After the world got over its little "Le Freak-" out about the end of the world, we made it to Christmas!
Although I personally don't celebrate Christmas, I thoroughly love the holiday season, of which Christmas is the epicenter.
I love the houses decked out in "Lights," the cinnamon- and gingerbread-flavored everything, and the music that enchants people this time of year.
The loop of Christmas music that has been playing in stores since the day after Thanksgiving may be old by now, but I can't deny the smile that my Christmas music Pandora station puts on my face; it makes me feel like I'm in a feel-good holiday movie as I walk down the street bundled in my boots and my scarf swaying in the chilly air.
And what better way to celebrate than to visit the National Christmas Tree itself? Though not on Christmas, my family and I went to go see the tree when they were in town recently. When we got to the lawn by the White House, we learned that there are trees for every state surrounding the large tree and the ornaments on each small tree, decorated according to what makes that state unique, came from various student organizations that hail from that specific state. We were "Rockin' Around [a whole bunch of] Christmas trees" and we got to see the national Santa too. Good thing though that when "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" he never stops at my house, I don't think I could take the pressure of his list!
But I like to make my own lists, and on my list of favorite Christmas songs, which I did check twice of course, are: "The Christmas Song," "All I Want for Christmas is You," and "Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer."
I love The Christmas Song because it is so beautiful and simple. It is soothing, making you feel safe and cozy; while at the same time evoking a sense of reflection and melancholy, longing for the scene that Nat King Cole has set.
All I Want for Christmas is a modern classic, and so is Mariah Carey. Who else can hit that piercing high note at the end of the song without making you cringe, and instead awing you with her unmatched talent? This song just puts you in a good mood, makes you want to sing and dance along. My sister even used it as a ringtone one year during Christmas. Jewish, Christian, or anyone else cannot help but enjoy this song.
Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer is a song my childhood friends and I used to sing (and let's not forget most of these girls were Jewish too). I distinctly remember a car-ful of us in one of the mom's vans, driving her nuts and somewhere I can't remember, singing this song on repeat. We would take turns getting to be the one to sing the interjections of the kids version of the song. You know, "all of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, LIKE PINOCCHIO, they never let poor Rudolf join in any reindeer games, LIKE MONOPOLY..." I do think it was the interjections that made this song extra fun as a child, but now I also like it for its message of individuality and self-worth.
Christmas music is the epitome of memories like this one, great times spent with family and friends. I hope you have had a wonderful holiday and have made new memories to last you until next year. I could continue on about the wonders of Christmas, but I would be here until New Year's. For now I'll just say Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Chanukah
The other day in my office some people decided it was too quiet, and we
needed some holiday music to liven things up a bit. And by "holiday
music," they meant Christmas songs. A few songs into the playlist, the
designated DJ for the day turned around and called out to me: "don't
worry, Lecia. I've got Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song coming up next for
you!"
I was excited, but that's where Chanukah songs begin and end. Sort of.
For some reason, in a religion and culture where music pervades everything, we are seriously lacking in the "holiday" music department.
Now, to be fair, Chanukah is not the Jewish equivalent of Christmas, in fact, it's one of our more minor holidays. But because it lands around Christmas time, the two are always compared, and "when you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree," well, too bad; here are the songs we're stuck with:
You can go with the classic songs we all learned in Hebrew school: "Chanukah oh Chanukah" or "I Have a Little Dreidel." But let's face it, dancing the Hora isn't quite the same as rocking around the Christmas tree. And who ever made a dreidel out of clay? Seriously.
Then there are always the traditional songs in Hebrew, for the preservation of our heritage: "Ma Otzur" and "Sivivon Sov sov sov." Be honest, though, you learned the words at one point, but have forgotten most of them since, and now sort of just mumble through half the songs because it sounds the same anyway.
Aside from the Adam Sandler Hanukkah Songs 1, 2 and 3, there have not been many songs written about Chanukah that don't sound like they came from the shtetl. The one other one, that's actually very catchy once you get into it, was written a couple of years ago by a college a capella group, cleverly named the Maccabeats. "Candlelight" is about as cool as us Jews get this time of year.
Ok, ok, I know I'm ragging on my holiday a bit, but putting the lack of competitive holiday music aside, the story behind Chanukah is pretty amazing. It is about a miracle after all. Nes gadol haya sham: a great miracle happened there. We're reminded of it blatantly when we spin the dreidle (that we may or may not have made out of clay) adorned with nun, gimmel, hay and shin, the Hebrew letters that begin each word in the phrase.
We're reminded of it subconsciously when we stuff our faces with latkes and suf ganiyot (also known as jelly doughnuts), both made in oil, the oil that lasted 8 days when it should have only lasted a short while.
And we're reminded of it as we light the menorah for eight days, each night reliving another part of the miracle.
So maybe our songs aren't that great, but our story and traditions sure are. With that, I leave you with a song from one of the greatest musicals, Fiddler on the Roof: "Tradition." While Tevye learns to relinquish some of his traditions to fit in with the world, we can take a step away from the world for these 8 days and relish in the music of our history.
Happy Chanukah!!
I was excited, but that's where Chanukah songs begin and end. Sort of.
For some reason, in a religion and culture where music pervades everything, we are seriously lacking in the "holiday" music department.
Now, to be fair, Chanukah is not the Jewish equivalent of Christmas, in fact, it's one of our more minor holidays. But because it lands around Christmas time, the two are always compared, and "when you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree," well, too bad; here are the songs we're stuck with:
You can go with the classic songs we all learned in Hebrew school: "Chanukah oh Chanukah" or "I Have a Little Dreidel." But let's face it, dancing the Hora isn't quite the same as rocking around the Christmas tree. And who ever made a dreidel out of clay? Seriously.
Then there are always the traditional songs in Hebrew, for the preservation of our heritage: "Ma Otzur" and "Sivivon Sov sov sov." Be honest, though, you learned the words at one point, but have forgotten most of them since, and now sort of just mumble through half the songs because it sounds the same anyway.
Aside from the Adam Sandler Hanukkah Songs 1, 2 and 3, there have not been many songs written about Chanukah that don't sound like they came from the shtetl. The one other one, that's actually very catchy once you get into it, was written a couple of years ago by a college a capella group, cleverly named the Maccabeats. "Candlelight" is about as cool as us Jews get this time of year.
Ok, ok, I know I'm ragging on my holiday a bit, but putting the lack of competitive holiday music aside, the story behind Chanukah is pretty amazing. It is about a miracle after all. Nes gadol haya sham: a great miracle happened there. We're reminded of it blatantly when we spin the dreidle (that we may or may not have made out of clay) adorned with nun, gimmel, hay and shin, the Hebrew letters that begin each word in the phrase.
We're reminded of it subconsciously when we stuff our faces with latkes and suf ganiyot (also known as jelly doughnuts), both made in oil, the oil that lasted 8 days when it should have only lasted a short while.
And we're reminded of it as we light the menorah for eight days, each night reliving another part of the miracle.
So maybe our songs aren't that great, but our story and traditions sure are. With that, I leave you with a song from one of the greatest musicals, Fiddler on the Roof: "Tradition." While Tevye learns to relinquish some of his traditions to fit in with the world, we can take a step away from the world for these 8 days and relish in the music of our history.
Happy Chanukah!!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving!
I love this holiday not only because of getting the whole family together, but also because the progression of the day is an event in itself.
It starts with waking up to the aroma of home cooked deliciousness being prepared, and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Barbara Streisand sang the truth, "Don't Rain on my Parade" because I wait all year for the stars to sing on floats around New York City and for the casts of Broadway hits to perform in Herald Square.
After we get the wave from Santa closing the Parade, it's time for "Who Let the Dogs Out" when the National Dog Show begins. As always, I'm rooting for the Shih-Tzu to take the grand prize! One of these years we'll train Sinatra and he'll be Best in Show. Yeah, right.
The lazy day on the couch used to continue with It's a Wonderful Life, and even though it doesn't air anymore, I'll still recognize this movie classic with the modern song of a similar name: "It's a Beautiful Life." This is where we begin to think about what we're thankful for, and the first thing on the list is: football. Some families play football today. Mine? Well, we leave that up to the professionals. Today this household is rooting for "Benny and the Jets," or just the JETS.
As we watch the game, our house begins to fill with all of our family and friends, this year totaling 35 people. The salivating starts and we think "happy Thanksgiving, hooray, hooray, hooray! Aren't you glad you're not a turkey, on this Thanksgiving day?" Sorry, vegetarians. How about a little Adam Sandler "The Thanksgiving Song?" Or what about this little ditty: "It's Thanksgiving;" mashed potatoes, ey!
Every family has traditions and while the parents in my family sing "Gimme More" as they grab seconds, the rest of us are singing "someday somebody's gonna turn around and make you want to say goodbye," to your chair, that is. So "Hold On" kids, because when you're not paying attention in this family, we steal chairs and hide them around the house. It's just some good ol' family fun.
I hope you enjoy your family fun today, and adopt our family motto when we all get together: phones off, family on. Happy Thanksgiving!
I love this holiday not only because of getting the whole family together, but also because the progression of the day is an event in itself.
It starts with waking up to the aroma of home cooked deliciousness being prepared, and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Barbara Streisand sang the truth, "Don't Rain on my Parade" because I wait all year for the stars to sing on floats around New York City and for the casts of Broadway hits to perform in Herald Square.
After we get the wave from Santa closing the Parade, it's time for "Who Let the Dogs Out" when the National Dog Show begins. As always, I'm rooting for the Shih-Tzu to take the grand prize! One of these years we'll train Sinatra and he'll be Best in Show. Yeah, right.
The lazy day on the couch used to continue with It's a Wonderful Life, and even though it doesn't air anymore, I'll still recognize this movie classic with the modern song of a similar name: "It's a Beautiful Life." This is where we begin to think about what we're thankful for, and the first thing on the list is: football. Some families play football today. Mine? Well, we leave that up to the professionals. Today this household is rooting for "Benny and the Jets," or just the JETS.
As we watch the game, our house begins to fill with all of our family and friends, this year totaling 35 people. The salivating starts and we think "happy Thanksgiving, hooray, hooray, hooray! Aren't you glad you're not a turkey, on this Thanksgiving day?" Sorry, vegetarians. How about a little Adam Sandler "The Thanksgiving Song?" Or what about this little ditty: "It's Thanksgiving;" mashed potatoes, ey!
Every family has traditions and while the parents in my family sing "Gimme More" as they grab seconds, the rest of us are singing "someday somebody's gonna turn around and make you want to say goodbye," to your chair, that is. So "Hold On" kids, because when you're not paying attention in this family, we steal chairs and hide them around the house. It's just some good ol' family fun.
I hope you enjoy your family fun today, and adopt our family motto when we all get together: phones off, family on. Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Wedding
This past weekend was my cousin's wedding and the event, along with the year of planning leading up to it, was filled with it's own soundtrack.
Over the past year, my cousin has had her Veruca Salt moments, you know, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: "don't care how, I want it now!" But as far as bridezillas go, she honestly wasn't that bad. In fact, the day of, as we were getting our hair and makeup done, she was relaxed and calm. We did a little sing along to "Going to the Chapel and We're Gonna Get Married," among other songs on Pandora, and she was all smiles.
During the ceremony, we learned that one of the many reasons my cousin loves her husband is because he sings to her every day. Specifically, "You are my Sunshine" and Jason Mraz's "Lucky." I give two thumbs up to their soundtrack of love and know that it will only grow over time.
Once the ceremony ended, the bride and groom were not quite done, as they still had to get through their first dance, choreographed by yours truly. Teaching two people with two left feet how to dance, and dance together, was a challenge, but the three of us rose to the occasion. Two days of dance boot camp and a month and a half of practicing paid off; they were beautiful! Michael Buble should bring them on tour to dance to "Everything" when he performs it; that lift-spin combo is a crowd-wower every time, I'm just saying.
Not only were the bride and groom impressive, but so was the maid of honor. She shocked everyone when she rapped half of her speech to the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song! It was a great story "all about how, Stacey ended up in a wedding gown." She earned a well-deserved standing ovation and rose the bar for the rest of the family at future weddings.
And so the night went on. We did a little Hora and danced to "Hava Nagila," and partied to top hits of today and some top hits of yesteryear. The DJ was great and there was a live saxophonist and bongo drummer to bring the music to life.
However, we almost had a musical crisis at the wedding when the DJ stopped the music for us to eat dinner... right in the middle of "Shout"! If there's one rule at a wedding, it's you don't cut Shout. But thankfully, we were fully prepared for such a moment and we continued the song on our own. We got a little bit softer now, then a little bit louder now, then my sister led the crowd in responsive "hey ey ey ey's." The cousin-and-friends crew banded together and saved the day!
We continued to "Gangnam Style" the night away and just like that, a year in the making, the wedding was over. It was a gorgeous affair and one more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Mazel Tov to my cousin and her husband!
Over the past year, my cousin has had her Veruca Salt moments, you know, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: "don't care how, I want it now!" But as far as bridezillas go, she honestly wasn't that bad. In fact, the day of, as we were getting our hair and makeup done, she was relaxed and calm. We did a little sing along to "Going to the Chapel and We're Gonna Get Married," among other songs on Pandora, and she was all smiles.
