Tips!

At work, we had a “Tips for College” jar.

One day, instead of a dollar bill, I found a napkin folded up, imprinted with the words
“Don’t get drunk the night before finals.”

Any other Tips for College, from anyone? Anywhere?

Because I’m going to need those as it starts in FOUR DAYS!

Thankee

Shalom Means Peace

Israel and the Palestinians have been at odds for over 50 years, and I’d like to think both parties are a little tired of war.

But peace isn’t always easy, and peace is about making sacrifices. No party will be completely satisfied when peace is reached because each party will have to give something up. It frustrates me beyond belief that Israelis in Gaza are forcing armed soldiers to, well, forcibly remove them from their homes.

While losing one’s home is, admittedly, devastating, these settlers are being provided with lodging, however temporary. But if it were me, I would put my love of my country, and the love of my country in peacetime, above staying in my home.

I was always told: Home is what you make it.

So, even if I were not in the house that I grew up in, at least I’d have my family. And at least I knew that I made a drastic move towards peace.

Moments With My I-Pod – Small Wonders

You know those little moments in life that would pass someone else by but make you smile?
I was scrolling down the song list on my I-Pod and the song Everything Falls Apart is followed by the song Everything Will Be Alright. And that just made me smile.

Everything Falls Apart
Everything Will Be Alright

Scandal!

I spent 3 hours last night in bed with my I-Pod.

Call Page Six, I smell a scandal.

…and if polygamy was legal, I’d marry my I-Pod, too

I saved and saved and last night I purchased myself an I-Pod.

And I am in love.

I have 68 Beatles songs, 54 Led Zeppelin, 40 Rolling Stones…

Essentially, I currently have 807 songs on my I-Pod. And I’m nowhere close to filling it up.

I’ll inform you about the status of my song rate. Lucky you!

If California was a man, I’d marry him.

I love California.
I love how the people smile more broadly, I love that people don’t mind stopping to let you cross the street.
I love how the fog rolls out by late afternoon, and the ocean sparkles in the most dynamic shades of blue.
I just got back from a trip to the Golden State, and I brought pictures!

California is such a beautiful state, naturally. We drove the 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach which passes through the most prestigious golf courses in the world. But along the coast of the bright and beautiful mansions and perfectly manicured lawns, is an entirely different (and aquatic) world.

Here’s a harbor seal right off the coast. The view point that we saw him from is actually closed for a few months of the year, while the harbor seals are “pupping” or breeding. So we were actually really lucky that we saw them when we did.

And of course, here’s the mandatory sibling shot, but look at the background. See the gray sky? Those aren’t clouds, that’s fog. An all encompassing fog that blankets the entire sky, so it doesn’t seem cloudy, but that the sky decided to change it’s color.

Less than an hour later we arrived in Monterey, where, as you can see, the fog had pulled out. You can actually see it in the corner of this picture. But look at the ocean! In it were so many bright colors, I nearly couldn’t believe it wasn’t a fake movie.
And Monterey will always be even more important to me, I bought a Rolling Stones vinyl for $5.28. C’mon, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Of course we started our trip with Muir Woods and the Redwood Trees. I won’t say much on that note, as we got ourselves lost, and as I’m not the biggest fan of hiking, it wasn’t as pleasant as my last visit to the national monument. But just as a size comparison, here’s the me (Five Feet One Inch) and the tree (Bigger than Five Feet One Inch).

And of course San Francisco, and what could I possibly say about San Francisco that hasn’t before been said? So I leave you with this parting image…
(And my brother took this picture, to give him massively huge credit as a photographer.)

Oh Baby, I Loathe Your Way

A very long time ago, on this very blog, I ranted about a Hilary Duff cover of The Who’s “My Generation”. A similar crime has been commited, and while admittedly it cannot possibly match the sheer heinousness of the Duff cover, it deserves to be similarly verbally ripped to pieces.

I was at Home Depot, where, oddly enough, strange things always seem to happen to me, well more, strange people always seem to walk in front of me, anyway! I overheard a familiar guitar riff over the speaker system. My heart leaped, because secretly, I’m in love with Peter Frampton and “Baby, I Love Your Way”. I paused briefly, my head cocked to the side for better reception into my right ear, my eyes glazed over in blissful anticipation of what was surely to come!

Until a female, jazzy, breathy voice started to warble over the speaker system. Now, as I was almost positive that Frampton had not undergone any reconstructive surgery of any sort, and even if he had his voice would not have changed much, I was appalled. Now I have nothing against women singing rock n roll, I mean Grace Slick, c’mon. But you don’t get to take Frampton and make it POP! If you cover a song, you make it better, not ELEVATOR TRASH.

Seriously, to all the musical artists of the world today, don’t cover a classic unless you’re sure you can make it better or make it so different it’s an entirely different song.

That goes to you, Madonna (American Pie), Hilary Duff (My Generation), Jay-Z (Kashmir), and of course overly breathy jazz singer (Baby, I Love Your Way).

And seriously Jay-Z. No body fucks with Led Zeppelin on my watch. NO BODY. So I now have a personal vendetta against you, even if you are the president of a record company.

And P.S. I know Jimmy Page is partly to blame, but I prefer to blame the mind altering affects of the 60s for his lapse in judgement, because you just don’t blame Guitar Gods. It’s morally wrong.