Oh good gravy....how could I have missed the launch of this website?
Have you ever stumbled upon something so wonderful and then realize it has been around a while you just didn't know about it? Well that is exactly what happened to the Greek girl when I stumbled upon a website called RockCityClub - The Social Music Network
According to news reports I just read says the site started in November of last year? Where was I? I asked my manager Mr. Bricks why didn't I know about this yet and he reminded me that last November I was in sunny Florida getting my tan on, not working on business. OK, what ever Bricks, but seriously, I didn't find out about this wonderful site until just a few weeks ago. But it is fantastic...especially for someone like me who is pursuing a career as a recording artist, but doesn't had a sad enough story to be on a prime time show like American Idol or The Voice.
The site is founded by a bunch of music industry executives, including Jack Wishna who has worked with EVERYBODY in the music industry including Michael Jackson and Britney Spears. Also music legend Don Kirshner who was involved before his recent death. He was famous for great bands and musicians like Kansas, The Monkees, Carole King and Neil Diamond.
The concept behond this social networking site is that it is 100% inclusive. You dont have to go from website to website to find out info about an artist (like me) everything is there in one spot: music, photos, videos, bio, etc. And it's just not for fans, it's an actual site that real music producers and executives are looking at the talent. So, that's perfect for someone like me becauise unless a music producer knew to type in Avaaston.com, he wouldn't find all of my Greekeness! And then he would have to go to Youtube to see my videos, and iTunes to download my music....but it's all there, right at RockCityClub.com
It's a perfect site for fans to connect with their favorite artist or group without all of the clutter Facebook brings with it. I mean, when I get a message from a fan on Rock City Club no one wants to have me buy their farm animals or play their favorite online slot machine or poke me. They just want to talk about my music... and I like that!!!
Don't wait till the buzzer to get your final four in
Based on a true story.... (sorta)
Int. Chinese Nail Salon - Present Day
Ava sits getting her toes done by a cute Chinese woman.
She looks up to Ava and says:
MANICURIST
You want quick dry, one dollar extra?
AVA ASTON
Yes please.
Oh and can I get a ten minute back massage
when my nails are done?
Then Ava's iPhone begins to ring: Ring, Ring, Ring.
She looks and sees the caller ID it's her manager "MR BRICKS". She's excited and answers quickly.
AVA ASTON
Hello?
CUT TO:
INT. Mr. Brick's Secret Man Cave - Same
A room adorned with shag carpets and velvet wallpaper with a homemade old fashioned style glowing popcorn machine sits in the corner popping fresh popcorn. Mr. Bricks is pacing the room on the phone while dangling a hotdog over his dog Sunny who is dancing at his feet.
The TV set from 1982 glows across the room.
MR. BRICKS
"Ava! Ava! Did you hear the good news!?
Ava nearly jumps out of her skin as she splashes the manicurist with her feet as she jolts up standing in the in the nail salon foot bath.
AVA ASTON
What? What?! Tell me, tell me, tell me!!
You got me a record deal?!?
Mr. Bricks stops in his tracks dumbfounded and surprised Ava doesn't know why he's calling.
MR. BRICKS
No. No I didn't?
Ava my favorite college team might
make it into the final four this year.
Isn't that exciting?"
Back in the nail salon Ava drops back into her seat again splashing the manicurist making sure this time the iPhone is on silent and put away in her purse.
THE END.
See what I am dealing with? When Mr. Brick's called me I had no idea what in the world he was talking about. I have heard of final four before but I thought it was that movie and he later reminded me it was actually the Fantastic Four. That still didn't make sense. In my noggin there is little room for minutia and in this case knowing that Mr. Brick's favorite college basketball team might make it to the final four is one of those moments where the delete button in my noggin is pressed - very hard and quick mind you. If it doesn't have to do with working out, coffee, skincare, animals or of course my music - it's highly unlikely it will make it past my minutia meter.
How can I be so cold you ask? Well, see here's how the Greek Girl's noggin works. Everything is categorized. In my world everything has a place and it's called "away". So imagine if you will it's a busy place in my noggin and for me to have to store away what Mr. Bricks' favorite basketball team is and why they are going to get into the final four of anything is very unlikely to get past the gate in my coconut.