During the ceremony, we learned that one of the many reasons my cousin loves her husband is because he sings to her every day. Specifically, "You are my Sunshine" and Jason Mraz's "Lucky." I give two thumbs up to their soundtrack of love and know that it will only grow over time.
Once the ceremony ended, the bride and groom were not quite done, as they still had to get through their first dance, choreographed by yours truly. Teaching two people with two left feet how to dance, and dance together, was a challenge, but the three of us rose to the occasion. Two days of dance boot camp and a month and a half of practicing paid off; they were beautiful! Michael Buble should bring them on tour to dance to "Everything" when he performs it; that lift-spin combo is a crowd-wower every time, I'm just saying.
Not only were the bride and groom impressive, but so was the maid of honor. She shocked everyone when she rapped half of her speech to the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song! It was a great story "all about how, Stacey ended up in a wedding gown." She earned a well-deserved standing ovation and rose the bar for the rest of the family at future weddings.
And so the night went on. We did a little Hora and danced to "Hava Nagila," and partied to top hits of today and some top hits of yesteryear. The DJ was great and there was a live saxophonist and bongo drummer to bring the music to life.
However, we almost had a musical crisis at the wedding when the DJ stopped the music for us to eat dinner... right in the middle of "Shout"! If there's one rule at a wedding, it's you don't cut Shout. But thankfully, we were fully prepared for such a moment and we continued the song on our own. We got a little bit softer now, then a little bit louder now, then my sister led the crowd in responsive "hey ey ey ey's." The cousin-and-friends crew banded together and saved the day!
We continued to "Gangnam Style" the night away and just like that, a year in the making, the wedding was over. It was a gorgeous affair and one more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Mazel Tov to my cousin and her husband!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Presidential Election
As the polls begin to close on the East Coast, we are getting closer and closer to finding out who the President of the United States will be for the next four years. That's right, folks, it's "The Final Countdown" here on election night 2012.
Having the right to vote is the ultimate freedom, the freedom to have an opinion. I, for one, do not understand the people who choose not to vote. Why don't you want to have a say in the way our country will function? Come on, people, "you gotta fight for your right to party," or to get your party elected. And if you don't vote, you don't get to complain if your candidate loses, those are the rules.
Now, I can relate to the people who are just tired of all of the campaign commercials. I am "so sick" of them myself (even though it's a love song I can make it work here) and I am going to be thrilled tomorrow when they all disappear. This has been one wild campaign ride and it is going to be a nail-biter to see who will garner the 270 electoral votes needed to win.
Throughout this whole campaign season, the candidates have earned some theme songs from me:
Mitt Romney = "Sesame Street" because, well, just go ask Big Bird, he'll fill you in.
Barack Obama = "Tomorrow" from Annie, because his whole campaign was about focusing on moving forward, not dwelling on the issues outstanding from the last four years.
I won't tell you who I voted for, but I will tell you that I sent my absentee ballot in early; even though I didn't get a cool little sticker, I did my civic duty! And now I will be glued to the TV to see who will be walking around to "Hail to the Chief" for a while.
Having the right to vote is the ultimate freedom, the freedom to have an opinion. I, for one, do not understand the people who choose not to vote. Why don't you want to have a say in the way our country will function? Come on, people, "you gotta fight for your right to party," or to get your party elected. And if you don't vote, you don't get to complain if your candidate loses, those are the rules.
Now, I can relate to the people who are just tired of all of the campaign commercials. I am "so sick" of them myself (even though it's a love song I can make it work here) and I am going to be thrilled tomorrow when they all disappear. This has been one wild campaign ride and it is going to be a nail-biter to see who will garner the 270 electoral votes needed to win.
Throughout this whole campaign season, the candidates have earned some theme songs from me:
Mitt Romney = "Sesame Street" because, well, just go ask Big Bird, he'll fill you in.
Barack Obama = "Tomorrow" from Annie, because his whole campaign was about focusing on moving forward, not dwelling on the issues outstanding from the last four years.
I won't tell you who I voted for, but I will tell you that I sent my absentee ballot in early; even though I didn't get a cool little sticker, I did my civic duty! And now I will be glued to the TV to see who will be walking around to "Hail to the Chief" for a while.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Summer Olympics
Four years ago when it was announced that London would be hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics, I was there. From the excitement and anticipation that was exuded back then, I can only image what the city feels like today.
Tonight, the Olympics begin, and the world gets to watch and cheer their country's representatives on as they achieve unfathomable feats, to us average humans. For years these athletes have been training tirelessly while we have been, well, not. They put in 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain, and give us 100% reason to "Remember The[ir] Name." There's something about watching an athlete from your country take the gold that makes you proud, makes you stand up and cheer, makes you cry, makes you feel like you're a part of that accomplishment.
Even though it's the athletes who will be walking in tonight's opening ceremonies, we're playing along at home too, chanting "We Will Rock You" to psych out the competition. And even though the games are taking place in London, as soon as we see the red, white and blue uniforms clustered together tonight, America is ready to "Run this town" for the next two weeks.
After the torch is officially lit at the arena, it's go time. Hey now, you're an "All Star," get your game on, go play, because all that glitters is gold, right? And in the blink of an eye, literally in some sports, there will be a winner and a loser.
To the losers, I say "Dream On," use this as inspiration and motivation to come back in four years and show the world that you were robbed of that medal. You get knocked down, but you get up again, they're never gonna keep you down. "Tubthumping."
There will be individual winners in some sports, where those athletes can boast that they truly are "The World's Greatest." And there will be athletes that win as a team, who can collectively say, "We are the Champions," as their country sings along.
So get ready, World, and let the games begin with the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme Song!"
Let's go U.S.A.!
Tonight, the Olympics begin, and the world gets to watch and cheer their country's representatives on as they achieve unfathomable feats, to us average humans. For years these athletes have been training tirelessly while we have been, well, not. They put in 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain, and give us 100% reason to "Remember The[ir] Name." There's something about watching an athlete from your country take the gold that makes you proud, makes you stand up and cheer, makes you cry, makes you feel like you're a part of that accomplishment.
Even though it's the athletes who will be walking in tonight's opening ceremonies, we're playing along at home too, chanting "We Will Rock You" to psych out the competition. And even though the games are taking place in London, as soon as we see the red, white and blue uniforms clustered together tonight, America is ready to "Run this town" for the next two weeks.
After the torch is officially lit at the arena, it's go time. Hey now, you're an "All Star," get your game on, go play, because all that glitters is gold, right? And in the blink of an eye, literally in some sports, there will be a winner and a loser.
To the losers, I say "Dream On," use this as inspiration and motivation to come back in four years and show the world that you were robbed of that medal. You get knocked down, but you get up again, they're never gonna keep you down. "Tubthumping."
There will be individual winners in some sports, where those athletes can boast that they truly are "The World's Greatest." And there will be athletes that win as a team, who can collectively say, "We are the Champions," as their country sings along.
So get ready, World, and let the games begin with the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme Song!"
Let's go U.S.A.!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
4th of July
I may not be a "yankee doodle dandy" or live in the amber waves of grain, among the purple mountain majesties or near the redwood forest, but I love the 4th of July and I am celebrating by enjoying one of the oceans white with foam.
There are too many songs about America for me to pick my favorite, they all paint the landscape of the country so poetically. One summer when I was in high school I went on a teen tour all across the country. Ever since then it's become a life goal of mine to visit every state and see what makes it special, what part it plays in this incredible nation.
I was "welcome[d] to Miami" when I was 13, so I can check Florida off the list; "I love LA," having lived there for four years, so California's taken care of; and I've "walk[ed] in Memphis" and sang "Oklahoma" in Oklahoma, so I think those count too.
I truly love experiencing what each state has to offer, and New Jersey has always offered me Independence Days filled with family, bbq's, sun, and rooftop views of fireworks displays.
And speaking of, how can I even mention these iconic blasts of color without referencing Katy Perry's "Firework"? Listening to the song while actually watching fireworks couldn't be more inspiring. It captures the spirit of freedom: to be whomever you are, and to own every day just as fireworks on the 4th of July captivate audiences with their surprise and brilliance.
From the rooftop deck at the shore in New Jersey, my family and I get to watch 360 degrees fireworks over the ocean and other beaches in the surrounding area. This is one of my all-time favorite sights to see: a blank, black canvas dotted in designs that are constantly changing and creating new images. There is always a different direction to look and a new pattern popping up over someone's shoulder.
That's the secret gem of this country: there is always somewhere different to travel and see, and always something new to discover in the uniqueness of each state and person. It doesn't matter whether you prefer purple fireworks, like the mountain majesties, or amber ones, as the waves of grain. This country is a collaboration of colors woven to unite us all, and best exemplified by our "Star Spangled Banner," proudly exhibiting the red, white and blue.
Happy 4th of July!!
There are too many songs about America for me to pick my favorite, they all paint the landscape of the country so poetically. One summer when I was in high school I went on a teen tour all across the country. Ever since then it's become a life goal of mine to visit every state and see what makes it special, what part it plays in this incredible nation.
I was "welcome[d] to Miami" when I was 13, so I can check Florida off the list; "I love LA," having lived there for four years, so California's taken care of; and I've "walk[ed] in Memphis" and sang "Oklahoma" in Oklahoma, so I think those count too.
I truly love experiencing what each state has to offer, and New Jersey has always offered me Independence Days filled with family, bbq's, sun, and rooftop views of fireworks displays.
And speaking of, how can I even mention these iconic blasts of color without referencing Katy Perry's "Firework"? Listening to the song while actually watching fireworks couldn't be more inspiring. It captures the spirit of freedom: to be whomever you are, and to own every day just as fireworks on the 4th of July captivate audiences with their surprise and brilliance.
From the rooftop deck at the shore in New Jersey, my family and I get to watch 360 degrees fireworks over the ocean and other beaches in the surrounding area. This is one of my all-time favorite sights to see: a blank, black canvas dotted in designs that are constantly changing and creating new images. There is always a different direction to look and a new pattern popping up over someone's shoulder.
That's the secret gem of this country: there is always somewhere different to travel and see, and always something new to discover in the uniqueness of each state and person. It doesn't matter whether you prefer purple fireworks, like the mountain majesties, or amber ones, as the waves of grain. This country is a collaboration of colors woven to unite us all, and best exemplified by our "Star Spangled Banner," proudly exhibiting the red, white and blue.
Happy 4th of July!!
Friday, June 22, 2012
HEAT
The temperature is sweltering around the country; feel the heat, burning
you up, ready or not, cause you have no choice. The weather is taking
over, just as the HEAT broke through to win the NBA Championship.
Coincidence?
I think not.
"Some like it hot," and I fall into that category. While I am enjoying the heat and am ecstatic for the HEAT, the majority of people around the country hate both. Sure the summer comes with the heat, but what good is that when you have to wear clothes instead of a bathing suit, and have to be in an office all day instead of sitting on the beach? I get it, "The Heat is On," and just like the line in the song, the pressure's high just to stay alive; you feel like you just can't do anything in the weather, that you've lost, you've been defeated, the HEAT have won.
Slip of the tongue (or fingers in this case), I mean the heat has won. I guess the weather is beginning to get to me, because we certainly are having a "Heat Wave," and it feels more like the equator than the tropics. The heat should make everyone bright and shiny and happy, like I feel when I see the sun shining until almost 9 PM. However, the HEAT just make everyone sluggish and cranky. I mean heat, the heat makes everyone sluggish and cranky. I really need to stop hitting the caps lock key.
I will agree, that one detriment of the heat is having to carry around a sweater because every building is so afraid of the scorching outdoors that they blast the air conditioning to create an igloo indoors. Going in out and of buildings is like "Hot in here," I am getting so hot, I wanna take my clothes off. And then put them back on. And then take them off again. And then put... well, you get the idea.
But no matter, I'm soaking up the warmth that's radiating from the sun and the HEAT, feeling "hot hot hot." With my sunglasses, a pool, and a sweater, I'm ready to brave the heat this summer!
Coincidence?
I think not.
"Some like it hot," and I fall into that category. While I am enjoying the heat and am ecstatic for the HEAT, the majority of people around the country hate both. Sure the summer comes with the heat, but what good is that when you have to wear clothes instead of a bathing suit, and have to be in an office all day instead of sitting on the beach? I get it, "The Heat is On," and just like the line in the song, the pressure's high just to stay alive; you feel like you just can't do anything in the weather, that you've lost, you've been defeated, the HEAT have won.
Slip of the tongue (or fingers in this case), I mean the heat has won. I guess the weather is beginning to get to me, because we certainly are having a "Heat Wave," and it feels more like the equator than the tropics. The heat should make everyone bright and shiny and happy, like I feel when I see the sun shining until almost 9 PM. However, the HEAT just make everyone sluggish and cranky. I mean heat, the heat makes everyone sluggish and cranky. I really need to stop hitting the caps lock key.
I will agree, that one detriment of the heat is having to carry around a sweater because every building is so afraid of the scorching outdoors that they blast the air conditioning to create an igloo indoors. Going in out and of buildings is like "Hot in here," I am getting so hot, I wanna take my clothes off. And then put them back on. And then take them off again. And then put... well, you get the idea.
