Alphabet Challenge Round 19 or Sing Me a Song I Don’t Know the Words To

S is for Songs of Love and Death, an anthology edited by George R. R. Martin. I loved the concept of stories about star-crossed lovers. I think it’s a theme you don’t see enough of in popular literature. The stories dealt with Victorian England, contemporary America, interstellar travel, royals, peasants, ghosts, magic and mere mortals. Despite such a wide range, they all fit together because of the universal emotion that dominates the story.

While everyone loves a happy ending, you don’t always get one in the real world. I liked that there was a balance of happy endings and doomed romances. That’s the point of star-crossed lovers; fate is against them and that can’t always be rewritten.

My favorite story was The Wayfarer’s Advice. It epitomized the theme for me. I strongly recommend reading it. The other stories I especially liked were Rooftops, Blue Boots, Courting Trouble, The Demon Dancer, and Kaskia.

A - American Virgin by Steven Seagle

B

C

D - Divergent by Veronica Roth

E - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

F - Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

G - The Great Fables Crossover by Bill Willingham

H - How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown

I - I Do But I Don't by Kamy Wicoff

J - Jane Austen Made Me Do It edited by Laurel Ann Nattress

K

L - A Little Night Magic by Lucy March

M - Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

N - Naked City edited by Ellen Datlow

O - One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde

P

Q

R - Reality Bites Back by Jennifer L. Pozner

S - Songs of Love and Death edited by George R. R. Martin

T - The Tao of Dating by Ali Binazir

U - Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman

V

W - White Girl Problems by Babe Walker

X - XVI by Julia Karr

Y - Yoga Bitch by Suzanne Morrison

Z - Zoo Story by Thomas French

Current Background Sound: Stairway to the Skies by Within Temptation

One Little Question

My friend just started seeing somebody and she’s been doing something I think is very clever and cute. She’s been texting him random questions like “What’s your favorite color?” and “When you sleep alone, what’s your favorite PJs?”

I think that’s a really cute way to get to know somebody. You can take turns asking the person something you’re wondering about them. Dogs or cats? Favorite book? What music do you listen to when you’re sad? Pirate or ninja? Coffee or tea?

I’ve read several articles on Psychology Today about how regular contact reaffirms your connect and is good for your relationship. Of course it can probably also help you figure out  if you want a relationship with that person. 

I may have to try that with the next candidate for the role of my next boyfriend.

Current Music: A Heavy Abacus by The Joy Formidable

iConfess

This past Friday I saw iConfess part of DC Fringe Fest. The audience takes pieces of paper, writes a secret on them and places it in a basket at the front the stage. When the show starts the cast comes out one by one and selects a secret. The show started with a cast member reading a secret and playing off it. As the show went on, some of the secrets got worked into the show.

Unfortunately not all the secrets got worked into the show. There were seven cast members but only revealed five secrets. Despite a sold-out show, one of them was mine.

-I dated a married man.

-When I was married I figured out my husband’s password and found everything.

-I believe love is something that happens to other people.

-I embezzled money when I was 4^th grade class president.

-I’m too scared to call for the HIV test results.

The love secret made the entire audience go ‘aw’ like their hearts just broke a little bit. The HIV secret made the entire audience go ‘oh’ like on a sitcom.

The popular theory is that I embezzled in 4^th grade. My BFF maintains that it was the password one despite my very single status. Some of my friends suspect that it’s the love one since my relationships were portraits of dysfunction. Most people wisely rule out the last one because  safe sex + uber-nerds + difficult to find veins makes the password one a more likely candidate.

Which one is it? I’ll never tell. A girl’s got to have some secrets ; )

I’m definitely going back and to see this again. Since it’s improvised each time based on the secrets, it’s a new show each time. The cast was very creative and the show was very funny. One of the reviewers complained about the quality of the improvised song but if you’re making it up as you go, I can see where you wouldn’t be pitch perfect.

Now what secret should iConfess next time…

Currently rocking out to: Bleed Me Dry by The Murder of My Sweet

Alphabet Challenge Round 18

I is for I Do But I Don't: Why the Way We Marry Matters by Kamy Wicoff.

I am so glad there is a book out there about how messed up the modern wedding industry is. Wicoff provides a feminist dissection of several different aspects of her wedding planning from the proposal, the dress, the bachelorette party, and the day itself.

Wicoff talks about things so many of us notice but never address. Why can’t women propose? Why is it expected a woman will change her name? Why do so many place price gouge the second you say wedding? Why are you sized up by your ring? She talks about bridal anxiety, pressure, identity crisis, and the rampant consumerism that has come to represent modern matrimony.

