january 24, 2004
I'm back!!

I want to start by apologizing for not updating the site and entering a new RANT for a few weeks now. Let's say that I literally up and left my New Jersey life and headed to the mean streets of Iowa.

Iowa? What the hell goes on there, you ask?

I decided to devote my time to the Howard Dean campaign. What an incredible experience. I saw him speak live 3 times (and, yes, one of those times was the now infamous "Iowa Scream" speech... which was just amazing) and met him twice, along with Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, Janeane Garofalo, Martin Sheen, and Rob Reiner. Also, on the plane ride from Chicago to Des Moines, I was joined by Ambassador Carol Moseley-Braun, who dropped out of the presidential race and is now endorsing Howard Dean. What a smart gal. I worked 15 hour days, ate lunch at 9PM, slept in a winterized summer camp, walked 50-yards to the bathroom and cold shower in the cold weather, turned two rooms of a Motel 6 into a Howard Dean operation base, called hundreds of people volunteering with my favorite PrAP-C people, sang karaoke and blew away the Iowans in a crazy Iowa bar, and just worked hard. I met some incredible people from all over the country and learned so much. I will most likely be working some other states soon. This is something I will do over and over again, especially to help Howard Dean win the nomination and the White House.

Now, I'm back in New Jersey, looking forward to going into a studio soon and recording some original songs. I've been listening to a lot of my influences lately... Stevie Wonder, Janis Joplin, Prince, Robin Thicke, Freddie Mercury, classic rock, funk rock, Motown, Michael Jackson (okay, freaky, but everyone loves some MJ) getting ideas and getting ready. I'm hoping to create a sound not heard often that really rocks... with a hot beat. Interesting, but it will work. I can't wait for you all to hear it.

It's cold, huh? Like... too cold. I left New Jersey and it was 5 degrees, got to Iowa and it was 45. Who does that? At the end of the trip, it did get just as cold, but I had my trusty orange Perfect Storm hat that was featured all over national news.

So, a large part of my summer life was American Idol. Unfortunately, it seems that they didn't show much of me as of yet. Just a quick second on the debut show in the background. Who knows, I'm a possiblity for the Wild Card show, so we'll see!

Until next time!

live. love. laugh. be happy. and stay sexy...
~anthony