But no matter, I'm soaking up the warmth that's radiating from the sun and the HEAT, feeling "hot hot hot." With my sunglasses, a pool, and a sweater, I'm ready to brave the heat this summer!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Father's Day
When Mom says no, you can always count on Dad to say yes. That's why dads are great: they are loving, supportive, and always on your side.
And what do they get in return? An open palm, waiting for money or car keys, or anything really.
My anything was ice cream. My dad will never let me live down the time when I was just a toddler and he treated me to some ice cream, but making me promise not to tell Mom, that it was our little secret. Sure enough, as soon as we returned home I threw him right under the bus. Yes, that's how I returned the favor. I guess the Queens of the Stone Age were right, the art of keeping a secret is lost. Sorry about that, Dad! ["Lost Art of Keeping a Secret"]
As I grew up, there was much less tattling on my dad and much more testing him. My dad loves music too, and watching MTV at the gym in the mornings would keep him up-to-date on the latest music; sometimes he would even know a song or artist before I did! Listening to the radio in the car became a game of who knew more, and each time someone had knowledge over the other, a jolt of victory would wash over and "All I do is Win" would be their theme song for a few minutes until the next round. But catching an "old" song from a few months ago was not acceptable; the station would have to be changed to find a more suitable challenge, a better auditory option.
This Father's Day, the perfect auditory option for my dad is not "old," but a throwback to his favorite: Bruce Springsteen, "Born to Run."
And really, who better to represent Father's Day than The Boss, himself?
So make sure your dad is the boss today. Let him control the remote without anyone complaining; let him go golfing or fishing (heck, if my dad could do both at the same time, he would!), let him relax and let him know how much you care by "surprising" him with that oh-so-original Father's Day present - a tie.
Even though I can't celebrate with my dad today, it doesn't change the fact that I am incredibly thankful and appreciative that he has always been there for me. Whether it was rushing home to sit through hours of (sometimes painful) band concerts or dance recitals just to see me perform for a few minutes, or encouraging me and helping me figure out my life post-college, I have always been able to rely on my dad for the perfect balance of love, guidance, the sometimes-necessary reality check, and teaching me how to "stay(in) alive."
Thanks, Dad. You might have been born to run, but just like we used to play on the beach, I am running in your footsteps.
Happy Father's Day!!
And what do they get in return? An open palm, waiting for money or car keys, or anything really.
My anything was ice cream. My dad will never let me live down the time when I was just a toddler and he treated me to some ice cream, but making me promise not to tell Mom, that it was our little secret. Sure enough, as soon as we returned home I threw him right under the bus. Yes, that's how I returned the favor. I guess the Queens of the Stone Age were right, the art of keeping a secret is lost. Sorry about that, Dad! ["Lost Art of Keeping a Secret"]
As I grew up, there was much less tattling on my dad and much more testing him. My dad loves music too, and watching MTV at the gym in the mornings would keep him up-to-date on the latest music; sometimes he would even know a song or artist before I did! Listening to the radio in the car became a game of who knew more, and each time someone had knowledge over the other, a jolt of victory would wash over and "All I do is Win" would be their theme song for a few minutes until the next round. But catching an "old" song from a few months ago was not acceptable; the station would have to be changed to find a more suitable challenge, a better auditory option.
This Father's Day, the perfect auditory option for my dad is not "old," but a throwback to his favorite: Bruce Springsteen, "Born to Run."
And really, who better to represent Father's Day than The Boss, himself?
So make sure your dad is the boss today. Let him control the remote without anyone complaining; let him go golfing or fishing (heck, if my dad could do both at the same time, he would!), let him relax and let him know how much you care by "surprising" him with that oh-so-original Father's Day present - a tie.
Even though I can't celebrate with my dad today, it doesn't change the fact that I am incredibly thankful and appreciative that he has always been there for me. Whether it was rushing home to sit through hours of (sometimes painful) band concerts or dance recitals just to see me perform for a few minutes, or encouraging me and helping me figure out my life post-college, I have always been able to rely on my dad for the perfect balance of love, guidance, the sometimes-necessary reality check, and teaching me how to "stay(in) alive."
Thanks, Dad. You might have been born to run, but just like we used to play on the beach, I am running in your footsteps.
Happy Father's Day!!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Birthday
When a group sings "Happy Birthday" to someone, there is inevitably that one person who is completely off-key, and that one person who holds the last note just a little too long. Or try fitting in someone's name that is not evenly two-syllables and things get really funky with different emphases. How about when it's an older member of a family and everyone is singing "grandma/mom/aunt/insert name" all at the same time? And of course there's the ever-fun "cha cha cha" insert between each line, or as my dad likes to sing instead, "you you you." There's even the classic spin to sing to your enemies: happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo, you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too.
So many options, so much variety, such a small song.
This song may not be long, exciting, or even pleasant at some times, but it is special. It makes people feel attended to and loved on their birthday, the one day a year that revolves around them and excuses are encouraged: excused from calories, an excuse to have a party, etc.
My excuse for my birthday this year is to take a little vacation. I'm out of the city, going to the beach, reading a book in the sun, and holding a daiquiri in my hand while Weezer's "Island in the Sun" plays in the background... well not exactly, but something like that. This birthday I am excusing myself from life and just enjoying the relaxation that comes with a getaway.
Now, relaxing the day away doesn't mean I don't want a little celebration too. Here's a medley of birthday/party songs I purposefully compiled as a present to myself to say, happy birthday to me!
Can you name them all?
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Tune Tales 1
Almost every Thursday night recently, my new neighbor above my apartment has been blasting different music. The timing of the parties and the music choices have made me curious about what is going on up there, and have inspired me to come up with my own version and write about it. In the story below, only the musical references are real; the rest of the story is entirely fictional, I don't know my neighbor, this is my imagination of how those songs came to be played in the apartment above my head. Stayed tuned for more stories to come in my new "Tune Tales" series!
Naomi Wright just moved into a beautiful new apartment in the Northwest quarter of Washington, DC. She moved there from Pentagon City in Virginia, so this was a much more convenient location for her life. Naomi Wright was lucky to find this apartment on such short notice. Sure, it was a bit pricey, but with a two-week turnaround she wasn't passing it up. Naomi Wright is about to finish her first year of Grad School at GW. With one final down and two more plus a paper to go, she is very pleased with her progress. But Naomi Wright is not happy, because Naomi Wright was just dumped.
Why did Naomi Wright have to move into a new apartment just a week before her finals? Because her boyfriend, a 2L at Georgetown, decided it was time to end their 4-year relationship just in time for him to have some peace and quiet in the apartment for him to study. Couldn't he have gone to the library, or asked her to give him the study space he needed during this time? Surely Naomi would have understood. But what she didn't understand was how he could use this opportunity to mask his cowardice in wanting to end their relationship; blaming his issues on school instead of facing them and talking through them. Naomi was in school too, but you didn't see her calling it quits every time she needed to concentrate.
Naomi and her boyfriend, excuse me, ex-boyfriend, James, met during their undergrad tenure at the University of Maryland. Naomi was a sophomore, James was a Junior, it was Greek Week, and their sorority and fraternity were paired up for the competition. While they had to work together and fight hard to win the tug-of-war, the talent show, and the fundraising contest; Naomi and James didn't have to battle at all to win each other over.
When James graduated and moved to DC to attend his dream law school, Naomi knew it wouldn't be long until she joined him there too. The year they spent apart was tough for both of them, but James sailed through his 1L year and Naomi kept her head down, preparing for the GRE, and got accepted to GW for their Psychology Graduate Program. They had it all figured out. James was going to go on to be a successful lawyer and Naomi was going to be a guidance counselor; she always loved helping people.
But the tension of spending a year apart never fully went away during the year they lived together, and Naomi found it tricky to help herself. The tension faded, but James had grown accustomed to his space, his new friends, his lawyer jokes. Naomi had spent many nights out with friends from school while James sat at home and worked. She knew they were in a different place than when they were in college, but she had faith in their relationship and a vision for the future. She never thought it would end like this. So abruptly, so heartlessly, so jarring. Apparently, James did not see the same light at the end of the tunnel, and suddenly she was all alone in the dark.
No, she wasn't alone. She had great friends; she enjoyed her coworkers at the restaurant she waitressed at for extra money, for that matter she was making extra money; and she was embarking on the career of her dreams. Who needed James? Well, not him, but maybe his apartment.
For going through the emotional turmoil of being dumped, kicked out of her living situation and having to find a new apartment, all while trying to study for her finals, Naomi Wright is doing pretty damn well these days.
Summer is right around the corner and she wants to celebrate; put all the drama behind her, uplift her spirits. Her finals end on Thursday and she doesn't have to work until Friday night, so Naomi has decided to throw a Housewarming/End of Finals/Summer's Here - Party, Thursday night.
As she minimizes her Word document with study materials and brings up Facebook on her web browser, Naomi surveys her new apartment and squints her eyes trying to envision the place filled with friends. She creates the event and invites everyone she knows in DC, even including some of James' law school buddies, but not James. She knows that will get his attention. Quickly she receives a handful of "attending" RSVPs and she smiles. Satisfied, Naomi returns to her school work; inevitably she'll check the RSVP list during her next study break, but for now it's back to the books.
PLOP! PLOP! Practically collapsing at
the door of her apartment, Naomi drops the bags that have been weighing
her down as she shopped for what seemed like days. She rubs her forearms
where the bags have left their mark, and decides that she doesn't need
to exercise today, she's given her body enough of a workout already.
Using all of the will power she has not to take a nap on the couch that she swears she can hear calling her name, Naomi starts unloading her purchases to set up for the party that is just a few hours away. Cups, chips, alcohol; napkins, dips, mixers.
Next, Naomi strategically moves her couch a few feet from its current location in order to create a larger seating space. However, her couch was a little heavier than expected and she bumped and banged it along the floor as she got it to the spot that she envisioned. Yep, she definitely did not need an extra work out today. For a brief moment she realized how much noise she was making and she hoped that her neighbor below her, whomever that may be, was not home; they would probably think she was nailing the couch to the floor rather than transporting it.
Having maneuvered the rest of the furniture in the apartment the way Naomi saw fit for a party, she places her snacks around the room and sets up a drink-making station on the kitchen table. Naomi checks her watch to find that there is just enough time to change and eat some dinner before she has to put her hostess game-face on.
---
Naomi stumbles in her high heels through the group of people standing near her closet. Did she even know those guys? So much for that hostess game-face. She kicks her heels off and in the process, lands on the floor with them. The group near the closet comes to see if she is alright and once they have her on her feet again they left her to, well, whatever it was that she was doing.
It looked like Naomi was either counting her shoes or trying to figure out the meaning of life. Her brow was scrunched up, her head tilted down, and there was a confusion in her eyes that screamed, "I'm drunk in my own apartment and I don't even know where I am!"
She was actually looking for her slippers to comfort her tired feet but she couldn't focus long enough to really find them and shortly gives up the search. Naomi returns to the drink-station where her best friend, Tamra, was entertaining her guest.
Tamra and Naomi were sorority sisters in college, and Tamra deciding to do her graduate work at American University was the icing on the cake of Naomi starting her life in DC.
Tamra came to American to continue her studies in the Spanish language and she joined a program this summer to host a student from Colombia who wanted to come to America to further their English studies for 6 weeks, followed by them trading and her spending 6 weeks in Colombia. This student's name was Ricardo, but liked to go by Rico, and Tamra liked to call him Rico Suave. But not to his face, only to Naomi. Naomi didn't know what Rico's real last name was, she only knew him as Rico Suave.
As Naomi plunks herself into a chair at the kitchen table rather ungracefully, she grabs onto Rico Suave's arm for balance. With her free hand, she reaches for her drink, or at least the cup she thought was her drink, but not before Tamra could grab it out of the way first.
"Yo creo que tu ha tenido suficiente," Tamra says.
Naomi stares blankly at Tamra with her mouth open trying to comprehend Tamra's message. Literally not a word she said just made sense, it was like she was speaking another language.
"Tam, Tam, Tam, Tam..." each syllable was accompanied by a hand swipe as Naomi tried to reply to Tamra, never quite reaching her name or the cup. Naomi knew she was stammering but she knew she couldn't help it.
"I think you have had enough, is what Tamra is trying to tell you, Naomi," Rico tried to help.
With Rico Suave's accent, Naomi could never tell if he was speaking Spanish or English. Nope, she didn't get a word of that either; she decided he must be speaking in Spanish.
Naomi blinks to hold back the tears that were forming behind her eyes. First her boyfriend dumped her and kicked her out, then she had to deal with finals, and now she can't understand the magic language that her best friend uses to communicate with Rico Suave; her whole life is falling apart.
And then the flood gates opened to really complete the damage that had been wrecked.
"What is wrong, Naomi?" Rico was kneeling to be eye level with her, he was very concerned.
"It's just, I, well, I miss him. I haven't had time to miss him yet and now I do." Naomi sobbed each word.
Rico looked to Tamra for clarification.
"She's a subconscious drunk," Tamra casually explained. "When Naomi gets drunk whatever is in her subconscious comes pouring out so you never know what you'll get with her when she drinks. One night she could be happy and the life of the party, the next she's ready to throw her drink at the girl who borrowed her pencil that one time and never gave it back. Tonight I guess we have 'Sad Naomi,' wallowing over James."
