Thursday, October 31, 2013

HaPpY HaLLoWeEn!


I just learned about another reason to celebrate Halloween . . .  On this day in 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.  What a triumph.

Now, I have another reason to add to my why-Halloween-is-my-favorite-holiday list.  :)


Thing I'm thankful for: fresh flowers

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Birthday!

This year is goin' down in the books as one of the best birthdays of my entire life.  I had so much fun!  Look at all the things I did!
  • Got to Level 5 in Super Mario Bros!  (Look, Level 5 is pretty good, considering that I haven't had much practice on it in years and years and years.)
  • Ate fluffy pancakes with buttermilk syrup.  Yum!
  • Ate Mandy's chocolate chip cookie dough.  Yum!
  • Took a nap!
  • Had a party at Lake Austin!
And here are the gifts I received!
  • Cadbury chocolate from a one Brookie R. E.  She also gave me a real Canadian maple leaf and a promise to buy me a City Pass, if I visit her in Toronto!  (Sneaky!)
  • A pair of earrings that I really wanted.  (They are circles with pink chevrons!)
  • Thirty-two balloons!
  • A hard-bound copy of Anne of Green Gables!
  • 101 cookie cutters!
  • A scarf from Rome, a scented candle, and aromatherapy body wash!
  • A cake!
  • A song!
  • A gift card to Outback!
  • Lots of nice cards and thoughtful texts, phone calls, and birthday wishes!
Here are just a few pictures from the day: Birthday!

And here is that song I mentioned.  It was so good!  I loved the part about my blog . . .  It was so accurately funny that it nearly brought me to tears!  Kimmie and Adam, thank you so much for spending time on it.  It meant a lot.



I just love people.  People are the best.  Thanks to every person I ever knew, especially the ones who made my birthday special this year.  I love you all.


Thing I'm thankful for: a car that works!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Atlas Genius and Family of the Year


I love concerts.

Tonight, Jeremy and I went to Stubb's to see Atlas Genius and Family of the Year, and they did not disappoint!

I'd been wanting to see Family of the Year since South by Southwest this year, and I finally got my chance!  They were as I expected: a talented bunch of people who looked like they were just having fun.  The last song was especially good; they jammed out for a while and tricked us into thinking they were done several times.  Oh, jam bands, how I love you.  In case you're not familiar with Family of the Year, here are some songs to get you started:
  • Buried.  Favorite line: "Bury me with my Chucks."  Ha.  Nice.
  • Hero.  The song that made everyone notice them.
  • St. Croix.  A mish-mash of so many genres, I have no idea how to describe it!

As for Atlas Genius . . .  Well, what can I say?  They were fantastic.  In fact, I think they are better live than in their recordings; recordings just can't pack the kind of punch they did onstage.  And they know how to perform—the lead singer does, anyway.  He walked around all over the stage, flicked his guitar picks into the crowd, spoke affectionately to the audience, and gave the set list to a fan when it was all over.  Plus, he spoke with an accent (They're from Australia.), so that's always a big hit with Americans.  Together, the performance and the music were excellent.  Here's a list of songs you don't want to miss!
  • Back Seat.  My favorite. 
  • Trojans.  The song that made everyone notice them.
  • If So.  Their second single.
One last thing I'll say about Atlas Genius:  They weren't weird about people using their phones to take pictures.  Obviously, I don't know what it's like to perform in front of hundreds of people who are holding up smartphones and cameras, but I know what it's like to be in an audience.  There's an urge to capture the concert moment—to keep that feeling alive somewhere, even if it's just on paper or in pixels.  And while some bands pause in the middle of their concert to tell people to put away their phones (I've been to such a concert.), Atlas Genius took their own photos.  During "Trojans," the lead singer told everyone to put their hands in the air because "We're taking a photo!"  We all raised our hands high, and the drummer snapped a "picture [they] could never recreate."*  I mean, if you can't beat 'em in the game of concert photos, join 'em.  Right?


(I just shamelessly stole this photo from Jeremy's Facebook page . . .  I mean, how could I not?  It's such a good concert photo!)  (See what we would've missed, if Atlas Genius had told us to put away our cameras???)


*That's a line from "Trojans."


Thing I'm thankful for: an outdoor concert in 60-degree weather.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

All Late-Night October Thoughts Lead to Halloween?

It's late, and I should most definitely be in bed.  But I don't want to sleep; I want to write.  There's something about this time of night/morning, though, that makes me feel I ought to write something especially poignant and thoughtful -- something that will stop you in your tracks and cause you to say, "Wow, that's incredibly insightful."

Nothing particularly grand, however, is coming to mind.  Here are some things that are:
  • I went to a haunted house tonight.  There's something truly gratifying in being scared or startled.  I think those are good emotions to have sometimes -- certainly once a year.
  • Why must companies make sexy versions of all Halloween costumes?  Why do women wear them?
  • Polaroid pictures are pretty great.
  • Candy corn and peanuts are a good team.  People should start saying, "We go together like candy corn and peanuts!"
As you can see, Halloween is on the brain . . .  Oh, how I love it!


Thing I'm thankful for: a newly-made bed.

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Open Letter to "Feminists"

Dear "Feminists,"

Just because I'm a woman, doesn't mean I have to support every woman's idea of how the world ought to be.  I was recently criticised for not supporting a feminist cause; here is what the woman said to me:
So maybe this issue doesn’t matter to you, but it SHOULD matter that it means something to another women [. . .] Don’t they deserve your support as another women? Can’t we all stick together??????? [. . .] Your support could simply be to show [another woman] a christ like love and charity by not belittling or dismissing her feelings because you don't share them.
I have three general responses to these kinds of comments:
  1. Being agreeable is not the same thing as showing Christ-like love and charity, and disagreeing with someone is not equivalent to belittling or dismissing.
  2. Just because I disagree with a cause does not mean I haven't thought about it and made a conscious decision to oppose it.
  3. Do I not also deserve respect for my opinions and beliefs?  A woman not supporting me for not supporting her is not only hypocritical, it's sexist.  I'll leave it to CNN's Erin Burnett to illustrate.  (Pay attention to 1:10–13.)

 

Sincerely,
Sara