Tuesday Tunes: The Head and the Heart "Ghosts"

I'm happy to finally be getting back to my weekly song post. This group, The Head and the Heart, is a favorite of mine. Formed in Seattle, they have a gritty, hypnotic tone and I'd suggest that if you like this song, you check out some of their others like "Lost in My Mind," "Let's Be Still," or "Shake." They definitely fall under the "Indie" category, and seem to embrace the plaid shirts, full beards, and unique photoshoots that have come to designate Hipster-ness. The link to this song is provided below. Enjoy!

The Head and the Heart

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un0TPoOpcDw

Chewbacca and Coffee

Me, prior to coffee and multiple applications of Cover Girl foundation

"NOOOO!!! You took the last cup of coffee?!?!?!"

Keeping up on my blog has been pretty difficult lately. Life is just a wee bit crazy now that I'm back out East and trying to crawl out of my creaking bunk bed, which involves gingerly stepping onto the top of a dresser and leaping several feet to the floor, and make it to my 9 a.m. class each day. Usually, the morning begins with my alarm going off an hour before class and me proceeding to hit the glorious "snooze" button approximately 30 times. (God bless whoever invented that, by the way!)  Amazingly, my roommates have not killed me for it yet. I then endeavor to look slightly less like Chewbacca and fail miserably unless class has miraculously been delayed, which is like, never. In a somewhat- quick-but-really-not-at-all walk, I manage to find my way to the campus' multi-purpose building, growling and hissing at anyone who is standing between me and the coffee maker. Some days, I make it in time. And other days... "Woe unto you, oh freshman who stole the last cup!"
Carrying my slightly stained coffee mug in one hand, and an enormous bag of books in the other, I sludge through the snow and slip into class a few minutes late, receiving the dreaded raised eyebrows of my Humanities professor. Once the necessary caffeine dosage is running through my veins, the morning usually improves by about 300% and so does class participation.
 And so, dear readers, I'm sorry I haven't been posting as much. I still love blogging, I just have to summon my inner Chewy strength and get my life together. Until then, I'll be writing papers at 3 a.m. and eating too many chocolate covered espresso beans.

Photographs No. 1

 Tonight, I would just like to share some of my photography.
 Meandering about with camera in hand is one of my favorite pastimes and here are some shots that I'm especially happy with.They were taken in various cities and towns I've visited. Let me know which ones you like in the comment section!

Taken at the Boston Opera House

"I'll Walk the Line"

Taken in Brooklyn, NY

"Little Italy" Boston, MA

NYC

taken in New York City, NY

"The Inquisitor"

Wisconsin Summer Night

Sometimes, photographing the little things brings the most joy.

"Sunday Nap"

Claddagh

"Lonely One"

"The Stare Down"

Anna Ternheim: The Longer the Waiting

So, I realized I missed my usual Tuesday post of a song that I like. So, here is one from a Swedish singer and songwriter from Stockholm, Sweden named Anna Ternheim. She has a very soothing, melodic voice that will bring on a wave of nostalgia. I love her harmony in this particular song. Enjoy!
P.S.- This is for a certain ginger boyfriend of mine whom I haven't seen for a month and who is currently a bazzillion miles away in the Dominican Republic, but who will be back with me soon. I miss you.

Anna Ternheim

Saving the Little Bookstores of America: A Rejection of Amazon

Yesterday I read a really fascinating article (see link below) about Amazon.com and how destructive

this website has been to the little bookstores that have been around for years in the United States. A book lover like myself might be biased, but this article stirred up my interest and I thought others should know why.

Americans love all things fast; all things convenient and especially, all things cheap. Our restaurants brag that they are all three, and goodness help you should you take more than a few minutes preparing that oh-so-cheap food. Now, don't get me wrong, having my McDonald's snack wrap in four minutes flat always makes me a happy camper, but this article startled me a bit, and American as I am, my love of bookstores overtook my desire for convenience.