"Oh no, we are not going to be sad when I am here," Rico stands up. "Uh uh, you need to forget about him, Naomi."
Naomi kept crying, she couldn't just snap out of it like that.
"Listen, Naomi, you're fine without him, look at how much you're doing and he's not a part of any of it!" Tamra chimed in.
Tamra whispers something to Rico before disappearing in the crowd. He sits down next to Naomi to console her while they wait for Tamra. She returns having plugged an iPod into the sound system in the apartment, and Beyonce's voice rose above the volume of the party:
Listen, I am alone at a crossroads
I'm not at home in my own home
And I've tried and tried to say what's on mind
You should have known
Oh, now I'm done believing you
You don't know what I'm feeling
I'm more than what you made of me
I followed the voice you gave to me
But now I've gotta find my own
"Is that Dreamgirls?" Naomi was finally cognizant.
"Yes," Tamra saw that she was coming back down to earth, "and you don't need him, you're like Beyonce."
Naomi stands up, and Tamra and Rico exchange a smile of success.
"Yeah, I'm like Beyonce," Naomi was regaining her courage and she was going to prove it by doing the "Single Ladies" dance. But drunk dancing only caused Naomi to fall down again.
Tears were welling up once more, she kept falling down.
Rico jumped in, "here, here, you want to dance? Let's dance! Just one second."
Rico switches the music on the iPod to something he was just a little familiar with: merengue.
He grabs Naomi's hands and pulls her up to dance with him. All she had to do was follow his lead and he could hold her upright for the duration of the music.
Naomi began to smile. She is dancing, she is having fun again, she is doing fine.
---
She is awake! And alone. And clearly hungover. Naomi grabs her head to hold it from falling off her body as she sits up. What time is it? Naomi checks her phone and it tells her that it is 10:15 AM. She couldn't remember what time anyone left or how she got into pajamas or how much she drank for her head to pound so loudly. Loudly, the music. The last thing she can remember was Beyonce and some sort of Latin music. She hoped her friends and guests had a good time. She hoped she didn't bother her neighbors, after all, she was still new to the building. She hoped that her headache would go away and dozed off again giving herself the rest that Naomi Wright desperately needed.
"Listen" - Beyonce on the Dreamgirls soundtrack
"Merengue Mix" - by DJ Luiska (I don't know if this is the exact music that was played but it will give you a sense of what I heard through my ceiling)
Naomi Wright just moved into a beautiful new apartment in the Northwest quarter of Washington, DC. She moved there from Pentagon City in Virginia, so this was a much more convenient location for her life. Naomi Wright was lucky to find this apartment on such short notice. Sure, it was a bit pricey, but with a two-week turnaround she wasn't passing it up. Naomi Wright is about to finish her first year of Grad School at GW. With one final down and two more plus a paper to go, she is very pleased with her progress. But Naomi Wright is not happy, because Naomi Wright was just dumped.
Why did Naomi Wright have to move into a new apartment just a week before her finals? Because her boyfriend, a 2L at Georgetown, decided it was time to end their 4-year relationship just in time for him to have some peace and quiet in the apartment for him to study. Couldn't he have gone to the library, or asked her to give him the study space he needed during this time? Surely Naomi would have understood. But what she didn't understand was how he could use this opportunity to mask his cowardice in wanting to end their relationship; blaming his issues on school instead of facing them and talking through them. Naomi was in school too, but you didn't see her calling it quits every time she needed to concentrate.
Naomi and her boyfriend, excuse me, ex-boyfriend, James, met during their undergrad tenure at the University of Maryland. Naomi was a sophomore, James was a Junior, it was Greek Week, and their sorority and fraternity were paired up for the competition. While they had to work together and fight hard to win the tug-of-war, the talent show, and the fundraising contest; Naomi and James didn't have to battle at all to win each other over.
When James graduated and moved to DC to attend his dream law school, Naomi knew it wouldn't be long until she joined him there too. The year they spent apart was tough for both of them, but James sailed through his 1L year and Naomi kept her head down, preparing for the GRE, and got accepted to GW for their Psychology Graduate Program. They had it all figured out. James was going to go on to be a successful lawyer and Naomi was going to be a guidance counselor; she always loved helping people.
But the tension of spending a year apart never fully went away during the year they lived together, and Naomi found it tricky to help herself. The tension faded, but James had grown accustomed to his space, his new friends, his lawyer jokes. Naomi had spent many nights out with friends from school while James sat at home and worked. She knew they were in a different place than when they were in college, but she had faith in their relationship and a vision for the future. She never thought it would end like this. So abruptly, so heartlessly, so jarring. Apparently, James did not see the same light at the end of the tunnel, and suddenly she was all alone in the dark.
No, she wasn't alone. She had great friends; she enjoyed her coworkers at the restaurant she waitressed at for extra money, for that matter she was making extra money; and she was embarking on the career of her dreams. Who needed James? Well, not him, but maybe his apartment.
For going through the emotional turmoil of being dumped, kicked out of her living situation and having to find a new apartment, all while trying to study for her finals, Naomi Wright is doing pretty damn well these days.
Summer is right around the corner and she wants to celebrate; put all the drama behind her, uplift her spirits. Her finals end on Thursday and she doesn't have to work until Friday night, so Naomi has decided to throw a Housewarming/End of Finals/Summer's Here - Party, Thursday night.
As she minimizes her Word document with study materials and brings up Facebook on her web browser, Naomi surveys her new apartment and squints her eyes trying to envision the place filled with friends. She creates the event and invites everyone she knows in DC, even including some of James' law school buddies, but not James. She knows that will get his attention. Quickly she receives a handful of "attending" RSVPs and she smiles. Satisfied, Naomi returns to her school work; inevitably she'll check the RSVP list during her next study break, but for now it's back to the books.
---
Handing in the blue book that will complete her
first year of grad school, Naomi is thrilled that she does not have to
think about professors, papers, and projects for a whole three months.
So what can she fill her head with now? Books to read on the beach.
Maybe plan a road trip with friends to actually get to a beach. TV shows
to catch up on. Farmer's markets and new recipes to try. Summer music
festivals in the city. James.
No, no, she will not think about James. She will think about... of course, her party tonight! Focusing on anything other than the broken heart she has been thankful to avoid up until now because of studying, Naomi hurriedly rattles off a to-do list to get ready for her party tonight. She vows that she will only concentrate on party planning for the rest of the day and she heads to the liquor store to start checking items off of her mental preparation list.
---
No, no, she will not think about James. She will think about... of course, her party tonight! Focusing on anything other than the broken heart she has been thankful to avoid up until now because of studying, Naomi hurriedly rattles off a to-do list to get ready for her party tonight. She vows that she will only concentrate on party planning for the rest of the day and she heads to the liquor store to start checking items off of her mental preparation list.
---
Using all of the will power she has not to take a nap on the couch that she swears she can hear calling her name, Naomi starts unloading her purchases to set up for the party that is just a few hours away. Cups, chips, alcohol; napkins, dips, mixers.
Next, Naomi strategically moves her couch a few feet from its current location in order to create a larger seating space. However, her couch was a little heavier than expected and she bumped and banged it along the floor as she got it to the spot that she envisioned. Yep, she definitely did not need an extra work out today. For a brief moment she realized how much noise she was making and she hoped that her neighbor below her, whomever that may be, was not home; they would probably think she was nailing the couch to the floor rather than transporting it.
Having maneuvered the rest of the furniture in the apartment the way Naomi saw fit for a party, she places her snacks around the room and sets up a drink-making station on the kitchen table. Naomi checks her watch to find that there is just enough time to change and eat some dinner before she has to put her hostess game-face on.
---
Naomi stumbles in her high heels through the group of people standing near her closet. Did she even know those guys? So much for that hostess game-face. She kicks her heels off and in the process, lands on the floor with them. The group near the closet comes to see if she is alright and once they have her on her feet again they left her to, well, whatever it was that she was doing.
It looked like Naomi was either counting her shoes or trying to figure out the meaning of life. Her brow was scrunched up, her head tilted down, and there was a confusion in her eyes that screamed, "I'm drunk in my own apartment and I don't even know where I am!"
She was actually looking for her slippers to comfort her tired feet but she couldn't focus long enough to really find them and shortly gives up the search. Naomi returns to the drink-station where her best friend, Tamra, was entertaining her guest.
Tamra and Naomi were sorority sisters in college, and Tamra deciding to do her graduate work at American University was the icing on the cake of Naomi starting her life in DC.
Tamra came to American to continue her studies in the Spanish language and she joined a program this summer to host a student from Colombia who wanted to come to America to further their English studies for 6 weeks, followed by them trading and her spending 6 weeks in Colombia. This student's name was Ricardo, but liked to go by Rico, and Tamra liked to call him Rico Suave. But not to his face, only to Naomi. Naomi didn't know what Rico's real last name was, she only knew him as Rico Suave.
As Naomi plunks herself into a chair at the kitchen table rather ungracefully, she grabs onto Rico Suave's arm for balance. With her free hand, she reaches for her drink, or at least the cup she thought was her drink, but not before Tamra could grab it out of the way first.
"Yo creo que tu ha tenido suficiente," Tamra says.
Naomi stares blankly at Tamra with her mouth open trying to comprehend Tamra's message. Literally not a word she said just made sense, it was like she was speaking another language.
"Tam, Tam, Tam, Tam..." each syllable was accompanied by a hand swipe as Naomi tried to reply to Tamra, never quite reaching her name or the cup. Naomi knew she was stammering but she knew she couldn't help it.
"I think you have had enough, is what Tamra is trying to tell you, Naomi," Rico tried to help.
With Rico Suave's accent, Naomi could never tell if he was speaking Spanish or English. Nope, she didn't get a word of that either; she decided he must be speaking in Spanish.
Naomi blinks to hold back the tears that were forming behind her eyes. First her boyfriend dumped her and kicked her out, then she had to deal with finals, and now she can't understand the magic language that her best friend uses to communicate with Rico Suave; her whole life is falling apart.
And then the flood gates opened to really complete the damage that had been wrecked.
"What is wrong, Naomi?" Rico was kneeling to be eye level with her, he was very concerned.
"It's just, I, well, I miss him. I haven't had time to miss him yet and now I do." Naomi sobbed each word.
Rico looked to Tamra for clarification.
"She's a subconscious drunk," Tamra casually explained. "When Naomi gets drunk whatever is in her subconscious comes pouring out so you never know what you'll get with her when she drinks. One night she could be happy and the life of the party, the next she's ready to throw her drink at the girl who borrowed her pencil that one time and never gave it back. Tonight I guess we have 'Sad Naomi,' wallowing over James."
"Oh no, we are not going to be sad when I am here," Rico stands up. "Uh uh, you need to forget about him, Naomi."
Naomi kept crying, she couldn't just snap out of it like that.
"Listen, Naomi, you're fine without him, look at how much you're doing and he's not a part of any of it!" Tamra chimed in.
Tamra whispers something to Rico before disappearing in the crowd. He sits down next to Naomi to console her while they wait for Tamra. She returns having plugged an iPod into the sound system in the apartment, and Beyonce's voice rose above the volume of the party:
Listen, I am alone at a crossroads
I'm not at home in my own home
And I've tried and tried to say what's on mind
You should have known
Oh, now I'm done believing you
You don't know what I'm feeling
I'm more than what you made of me
I followed the voice you gave to me
But now I've gotta find my own
"Is that Dreamgirls?" Naomi was finally cognizant.
"Yes," Tamra saw that she was coming back down to earth, "and you don't need him, you're like Beyonce."
Naomi stands up, and Tamra and Rico exchange a smile of success.
"Yeah, I'm like Beyonce," Naomi was regaining her courage and she was going to prove it by doing the "Single Ladies" dance. But drunk dancing only caused Naomi to fall down again.
Tears were welling up once more, she kept falling down.
Rico jumped in, "here, here, you want to dance? Let's dance! Just one second."
Rico switches the music on the iPod to something he was just a little familiar with: merengue.
He grabs Naomi's hands and pulls her up to dance with him. All she had to do was follow his lead and he could hold her upright for the duration of the music.
Naomi began to smile. She is dancing, she is having fun again, she is doing fine.
---
She is awake! And alone. And clearly hungover. Naomi grabs her head to hold it from falling off her body as she sits up. What time is it? Naomi checks her phone and it tells her that it is 10:15 AM. She couldn't remember what time anyone left or how she got into pajamas or how much she drank for her head to pound so loudly. Loudly, the music. The last thing she can remember was Beyonce and some sort of Latin music. She hoped her friends and guests had a good time. She hoped she didn't bother her neighbors, after all, she was still new to the building. She hoped that her headache would go away and dozed off again giving herself the rest that Naomi Wright desperately needed.
"Listen" - Beyonce on the Dreamgirls soundtrack
"Merengue Mix" - by DJ Luiska (I don't know if this is the exact music that was played but it will give you a sense of what I heard through my ceiling)
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Mother's Day
WOW. When you turn that word upside down you get the word MOM. Pretty
appropriate for all the times they put up with screaming, yelling,
fighting, whining, and crying, with a few smiles mixed in, and still
maintain their sanity. Wow, Moms, it's hard to imagine how yo do it all,
and you've still kept us around, you really are "Superwoman"! (Well,
thanks for at least not telling us about the times you wanted to get rid
of us ;)
When I was little, my sister and I would wake up early and "cook" breakfast in bed for my mom. By "cook" I mean pop some frozen Eggos in the toaster and fill a glass up with orange juice and put it on a tray to bring to my parents, waking them up way too early for a Sunday. We were excited, it was our day to do for Mom what she always did for us. It was the one day where we would try to be on our best behavior so that she didn't have to be stressed by scolding us with all of the usual: "The Mom Song." Sometimes that good behavior lasted the whole day, sometimes a couple of hours, but hey, we had good intentions.
