S is for Singing...as in we love ourselves some music!

My friend Becky, the same one who had the idea for the topic for my A to Z, had a wonderful topic for the letter 'M', however, I already had an 'M'...I've moved it to 'S'. Here's what she said would be a good topic:

"Music you really have liked throughout the last 15 years and ones you think you would want to share with Lila. Everytime I listen to my U2 I think of you. Maybe you could share a few songs that happened during certain times in your life and what challenges you overcame at that time, or what the song meant to you...Or your first song you and Chris both liked, as well as Lila's first song."

And, here are my thoughts...

I can chart my life by music. I didn't realize how nostalgic this made me until I got old enough to have life moments worth remembering. Benny Goodman, Cliff Richards and "The Grease" soundtrack remind of weekends at my grandparents house. "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac reminds me of the moment I realized I loved this boy in high school; that song also reminds me of the huge fight we had that damaged our friendship. If I want to remember significant high school moments I just pop in the "Boomerang" soundtrack or listen to a little NKOTB or Ace of Base. Yesterday I was just talking about slow dancing to "November Rain". I can chart every moment of my college career by song; DC Talk and Jars of Clay, "The Reality Bites" soundtrack, Oasis, Tim McGraw, "Dare to Care" concerts and Mazzy Starr. I remember sitting in the living room of a house I shared with friends talking and listening to Sheryl Crow's, "If It Makes You Happy"...I remember this moment like it was yesterday...my cat Winnie is at my feet and the smell of a cake we just baked is wafting from the blue walled kitchen. I knew that Chris and I would get along just fine when we spent a night listening to music and talking about our memories we pretty much went through our own personal catalogs of music and events. I knew that our relationship was perfect, when we bought tickets for the opening U2 show in Chicago.

The thing is I think that every single moment of life is wonderful and marvelous. I think that they should not be forgotten.

It just makes sense that I would chart our lives with Lila in the same manner. For my personal baby-shower I made the following compilation for each guest. I wanted a list of songs that I enjoyed that were all about raising and loving little girls. We also had U2's "Vertigo Tour" DVD playing in the background.

Baby Girl CD

Sugar, Sugar The Archies                      

Gracie Ben Folds Five                 

She's Gotta Way Billy Joel                             

Where You Lead I Will Follow Carole King and Louise Gaffin                   

Never Grow Old The Cranberries                              

It Won't Be Like This for Long  Darius Rucker                  

Sweet Child O' Mine Guns and Roses                              

Amazing Janelle                

Intelligentactile 101 Jesca Hoop                       

Little Miss Magic Jimmy Buffet                   

There Goes My Life Kenny Chesney                              

Time of Your Life Little Steven                     

In My Daughter's Eyes Martina McBride                            

Seven Years Norah Jones                     

Songbird Oasis                   

Little Wonders Rob Thomas                     

Pretty Dress Rosie Thomas                  

My Little Girl Tim McGraw                    

Original of the Species U2                        

My Darling Wilco     

The other day I came home from being away for the whole weekend, Chris and Lila were just vegging on the couch watching the waving PS3 screensaver listening to Pink Floyd. One time in the not to distant past, Chris came home and we were watching the videos and dancing around to:

"Dog Days" by Florence + the Machine

"1, 2, 3, 4" by Fiest

For the most part, however, on her own Lila has pretty chees-tastic taste...I can only assume that all 2 year-olds are like this and would prefer:

Elmo and India Arie singing the ABCs

"10 Little Numbers"...and, if you sing it "10 Little Indians" she will freak!

Chris and I are both lovers of music and from an early age we have instilled that love into our daughter.
At 7-months she would hum along to:

"From Where I'm Standing" by Schulyer Fisk in the movie I Am Reed Fish

Music she likes and will seek out
Pop music, every kid goes through this phase and I can jam out to Justin Bieber, "High School Musical" and Selena Gomez right along with her..."I love you like a love song, baby"...try getting that out of your head.
The first song she every sang the words to was:

"Rhythm of Love" by The Plain White Ts...we just call this the Ba-Ba Song

The thing is our musical taste have seeped into her everyday thoughts. I know that my kiddo will have no choice but to like U2 and Coldplay and Michael Jackson, just as I know that I have no choice about liking Elvis and Abba and Michael Jackson. This is the kind of music that I grew up with and I have wonderful memories associated with every song. I hope that when Lila Jane turns 35 she can say the same.

