... why'd he have to come along and make me feel something again? It sucks. I hate boys ... especially the beautiful ones - like Prince said, they smash the picture everytime. God, that's one of my favorite songs in life. Anyhoo, onto bigger and better things, otherwise known as ... replacement therapy!

B4 I sign off I have one thing 2 say 2 the little fucker who has apparently lost his cell phone and forgotten my number ...

I miss U ...