Mother's Day is sort of like New Year's in the sense that we take the time to reflect and appreciate our moms for all of their hard work in raising us. We promise ourselves that we won't take Mom for granted this next year, that we will argue less, be more patient, and take the time to show we care more often, tell her she is the beautiful, wonderful, perfect "All-American Girl." But then a week goes by and suddenly all of those new promises fly out the window, just like New Years resolutions, and we are back to our old habits. Sorry about that, Mom.
As we got older, our family Mother's Day tradition changed a little bit. No longer were we toasting Eggos at 7 AM, but everyone was sleeping in and the Dads of the family were baking real pancakes and putting together fruit salad, bagels and lox platters, etc. I don't know how it started, but one year "Girl You Know It's True" was sung and it's just stuck. It's our mother's day theme song, and although out of context, completely true: "girl you know it's true, I love you."
After a delicious brunch it was then the kids' job to clean up, after all, it was the Moms' day to relax. This was just a small way of saying, "Thank You," for the massive job it is to be a mom.
So thank you, Mom, for putting up with everything over the years. Enjoy your one day of gratitude so we can go back to normal tomorrow ;)
But seriously, my favorite song about mothers, the Spice Girls' song, "Mama," says it all a little better than Milli Vanilli: I love you.
When I was little, my sister and I would wake up early and "cook" breakfast in bed for my mom. By "cook" I mean pop some frozen Eggos in the toaster and fill a glass up with orange juice and put it on a tray to bring to my parents, waking them up way too early for a Sunday. We were excited, it was our day to do for Mom what she always did for us. It was the one day where we would try to be on our best behavior so that she didn't have to be stressed by scolding us with all of the usual: "The Mom Song." Sometimes that good behavior lasted the whole day, sometimes a couple of hours, but hey, we had good intentions.
Mother's Day is sort of like New Year's in the sense that we take the time to reflect and appreciate our moms for all of their hard work in raising us. We promise ourselves that we won't take Mom for granted this next year, that we will argue less, be more patient, and take the time to show we care more often, tell her she is the beautiful, wonderful, perfect "All-American Girl." But then a week goes by and suddenly all of those new promises fly out the window, just like New Years resolutions, and we are back to our old habits. Sorry about that, Mom.
As we got older, our family Mother's Day tradition changed a little bit. No longer were we toasting Eggos at 7 AM, but everyone was sleeping in and the Dads of the family were baking real pancakes and putting together fruit salad, bagels and lox platters, etc. I don't know how it started, but one year "Girl You Know It's True" was sung and it's just stuck. It's our mother's day theme song, and although out of context, completely true: "girl you know it's true, I love you."
After a delicious brunch it was then the kids' job to clean up, after all, it was the Moms' day to relax. This was just a small way of saying, "Thank You," for the massive job it is to be a mom.
So thank you, Mom, for putting up with everything over the years. Enjoy your one day of gratitude so we can go back to normal tomorrow ;)
But seriously, my favorite song about mothers, the Spice Girls' song, "Mama," says it all a little better than Milli Vanilli: I love you.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
White House Correspondents Dinner
It's Prom season, and that goes for here in DC too. Last weekend was the
White House Correspondents Dinner, also known as, Nerd Prom. The event
does recognize the media: print, televised, online, etc. But it also has
become another opportunity for celebrities to congregate, although this
time for political involvement and passions. Additionally, it's the
time for the President to portray his humorous side and for a well-known
comedian, this year Jimmy Kimmel, to roast the media and popular
political plunders over the year.
Now typically you would associate the current Top 40 music with Prom, maybe a band of kids from the school, and/or that special slow song you hope to dance to with your date. But for Nerd Prom, I'm thinking more along the lines of "Hail to the Chief," the theme from "The West Wing," (the ultimate DC nerd tune-association), and "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley, all about how the populous eats up the news as a source of entertainment.
Most people do not get to attend the actual dinner, but the actual dinner is not the most important part of the weekend in DC. No, no, the most important part are the decadent parties that accompany the dinner over the weekend. Think of it this way: if the dinner is the lyrics to a song, the WHCD parties are the musical beats, tones, harmonies, and effects that make the lyrics worth listening to.
Everyone in my office was invited to go to a party that one of my bosses was hosting in conjunction with different media he has relationships with.
The party was hosted on the rooftop of a beautiful hotel near the White House. For those of you unfamiliar with this aspect of DC, the rooftops are the hidden gems of buildings here, and this specific gem had an unbelievable view of the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Jefferson Memorial (see picture below). Looking out at the gorgeous landscape all I wanted to hear was a song about DC, which, shockingly, I didn't have off the top of my head! There aren't too many songs about DC. So, I did a little digging and found this song that would have been perfect for that moment: "Welcome to DC."
The fun beat is also a great transition to the arrival of guests at the party. My colleagues and I came straight from work and were the first ones at the reception. We graciously accepted the mojitos being offered and we just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company outside of the office. We almost didn't even notice the place beginning to fill up with some familiar faces.
Across the room I spotted Arianna Huffington. Then, I turned around and all of a sudden I was two feet away from Chris Matthews. Oh, look, and there's Tamron Hall. And right behind her is Karen Finney and Jonathan Capehart; hail, hail, the MSNBC gang's all here! My friends and I worked up the "we're just nobodies" nerve to introduce ourselves to some of them and they were very nice, and very appreciative of our viewership.
More politicians and media moguls packed in with their guests and soon you could barely walk! Good thing it was time to present some awards... and who should be hosting this part of the evening, but Rosario Dawson! Instantaneously the cool-level in this Nerd Prom Party just upped 50 points. It would have been even cooler if she came out singing her number from the movie adaptation of RENT, "Take me Out Tonight." And those words couldn't be more true, since some of my friends saw her at a different WHCD Party after this one that night. Feline of Avenue B? More like feline of K Street!
After her hosting duties, Rosario was working her way around the crowd and ended up right near where a few of us were standing. I really wanted a picture with her so I waited in line, literally a line, and wanted to say more than "hi, can I have your picture," to her since that's what everyone was doing to her all night. When I approached her, I jokingly said, "I feel like I'm in line for a Disney character, waiting to take my picture with you." She broke out in laughter and said, "well now we have to take a ridiculous picture just because," and she turned around grabbed my arms and yelled "prom pic!" at my colleague who was taking the picture with my camera. I see what you did there, Rosario; my new BFF is so clever! Everyone was laughing, which is why, in the picture below, we are a little blurry, but capturing the moment of carrying on with a celebrity is way better than an un-blurred boring smile shot.
So I spent four years in California, only to be hobnobbing with the stars in DC during Nerd Prom? Ok, I'll take it! Rosario and I were chitchatting for a bit and I was relishing the moment totally playing in my head "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous" and "Paparazzi."
I'm already excited about next year's prom. I can't help it, it's so much fun to be a DC nerd!
The view of the White House/Washington Monument/Jefferson Memorial from the hotel rooftop
My Nerd Prom souvenir picture with Rosario Dawson
Now typically you would associate the current Top 40 music with Prom, maybe a band of kids from the school, and/or that special slow song you hope to dance to with your date. But for Nerd Prom, I'm thinking more along the lines of "Hail to the Chief," the theme from "The West Wing," (the ultimate DC nerd tune-association), and "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley, all about how the populous eats up the news as a source of entertainment.
Most people do not get to attend the actual dinner, but the actual dinner is not the most important part of the weekend in DC. No, no, the most important part are the decadent parties that accompany the dinner over the weekend. Think of it this way: if the dinner is the lyrics to a song, the WHCD parties are the musical beats, tones, harmonies, and effects that make the lyrics worth listening to.
Everyone in my office was invited to go to a party that one of my bosses was hosting in conjunction with different media he has relationships with.
The party was hosted on the rooftop of a beautiful hotel near the White House. For those of you unfamiliar with this aspect of DC, the rooftops are the hidden gems of buildings here, and this specific gem had an unbelievable view of the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Jefferson Memorial (see picture below). Looking out at the gorgeous landscape all I wanted to hear was a song about DC, which, shockingly, I didn't have off the top of my head! There aren't too many songs about DC. So, I did a little digging and found this song that would have been perfect for that moment: "Welcome to DC."
The fun beat is also a great transition to the arrival of guests at the party. My colleagues and I came straight from work and were the first ones at the reception. We graciously accepted the mojitos being offered and we just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company outside of the office. We almost didn't even notice the place beginning to fill up with some familiar faces.
Across the room I spotted Arianna Huffington. Then, I turned around and all of a sudden I was two feet away from Chris Matthews. Oh, look, and there's Tamron Hall. And right behind her is Karen Finney and Jonathan Capehart; hail, hail, the MSNBC gang's all here! My friends and I worked up the "we're just nobodies" nerve to introduce ourselves to some of them and they were very nice, and very appreciative of our viewership.
More politicians and media moguls packed in with their guests and soon you could barely walk! Good thing it was time to present some awards... and who should be hosting this part of the evening, but Rosario Dawson! Instantaneously the cool-level in this Nerd Prom Party just upped 50 points. It would have been even cooler if she came out singing her number from the movie adaptation of RENT, "Take me Out Tonight." And those words couldn't be more true, since some of my friends saw her at a different WHCD Party after this one that night. Feline of Avenue B? More like feline of K Street!
After her hosting duties, Rosario was working her way around the crowd and ended up right near where a few of us were standing. I really wanted a picture with her so I waited in line, literally a line, and wanted to say more than "hi, can I have your picture," to her since that's what everyone was doing to her all night. When I approached her, I jokingly said, "I feel like I'm in line for a Disney character, waiting to take my picture with you." She broke out in laughter and said, "well now we have to take a ridiculous picture just because," and she turned around grabbed my arms and yelled "prom pic!" at my colleague who was taking the picture with my camera. I see what you did there, Rosario; my new BFF is so clever! Everyone was laughing, which is why, in the picture below, we are a little blurry, but capturing the moment of carrying on with a celebrity is way better than an un-blurred boring smile shot.
So I spent four years in California, only to be hobnobbing with the stars in DC during Nerd Prom? Ok, I'll take it! Rosario and I were chitchatting for a bit and I was relishing the moment totally playing in my head "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous" and "Paparazzi."
I'm already excited about next year's prom. I can't help it, it's so much fun to be a DC nerd!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Boy Bands
I took a little hiatus from my blog but I. Am. Back! And so are boy bands!
I will be the first to proudly admit that I was a total "teeny bopper" when I was a teenager. I had all of the CDs of N*SYNC, The Backstreet Boys, and even 98 Degrees (come on, you remember "Una Noche," right?). I would study the album cover packet that came with my CDs and learn all of the lyrics to every song, on the radio or not. I couldn't get enough of that music. For a few brief minutes my 13-year-old self believed that they were singing to just me, and life was good. Well, maybe me and three or four of my friends; that was the best part about boy bands, there was more than one boy for me and my friends to "claim." So you could be Mrs. Justin Timberlake, and I could be Mrs. Lance Bass... well so much for wishful thinking.
But those were just my generation's boy bands. This phenomenon dates back to the 60's when the Beach Boys were singing about "Get[ing] Around" in their matching outfits and easy breezy harmonies. The Beach Boys' cool California charisma still resonates, and they even just recorded a new song: "That's Why God Made the Radio."
And let's not forget about the British invasion themselves, The Beatles, who sparked the future of rock and roll with their innovative sound, branding hairstyle (no Justin Bieber, you weren't the first to ignite a hair craze), and risky lyrics in songs like "Revolution" and "Day Tripper," among every other song they ever made.
During that time there was also The Monkees who were in a league of their own with a TV show named for and starring them: "The Monkees Theme." Each member of the group had a coined "personality" which made them memorable individually as well as a whole. The Monkees were introduced to a new generation through Shrek and Smashmouth with their remake of "I'm a Believer."
When MTV was created in the 80's, the boy bands reemerged in their modern form: a group of 4-6 guys in their late teens/early 20's who no longer played the instruments in a band, but who took on all of the characteristics outlined by their predecessors and now shared lines in their songs and danced in unison to the music in the background. And let's not forget the importance of a great music video to get to the top of the TRL (Total Request Live) countdown every afternoon. Thank you "Bye Bye Bye" and "Everybody."
A friend of mine was a camp counselor over a few summers in college and she told me about how "deprived" her campers were. In order to motivate her girls to clean the bunk and to do so quickly, she would put on an old N*SYNC CD for that up-tempo rhythm to keep them moving. I mean, what's more fun than dancing around your room to "Pop"? When one of the campers asked her what the music was, she explained it to them like this: Do you know who Justin Timberlake is? Nods. Well, before he was a solo act he was in a group called N*SYNC, and this is them. They didn't believe her! They didn't know what a boy band was so they couldn't get excited about it. My friend was right, these kids were deprived, to never know the excitement of a boy band.
