More Lady Gaga, because I love her.

End of the Year

Yesterday night it began to snow. Only a few short hours ago, it stopped. The neighborhood is covered in a blanket of snow, a shimmering powder that coats the black asphalt and buries the automobiles. If I squint my eyes for a moment, I can imagine that cell phones, cars, and computers don't exist. My sleep schedule is hopelessly skewed, as it often is when I come home from school. I spent the early hours of the morning in an overstuffed chair, wrapped in a blanket. I watched the snowfall outside the window, past our second Christmas tree. It is a fake one that my mother decorates with our old homemade ornaments, so that people may see it in the window. The cold weather reminds me, more than coming home for winter break, more than Christmas carols and the smell of baking cookies, that 2009 is almost over. Not only will a new decade begin, but a new chapter of my life. College is ending and I will move on to . . . something. Graduate school, a job, I'm not sure. And I'm not overly fond of the uncertainty either. But it does make you reflect upon the past year. This year was particularly eventful for me, in terms of my musical expansion. I began to discover music on my own, which is pretty exciting! So here's my own little end of the year album list, for what it's worth, with no explanations, and no adjectives.


-The Hazards of Love by the decemberists
- Middle Cyclone by neko case
- Lungs by florence + the machine
- It's Bliss by yeah yeah yeahs
- Fantasies by metric
- Give Up the Ghost by brandi carlile
- Two Suns by bat for lashes
- Hold Time by m. ward
- Horehound by the dead weather

So. I never really discuss my growing affection for country music. Taylor Swift is adorable, and I'm going to see her when she comes to town. I love the Dixie Chicks post-pissing off Bush music, and I've blogged about my love of southern 70s rock music. But it all kind of started with Brandi Carlile, and her first album. The first single 'The Story,' was not my cup of tea, at first. But the more I listened to it, the more I began to appreciate the passion and honesty in her voice. As my tastes spread to a more folk sound, I discovered that that honesty is predominant in the best folk music, from Bob Dylan to the Weepies. And that's what makes it worth listening to. It's not a gimmick, or a ploy. It's the way people feel, stripped of any sort of pretense. I wish I had the courage to express myself like that.




other songs: jolene by the weepies, it takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry by bob dylan

Just some early morning thoughts.

You know, it really ticks me off when people make fun of Bono for being an activist. He's using his celebrity for something good. Channeling it to attempt to make a difference, and not just be the face of whatever brand, or his own tv show, or whatever. And yeah, he preaches a bit. But he preaches what he believes in. And that deserves respect, I think. And we need more people like him in the world.

This sort of thing makes me happy.

Fractured Fairy Tales

I love, have always loved, fairy tale stories. In particular, I adore reinterpreted fairy tales. Here are a few of my favorites:


Beauty by Robin McKinley



Beauty is a spectacular reinterpretation of Beauty and the Beast. Beauty does not consider herself beautiful by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, Beauty is a nickname that stuck after one of the obnoxiously precocious moments in childhood. She is bookish, and loves horses, and these hobbies are facilitated with ease until her father's merchant ships are lost at sea. Their removal to a poor country village showcases a beautiful family that are loving and industrious. McKinley combines the real world and a fantasy world with delicious dexterity. The Beast and his realm are utterly believable in their parameters, and the Beast himself is endearing and charming. This book has been a favorite of mine since childhood, and I continue to read it to this day.











Snow by Tracy Lynn



Snow brings the tale of Snow White into the Victorian age. Jessica, Daughter of a Duke is left isolated for years in Kenigh Hall in Wales, until her father remarries the Duchess. Jealous of Jessica's burgeoning beauty, the Duchess forces Jessica into servitude and out of the light, until her hair grows in black as night, and her skin turns white as snow. Discovering the Duchess' plot to kill her, Jessica, now nicknamed Snow, runs away to London and falls into the company of the Lonely Ones, societal misfits and pickpockets. Snow's journey in the dark underbelly of Victorian London is intriguing and quite the page-turner. Plus, Raven is dreamy!


















And right now, rather than writing my paper, my attention is utterly focused on the SyFy channel's new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, called simply Alice. It is most excellent.

The Fabric of Our Lives

I wear jeans. Specifically, Levis. Every day. Maybe one day I'll wear a pair of cords. But denim is the major fabric of my life, along with flannel and thermal in the winter. As much as I love fashion, I tend to be pretty boring. Thus, the lack of outfit posts. But I also love jean commercials. Here are two of my favs.






Plus, the second one has Jamie Dornan in it. I'm pretty sure. He's pretty.