For more about my life in music, check out my 30 Day Song Challenge.

"Music & Me"
Michael Jackson

We've been together for such a long time now
Music, music and me
Don't care whether all our songs rhyme
Now music, music and me

Only know wherever I go
We're as close as two friends can be
There have been others
But never two lovers
Like music, music and me

Grab a song and come along
You can sing your melody
In your mind you will find
A world of sweet harmony

Birds of a feather we'll fly together
Now music, music and me
Music and me

K is for Kindie

Kindie: Kid-friendly Indie Rock

From Wikipedia:

Kindie rock is a style of children's music that "melds the sensibility of the singer-songwriter with themes aimed at kids under 10." Many popular kindie rock artists first gained fame as adult performers: these include Dan Zanes and They Might Be Giants. Other well-known kindie rock artists started directly in the genre, or did not achieve commercial success until moving in that direction: such artists include Laurie Berkner, Recess Monkey, and Tim and the Space Cadets. Children's music veterans, Greg & Steve and Bobby Susser introduced various forms of kindie rock to the school supply industry in the mid 70s, and continue to do so, within their repertoire. Cornering the market on kid-hop by blending hip-hop rhymes with imaginative storytelling is Secret Agent 23 Skidoo.

One time while I was pregnant I was rummaging through Barnes and Nobles kid music section. I understand and appreciate all that rock music set to lullabies and I get Kidz Bop and enjoy Raffi and Steve Songs.  I was looking for music that I would enjoy and that wasn't sooooooooo you know kid (annoying)-centric. Thumbing through the music, I found our favorite family band The Jimmies and I learned all about Kindie by going to their website and then Googling the term. Of course, being the music lover I am I became addicted, ergo Lila became addicted. We enjoy Mother Goose songs and all of that, but Kindie rock ensures that both parents and children are having a good time.

We enjoy:
They Might Be Giants
Greg and Steve
Medeski, Martin and Wood
The Not-Its

But...
The Jimmies are our favoritest in the whole wide world!

Parents! Are You Ready for Kindie Rock? Time Magazine article

What can I say we're trend-setting Midwestern parents!?

55 Books in a Year: Book #3 Geek Girls Unite, How Fangirls, Bookworms, Indie Chicks, and Other Misfits are Taking Over the World

I am a geek. I've embraced that fact from the first day I went to visit my grandfather and he told me stories about WWII and his early life in PA. While other kids were reading Amelia Bedelia (and, I read her too!), I was reading about fighter jets and pilots and Tuskegee Airmen...collecting WWII stories was my first foray into geekdom.

Fast forward to a few years later, which you can read all about here, I began an adventure in SF. I've collected books, movies and actors (yes, if you keep stats on actors on paper like IMBD, in 1985, before said website was even thought up and before the interwebs were created for mass use, you are, in fact, collecting actors), I collected dolls...er action figures (I still have my Yoda action figure, no you may not buy it from me) and I still have my Mulder and Scully Barbies (no you may not have those either!), rocks and posters. Starting my adult years I began to collect recipes and glassware. I think that it is being a collector that makes any person a geek. I don't think that Leslie Simon, author of Geek Girls Unite, disagrees at all.

The book is broken up into chapters focusing on various types of 'geeks’ (fangirl, literary, film, music, funny girl, domestic and miscellaneous) and each of those sections follows the same format: a quiz (where the answers are always 'C'...don't know why that is), a character sketch, descriptions of famous geeks of that ‘genre’, ‘frenemies’ (which is an hilarious look at those in that particular community that give the rest a bad name...) and concludes with ‘the perfect match for’ section. It's this last part that cracks me up the most, it's like Geek girls meet Cosmo mag and my friends and I had such a fun time checking off the list and then adding our own.