I appreciated all the external research Wicoff put into this. She backs up her opinions and observations and gives them more context. She also interviews several other women about their experiences with the wedding industry. My only complaint there was that I could have liked to have seen more details about some of the women interviewed. Wicoff gives us context for any woman she quotes but I would have liked her to have gone a bit deeper with a few of those women.

The book did drag on in several places and in some places it just started to sound very repetitive. Wicoff usually moved on to a different aspect of whatever topic she was addressing but not with great immediacy. That made the book feel longer than it was in places. Either way, I liked this book and I think more people need to think like this about the wedding world.

A - American Virgin by Steven Seagle

B

C

D - Divergent by Veronica Roth

E - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

F - Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

G - The Great Fables Crossover by Bill Willingham

H - How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown

I - I Do But I Don't by Kamy Wicoff

J - Jane Austen Made Me Do It edited by Laurel Ann Nattress

K

L - A Little Night Magic by Lucy March

M - Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

N - Naked City edited by Ellen Datlow

O - One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde

P

Q

R - Reality Bites Back by Jennifer L. Pozner

S

T - The Tao of Dating by Dr. Ali Binazir

U - Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman

V

W - White Girl Problems by Babe Walker

X - XVI by Julia Karr

Y - Yoga Bitch by Suzanne Morrison

Z - Zoo Story by Thomas French

Current Music: I Do by Better Than Ezra

Very Wrong Number

My cell phone number has several 9s in it. I have seen bad hand writing that has mutated 9s into looking like 7, 4, and/or 1. Due to this, I get a decent amount of wrong numbers, even more so lately.

Since I save all of my friends numbers right away, most unknowns during non-business hours are fair game. I don’t do anything cruel but I do like to have my fun. The ways I’ve been answering my phone lately are:

City Morgue. You kill ‘em, we chill ‘em.

Roadside Grill. You kill ‘em, we grill ‘em.

___’s Taxidermy. You snuff ‘em, we stuff ‘em.

I haven’t needed more than the above but if you’ve got an suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

Current Guilty Pleasure: Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen

Hockey Names

Lately I’ve been blogging about books or ripping into the wedding industry. To lighten things up and help alleviate my hockey withdrawal, I present you a meme I found on Twitter this weekend.

Replace Song Lyrics with Hockey Names was trending. I got a kick out of “Crosby looks like a lady.” I had some serious fun with the Caps roster.

Put Johansson me

Save a horse, ride an Aucion

Jam on cause Backstrom's got it

You are the Ward I want, the one I need

Neuvy let me go

With you I stop Perreault-tending

Baby when the Laich goes out, I’ll show you what it’s all about

Keep calm and Carlson

Still not Ovi you

Backstrom ass up

Are you Erskine the one you love

Your Hendricks on fire

It's not easy being Green

Holtby darlin' Holtby please

Beagle you are beautiful

Alzner lovers, give me a little bit more

I gotta Perreault-ful of sunshine

You're the Orlov one

Pour some Chimmers on me in the name of love

Don't turn out the Laich now

Burn out the day, burn out the night, I'm Halpern-in' Halpern-in' for you

Stop! It's Hamrlik time

Kickin’ It To: Uprising by Muse

Mix Tape

I had an idea. I remember reading a pop science book that when a class had to match a group of students with the top 10 songs on their iPod, they did so with remarkable accuracy. People have always considered music very representatives of themselves.

Since favorite music is a fairly accurate measure of a person, why not make a mix tape of some of your favorite songs, songs from the year you were born, songs from milestones in your life, songs you just have a connection to, whatever for someone you’re just starting to date?

You exchange mixes, listen to them and either call or meet up again to explain why you picked the songs you did. I think it might make dating a little more interesting and, frankly, enjoyable. I had an ex make me a random mix and I discovered several bands I now love that way. 

Some of my songs would have to be:

The Only Exception by Paramore

This is a love song for cynics ergo I love it.

Only If For a Night by Florence + the Machine

I love the ethereal sound of this song.

Innocence by Halestorm

I really like this band and this is one of my favorite songs by them. It also comes across slightly better than “Love Bites (But So Do I)”

Awake and Alive by Skillet

I discovered this song at a Caps game when they cut video to it. Plus, it’s just a good song.

When She’s On by Chris Young

I love the sentiment of this song plus I can sing along with it rather well if I do say so myself.

This City feat. Lupe Fiasco by Patrick Stump

I am a Maryland girl born and bred. There are only 3 ways I’m leaving this state: witness protection, a job is throwing money at me, or a job is throwing money at my husband. I’ve listed this in order of likelihood.

Turning Tables by ADELE

I love songs about broken hearts because all the best ones come from real experience. They have an extra layer of emotion behind them. This one is no exception.

These are definitely not the only ones I’d use and are subject to change as time goes by. If I ever try this in real life, I’ll report back.