Make Music Monday

I'm Back!
It's Monday. Yesterday I had a string of creativity overcome me, I wasn't able to focus it on my project, but I did manage a great new song.

Check it out:



Yes, I'm pretty happy about it. Although I do talk about it starting around 22 and such I've been going through all of the things in the song since I was 19 or so. And it all came to a front the past year when I started to freak out and wonder what the fuck am I going to do with my life, and I realized up to this point in my life I was just trying to live my life according to some societal or parental view and not my own. Which is just ludicrous and I refuse to live up to society or my parent's views of how I am supposed to make my life happen. Thankfully now that I've figured that out I've been a lot more confident and happy in where I am at my life, and realize I'm doing things the way that I should be doing them and achieving the goals that I want, not ones that are someone's idea of what I should do. It's very enlightening I tell you!

The internet was helpful in this also, I didn't know what I was feeling actually was something that had a name and that other people experienced frequently. Here are some links that are helpful.

Quarter Life Crisis Definition
Mae Jane talks about Quarter Life Crisis on her Blog Doc.U.Menting

I believe I am out of the slump that was most of January, I have the greatest art project idea I've been working on, but I'm waiting 2 more weeks for my tax return monies to get here so I can finish the projects, I ran out of white-out half-way into one of my drawings and I'm super broke [$2 in my bank after rent until thurs! eek!]. But I'm working on a multi-medium project.
All that I can say about it so far, is that it's part Photographic, and part drawing/painting. I will have 5 pieces of each medium, and it's theme is revolving around the 70s and Sex.

Oh the Gov't Shanked me on my tax return also, I'm really surprised I don't have a hate-song about the Gov't yet..

Until next time.

Much Love,
Jemibook

Youtube Favorites

I've been a part of the Youtube Craze since Jan 06 and I have over 40 videos I've made and posted on there, some of my music, some of my life in chicago, some of this crazy theme I had with my ex-roomate Haniel, I haven't made videos in awhile because of no longer having access to a video-camera, and using my digital one is just agonizing because it cuts out every 30 seconds.
But I do still frequent Youtube for fun new inspiring videos.
Here are a few of my favorite videos from over the years.



As you'll notice almost all of my choices are music videos, or song-remakes, a great song plus stimulating visuals just make the song and the experience so fulfilling to me.













What are some Youtube/Any Other Video Website, video's that you have favorited?

Much Love,
Jemibook

On Repeat

Who loves finding new music? Great new music that just fits your style and you wonder how you ever did without it in your collection?

I DO!

I've had the super-pleasure to find a nice collection of songs in the past week/month.
So I've decided that I will start a little new thing on Music for this blog.

Every Friday I will post a collection of 5 songs I have been playing on repeat, they can be old, new, played-out, hidden, secret, or top 40's. Anything that I just have been playing non-stop.

Here is this week's Line-up.

Kimya Dawson : Tire swing
Yael Naim : New Soul
The Bird and the Bee : Fucking Boyfriend
Born Ruffians : Barnacle Goose
Sondre Lerche : Modern Nature

And you can download and listen to them also using this link.
DivShare File - Archive.zip

The songs this week have helped me dance, stay in touch with my kitschy side, and fall head over heels in love.

What Songs have you been playing on repeat?

Much Love,
Jemibook

Jem and the Holograms

If it's not obvious it should be that I'm a baby of the 80s.
Unlike others I embraced it and took as much as my mind was able to of it at the time.
One thing in particular stood out to me more than others, and that was the show 'Jem and the Holograms'.
Thanks to older family members I had hand-me-down dolls, games, books, and I watched the show on the telly.
Their outlandish 80s fashion-sense and vividly colored hair has inspired me throughout life.