I like how Simon uses the introduction to make sure that we understand that while she may poke fun at this or that and that while we may do that too, we are all in this together. She says

It's time for us to reclaim the connotations of being a "geek" and hold tight to the term as a source of pride and distinction. In other words, embrace your quirkiness! Celebrate your idiosyncrasies! There is power in your geekiness! Trust.

And...

Here's the most important thing, though: just because our passions aren't the same," that doesn't mean we aren't united in our geeky affection for what ever it is that makes us happy--even if it feels like society sometimes pits us against one another. ...being a geek should unite--not divide--us. If one good thing comes out of this book, it will be that you get to know your geeky sisters (and cousins) so you can recognize these fabulous ladies when you see them, start a conversation, and realize that our differences are actually what bring us closer together.

I remembered the above when she defined, with a little bit of sass, but all truisms, the terms that I have used to refer to myself (geek, nerd, dork, dweeb, weirdo) and when, on more than one occasion, I found myself falling into the 'frenemies' category. We, even those of us who only scratch the surface of someone else's obsession, must love each other and unite in order to conquer the world.

Geek Girls Unite is just informative enough that teenager girls, who feel their inner geek, but can't find an outlet, can learn more and identify with others and those of us who already know what we are can laugh in delight. I mean I have at one time or another been totally in love with David Tennant (my Fangirl Geek Girlness), James Franco (my Literary Geek Girlness), Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Mark Ruffalo (my Film Geek Girlness), Jack White (my Music Geek Girlness), Andy Samberg (my Funny-Girl Geek Girlness)...and, I've crushed on Hungry Girl, Anthony Bourdain, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and John Stewart. I liked that Simon talks about Athletic Geek Girl as a person who doesn't necessarily play or want to play sports (it goes back to that collecting thing I mentioned earlier) so I felt comfortable about falling into this category as well. 

This book is part encyclopedia, part humor, part commentary, part major to-do list (as in I must now watch _____ or create a mix-CD of ________, why haven't I done that before?) and definitely a call to arms to all geek girls out there.

It is, after all, "a geek's world; everyone else is just living in it."

5 Stars

This book isn't really 280 pages on the Nook...seriously like 70 pages are footnotes. Each footnote gets its own page so you can click back and forth effortlessly. I'd like to also note that this book is glitchy moving from the last page of a chapter to the first page of the next one...not really sure what that's about, but I'm sure it can be fixed and I will wait to go to B&N before archiving and unarchiving et cetera, I have an irrational fear of deleting things that I shouldn't!

A Time to be Overcome 9.11.11

"Overcome"

Live

even now the world is bleedin' but feelin' just fine all numb
in our castle where we're always free to choose never free enough
to find i wish somethin' would break cuz we're runnin' out of time

and i am overcome i am overcome holy water in my lungs i am overcome

these women in the street pullin' out their hair my master's
in the yard givin' light to the unaware this plastic little place
is just a step amongst the stairs

and i am overcome i am overcome baby holy water in my lungs i am overcome

so drive me out out to that open field turn the ignition off
and spin around your help is here but i'm parked in this open space
blockin' the gates of love

i am overcome i am overcome holy water in my lungs i am overcome

beautiful drowning this beautiful drowning this holy water
this holy water is in my lungs

and i am overcome i am overcome i am overcome i am overcome

________________________________________________________________________

Ten years ago on this day I was running late for school, this was not unusual. Because I was running late I did not have time to turn on the TV to watch the news liked I liked to do in the morning. I drove like hell the 5 minutes to the high school and was taking off my cardigan as I ran in the back doors, hoping to slip by everyone unnoticed. The halls were quiet.

"Stephanie, they think a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center", somebody says...all I know is that the person was male.

My friend and I go into my room and turn on the TV, we watch the newscasters frantic to understand what is going on..."Are you sure it was a plane? How does an accident like this happen?," I ask having missed the inital report and not wanting to wait. "Maybe it was an explosion?"

