Song of The Week

Bite Your Tongue- Chantal Claret

So... I cannot find a video on youtube for this song. I don't know if it's too new, but here is the site where I first heard it. Hope you enjoy. Free download! Not too shabby.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Chantal_Claret/track/Bite_Your_Tongue/

Sweet, Sweet Banjo Lovin'

 I've always thought the bajo was pretty hip. It now seems to be really catching on as a trendy thing with the kids these days (shakes old lady fist at the youngins). Unfortunately for us, one of the greats has passed away at the age of 88. Mr. Earl Scruggs. I hope you enjoy the clip below. Earl Scruggs with Steve Martin! Some good stuff indeed.

 Earl Scruggs

1924-2012

Take a Stand

 If you are a supporter of equal rights, which includes EVERYONE'S right to marry the person they love no matter race, creed, or sexuality, then please, please PLEASE visit this site to sign their petition! 

 http://pol.moveon.org/thankstarbucks/?rc=pac_thankstarbucks_letter.fb.v1.g2

Here is what it says on their page about standing up for Starbucks:

Starbucks stuck their neck out to publicly support the right of all people to marry, regardless of the gender of their partner.

Now it is under attack by the ironically-named, ultra-conservative "National Organization for Marriage". Already over 10,000 NOM members have pledged to boycott Starbucks. We don't want to just criticize corporations when they do bad. We want to encourage them when they do good. So we're going to blow the opposition out of the water by getting more than ten times as many people to thank Starbucks for standing up for gay marriage.

Song of The Week

If you don't love The Shins, I don't love you. I kid. But I'd certainly be interested in hearing why. Their  new album, Ports of Morrow just come out this week, so... Cheers! Enjoy!

Simple Song- The Shins

A Few Friendly Reminders

Lots going on lately, and it's really had me down. Was fooling around on Pinterest, and found something that took me to a great website with lots of great reminders. I hope that you get as much from them as I did.

**Got all images from http://thefeelgoodbook.tumblr.com**

Food. Fitness. Fashion.

Hey everyone! My friend Ali is pretty spectacular, and she is kiiiind of a big deal in the blog world. She has a huge following, and rightfully so. 

 If you'd like to see her blog, here it is: http://www.foodfitnessfashion.com/

She has been nominated by Fitness Magazine for Best Inspirational Blog! Pretty amazing, right?! Well, you too, can vote for her! If you would like to do that, you can do so here: http://blog-awards.fitnessmagazine.com/blog-awards/fitness_blog/99-food-fitness-fashion

Help a sister out! Thanks all!

Skinny Love

I'm not a huge fan of covers, but... damn. This one, I'll take. Curious what it's like to be bursting with talent at age 15...

Born This Way

I firmly believe that, assuming you aren't hurting anyone, you should be as true to yourself as possible. 

 I just recently heard about Lady Ga Ga's Born This Way Foundation. If you haven't heard about it, or are unsure about what it stands for, please visit their website! Here is their mission statement:

Led by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, the Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2011 to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a braver, kinder world.

We believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love.

Pretty simple, yet important concept, right? You can sign up for emails, follow them on twitter, etc. Social media it up, folks! I really believe that this is really important. I wonder if something like this existed when I was growing up, would I feel differently about myself today? If more people had told me I was beautiful and great just the way I was, would I feel differently about myself now? It's hard to say, and I'm not sure how much good it would do to hypothesize that point. 

Anyway... join the site, share the site, share the message, donate... do what you can. It's so SO important that people feel safe being themselves. Again, such a simple concept, yet a vital one.

http://bornthiswayfoundation.org/ 

Song of The Week

I used to do a song of the week every week, and I started to fade that out. I think the time has come to reinstate this weekly post. While I've been pretty down and out lately between guy issues, money issues, frustrating job search, etc, the sunshine and the gorgeous Chicago weather has lifted my spirits. And... there is so much new music out there. Plus getting into Summer... music festivals, outdoor concert venues, etc... music is in the air. Let's embrace it and celebrate it!

 Now, part of me thought, with St. Patrick's Day being this week and all, that I should do something Irish. Maybe the stereotypical (and all-too predictable) Dropkick Murphey's or something, but... eh. Where would the surprise be in that? U2? Forget it!

There is tons of new stuff out there, and I'd love to share it with you if you haven't heard it yet (or even if you have)! So... here is this week's track.

Ho Hey- Lumineers

(Sorry... the song has very few videos on youtube, so this will have to do)

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day!

Pi, Greek letter , is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. As Pi starts out with 3.14, Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th.