Now you must be wondering, what was I thinking when he mentioned the "final four"? Well in my noggin here is how the Greek Girl rolls when it comes down to what "final fours" really matter:
1. Final Four awards: Grammy, Oscar, Emmy, Tony
2. Final Four sips of my Dunkin Donut's coffee
3. Final Four minutes of my massage after getting my nails done
4. Final Four minutes of my 4 mile run
5. Final Four Trainers Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels, Sean T, Tony Horton
6. Final Four places to go shopping TJ Maxx, Kohls, Express & Abercrombie
7. Final Four size smalls left in the cute little zip-up hoodie hanging on the rack in Abercrombie
8. Final Four places I want to visit Paris, London, Crete, Sydney
9. Final Four Duets I want to sing with Kelley Clarkson, Sting, John Rzeznik, Pat Benatar
10. Final Four things I want Mr. Brick's to do: Get me a Record Deal, an Oscar winning role, in a Hit Broadway Show, my own Award Winning Sitcom. (see rule 1)
See, when I hear final four there are categories that it could have fallen into. None of which had anything to do with basketball let alone Mr. Brick's favorite college. I didn't even think he knew what college was, other than "clown college" of course. Oh well, maybe better luck next time. Let's just say that's what call screening is for.
Now before you go getting your pantaloons all in a wad, no I'm not talking about me. I repeat the Greek Girl is NOT Pregnant. (That is not going to happen at least until after I have my 1st Grammy). Now unless you've been living under a rock you would know that Jersey Shore's resident princess Snooki is however knocked up. Oh and in case you might be wondering, I think she might be registered at your local tanning salon.
All joking aside I've been noticing a lot of hoopla about "contraception" in the news lately. I mean who hasn't?... unless of course you've been under that dang rock again hiding from Snooki (and I can't blame you on that one). Seriously though, the thing that I've been noticing is that there seems to be just a wee bit of hypocrisy going on in this whole debate in the media.
Oh boy where is her Greek noggin going this time? You see there appears to be a whole bunch of people who seem to "get" sarcasm when it suits them. For example if Bill Maher or Jon Stewart make a remark about someone it has to be "sarcasm", right? When it doesn't benefit them, they can take a line or series of them in this case and twist them entirely out of proper context and blow them ridiculously out of proportion. Yes I am talking about the Rush Limbaugh comments about Sandra Fluke. Now I was not listening, however being the good greek girl that I am I did what any good investigative reporter would do... I went to youtube to see for myself exactly what he said. Was it the best choice to illustrate the sarcastic dry point he was trying to make?... Not my call, but I still got what he was trying to say.
Listen you do not have to be a rocket scientist to comprehend that as a person you are responsible for your own dang self. I really do not care if we are talking about a struggling law student from a poor family, a law student from a very wealthy family, or anything in between... In my coconut, her whole argument to congress about why she needs to have her birth control paid for was nonsense. If there is a medical necessity ie: ovarian cysts or something else like that and a woman needs to medically be on birth control, then yes by all means insurance should cover it. Otherwise, if you want to be on birth control because you want to have sex without a conscience, then pay for it, wether it costs up to $3,000.00 a year as she stated to congress, or get it at your local target where all generics are $4.00, or you could do something really radical and discover an ancient Greek girl secret... a calendar.
A what? You read it right, I wrote a calendar. You know that genius little invention that helps you keep track of things, like say your ummm female cycle. If Sandra Fluke or anyone else does not want to get knocked up like Snooki, maybe they ought to check that out. There - Problem solved.
Where the hypocrisy comes in is where was the moral outrage when people like Bill Maher not sarcastically mind you, but full on out called Sarah Palin the following: the c-word, a category 5 moron, a dumb twat, and even went so far as to call an innocent baby Trig Palin an "inbred weirdo".
Where was Gloria Allred when Ed Shultz called Laura Ingram a "right wing slut" on his radio program? Or how about when Keith Olbermann said that conservative commentator S.E. Cupp "should have been aborted by her parents"? Or when he called conservative blogger, commentator and author Michelle Malkin a "mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick"? I donno call me crazy, but we have a word for this in the Greek language, folks it is called hypocrisy. Back to the dictionary we go...