And, as we're talking...those of us who didn't have a class had gathered in my room around the TV waiting for the newscasters to tell us more...I am reminded of The Challenger explosion and tell my colleagues as much, talking about what happened in school when that happened. I talk about how we were all afraid, but we didn't know where to channel that fear. I didn't know that then the newscasters were also at a loss for words and frantically searching for answers, I was only 10. At 25, looking at the television and talking with my friends, I could tell that all the reporters were just as lost as we were and were guessing just as we were and were watching The World Trade Center just as we were, trying to make heads or tails of the situation that they were presenting to us.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," one of my friends said and we all turned to look at the news. And, as if in slow motion we watched as the second plane, by then we knew it couldn't be anything else, flew into the second tower.

We are breathless. We are crying and the school (I can only assume every classroom had the news on) was in panic. Many were worried that Whiteman Airforce Base was next as it had Stealth Bombers and Missouri also has a nuclear reactor. We have students who parents were in lockdown at Fort Leonard Wood and one teacher was frantically trying to get ahold of her husband, as she wasn't going to be allowed on post anytime soon. She thought for sure that we were at war.

The terroist attack on the World Trade Center is the second disaster I have seen live on the news and it is the second disaster that binds me with millions of other people in my nation as we collectively mourn the lives of those who we know are lost, as we mourn lost innocence. I can tell you were I was and what I was doing during both. Later my mom tells me this is how she feels about the assasination of JFK and MLK and I think Oh my gosh my mother has been around for so much and I think I'm not sure that I can do this another time. My heart is hurting.

During that year I will see several students graduate to fight in Operation: Iraqi Freedom, I will listen as we, as a nation, try to make sense of how these attacks (there were two more one on the Pentagon and one thwarted heading to the White House) happened in a nation with such a strong military force and government. As a nation we are shaken, I am shaken as I learn to differeniate between a nation and its criminals and as I learn to teach others to try to do the same. One teacher is reprimanded for playing the Dixie Chicks in her class, a school trip we were going to take to Boston in November is canceled and I revamp my War Fiction Unit to incorporate what is happening as we go to war in March of 2002 .

Later that year, when I think my heart is fine, my friend and I will take a recent graduate to New York City, we'll see Audra McDonald and Hugh Jackman at Carnegie. We'll also go visit the site of The World Trade Center still in devastation with sidewalks torn up and fences surrounding where the buildings use to be. It's eerily quiet and I can hear the other tourists around us sniffling and patting their eyes with tissues and the backs of their hands holding back tears. We're hugging strangers, as we look through the barracade at the humongous hole in the ground. It smells like wet cement and soil. We read signs and notes dedicated to those lost and to those fighting for the cause overseas.

We are overcome.

U2 will bring a crowd to tears when they dedicate "Walk On" to 9/11 during their Elevation Tour, they will do it again during the Superbowl when we are watching their 9/11 Tribute using "Where the Streets Have No Name".

They are so classy, spirtual and patriotic.

Two years ago my aunt, niece, sister and I go to New York, it's late at night when we walk to the construction site of the Memorial to be, my aunt is overcome by the site, as we walk around looking for it. I have to look up on my phone what it looks like now and tell them that we have passed it several times. We settle on a bench overlooking the water. I'm amazed at New York City's ability to heal. We are a nation that perseveres, we are a nation that stands strong.

Saddam Hussein is dead, Osama Bin Ladin is dead, Libya is all but crushed, our war on 'terror' is still raging on. I am sad thinking about the roles that my former students have played in this battle, I am sad for the former student that has been lost in this battle, I am sad for my friends who have fought and who have been changed because of our nations need to insure that the world is free of terror.

I think about the work that has been done, I think about the work still yet to do, I think about the lives that must be dedicated to make sure that freedom stands for everyone. I am divided about my role, I am divided about our agenda in this affair. I am also proud of my nation and I am proud to be an American.

I am overcome.

Here's to the Nights...

So, I've been feeling a little nostalgic, I always get this way in the Summer...more on that later...for now, listen to this song that reminds me of summer and makes me miss college, heck it makes me miss high school too! Enjoy!

