Amy Winehouse: A Perspective

Yesterday I wrote an article for my local Patch about Amy Winehouse. When I informed my counterpart of this, his reaction went a little something like, "Really? Amy Winehouse?". I could sense the dissatisfaction. I assured him that it was only for Patch because I'm less limited when it comes to writing there versus here. I decided it was unlikely that any other staff writer would write about it, so I wrote a post. Unfortunately, it's taking forever to be approved, so I have a feeling I may have been wrong about that, but we will see. I thought about just leaving it on Patch, but I feel strongly about her passing so I feel that posting it here could really no harm.

The one thing I have to say about this whole thing, is that just because I am writing about Amy Winehouse, does NOT mean that I am not thinking about what happened this past Friday in Norway along with the three other shootings that took place across the country this weekend in Florida, Texas, & Seattle. It is hard to believe that you cannot mourn the death without getting flack for not being outwardly emotional with other events that take place. At the end of the day, tragedy took place in more than one location-some far worse than others, but still all worth the notice. The difference between said events and the loss of a musician is that there is that personal connection with it. A shooting crime doesn't nurse your emotions or give you new music to expand your horizon-a musician does. It's worthy to shine a light on all subjects here, but I choose to talk about Ms. Winehouse's death. Below is what I wrote for patch;

Today the word got around (as fast as ever, thanks to social networking) that we lost yet another talented musician at the young age of twenty seven. The news may have not been a shock to those who were well aware of her struggles with drugs and alcohol, but whenever we lose a great voice in the industry, we must take the time to reflect on the songs that will be in rotation long after their passing and appreciate what they've contributed. WXRT was able to console with words and songs of rememberance. I was glad I was tuned into the radio when the news broke, and not just the radio, but the best station ever.

Amy Winehouse was someone that had as much talent as she did struggles. I truly believe to be an exceptional artist, you have to be in touch with the "other" side. You have to have this ability to truly escape yourself and experience something outside of your own mind, body, and spirit-you have to almost be in this "scary" place. The more an artist is able to do that, the better their music will transcend. If an artist is unable to do that in a conscious, sober state of mind, they will find other means of escapism, i.e. drugs and alcohol-and copious amounts of them at that.

The list of artists that we've lost at twenty seven seems to get increasingly longer as we seem to find those exceptional talents sifted throughout different generations. If you've been sorting through those tweets or listening to the radio frequencies, I'm sure those names are being thrown in your face all over again. If you're unaware, you can find the entire list [here]. There is definitely an allure when it comes to young musicians dying. When performers die, it has such a remarkable impact because they did just that-they performed. They entertained you when your mind could not entertain itself. These performers kept you from thinking your own thoughts and gave you something else to bat around for awhile. These singers gave you lyrics to dwell on when you couldn't sort out what was going on inside of you. I can't help but feeling like these people that died seemed to be perfect candidates for their type of death. When people view you as being far greater than you could ever possibly view yourself, that can have some heavy downfalls. Kurt Cobain is truly the best example of this. If you want to read a bit more about Cobain and the parallels that are made with his life, check out 'Eating The Dinosaur' by Chuck Klosterman.

I cannot call myself a huge Amy Winehouse fan. I have her albums, but can't say that are were heavy rotation--until three days ago when I put them back on my iPod. I hear a couple songs from 'Back To Black'  on XRT during the week and thought, "I need to get her albums back on my pod." Cue to me singing along to Winehouse during this past week in my car, thinking about bringing the 'Beehive' back. I heard of Amy's downfall in the previous months via WXRT; her extensive stint in rehab only return to her first show of the tour completely trashed and incoherent; unable to perform her songs, like so many Winehouse fans come to expect, I'd assume. This is terribly sad to me. A phenomenal talent that was surely wasted when, well, she was getting wasted. What's the story here? A singer with a series of downfalls, finally lands herself in rehab after all the "no, no no's", attempts to rebuild her career, schedules a tour, and then...cancels it because of an inability to perform after weeks of being in "good health"? Hm.

There are a few reasons why I feel so saddened by this passing. First off, she was too young and too talented to simply just stop living. She had such an old soul, she was truly a unique being, and a wonderous vibe exuded when she did what she did best. Winehouse had so many different elements of music within her work and many people could find something they loved in her songs. I also can't help but feel hurt in the sense that so many people have immeasurable talent that will never be discovered or shared. So many others would love to hold the position that Amy Winehouse held; performing, recording, and collaborating, without the stints of heavy drug use. There's people who would have utilized the opportunity differently, but I cannot help but feel that they would not have been as great as she was. Who knows, maybe. Maybe it was one of those things where when she was great she was great and when she was bad, she was just bloody awful. 