In this article, writer Albert Wu, says that "From its inception Amazon has sought to disrupt the traditional bookselling market. The tactic is simple: undercut the competition, selling books at a loss if necessary, while building up a huge customer base and using it to mine salable consumer data, cross-market other products, and leverage industry prices. The plan has succeeded brilliantly; current estimates are that Amazon sells about half of all books sold in the United States." So what? Right? So, what if a successful company has taken over most of the book sales in the U.S. Why does it matter?

I'll tell you. It's about culture and everything that the little bookstores of America have brought to their cities throughout the U.S. They are places where in this busy, loud, chaotic world a person can slow down a bit, have a good conversation, search through shelves of novels, or just sit and read for awhile. It also has to do with the little guy, the small business owner. My own father, the Clock Repairman, has a little store tucked away on a city side-street where he fixes, by hand, people's clocks and watches. Much like him, these bookstore owners do their work on a smaller scale and for many it is a labor of love. Their stores are little hubs of barely surviving culture, containing the writings of men long gone, but whose thoughts still impact the society we live in today.

Amazon is close to smothering these happy pockets of a barely hanging-on industry, that of the bookseller. These little shops are becoming fewer and far between. So, I've decided, and I hope you do to, to buy my books in future from the little guy. Try to find a bookstore in your area. Go there for your purchases and maybe it will be a bit more expensive, but trust me, it's more satisfying to hand a real, caring person your money and receive a crinkly bag full of paper treasures, than to simply stare at a computer screen and punch in a credit card number.

Or, if you don't find what you're looking for locally, try one of my favorite sites: http://www.abebooks.com/ Abebooks is a site with thousands of booksellers from across the country, listing their books usually at very good prices.

Also, take a look at the article that inspired this whole rant: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/browsers-welcome



 
 

January's Cry

January wants to be noticed. I sometimes forget to soak up the beauty surrounding me, but January yelled out to me a day ago and I heard her. The sky was burning red like an ocean of flame overhead and the oak trees standing hauntingly in silent, still rows. Out I went for a winter walk, and my camera came along.
January is waiting.
Don't overlook her.

The Scary Truth About Pure Peppermint Extract

So yesterday I had another new experience.
  This one was not quite as pleasant as the discovery that yoga could actually be fun. Nope. This one was painful, quite literally, painful.  My extraordinary and vivacious friend, Jo, was over. (She's pictured below.) We took it upon ourselves ( for the good of the population within my household) to bake some Thin Mint cookies. It's a simple process really. The recipe called for pure peppermint extract, emphasizing the pure thing.

Jo and I, friends for the past 9 years

  So, without realizing that I was holding an extremely dangerous substance, I began pouring a teaspoon of this pure peppermint into the almond-bark melting over the stove. It all happened very quickly. A bit of this potent  stuff dripped into the flaming burner. Suddenly, there was fire crawling up the side of the pan and then the peppermint bottle, and to my astonishment, my own pointer and middle finger were ablaze. Yep. That was my new experience, lighting myself on fire. I can tell you this, there was nothing so surreal as staring for a split-second at my hand and thinking, "Well.... that's weird, I think I'm on fire!" And then another second passed and Jo was yelling, "You're on fire!!!" So I started waving my hand around like a panicked toddler, Jo was throwing a bag of hamburger buns into the sink that somehow had caught fire too, and I managed, I'm not exactly sure how, to put out my own hand. The alcohol, um I mean, peppermint had poured onto the kitchen tile, and a little wall of flames were licking the air. Thankfully, nothing disastrous happened. The only thing damaged was my stinging and gradually growing finger. Upon further investigation, we found that the peppermint extract was 91% alcohol. Explains, everything right?
 After the initial terror and application of ice to my swelling battle wound, Jo and I nearly died of laughter. I proceeded to call my boyfriend and explain how peppermint had nearly taken my life. And yet... I lived to tell the tale. Life Lesson: Beware the power of PURE peppermint extract.
P.S.- The Thin Mints were really, really good.