30 Day Song Challenge: Day Four

Day Four: A song that makes you sad

           A few days before Thanksgiving 2002 my Aunt Nesie passed away. I have never and I hope to never feel as lost and as sad as I did the month before and months after her death.
           I love my mother and I love my sisters, but in high school and beyond, my aunt and I had a special friendship. At least one weekend a month I went to her house in the back 40 (ie. Smallette, Missouri) and I would do laundry, pet her one million cats, hang out with my Uncle Wayne and get caught up on family and entertainment gossip.

          When the three of us were little, my aunts became our 2nd parent, buying us clothes when we needed them and taking us places when we had events to go to. One time I especially remember was when my mom and Aunt Nesie came to visit me at Missouri Scholars Academy. As my aunt liked to tell it, they had called to say that they couldn't afford to make it to Columbia to visit me, but when she tried to tell me they weren't going to come to visit, she could hear in my voice how I was trying to be strong, but my 15 year-old self was sad that my family wasn't going to visit on Family Day. So, my aunt and mom got that money for gas, brought home-made sandwiches and we went to Peace park and ate our sandwiches, she said that she'd never seen me happier.

           I will not forget the day that my aunt set me straight about my prejudice against people who didn't go to college. She said, "You know that I didn't go to college and I worked in a factory until I was 40, you don't think that I'm inferior because I didn't get a degree from some school." And, the truth was I didn't, she's one of the handful of people who I can proudly say is the foundation of who I am.

           We didn't know how serious her colon cancer was until close to the end. She played it off as such, until one day we saw one of those dumb Cancer Center of America commerical and she pulled out all the information from the one in Texas and said, "Do you think that I should go here?" She was always thinking of others. During her last months she made me make a budget (because she knew I was horrible with money) and made sure that I had all the family pictures on disk and all the music I wanted off of her computer.

           It was during one of these days and I was downloading country songs and in her raspy voice (the cancer had spread everywhere, including her throat) she told me about the Martina McBride song. "I have been blessed with more than I deserve," she said. Looking around the back bedroom of her trailer I didn't see anything that would make her feel that way, but she pointed out in the hall to Wayne in the living room, the cats outside and to me, and continued, "I have the best family in the world." I went to the bathroom to cry. From her, I learned that worldly possessions are just that...worldly.

           My aunt had about 20 too many cats. My aunt couldn't make an omlette, but her egg scramble was too die for...even if the eggs, green peppers, cheese and sausage tried it's hardest to be an omlette. My aunt didn't like to have her picture taken. I own only one video of her, from my nieces kindergarten graduation. She loved the country and would sit on the porch where I house-sat and just look into the field watching the goats and dogs and chickens feeling the sun and the wind. My aunt learned to quilt from her father. She also learned her temper from her father; you didn't mess with the lady. My aunt lived life to the fullest, my aunt never let me get down on myself and how poor we were or about the fact that we came from a single parent home, she knew that we had everything we needed. I miss her. 

           I know that she sees all that Lila Jane is doing and is probably shocked I have a daughter at all--I wasn't really into boys or family when she knew me. She said that us three girls were her daughters and that she couldn't have wished for better daughters. 

           So, I guess this song, "Blessed" by Martina McBride,  makes me sad for a minute and then I remember all of the life and love that came from this strawberry blonde woman and I know that it is because of her and her outlook on life that I have been blessed with more than I deserve.


Easter with the Joseph sisters and Aunt Nesie in good 'ole Mansfield, MO, 1985.



Feel free to join in by commenting below (I really do love comments, on fb or here), or doing this challenge on your own blog.

The 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 01 – Your favorite song
Day 02 -- Your least favorite song

Day 03 -- A song that makes you happy
Day 04 – A song that makes you sad
Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 – A song that you can dance to
Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 – A song from your favorite band
Day 12 – A song from a band you hate
Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 – A song that describes you
Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 – A song from your favorite album
Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 – A song from your childhood
Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year

30 Day Song Challenge: Day Three

Day Three: A song that makes you happy

          I've been telling everyone I know about kindie rock. Kindie rock is kid friendly indie rock and encompasses such bands as The Scribble Monsters, They Might Be Giants, The Not-Its and, my favorite, The Jimmies. 