But have no fear, because boy bands are back and ready to bring a new twist to the classic structure. This whole resurgence started last summer when New Kids On the Block and the Backstreet Boys decided to get together and go on a mega tour titled NKOTBSB - epic. Nickelodeon scooped up the boy band tv show with Big Time Rush and it has been doing pretty well, so they are expanding their boy band tv show empire and have added a show to star One Direction, one of the newest groups to start stealing young hearts. Come on, with a song called "What Makes You Beautiful," how can you not love them? And of course, Glee did a cover of the new British invasion, The Wanted, with their song "Glad You Came," that elevated their popularity. This new version of boy bands comes with a chill vibe. They just hang out with each other, sing, party, and don't have to do anything in particular to prove themselves like dance or play instruments, they are just awesome from being there.
So now here we are with boy bands in full form once again, as if they never left our hearts for one moment. While these songs may not be soundtracking one particular event, they have kept the tempo from one generation to the next. Who is your favorite boy band?
I will be the first to proudly admit that I was a total "teeny bopper" when I was a teenager. I had all of the CDs of N*SYNC, The Backstreet Boys, and even 98 Degrees (come on, you remember "Una Noche," right?). I would study the album cover packet that came with my CDs and learn all of the lyrics to every song, on the radio or not. I couldn't get enough of that music. For a few brief minutes my 13-year-old self believed that they were singing to just me, and life was good. Well, maybe me and three or four of my friends; that was the best part about boy bands, there was more than one boy for me and my friends to "claim." So you could be Mrs. Justin Timberlake, and I could be Mrs. Lance Bass... well so much for wishful thinking.
But those were just my generation's boy bands. This phenomenon dates back to the 60's when the Beach Boys were singing about "Get[ing] Around" in their matching outfits and easy breezy harmonies. The Beach Boys' cool California charisma still resonates, and they even just recorded a new song: "That's Why God Made the Radio."
And let's not forget about the British invasion themselves, The Beatles, who sparked the future of rock and roll with their innovative sound, branding hairstyle (no Justin Bieber, you weren't the first to ignite a hair craze), and risky lyrics in songs like "Revolution" and "Day Tripper," among every other song they ever made.
During that time there was also The Monkees who were in a league of their own with a TV show named for and starring them: "The Monkees Theme." Each member of the group had a coined "personality" which made them memorable individually as well as a whole. The Monkees were introduced to a new generation through Shrek and Smashmouth with their remake of "I'm a Believer."
When MTV was created in the 80's, the boy bands reemerged in their modern form: a group of 4-6 guys in their late teens/early 20's who no longer played the instruments in a band, but who took on all of the characteristics outlined by their predecessors and now shared lines in their songs and danced in unison to the music in the background. And let's not forget the importance of a great music video to get to the top of the TRL (Total Request Live) countdown every afternoon. Thank you "Bye Bye Bye" and "Everybody."
A friend of mine was a camp counselor over a few summers in college and she told me about how "deprived" her campers were. In order to motivate her girls to clean the bunk and to do so quickly, she would put on an old N*SYNC CD for that up-tempo rhythm to keep them moving. I mean, what's more fun than dancing around your room to "Pop"? When one of the campers asked her what the music was, she explained it to them like this: Do you know who Justin Timberlake is? Nods. Well, before he was a solo act he was in a group called N*SYNC, and this is them. They didn't believe her! They didn't know what a boy band was so they couldn't get excited about it. My friend was right, these kids were deprived, to never know the excitement of a boy band.
But have no fear, because boy bands are back and ready to bring a new twist to the classic structure. This whole resurgence started last summer when New Kids On the Block and the Backstreet Boys decided to get together and go on a mega tour titled NKOTBSB - epic. Nickelodeon scooped up the boy band tv show with Big Time Rush and it has been doing pretty well, so they are expanding their boy band tv show empire and have added a show to star One Direction, one of the newest groups to start stealing young hearts. Come on, with a song called "What Makes You Beautiful," how can you not love them? And of course, Glee did a cover of the new British invasion, The Wanted, with their song "Glad You Came," that elevated their popularity. This new version of boy bands comes with a chill vibe. They just hang out with each other, sing, party, and don't have to do anything in particular to prove themselves like dance or play instruments, they are just awesome from being there.
So now here we are with boy bands in full form once again, as if they never left our hearts for one moment. While these songs may not be soundtracking one particular event, they have kept the tempo from one generation to the next. Who is your favorite boy band?
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The Walk
Walking is something that everyone has in common. You walk to work, or
walk the dog, or walk around the supermarket, or walk around your house,
or just go for a walk outside when the weather is nice. For health
purposes everyone is supposed to walk at least 10,000 steps a day; for
guilt purposes parents tell the "I had to walk uphill both ways in the
snow" story. Walking is a major part of our lives and for me living in a
city, it is my favorite mode of transportation.
There are different paces and attitudes that come with walking. You've got the casual stroller, cruising along to Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line." You typically see these people in the evening when they don't have somewhere to be. Because in the morning, you try not to get bowled over by the frantic walkers running late, accompanied by Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." (Don't lie, you've been that crazy person too!) But those people are no where near as fast as people who competitively speed-walk. They've probably truly walked "500 Miles" to train for the Olympics; and I hope they're having just as much fun as that song is while they do it! Then there are the people who walk with a little swag, a little attitude, and you are curious to find out where they're headed, but you don't want to get in their way. You know their "Boots are Made for Walking," and you wouldn't want to be the person who gets walked on by them.
This weekend, I'll be participating in an event titled the Walk. Six years ago my younger sister was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and every year since my family and dozens of our friends have participated in the MS Walk as "Team Alie," aptly named for her. We fundraise for months in advance and the day of, we walk a little over 6 miles, symbolically taking many steps closer to erasing MS.
The Walk starts out early in the morning with a little breakfast and coffee available to every participant. We meet and greet and schmooze, and then all of my cousins gather around my grandpa while he leads stretches to prep us for the trek we about to embark on. He's very keen on our arms, gotta make sure those arms are strong and ready for the journey ahead! Next is team photo time. Every team at the walk gets their picture taken as a wonderful memory of the day, and as we grow in participants on Team Alie every year, the photographer has to constantly move himself farther away from the setup in order to fit us all in. As everyone gets ready to go, representatives from the National MS Society gather attention to welcome and inspire the walkers.
So what song applies to this specific type of walk? The ever-uplifting tune of "Walkin' on Sunshine." This song forces a smile upon the face on anyone listening to it, and the day of the Walk that's what we are: happy. Those of us participating in the Walk are there to make a difference, to come together as a positive force, to honor all of our loved ones and have a great day. And don't it feel good!
If you'd like to make a donation to the Team Alie efforts, please visit: http://main.nationalmssociety.
There are different paces and attitudes that come with walking. You've got the casual stroller, cruising along to Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line." You typically see these people in the evening when they don't have somewhere to be. Because in the morning, you try not to get bowled over by the frantic walkers running late, accompanied by Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." (Don't lie, you've been that crazy person too!) But those people are no where near as fast as people who competitively speed-walk. They've probably truly walked "500 Miles" to train for the Olympics; and I hope they're having just as much fun as that song is while they do it! Then there are the people who walk with a little swag, a little attitude, and you are curious to find out where they're headed, but you don't want to get in their way. You know their "Boots are Made for Walking," and you wouldn't want to be the person who gets walked on by them.
This weekend, I'll be participating in an event titled the Walk. Six years ago my younger sister was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and every year since my family and dozens of our friends have participated in the MS Walk as "Team Alie," aptly named for her. We fundraise for months in advance and the day of, we walk a little over 6 miles, symbolically taking many steps closer to erasing MS.
The Walk starts out early in the morning with a little breakfast and coffee available to every participant. We meet and greet and schmooze, and then all of my cousins gather around my grandpa while he leads stretches to prep us for the trek we about to embark on. He's very keen on our arms, gotta make sure those arms are strong and ready for the journey ahead! Next is team photo time. Every team at the walk gets their picture taken as a wonderful memory of the day, and as we grow in participants on Team Alie every year, the photographer has to constantly move himself farther away from the setup in order to fit us all in. As everyone gets ready to go, representatives from the National MS Society gather attention to welcome and inspire the walkers.
So what song applies to this specific type of walk? The ever-uplifting tune of "Walkin' on Sunshine." This song forces a smile upon the face on anyone listening to it, and the day of the Walk that's what we are: happy. Those of us participating in the Walk are there to make a difference, to come together as a positive force, to honor all of our loved ones and have a great day. And don't it feel good!
If you'd like to make a donation to the Team Alie efforts, please visit: http://main.nationalmssociety.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Leap Year
How many months have 31 days?
... 7, very good!
And how many months only have 30 days?
... 4, excellent!
And how many months have 28 days?
... did you just answer 1, as in February? Wrong! Every month has 28 days, silly!
That joke always used to trick me, so if it didn't trick you, kudos, you are quite clever, aren't you!
Although, as this is a Leap Year, February actually has 29 days. To freshen up your cocktail-party-of-life-random-knowledge, the reason we have Leap Years in the first place is because of the seasons. Since every season "Turn! Turn! Turn[s]!" at its own pace, not based on a certain amount of days, we add a day every four years to keep our year in sync with the appropriate seasons. Why every four years? Because a year, how long it takes for the Earth to rotate the Sun, is technically 365 days and 6 hours. Over four years those additional 6 hours will accumulate another day.
Back in the day when the actual seasons mattered for farming and living purposes, a Leap Year might have been a big deal. Nowadays, we barely blink about it. Just as The Byrds sing, moments and different times in our life are what we consider important "seasons" now. Maybe the updated version of that song, and arguably one of the most popular songs about seasons, "Seasons of Love," from the musical RENT, completely evokes that sentiment. While "daylights, sunsets, midnights, and cups of coffee" still hold true, "525,600 minutes" would be wrong this year. Let's go ahead and make that an even 527,040 minutes and we'll pretend like those were the lyrics the whole time!
Even though I completely understand the point of a Leap Year, it still feels like February 29th is just hiding all of the time singing the chorus of "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls: "I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand... I just want you to know who I am" And then every four years we convince it to come out and we coax it gently with the song "True Colors." We see you February 29th, and we love you for giving us an extra day this year!
So what are we going to do with this day? Most of us will just be at work, a typical Wednesday. For some though, they will finally get to celebrate their birthday after waiting four long years! I've always wondered what it's like for February 29th to be someone's birthday, how special and unique that would be. When I was little I thought that this magically meant that you didn't age for four years, then I realized that was not the case. But would you celebrate on the 28th, so your birthday is still in February even though it's a day early, or would March 1st be considered your birthday for the most part since it would be the right day, just not the right date? This illusive February 29th has always perplexed me.
Something else about Leap Years that makes me furrow my brow is their intervals: "4," because there are so many "fours" in the world. There are four suits in a deck of cards, four years of a Presidency, and four leaves on a lucky clover. Of course there are the four seasons: Franki Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nicki Massi, and Bob Gaudio; "oh won't you stay, just a little bit longer" (that's how I feel about the summer!) Just kidding ;) Then there are the winter and summer Olympics, which occur every four years per season. And the elements: Earth, Wind and Fire; "Sing a Sooooooonnnnggggg." Okay, okay: earth, air, water, and fire; I promise I'm done with that now. Maybe there really is something special about that number four you, four me, four everybody!
Even though February 29th disappears on us all for a few years, "winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you've got to do is call," and I'll be right here, singing, humming, lip-syncing, you name it. Have a great Leap Day!
... 7, very good!
And how many months only have 30 days?
... 4, excellent!
And how many months have 28 days?
... did you just answer 1, as in February? Wrong! Every month has 28 days, silly!
That joke always used to trick me, so if it didn't trick you, kudos, you are quite clever, aren't you!
Although, as this is a Leap Year, February actually has 29 days. To freshen up your cocktail-party-of-life-random-knowledge, the reason we have Leap Years in the first place is because of the seasons. Since every season "Turn! Turn! Turn[s]!" at its own pace, not based on a certain amount of days, we add a day every four years to keep our year in sync with the appropriate seasons. Why every four years? Because a year, how long it takes for the Earth to rotate the Sun, is technically 365 days and 6 hours. Over four years those additional 6 hours will accumulate another day.
Back in the day when the actual seasons mattered for farming and living purposes, a Leap Year might have been a big deal. Nowadays, we barely blink about it. Just as The Byrds sing, moments and different times in our life are what we consider important "seasons" now. Maybe the updated version of that song, and arguably one of the most popular songs about seasons, "Seasons of Love," from the musical RENT, completely evokes that sentiment. While "daylights, sunsets, midnights, and cups of coffee" still hold true, "525,600 minutes" would be wrong this year. Let's go ahead and make that an even 527,040 minutes and we'll pretend like those were the lyrics the whole time!
Even though I completely understand the point of a Leap Year, it still feels like February 29th is just hiding all of the time singing the chorus of "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls: "I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand... I just want you to know who I am" And then every four years we convince it to come out and we coax it gently with the song "True Colors." We see you February 29th, and we love you for giving us an extra day this year!