Sometime in 2002 I re-named myself Jem because I found it much more fitting than my mother and father's chosen name 'Jennifer', not much of a far stretch but it encapsulated everything that I felt was me.
Firstly it's very simple and neat, and I'm a fan of minimalist clean looking names like Zoe. On the other hand it had references to my favorite cartoon of the 80s and character and whom I got much inspiration from. Finally it was an easy transition from my chosen name and I was able to spread it about easily and confidently as my own.
Sure people still get it messed up when I introduce myself for the first time thinking i'm saying [Jim or Gem] but I'll take the time to correct them or sometimes I even have to write it out but they get it in the end, and those special people out there who say 'You mean from that 80s television show' they win my heart eternally.

I think it was a combination of Jem, Frenchie in Grease, and my art teacher in 6th grade who fully inspired me to dye my hair unnatural colors especially pink, always my choice of dye on ladies and men's alike. My mom might wonder why I'm so weird, but check out my influences lady!

As a parting note to this strange entry I'll leave you with a little video I found thanks to the Coilhouse Blog.



Much Love,
Jemibook

Outfit of this day.

This is my outfit for going out to Square One's [Are Friend's Electric]. I decided to make my outfit this time and I constructed this dress out of two different fabrics and three different kinds of lace, it's all hand-sewn and didn't take a terribly long time to make, I'm pleased with it's deconstructed-dolly look.

I paired it with two layers of stockings, one shade is white and the under layer is the same color as my neck-scarf-thingy, I should probably learn the proper name for it.
I tied some lace to my wrists and wore my favorite pair of heels.
My hair was also a bit of an experiment, I pin curled it last night and slept in it and woke up to a lovely mess of curls, I pinned up half of it and installed some clip-in hair extensions that I made for myself for halloween.

One pearl earring for good measure and a collection of necklaces to top everything off.

Can't wait to go out and have fun!

Make Music Monday

Good Afternoon Readers of this blog.

Jemibook Here. January has not been kind to this young-lady, and last week was no exception, I've strangely lost my musical inspiration for the project I have started on and it's really upsetting to me. Factors have inhibited my positive mood lately and am hoping that the passing of this month and into February one of my more favorite months for several reasons will bring things back to normal for me musically/creatively.

I've been working on a song for two weeks now, not a song for the concept I have been trying to pursue just something that came to me while I was working a few weeks ago, but I've been having the worst time finding the lyrics coming to me, it's been frustrating because I want to have this goal every week to make a new song but my life just doesn't want things to go that way.

Although I have been very enamored with taking up drawing/painting/sketching much more lately, that and finding even more thrifty ways to live and eat. I want to put an effort more into this but I feel it will take away from what I am trying to do here with my music.

I think I may just be let down because my aspirations of moving early in the year are most likely not going to work out because of my financial situations at the moment and I've started to look for a new job to help remedy this, but that's difficult for me because I know it will keep me here longer, and I was all set on not doing that.

Sure plans change, but it just sucks because I had all of this built up, and I was making plans and setting things into motion and letting family members know and so-forth and now all of it has gone to shit unless something incredible happens.

But as music goes I am still trying to work on it and forge through with something, I finally finished this song today.




It came out mostly as I had it in my head, but I've decided I'm not going to pressure myself to pop out a new song every monday, but I will post a song that I have made or redone every Monday, and if I manage to feel inspired musically I will post it obviously, I'm hoping this will pass that I will be back on track soon, but look forward to seeing other creative efforts from me in exchange.

That is all for now.

Much Love,

Jemibook

Secret Cupcakes Blasted!

I guess I'm trying to keep up with one of my new year's resolutions a week. This week, post more blog-entries!




About Cupcakes of course!
I made this lovely batch yesterday in the middle of the day. I had a chocolate craving because of that lovely time of the month and I needed a fix, so I whipped up these lovelies but I wanted them to be a bit different than just plain ole chocolate fudge cupcakes - especially because I didn't have any frosting to top them with.

So I added a dollop of Peanut-Butter into the middle and cooked them away, and I remembered I had some left over white-chocolate in my fridge from my White Chocolate Cherry Craisin Shortbread cookies so I decided to roll the tops in it and sprinkle them with some lovely heart sprinkles!