Pi = 3.1415926535…

 Pi has now been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal, which is largely in thanks to the use of computers. Pi happens to be an irrational and transcendental number, which means that it will continue infinitely without repeating.

Camino Real at The Goodman

I am a very fortunate lady, and someone I know gave me free tickets to see a show at The Goodman last night. A Tennessee Williams play, nonetheless. Everyone knows that name, and many are familiar with "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof," and other works of his. If asked to make a general statement about his work, I might say something to the effect of "Williams has a tendency to make things uncomfortable... sex, arguments, and all the stuff we all try to sweep under the rug or turn a blind eye to. He tends to yank people out of their comfort zones, and do it all with a splash of class, and southern grace." Err... you get the idea. I hope.

 Anyway, my main point is that I was not expecting, by any means, that I would be seeing a show that lacked sex, scandal, arguments, or any of that good, down home southern hullabaloo. I wasn't expecting to see a show that would be hilarious and lift my spirits. That being said, I also wasn't expecting to see a show that caused people to walk out!

 The show did manage to shock me in places, but I never considered walking out. That being said, some audience members were pretty obvious about their lack of appreciation for the show and it's content. I'll give you this: it's graphic. It's very sexual, and there is blood and violence. It's not all easy to watch, but I also don't know why art has to settle well with anyone. Observe. Take it in. Judge if you want to. That is what it's there for. Expression. To make a statement. For you to potentially draw your own conclusions. I think it's good to get uncomfortable. It's a great way to learn and grow. How do we move forward if we stay in the zone of safety and comfort?

I'd like to know which portions of the play lose the highest number of audience members each performance. I think that would be fascinating to find out.

Let me boil it down as best I can from my perspective. Did I love the show? No. That being said, the scenery, lighting, etc were all amazing. I cannot imagine the production value of this show! Crazy, crazy, beautiful things were happening. Am I likely to ever see the show again? No, probably not. Am I in an uproar about it? Not even close, but lots of patrons seemingly were. It's a play with no storyline. Add sex and homosexuality AND violence to that, and it's a tough pill for lots of people to swallow. It's seemingly a show about nothing and everything all at once. It would seem as though the concept is: Anything can mean anything to anyone. Make of it what you will. Inception.

One of my favorite lines from the show: "If you can't be yourself, what is the point of being?"

I think people don't love shows that make them think or draw their own conclusions. Life is like that. Everyone wants answers given to them. It's not realistic. I didn't love the show, but I don't think it lacks validity. It takes guts to write something unique. It takes guts to perform or direct something that you know the masses might not love or understand. There is value in that. Never underestimate the work that goes into a performance (or anything else for that matter), and take it for granted. As an actor, I can promise you that we don't do it for the money... because there is no money in being an actor if you aren't a star or starlet. Very few actors make it big. So much hard work, so many hours, so much labor and love goes into performing. We do it for the craft. We do it because it speaks to us, makes us happy (or even whole). Just keep that in mind when you go to see a play... before you walk out because you don't love it... Remember that to someone, this is their life, their love, and their art. Thousands of hours go into a production between concept meetings, rehearsals, building sets and costumes, designing the lights, cleaning the theatre, and so much more.

I digress. I apologize for the tangent. Sorry. 

Just because I love you, I leave you with a photo of myself pretending to be scandalized outside of the theatre after the show. You're welcome. 

(I kid)

Oh! And here is the link to the show on The Goodman's website if you'd like somewhat of a synopsis or perhaps even ticket information! Because patrons of the theatre are sexy and everyone loves them. True story.

http://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/Camino-Real/

Yum!

I made pudding from scratch yesterday! Honestly, it's nothing I really ever considered doing because I always just assumed that it must be pretty labor intensive since everyone uses the instant stuff. Lies, all lies. I found a super simple (easy) recipe online, and followed that. I am sure that there are far more complicated and fancy versions out there, but this one is super easy, and pretty tasty.

1 heaping tbsp. Hersheys cocoa powder (I also added a bit of dark chocolate drinking chocolate mix from Trader Joe's to add a bit more chocolaty richness)
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk (I used 2%, but I'm sure you could use whole for super rick pudding, or skim to cut out the fat altogether)
1tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 heaping tbsp. flour

Combine all of your dry ingredients, making sure to mix very well. Slowly add milk while you stir. Continue to stir over low heat (I used medium heat to speed up the process a bit). Add butter and vanilla once pudding thickens. Serve (warm or chilled).

Voila! 

(hope you enjoy) 

International Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day!

Take some time out of your day to celebrate, congratulate, thank and inspire the women in your life as well as yourself.