So what are we going to do with this day? Most of us will just be at work, a typical Wednesday. For some though, they will finally get to celebrate their birthday after waiting four long years! I've always wondered what it's like for February 29th to be someone's birthday, how special and unique that would be. When I was little I thought that this magically meant that you didn't age for four years, then I realized that was not the case. But would you celebrate on the 28th, so your birthday is still in February even though it's a day early, or would March 1st be considered your birthday for the most part since it would be the right day, just not the right date? This illusive February 29th has always perplexed me.
Something else about Leap Years that makes me furrow my brow is their intervals: "4," because there are so many "fours" in the world. There are four suits in a deck of cards, four years of a Presidency, and four leaves on a lucky clover. Of course there are the four seasons: Franki Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nicki Massi, and Bob Gaudio; "oh won't you stay, just a little bit longer" (that's how I feel about the summer!) Just kidding ;) Then there are the winter and summer Olympics, which occur every four years per season. And the elements: Earth, Wind and Fire; "Sing a Sooooooonnnnggggg." Okay, okay: earth, air, water, and fire; I promise I'm done with that now. Maybe there really is something special about that number four you, four me, four everybody!
Even though February 29th disappears on us all for a few years, "winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you've got to do is call," and I'll be right here, singing, humming, lip-syncing, you name it. Have a great Leap Day!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The Oscars
"I'd like to thank the Academy"... cry, sniff,
wipe tear, sigh, breathe, smile, ogle the Oscar, remain speechless, waste time,
ramble, state how unprepared and shocked you are, finally remember the notes
tucked away in your hand, yell at the music to stop, speed through
acknowledgements, then finally be escorted away so we can wash rinse and repeat
for the next award to be announced.
Yep, that's pretty much the formula for every acceptance
speech at the Academy Awards, but I love it! I love the glamor of the whole
night, the hints of that old Hollywood movie magic that today's stars attempt
to portray for a brief evening. No, today's movies are nothing like those of
the past, and many opt to wait for the cheaper Netflix rental to arrive months
after the movie's original release, but you can't deny the excitement and
release from the world you experience when the lights dim in the movie theater
and you throw a piece of popcorn in your mouth as you anticipate being
entertained for a few hours.
And if the hype of Billy Cristal returning as Host for the
Oscars isn't enough to get you excited for Sunday night's show, "Let's Goto the Movies," together and talk about all of the music in this year's
films:
Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" from THE MUPPETS - Music and Lyric
by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from RIO - Music by Sergio Mendes and
Carlinhos Brown; Lyric by Siedah Garrett
* This is a very talked about category this year as only two
songs were nominated at the Academy Awards, when there were five nominated at
the Golden Globes, and they are completely different from these two. Apparently
there are certain rules and regulations for the Academy Awards that
disqualified the songs distinguished at the Golden Globes from being in
contention at the Oscars. Sorry, Madonna and Elton John, guess we won't get to
see that little feud come to a boiling point after all.
Nevertheless, let's talk about "Man or Muppet" and
"Real in Rio." "Man or Muppet" is the big
character-development ballad from The Muppets. It fits in with the movie's plot
and themes of finding yourself, whomever your self may be, but the appearance
of Jason Segel's alter-muppet-ego and Jim Parsons as the human reflection of
Jason Segel's muppet brother Walter really add that extra umph to the scene.
"Real in Rio" starts the movie Rio, and really
introduces the audience to the life and atmosphere of Carnival in Brazil. The
song, at the part where baby Blu falls from his tree, is abruptly cut off as
the plot begins to take shape, and the vibrant nature of the song is quickly
juxtaposed with the harsh reality and issue of wild bird-napping for profit
that the movie tackles. I was a little shaken by the sudden shift, so I can
only imagine how the kids felt seeing this cartoon. Fortunately, there is a
happy ending, and the song bookends the movie and completes itself to finish
off the story. In the second half of it we get the awesome vocal stylings of
Jesse Eisenberg, who voices the main character, Blu, which we honestly could
have gone without. Come on, 20th Century Fox, Disney always had singing voice
dubs for the speaking actors.
Between these two, I think "Man or Muppet" is
going to win, but I think "Real in Rio" should win, in comparing the
way each song fits with its movie.
Music (Original Score)
The Adventures of Tintin - John Williams
The Artist -
Ludovic Bource
Hugo - Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Alberto Iglesias
War Horse - John Williams
* Since this category deals with the music of an entire
movie, there are obviously no links to it singularly. However, if you have not
seen the movies, when you watch the Oscars you will get a taste of the score as
they read each nominee. This is a no-brainer. Whether you've seen any of these
films or not, it is easy to pick that The Artist is going to win. Not only was
the score of the movie worthy of the win, but the score of the movie was the
movie. As a silent film, the audience is forced to rely on the music to convey
the emotions of the scenes and the characters, and the score of The Artist kept
the audience understanding the film as it went on. Just from the score we were
able to empathize with the characters' joy, sorrow, hope, despair, playfulness,
sarcasm, love, longing, worry, excitement, and a whole roller coaster of other
feelings as well. Ludovic Bource derserves credit for his work on this score,
and he will get it.
That about wraps up the music of the Oscars, so just for fun
here are my picks for the rest of the big categories on Sunday night. (Bold is
who I think will win, italics is who I'm rooting for) What are your
predictions?
Best Picture
The Artist - Thomas Langmann, Producer
The Descendants - Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Scott Rudin, Producer
The Help - Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
Hugo - Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
Midnight in Paris - Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
Moneyball - Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
The Tree of Life - Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
War Horse - Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Actor In a Leading Role
Demián Bichir - A Better Life
George Clooney - The Descendants
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
Actress In a Leading Role
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn
Actor In a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Actress In a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Animated Feature Film
A Cat in Paris - Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico & Rita - Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2 - Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Puss in Boots - Chris Miller
Rango - Gore Verbinski
Cinematography
The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo - Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse - Janusz Kaminski
Art Direction
The Artist - Laurence Bennett (Production Design); Robert Gould (Set Decoration)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Stuart Craig (Production Design); Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration)
Hugo - Dante Ferretti (Production Design); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration)
Midnight in Paris - Anne Seibel (Production Design); Hélène Dubreuil (Set Decoration)
War Horse - Rick Carter (Production Design); Lee Sandales (Set Decoration)
Costume Design
Anonymous - Lisy Christl
The Artist - Mark Bridges
Hugo - Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre - Michael O'Connor
W.E. - Arianne Phillips
Directing
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants - Alexander Payne
Hugo - Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick
Film Editing
The Artist - Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants - Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo - Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball - Christopher Tellefsen
Foreign Language Film
Belgium, "Bullhead"- Michael R. Roskam, director
Canada, "Monsieur Lazhar" - Philippe Falardeau, director
Iran, "A Separation"- Asghar Farhadi, director
Israel, "Footnote" - Joseph Cedar, director
Poland, "In Darkness" - Agnieszka Holland, director
Makeup
Albert Nobbs - Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
The Iron Lady - Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Sound Editing
Drive- Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Ren Klyce
Hugo - Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
War Horse - Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Sound Mixing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
Hugo - Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
Moneyball - Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco and Ed Novick
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
War Horse - Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson
Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
Hugo - Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning
Real Steel - Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier.
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants - Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Hugo - Screenplay by John Logan
The Ides of March - Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball - Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan
Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Artist - Written by Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids - Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call - Written by J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris - Written by Woody Allen
A Separation - Written by Asghar Farhadi
Friday, February 17, 2012
Lost and Found
People lose things throughout their entire lives.
Toddlers lose toys, children lose teeth. Pre-teens lose their manners and teenagers lose love. College students lose money, professionals lose sleep. Parents lose their patience and the elderly try not to lose their minds. Everyone loses their way here and there, and everyone will lose at least one sock in their life to the dryer.
Recently, I lost my keychain, and I was abruptly reminded of the turmoil that comes from losing something crucial in your life.
In that initial moment of realization that something is missing, it's very interesting how your mind plays tricks on you. I know I put my keys in my jacket pocket. So why aren't they there? Well, maybe you're only 97% sure. Maybe your missing item is in that special 3% that says no no, you only think you put that item there when in fact it's over here. So, you appease the 3% and try to calm yourself down and look in a different location. I looked in a multitude of different locations, but to no avail. When that place yields no results you move from frantic to crazy, trying to reclaim the piece of your life in disruption.
There are lyrics to Fastball's "Outta My Head" that go: "Was I outta my head, was I outta my mind, how could I have ever been so blind? I was looking for an indication, it was hard to find," and really, that's exactly how you feel when you are missing something. Well, once you've ripped apart your entire apartment/house/bag/car/whatever, or a combination of the aforementioned, and you resign to the fact that it's just gone, the crazy eventually passes and you begin to accept the truth. So there I was, having searched everywhere and tried everything but cut my jacket into pieces, feeling naked without my keys, wishing I had the chance to say goodbye; I missed them.
Fortunately, I have been taught that you have to find the window beyond the door, so I thought to myself, "always look on the bright side of life," and I couldn't help but to smile. I did have spare keys in my apartment so all I had to do was get in in the first place. At least I don't have a car, so it's not like I lost car keys. There was nothing on my keychain that said they belonged to me so no one in the city could come "find" me if they were that psycho. I mean really, in the scheme of things, ok, all I lost were my keys, on a pretty awesome bottle-opener-flip-flop-shaped keychain. Sad, but not the end of the world, I can get through this.
And then you really begin to believe that, as the aptly named song "Gotta Get Thru This" pumps you up in the background. You move on. You even almost forget that you ever had that item in the first place. It's replaced or better, upgraded; oh, you want to upgrade me? Thanks, Beyonce! Let's keep this momentum going, life is good now. And for most people who lose something, here's where the story ends.
But of course, my emotional saga was not over yet. You know when you're little and you can't find an article of clothing or a toy and you yell to your mom that it's missing? And then she yells back, "if I have to come up there and look for it..." and then it magically reappears? Let's keep that in mind as we continue, shall we? A few weeks later my mom was visiting me and when I took my jacket off to hand it to her, she grabbed it in such a way that she felt something funny. Yes, folks, that's right, my keys were in my jacket all along! BUT, to my credit, they were in my breast pocket where I never would have felt them or thought to check because I never put anything in that pocket. I was completely overwhelmed. I was happy, I was surprised, and I felt silly. I could only think of the lyrics "I'm a loser baby," because I was the loser of the item in the first place and I also totally failed at the whole situation. I was obviously not paying attention to the pocket I put my keys in when they went "missing."
Toddlers lose toys, children lose teeth. Pre-teens lose their manners and teenagers lose love. College students lose money, professionals lose sleep. Parents lose their patience and the elderly try not to lose their minds. Everyone loses their way here and there, and everyone will lose at least one sock in their life to the dryer.
Recently, I lost my keychain, and I was abruptly reminded of the turmoil that comes from losing something crucial in your life.
In that initial moment of realization that something is missing, it's very interesting how your mind plays tricks on you. I know I put my keys in my jacket pocket. So why aren't they there? Well, maybe you're only 97% sure. Maybe your missing item is in that special 3% that says no no, you only think you put that item there when in fact it's over here. So, you appease the 3% and try to calm yourself down and look in a different location. I looked in a multitude of different locations, but to no avail. When that place yields no results you move from frantic to crazy, trying to reclaim the piece of your life in disruption.
There are lyrics to Fastball's "Outta My Head" that go: "Was I outta my head, was I outta my mind, how could I have ever been so blind? I was looking for an indication, it was hard to find," and really, that's exactly how you feel when you are missing something. Well, once you've ripped apart your entire apartment/house/bag/car/whatever, or a combination of the aforementioned, and you resign to the fact that it's just gone, the crazy eventually passes and you begin to accept the truth. So there I was, having searched everywhere and tried everything but cut my jacket into pieces, feeling naked without my keys, wishing I had the chance to say goodbye; I missed them.
Fortunately, I have been taught that you have to find the window beyond the door, so I thought to myself, "always look on the bright side of life," and I couldn't help but to smile. I did have spare keys in my apartment so all I had to do was get in in the first place. At least I don't have a car, so it's not like I lost car keys. There was nothing on my keychain that said they belonged to me so no one in the city could come "find" me if they were that psycho. I mean really, in the scheme of things, ok, all I lost were my keys, on a pretty awesome bottle-opener-flip-flop-shaped keychain. Sad, but not the end of the world, I can get through this.
And then you really begin to believe that, as the aptly named song "Gotta Get Thru This" pumps you up in the background. You move on. You even almost forget that you ever had that item in the first place. It's replaced or better, upgraded; oh, you want to upgrade me? Thanks, Beyonce! Let's keep this momentum going, life is good now. And for most people who lose something, here's where the story ends.
But of course, my emotional saga was not over yet. You know when you're little and you can't find an article of clothing or a toy and you yell to your mom that it's missing? And then she yells back, "if I have to come up there and look for it..." and then it magically reappears? Let's keep that in mind as we continue, shall we? A few weeks later my mom was visiting me and when I took my jacket off to hand it to her, she grabbed it in such a way that she felt something funny. Yes, folks, that's right, my keys were in my jacket all along! BUT, to my credit, they were in my breast pocket where I never would have felt them or thought to check because I never put anything in that pocket. I was completely overwhelmed. I was happy, I was surprised, and I felt silly. I could only think of the lyrics "I'm a loser baby," because I was the loser of the item in the first place and I also totally failed at the whole situation. I was obviously not paying attention to the pocket I put my keys in when they went "missing."
