Music Spotlight

A few weeks ago the VMA's were on MTV. I watched them, and Lady Gaga took home a ton of awards. Now I am not a huge fan of hers but I will admit that her songs are catchy and I am guilty of singing Bad Romance and having Poker Face stuck in my head for days. What upsets me about shows like the VMA's is the narrow range of artists that are represented. There are so many good groups/singers out there that don't get enough recognition. I do enjoy a fair amount of pop music but I think groups that are smaller deserve to have their own awards show. Of course half the fun of listening to unheard of musicians is not having their songs played out on the radio and knowing that few other people listen to what you are listening to. Lately I have three favorites, I hope you enjoy. :)

1. Regina Spektor
Thanks to my sister and the 500 days of Summer soundtrack for introducing me to her.
Us


2. She & Him
Actress Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward make up this duo.
Thought I saw your face today


3. Frank and Derol
Brandi Cyrus and Cody Caraco (and occasionally Megan Park)
Back and Forth

Celebrating Banned Books

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them”
- Ray Bradbury

This week is the National Banned Books week. A few weeks ago my mom received a list in the mail of 50 banned books. As I was reading over the list, I was surprised at the amount of books on there were ones I had read. And enjoyed. I remember in high school reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, I don’t remember all of the details but I do remember one: the government was taking specific books and destroying them so no one could read them. I do not know if today people go to the extremes of burning books that are banned due to content, but they go far enough to have them removed from school systems and libraries. I don’t think it is fair or right to have other people deciding what is right or wrong for me to be reading. If I wish to censor myself, then I will. There are books that I have been waiting to read until I think that I can handle them. For example, I have put off reading Lolita but I know someday I do want to read it. Even before I was an English major, I have always loved reading. I don’t want someone to blacklist one of my favorite books because they deem it “inappropriate.” Some books that have been banned have important messages that need to be told.

This week, be a rebel. Read a banned book.
I know I will.




[for more info]

If I had a paycheck. . .

So I've been out of a job for over a year. I must admit that it makes me very sad that I cannot shop the way I used to and very badly want to. Yesterday in the computer lab, I noticed a website that a girl next to me was on (yes I was being a creeper but she was on a mac and Montclair has the HUGE screens) The website is topshop.com and I found some really cute clothes on there. If I had some income then perhaps I could begin to dream about having these clothes. And the site offers 10% off for students which I thought was really cool. I also really liked looking at their collections My favorite was the Dark Nouveau. It is a mixture of leather and punky pieces with feminine accents.

Satin Trim Babydoll Tunic
Bright Bloom Lace Corset Dress
Hinge Front Flap Bag

Ruched Strap Heels

Dark Nouveau

Somedays in September.

This month has been rather difficult for me. Adjusting to living away from home and what seems to be an intense amount of schoolwork, is a lot. I guess most days I'm okay but the weekends are the hardest. Of course, it is very exciting to not worry about classes and waking up at a specific time (6:20 a.m. is not my friend) but the weekends are full of spare time and the void of not having family and close friends. Usually I spend my weekends holed up in my apartment doing 1 of 3 things.
1. Procrastinating - As an English major, I spend my time either reading or writing about what I read. The reading part I don't mind so much, as long as the book is interesting, but when it comes to writing I have to force myself to sit down and write. For example, today is Sunday and I have a response due tomorrow. I read the book Friday, and I started writing yesterday, but now I have to finish today.
2. Watching TV - The bonus of being at school is the fact that here I have cable and at home I do not. (This is also a downside because it contributes to my procrastination.) So I can flip through about 50 some channels and hope that there is something interesting for me to watch. It also gives me an opportunity to catch up on Keeping up with the Kardashians since that is what E! tends to play ALL the time.
3. Making Food/Eating - One of the perks of living in an apartment is definitely having a kitchen. I can now control what I eat, instead of hoping that Montclair's cafeteria is serving something I like and being disappointed. I also use eating as a source of procrastination. (Last Sunday, while I was trying to write a response, I made flowers out of my m&m's)

Now the best is when all three of these occur at once. Take for instance last night. I was hungry so I went to make dinner. While I was making dinner, I turned on the tv in hopes of catching the Kardashians. Instead they had just started a movie (Coyote Ugly) which I had never seen before but had always wanted to. So while I was eating, I watched a 2 hour movie and took a break from my homework that I had not really started.

And now I'm blogging instead of writing my response.
:)