         I found The Jimmies quite by accident at B&N, I was looking for something to entertain the tiny tot. I'd been playing kiddie music and Fisher Price lullabies when I took her to school when I have to do work on the weekends and was actually looking for the lullabies when I stumbled upon their cd and recognized them from some of the videos we'd been watching on youtube. The cover kind of grabs you (their stuff is sold exclusively at Barnes and Noble and on their website) and I bought their cd instead. At Christmas I bought the dvd and introduced my whole family to Ashley and the guys in ties. We especially like Taddy, Spanimals and Bedhead. The latter is the song that makes me happy.

          I loved the song when it was just Lila and I dancing around at school or bopping around in the car on the way home. I love the song even more now that I have Christmas memories of the kidlets bopping around to the song as their older cousin rolls her eyes and laughs and we're entertained by watching kindie videos...sigh...good times!

Side note: One way to make Lila excited or distracted is to pop in the 'ole video of this song, her head starts bopping up and down, she shakes and shimmies about, she raises the roof (still not sure where she learned that one) and she sings.



"It's Cool to be Uncool"

Feel free to join in by commenting below (I really do love comments, on fb or here), or doing this challenge on your own blog.

The 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 01 – Your favorite song
Day 02 -- Your least favorite song
Day 03 – A song that makes you happy
Day 04 – A song that makes you sad
Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 – A song that you can dance to
Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 – A song from your favorite band
Day 12 – A song from a band you hate
Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 – A song that describes you
Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 – A song from your favorite album
Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 – A song from your childhood
Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year

I knew The Scarlet Letter was way cool, but...

"...I believe so, if I was the Gossip Girl in Sweet Valley of the Traveling Pants." ~Olive Penderghast

         The other night I watched "Easy A" for like the 5th, perhaps 7th time...I can't get enough of it, I watched it in the theatre twice. Nice looking boys (that Penn Badgley...), clever dialogue, complex allusions and soooo, soo, sooooo many literary references.

          But, seriously, this movie is making a book I teach, not only relevant, but friggin' cool. For this I am forever grateful.

To get this movie at a deeper level...

Books with which you should be familiar
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Sweet Valley books
The Gossip Girl books
The Scarlet Letter
The Bible
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Judy Blume books, especially Are You There God It's Me Margaret, and It's Not the End of the World
Alfred Kinsey
The Outsiders
The Bell Jar

Movie references
Say Anything
16 Candles
The Bucket List
Can't Buy Me Love
Carlito's Way
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Grease
The Scarlet Letter (the old version, and the whorish Demi Moore 'adaptation')
The Breakfast Club

Themes and Symbols that are still relevant...
Hypocrisy
Sense of Self
Feminine Virtue and The Nature of Women
Alienation
Pride
Individual vs. Society
Adultery and Marriage
Angel, Artist and all those other As

And, the soundtrack is brilliant
Change of Seasons  Sweet Thing
Pocket Full of Sunshine  Natasha Bedingfield
Cupid Shoot Me  Remi Nicole
Don't Cha  Pussycat Dolls
The Wolf  Minature Tigers
Trouble is a Friend  Lenka
Symphonies  Dan Black
Perfect Picture  Carlos Bertonatti
Go On  Rooney
15 minutes  The Yeah You's
Bad Before Good   Day One
When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade  The Boy Least Likely To
If You Were Here  The Cary Brothers
Good Life  One Republic
Big Jet Plane  Angus and Julia Stone
Transatlanticism  Deathcab for Cutie
Don't You (Forget About Me)  Simple Minds

Sidenote: This music blog has done a much better job of getting you a list than I could ever dream of doing.



And, who wouldn't want to read this book?! Look at its cool new-fangled cover!

Other movies that have made teaching easier for someone somewhere...
Clueless Emma
Cruel Intentions Dangerous Liasons
Romeo and Juliet (1996) Romeo and Juliet
She's All That Pygmalion
She's the Man 12th Night
Ten Things I Hate About You  The Taming of the Shrew
Troy The Iliad

O  Othello

I'm looking forward to that new Beastly movie...who doesn't like a "Beauty and the Beast" remake!