But that's just one
interpretation of what happened. The more realistic scenario that I
think really happened (because I swear I put those keys in the right
pocket) was the ghosts. They borrowed my keys for a little and just
returned them to the wrong spot. Hey, "I ain't afraid of no ghosts."
So, moral of the story is: don't own jackets with multiple pockets, your mother will ALWAYS begrudgingly be right (even when she's not trying!), and when in doubt blame the ghosts. I hope you find whatever you may be looking for!
So, moral of the story is: don't own jackets with multiple pockets, your mother will ALWAYS begrudgingly be right (even when she's not trying!), and when in doubt blame the ghosts. I hope you find whatever you may be looking for!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Valentine's Day
Mahalin, Laska, Liefde, Lieben, Ahava, Amour, Amore, Amor, Love.
Ahh, yes, the season of hearts and chocolates and roses is upon us:
Valentine's Day for those of you with significant others to share in the
romance, or Singles Awareness Day (SAD) for those of you who will drown
your loveless sorrows in the candy you bought for yourself trying not
to think about how all your friends are out on dates while you sit at
home alone. Hey, don't worry, I'm right there with you, Singles!
Singles, I know you often get left out of this holiday so I will be
getting to you and your SAD in just a little bit. First, let me focus on
you mushy-gushy folks.
Aside from there being a bazillion and one songs about love out there in the universe, Valentine's Day has always had a musical element to it for me. When I was in high school, the Thespians would have a yearly fundraiser around Valentine's Day. They would sell different options for deliveries to your special someone during the school day, not only making the one receiving the gift feel special, but giving the rest of the class the gift of interruption. The minimum option for the day was a single rose delivered with a note. Next was a song (your choice from a list predisposed by the Thespians) for them to serenade your sweetie pie with that rose. And lastly, there was the "Doc Special." One of the coolest, funniest, most coveted teachers in our school was endearingly called "Doc" by everyone because he had his Doctorate. He would participate with the Thespians on this day and make a limited number of special appearances (based on his class schedule) where he would come serenade the gift receiver with "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal. I was lucky enough to experience two Doc Specials in my high school tenure and I can confirm that they were awesome. So for me, "Kiss From a Rose" IS Valentine's Day.
I know that every couple has their own special song(s) that they associate with their relationship, but if you're looking for a more extended soundtrack to keep you in the puppy love mood throughout the day here are my top 5 songs about love: "L.O.V.E," "Can you Feel the Love Tonight," "Fly Me to the Moon," "Everything," "Love on Top" and one more for fun: "You're the one that I want." Ok one more, this medley is pretty epic: "Moulin Rouge Medley".
Ok, on to my SAD celebrators. Let's start you off with "You can't hurry love" by The Supremes, Michael Buble's "Haven't met you yet," and Kelly Clarkson's
new song "Stronger." I think these are great songs to keep you in high
spirits today! BUT, if you really feel like diving into dessert with
your boyfriends Ben and Jerry and crying while you watch Love, Actually,
here are some songs about being alone that I have neatly compiled for
you to mull over:
Whether you are celebrating the love of your life or the way you love your independent life today, I hope you have a great night, and I leave you with this little gem: "Calculus"
Aside from there being a bazillion and one songs about love out there in the universe, Valentine's Day has always had a musical element to it for me. When I was in high school, the Thespians would have a yearly fundraiser around Valentine's Day. They would sell different options for deliveries to your special someone during the school day, not only making the one receiving the gift feel special, but giving the rest of the class the gift of interruption. The minimum option for the day was a single rose delivered with a note. Next was a song (your choice from a list predisposed by the Thespians) for them to serenade your sweetie pie with that rose. And lastly, there was the "Doc Special." One of the coolest, funniest, most coveted teachers in our school was endearingly called "Doc" by everyone because he had his Doctorate. He would participate with the Thespians on this day and make a limited number of special appearances (based on his class schedule) where he would come serenade the gift receiver with "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal. I was lucky enough to experience two Doc Specials in my high school tenure and I can confirm that they were awesome. So for me, "Kiss From a Rose" IS Valentine's Day.
I know that every couple has their own special song(s) that they associate with their relationship, but if you're looking for a more extended soundtrack to keep you in the puppy love mood throughout the day here are my top 5 songs about love: "L.O.V.E," "Can you Feel the Love Tonight," "Fly Me to the Moon," "Everything," "Love on Top" and one more for fun: "You're the one that I want." Ok one more, this medley is pretty epic: "Moulin Rouge Medley".
Whether you are celebrating the love of your life or the way you love your independent life today, I hope you have a great night, and I leave you with this little gem: "Calculus"
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The Grammy's
The biggest night in music is upon us. That's right ladies and
gentlemen, the Grammy's are on Sunday night! LL Cool J will be hosting
the event and get excited because...
Adele, Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson, Glen Campbell with the Band Perry and Blake Shelton, Coldplay, Rihanna, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Brown, Tony Bennett, Carrie Underwood and more will be performing, along with a special tribute to Etta James by 14-time GRAMMY winner Alicia Keys and nine-time GRAMMY winner Bonnie Raitt.
The only "song" that can do the excitement of the Grammy's justice is DJ Earworm's 2011 Mash-up of the top songs of the year.
I want to take the rest of this post to talk about the nominations for some of the biggest awards, my predictions, and my wishes for the show! As you can see from above, all the songs will be linked as I go along so you can easily listen to whichever you would like without having to scroll up and down the whole time.
Rolling In The Deep - Adele
*Let
me say that my main expectation for the Grammy's this year is for Adele
to sweep. She has made such an impact with her music this year and I
don't think she is going to lose many categories she is up for,
including this one. I love Adele and this record, however, I would love
for Firework to win over Rolling in the Deep. I think Firework will be
overlooked because it was released so long ago but it had an incredible
influence on self-esteem especially with all of the bullying news we
heard about this year; its positive message and catchy rhythm makes it
worthy of the win, but I think the soul, emotion, and passion of Rolling
in the Deep will come out on top.
21 - Adele
All Of The Lights - Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik
Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West,
Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
The Band Perry
Someone Like You - Adele
* I can't decide! My love for all of these songs is clouding my Grammy
judgement. Let's not lie, it's probably going to Adele, but then there's
Bruno Mars and Katy Perry right on her tail with those songs. All so
good, I'll be happy for whoever wins this one :)
Body And Soul - Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
21 - Adele
Raise Your Weapon - Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech
Look At Me Now - Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
Watch The Throne - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Dirt Road Anthem - Jason Aldean
My Kinda Party - Jason Aldean
Of course there are many more categories for all genres of music but these, among a few others, are the ones that are broadcast on the show itself, and the ones that resonate the most with everyone. So there you have it, I'll leave you with my favorite LL Cool J song in honor of this year's host and the after-parties that are sure to ensue: Headsprung. Enjoy the Grammy's everyone!
Adele, Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson, Glen Campbell with the Band Perry and Blake Shelton, Coldplay, Rihanna, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Brown, Tony Bennett, Carrie Underwood and more will be performing, along with a special tribute to Etta James by 14-time GRAMMY winner Alicia Keys and nine-time GRAMMY winner Bonnie Raitt.
The only "song" that can do the excitement of the Grammy's justice is DJ Earworm's 2011 Mash-up of the top songs of the year.
I want to take the rest of this post to talk about the nominations for some of the biggest awards, my predictions, and my wishes for the show! As you can see from above, all the songs will be linked as I go along so you can easily listen to whichever you would like without having to scroll up and down the whole time.
Record Of The Year
Rolling In The Deep - Adele
Holocene - Bon Iver
Grenade
- Bruno Mars
The Cave
- Mumford & Sons
Firework
- Katy Perry
Album Of The Year
21 - Adele
Wasting Light - Foo Fighters
Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars
Loud - Rihanna
* What an interesting variety of music to be nominated in the same category! Sure, they're all pop-ish music, but really they all have a different distinct style that makes it tricky to compare. Nevertheless, I predict that Adele will win this category as well but there is stiff competition here. First of all, Lady Gaga. Really, do I need to say more than that? Second, Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars is the underdog of this category as he is really the newcomer to the Grammy's. He has a fighting chance but I just don't think he'll win. Rihanna's and the Foo Fighters' albums are good contenders but I think things are just leaning towards Adele this year.
Song Of The Year
All Of The Lights - Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik
Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West,
Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
The Cave
- Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
Grenade -
Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
Holocene
- Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)
Rolling In The Deep - Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)
* You might be confused, didn't we just go over Record of the Year? What's with this "song" business now and who are all these other people listed that I've never heard of? Calm down, let me explain. The "Record of the Year" has to do with the musicality of the song nominated. The singer and the vocals, the mixing of the song, its production, etc. The "Song of the Year" recognizes the songwriters, the lyrics of the song that make it so special. Aha, you're all saying. Yes, so let's be frank, Adele is taking this one again. How can anything compare with "the scars of your love remind me of us, they keep me thinking that we almost had it all"? Granted, I think "All of the Lights" has a really good shot here, I'm going with the Adele spread.
Best New Artist
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex
* If you know me at all you will know that I am crossing my fingers, and toes, for Nicki Minaj to win. However, this category typically goes to someone more obscure. Remember Esperanza Spalding beating out Justin Beiber last year? Case and point. So, I think Bon Iver might win, or Skrillex, since I've never heard of him? them? her? Yeah, exactly. Just Kidding, I know that Skrillex is a great DJ, but I don't think the Grammy's will go for a DJ in this category quite yet. My vote is for Bon Iver.
Best Pop Solo Performance
Someone Like You - Adele
Yoü And I - Lady Gaga
Grenade - Bruno Mars
Firework - Katy Perry
F***in’ Perfect - Pink
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Body And Soul - Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
Dearest - The Black Keys
Paradise
- Coldplay
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People
Moves Like Jagger
- Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera
* While "Pumped up Kicks" put Foster the People on the map, and Coldplay made a splash with "Paradise" this year, I think this category really comes down to either "Body and Soul" or "Moves like Jagger". I'm totally rooting for "Moves like Jagger" but the Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse duet might win because, well, it's Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse.
Best Pop Vocal Album
21 - Adele
The Lady Killer
- Cee Lo Green
Born This Way
- Lady Gaga
Doo-Wops & Hooligans
- Bruno Mars
Loud - Rihanna
* How can Best Pop Vocal NOT go to Lady Gaga. Well, it just might since it's up against Adele this year...
Best Dance Recording
Raise Your Weapon - Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech
Barbra Streisand - Duck Sauce
Sunshine - David Guetta & Avicii
Call Your Girlfriend - Robyn
Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites - Skrillex
Save The World - Swedish House Mafia
* This is not a very popular category but I have to include
it because it dance music is slowly getting more buzz and it's so much fun. I mean, have you heard "Barbra Streisand"?
Oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo. But I'm rooting for Robyn's Call your
Girlfriend because it is so awesome, and SNL did an amazing spoof of it
in their behind-the-scenes videos. I'm not sure who will win though because Deadmau5 and David Guetta are awesome, but Skrillex is getting noted in the Best New Artist category so he might win here instead. We'll just have to wait and see!
Best Rap Performance
Look At Me Now - Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
Otis - Jay-Z & Kanye West
The Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
Moment 4 Life - Nicki Minaj & Drake
Black And Yellow
- Wiz Khalifa
* You knew I was going to include the rap categories. Even though I want Nicki Minaj and Drake to win, "The Show Goes On" is a great song, and "Look at me Now" got a lot of attention, I'm putting my money on Jay-Z and Kanye to take this one.
Best Rap Album
Watch The Throne - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Tha Carter IV
- Lil Wayne
Lasers - Lupe Fiasco
Pink Friday
- Nicki Minaj
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
- Kanye West
*I want Nicki to win this one and I think she will. The only competition to watch out for is Watch the Throne. When Jay-Z and Kanye collaborate people listen. But I listen to my girl, Go Nicki!
Best Country Solo Performance
Dirt Road Anthem - Jason Aldean
I'm Gonna Love You Through It - Martina McBride
Honey Bee - Blake Shelton
Mean - Taylor Swift
Mama's Song - Carrie Underwood
* I'm not the biggest country fan but I know many people are so I'll spend a little time on country too. Based on the results from the Country Music Awards, it looks like it's Jason Aldean's year, but Taylor Swift has had a pretty serious winning streak so we'll see who comes out on top of this showdown. I'm thinking it just might be Jason this year.
Best Country Album
My Kinda Party - Jason Aldean
Chief - Eric Church
Own The Night - Lady Antebellum
Red River Blue - Blake Shelton
Here For A Good Time - George Strait
Speak Now - Taylor Swift
* I'm pretty sure this one's going to Taylor Swift. But by
just a hair past Jason Aldean. Lady Antebellum will put up a good fight
but they've already had a year, and even though Blake Shelton really came
into the spotlight after his marriage to Miranda Lambert and his judging
spot on The Voice, I don't think he can pull out a win on this one.
Of course there are many more categories for all genres of music but these, among a few others, are the ones that are broadcast on the show itself, and the ones that resonate the most with everyone. So there you have it, I'll leave you with my favorite LL Cool J song in honor of this year's host and the after-parties that are sure to ensue: Headsprung. Enjoy the Grammy's everyone!
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