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have.[1] Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie.[1]
The word hypocrisy comes from the Greek ὑπόκρισις (hypokrisis), which means "Jealous" "play-acting", "acting out", "coward" or "dissembling".[3] The word hypocrite is from the Greek word ὑποκρίτης (hypokrites), the agentive noun associated with υποκρίνομαι (hypokrinomai κρίση, "judgment" »κριτική (kritiki), "critics") presumably because the performance of a dramatic text by an actor was to involve a degree of interpretation, or assessment.
(just so you knew I wasn't kidding when I said it came from us Greeks.) ;D
OK see what I mean? All the moral outrage about the Sandra Fluke comments from Rush Limbaugh, and what do we hear from the feminists and the people who cry for social justice when someone launches an all out character assassination on a "conservative woman"? What do you hear?.... (insert cricket sounds here)
So what am I getting at? No matter what side of the political aisle you like to sit on - if it's wrong for one side then it's wrong for the other. It's wrong all around, you can't have it both ways. At the end of the day the only person that should be held accountable for your body, is you. It makes no sense for women to be blinded to the reality that in the 1960's they were burning bra's because they didn't want to be controlled - yet now they are asking the government to quite literally not just enter their bedroom but their womb.
All the while what are we saying to our youth in this whole argument? That men don't need to be responsible, have all the sex you want, it's OK as long as you are on the pill?... Good grief! It seems like the moral compass of society is a little out of whack - just sayin.
WARNING: My filter has been permanently removed. (and this time I think it may just be broken beyond repair) My Good Greek Girl disclaimer: I did not personally know Andrew Breitbart, nor do I claim to be an expert on anything Andrew. This is just my humble opinion about the behavior surrounding his recent sad passing.
I was shocked as many were to learn about the passing of conservative blogger, publisher, author, and political commentator Andrew Breitbart. He was many things to many people, to some he was a fearless leader and to others he was a mortal enemy. Whatever you may have thought of him, he was an innovator, a pioneer, creative, and brave. He was not afraid to talk about what he believed, or to passionately disagree with those who reviled in ridiculing him. There is a lesson to be learned here folks, the question that keeps popping up in my Greek Noggin is, will anyone pay attention?
What am I rambling about? Well I am personally saddened by the news. Because not only did I admire Andrew Breitbart for his courage and creativity, but also because I met him at an event I performed at in 2010. He was down to earth, kind and gracious. Even though he was running late to leave, he continued to stop to pose for pictures with his admirers. There was everyone from little kids to little old ladies and everything in between... and little old me. He gave a rousing speech that day, and he did as he always did, he inspired and fired up his audience. He had a way of cutting to the facts, speaking the truth, and standing on his convictions regardless of the consequences. He was known to be hot headed at times, and even polarizing especially to those who lived to taunt him. However the thing I noticed was even though he was all of those things, I am not aware of him acting like an animal in his disagreement with others.
I had the pleasure of meeting him at an event where I performed...
I started to notice a disturbing trend Thursday in the news media, via twitter, facebook and all the usual suspects. Just to be sure I was remembering correctly I went back and re-read some articles, and even his own twitter feed. "This is War" he would often say, and as we know in any war, things can get bloody down in the trenches. He would often re-tweet the horrible things those who opposed him would tweet to him. It appeared he reviled in it, as if it let him know he was getting to his opponents. One thing I saw was consistent though, it is one thing to disagree with someone and to be passionate, it is quite another to hurl malicious evil obscenities and death threats. Something those who opposed him did on a regular basis. Although he was himself fighting a war and bold in his arguments, defense of himself or in making his points, he did not behave in a grotesque manner.
This is what I find so troublesome. How did we get to the point where one side is demanding to be treated fairly, equally and to be heard? Yet these same people will not tolerate an opposing opinion? Why can we not have a civil discussion about the dreaded social topics, politics or religion without vilianizing and or demonizing the other person, and making them our enemy?!? Why did it have to be a war in the first place? Who is it that decided that there should be this systematic brainwashing of an entire nation into one political ideology anyway? No I'm not looking at the world through my kumbyah rosy colored glasses, but seriously... When did we stop being human beings to each other? When did we stop all being Americans free to be or think whatever we choose, and instead have to live in fear of being ridiculed for having our own opinion?