Happy 29th Birthday Christopher Lee Hasty

30 Day Song Challenge: Day Two

Day Two: Your least favorite song (ie. the song you loathe)

This is easy...Fireflies by OwlCity.

Horrible song, treacly words about planet Earth?dreams?love?...frick, I don't know what this songs about. Why are fireflies from various generations, foxtrotters (40s), those that go to sock hops (50s) and dance with disco balls (70s) even hanging out with this guy? I do know that this song is annoying and makes me want to drown kittens and I love kittens.

I dislike this song more than Butterfly Kisses and that song makes me want to throw up. Stupid catchy tug at your heart strings pop songs...stupid, stupid, stupid...

Now, I'm getting upset, must listen to some Kate Nash...sigh...

Feel free to join in by commenting below (I really do love comments, on fb or here), or doing this challenge on your own blog.

The 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 01 – Your favorite song
Day 02 – Your least favorite song
Day 03 – A song that makes you happy
Day 04 – A song that makes you sad
Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 – A song that you can dance to
Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 – A song from your favorite band
Day 12 – A song from a band you hate
Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 – A song that describes you
Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 – A song from your favorite album
Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 – A song from your childhood
Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year

30 Day Song Challenge: Day One

Ok, so I've noticed that many blogs use 30 day challenges to talk about things that interest them (you know who I'm talking about Ashley--I'm especially loving the 30 pieces of clothes for 30 days...wow! and I'm not sure I'm ready to do the 30 days of truth, powerful stuff). I've also seen 30 Day photo challenge, 30 Days of Giving etc. and I thought, I wonder what challenges are out there that relate to my reading oriented blog, but can still tell you a little bit about me and I found this one (songs, after all, are words). So, every Wednesday will be devoted to...The 30 Day Song Challenge

Day One: Your Favorite Song
           Asking me to tell you my favorite song is tantamount to asking me to tell you my favorite book. The question gets asked and like 100 float in my head immediately vying for the coveted #1 spot. But, because this is a challenge, I'm not going to do my usual cop-out of making a list of favorites in no particular order, which means this post is taking about 30 minutes longer than expected, and I may be late for school! Today I have chosen *drum roll, please* Original of the Species by U2.
          It is, literally, the first song I thought of when I found out I was pregnant. I love it because I read somewhere that Bono wrote it for his eldest daughter (which I am the eldest of three...so, I loved this song before I knew I was going to have a daughter), I've also read that Bono wrote it for The Edge's only daughter (which makes it relate even more). I don't really care which of these stories is true. This song just strikes at the core of me, the foundation of who I am--woman/mother/girl/daughter/wife. I hear it and I laugh and cry because I am the girl in the song, my daughter is the girl in the song and I feel like every girl needs to know what this song is and what it is about; the perfection that is them. It is my favorite because I am a girl and this is one of those powerful 'girl love yourself' songs. I know all the words. My husband, some friends of ours, and I went to see U2 in Chicago (please note my blogger profile pic is from said concert). When the beginning chords started, it was a moment that felt like it was just my husband and I and we were singing along, at the time I was pregnant and was due in less than a month. I will never forget this, a perfect moment, holding hands with my husband and feeling, no, realizing, that my life had changed forever and nothing else mattered but this tiny little girl that hadn't been born yet.
          I hope that my daughter feels even 1/2 of the power of this song. I sing it to her at night...it's her lullaby.

Feel free to join in by commenting below (I really do love comments, on fb or here), or doing this challenge on your own blog. And, thanks Ashley for inspiring me, again.

The 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 01 – Your favorite song
Day 02 – Your least favorite song
Day 03 – A song that makes you happy
Day 04 – A song that makes you sad
Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 – A song that you can dance to
Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 – A song from your favorite band
Day 12 – A song from a band you hate
Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 – A song that describes you
Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 – A song from your favorite album
Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 – A song from your childhood
Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year