I think they turned out lovely and the chocolate/peanut butter insides are super decadent I can usually eat 3 or 4 cupcakes at a time but I can only eat 1 one these at a time and that's a pretty big deal for a girl who sports a cupcake tattoo on her side.



Most people don't know that I have this because it's not in such a place that most people see but I adorned it on my body in 2006 and love it dearly, it's funny because it's in a place that I can't see every time I look in the mirror I forget that it's there and when I do see it, it surprises me - it's such a great treat!

Why Did I get a cupcake on my side? Well I had an ebay bizzness back in the years from 2004-2006 and a lot of my swag was directed at cute food stuffs [before the whole cupcake thing got to Hot-Topic proportions] I had to make my own treasures to wear out and thought that others would be interested in doing the same thing so a love for the cake and creatively expressing myself created [ Jem Inc. ] the name of my company back then, it was great while it lasted but I ran out of steam around the time my then relationship ended and started to peruse other creative outlets for myself, I haven't gone back to that creative medium since then it's funny how big my life has changed since then, mind-body-and soul. This cupcake tattoo reminds me of that time and is just aesthetically pleasing for me.

Oh and a p.s. on cupcakes - I read this blog [Cupcakes Take the Cake] one that's been feeding my obsession with the Cakes for years now, and They found the above picture and posted it on their blog - I feel honored!

Check it out here [ http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com ]

Well Until Later,

Much Love,

Jemibook

Outfit Round-up!

Here is a collection of my outfits from the past few months, Click on them to see it as it was intended to be viewed!









There are days that I wish I had a specific style that I followed, mostly because I am jealous of people who have a highly developed specific style, but the problem for me and achieving such a thing is that I absolutely can not settle on one style, so I flip and flop to different styles as easily as I wake up in the morning and feel I should adorn myself with such clothing for the day. I never think I shouldn't be dressing like a certain style a certain day it's just assumed, maybe it will develop into something somewhere down the line.

Until then I will get my creative inspiration from those who have their own specific style and continue learning the ways of fashion/clothing/image.

Much Love,
Jemibook

Writer's Block.

My very first Writer's Block, has to happen in the beginning of the year horrible. I equate it to the fact I'm having a bit of a financial problem at my house this month and I'm stressing a little over it, and trying to indulge in immediate happiness instead of trying to work hard @ pushing something out of my mind for it.

I started a new song last week and worked more on it today but it's still not fully how I want it to be so I don't want to throw it out into the waters yet.

But of course I will present you with a song.



I did this cover Last May when I was living in Palm coast, kind of spur of the moment while I was painting my room so I could move to Jacksonville, you'll hear some extra sounds which now is funny to me because it was my then roomate Christoff coming in while I was recording. I miss living with him he was a fun roomate. We used to jam out together in the living room and garage he plays guitar and has been in multiple bands he is an incredibly talented lyricist I hope one day to produce things of his caliber.

Now I've just got to work on getting out of this funk, and find some place where I can work for the day and make some extra money, any ideas?

Much Love,
Jemibook

Make Music Monday [ Introduction to Happiness]

Hallo My Loves!
Aren't I glad the Holiday's are over! Yes! I had a nice quiet weekend caring for a sick boy and picked up some new books at the local Library, and some sweet pins @ the Flea Market for a whole Dollar - now that's what I call a deal!

And now onto the music! Today I will be presenting you with the first song off the new album that's being created day by day over here @ Jemibook Headquarters!



It's the start of something that can only get spectacularly messy, aren't you excited?!!

New Developments include : More Drawings of the Dynamic Duo of Jemibook - Sticker ideas forming - Costume Ideas

Also! If you play the ukulele and you read my blog let me know I'd love to let the world know about other Ukulele players because whenever I tell someone I play the Ukulele they are always surprised, I think we should let the world know we're not alone!

Well Until Next Time,

Much Love,
Jemibook

Jemibook Resolutions!