I was disgusted with some of the things tweeted after the news of his passing spread. The straw that broke the Greek Girls back and I think the thing that may just have permanently removed my filter this time was the Rolling Stone website article. Regardless of anyone's political ideology for the love of God - WHERE is the DECENCY???? This was totally uncalled for. Personally I think the "_____" in this case is the writer Matt Taibbi.
@dufus: Did we cry when Hitler died? No.. #Breitbart see you in hell asshole
@jeffglasse: Andrew Breitbart now enjoying afternoon tea with Hitler #goodriddanceyouhack @andrewbreitbart: I don't support drawing disgusting cartoons to gain publicity over it. But nice to know u stand firmly behind Muslim hate. Josh M @TheSocialest : Good riddance Breitbart. Hopefully they put James O'Keefe in your casket. Natasha Yar-Routh @xiomberg : Andrew Breitbart is dead, good riddance to bad trash. He was a vile excuse for a human being John Kapp @johnkapp : Andrew Breitbart was a racist, sexist, homophobe. Good riddance. Andrew Breitbart is dead. "Good! F*ck him." Why@mtaibbi couldn't be happier:http://bitly.com/xZXP9W
That should be enough to illustrate my point. I don't care what your beliefs are, what political party you subscribe to, what your sexual orientation is, or what your religion or non-religion is, no human being should be spoke to or written about that way - period. Have any of these seriously misguided people who tweeted this hatred ever heard the saying, "what goes around comes back around" or how about "do unto others as you would have done to you"? The lesson to be learned here is that this is no way to talk to anyone, period. You can disagree with people, and still have a conversation. In case anyone who would be inclined to agree with these hateful individuals, need I remind you the definition of a conversation. Lets go to the Merriam Webster Dictionary for the definition shall we?
Conversation: a (1): oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas (2): an instance of such exchange :talk <a quietconversation>b: an informal discussion of an issue by representatives of governments, institutions, or groups
The Greek Girl has another word these people should revisit...
Tolerance: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own.
Since so many of Breitbart's haters demand this word. Possibly they should revisit the definition and realize that the measuring stick they are using to measure Breitbart and other's they disagree with, points right back at them. If you demand tolerance then you should also be able to give tolerance. If you disagree with someone, anyone whether it be a media figure, your neighbor, your brother, your mother, I don't care who it is... Act like a human being. Have a fricking civil conversation, exchange ideas, have a healthy debate even, but do not ever villify or demonize those who have different opinions than you do.
That is a very slippery slope my friends. If we do that, then we essentially are saying to each other, just keep your opinions to yourself, it's easier that way. Where will that lead us? Some of the most brilliant partnerships, inventions and ideas have come from people who have different points of view. That is where the magic and genius can happen. I don't know, call me crazy but I believe it is wrong to hate someone just because they do not share your ideology. I also believe it is also wrong to try to silence someone just because you do not agree with them. Last time I checked, we were living in America. Good men and women fought and bled and died for that freedom. When ignorant people espouse vitriolic hatred just because they do not agree, they disrespect and dishonor that freedom.
In honor of Andrew Breitbart's fearlessness for speaking out about what he believed in, I have decided to be fearless myself and to post the original "controversial?" video version of my song "We The People". I jokingly say "controversial" because I don't see anything controversial about capturing the essence of a movement. To illustrate through pictures the story of how people in September of 2009 decided to stand up and speak out against what they saw as the America they knew and loved being threatened. To stand in support of the United States Constitution.
As a songwriter, that is my job, to write about the things I see around me and feel. Yes it may have offended people who do not share the sentiments of the Tea Party, but controversial? I hardly think so... I lost bookings, friends, and even opportunities over the video. My intention was to capture "the movement" in the video, which I think it did. My song was not written about left or right, it was written about right and wrong. So stand up for what you believe in no matter what it is like Andrew did. Yes, and even speak out with those who might not share your beliefs... but do so with respect, and treat people - all people even if you disagree with dignity.
Goodbye Andrew Breitbart, your words and your mission will live on in those you gave a voice to, you're in the arms of the angels now.