[This] is another good article to take a peek at; the musicians reactions upon hearing of her death. I think Kelly Clarkson had some really good stuff to say about her and I'm glad that the musicians are calling out those who are bringing her down in a public sense, blasting twitter with "How are you guys not surprised? #AmyWinehouse". Really? Her death is hard-hitting and not only to the people who sit at home and play her records, but to the people who made and shared the music with her. While it may seem like it fits into the life of a musician who has a hankering for heroin and a thirst for tanqueray, but you cannot say that you are surprised. A twenty seven year old woman is dead. That is, and always will be, a surprise.

.    .    .

Since then, her mother has spoken out about how" it was only a matter of time."

It seems my adoration for her songs has only grown increasingly ever since her passing. I feel that will be the case with many.

Enjoy;

R.I.P.

Ms. Winehouse

& to those who lost their lives in [Norway] this past Friday

"Um, sheer vanity?" and how to deal with it.

I feel there is really no fantastic introduction to lead into what I want to talk about. It's something that I've been thinking heavily about over the past months and I'm ready to let my fingers do the typing.

This isn't really about "feminism", but more so about appearance, beauty standards, and how it's been affecting me lately. As a girl/woman/gal in her 20's, I've had a lot of changes in perspective when it comes to beauty and how I perceive it. I've been coming across things having to do with the subject [beauty privilege] which of course propelled me further into writing something about it because it is a subject that hits on a range of emotions for me.

"What will grow crooked you can't make straight, it's the price that you gotta pay..." -Black Swan by Thom Yorke.

We all know that society is responsible for dictating what we find beautiful or attractive. We have this, along with many other things that separate people and somehow, all of us are somehow responsible for feeding into it or making it an acceptable standard. Almost anyone will tell you that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what if the beholder is ridiculously conventional? Why do we try to base our looks off a standard that is never a permanent fixture within society (i.e. trends)? Over the course of time, the beauty standard have changed drastically, and we all know how so there is no use in pointing them out. How is it that people turn to such un-attainable practices in order to be deemed "good-looking" by a society that is constantly in motion? There are people that confuse this painstaking beauty effort with beauty that they were privileged enough to be born with. Working with beauty you have-accentuating features, contacts, etc, are not far stretches. Plastic surgery and extreme methods of any kind to achieve societal beauty, well, sucks. My questioning towards all of this seems endless, but maybe I can make some attempt to understand it while digging around in my own head.

I've been told for a long period of my life that I'm "hot/attractive/pretty/beautiful/cute" or insert whatever other synonym for "good looking" that you prefer. On the contrary, I've been called ugly. I can attribute that to a wonderful phase in middle school, but I'm sure that people look at me now and think I look gnarly- and in no way is that supposed to be a good connotation. I've never banked on this notion of attractiveness that people laid over me. In no way, shape, or form do I consider myself a beauty queen, but I would say that I've been given physical attributes that would make a candidate for being attractive. Blonde hair, blue eyes, desirable hip ratio, no wrinkles, and a small frame. This does not mean that I've "conformed" to social standards, this only means I'm working with what I've been given, it's just hard to get them straight.

In high school, I worked hard to look good. I can't say I worked hard to look attractive, if attractiveness is something you're born with, something of privilege. I put time into straightening my hair along with dying it. I put a good amount of time figuring out what odd print would go with some other odd print (something I managed to scoop in a Goodwill). I made sure that an ample amount of time was spent on my social skills and events, and not on the only thing that mattered; education. I realize that I was likely viewed as vapid for caring about such things and choosing not to excel in my school work. However, I KNOW that I was vapid during the times I spent in high school, because dating seemed more important-and to some degree, it did have importance, but not enough for me to not regret it. I cared more about after school plans or working out than I did about what homework I would be working on that evening. If I could have been how I am now, back in high school, then I would have been on to something. Doesn't everyone say that, though? You know who doesn't say that? People who did phenomenally well in high school to go onto college to do nothing of importance or value. This makes me feel slightly better. When it comes down to it, I still put effort into my looks, but now I wonder what that means that how exactly that is viewed.

I have always banked upon personality and trying to entertain people. It has always been my asset. Of course, that's also my name backwards. I will consider this a direct quality I picked up while trying to impress a panel of judges at a young age while simultaneously competing with group of girls my age that shared or out-shined my skill set. Oh, and of course being the youngest child and being around all the dinner parties your folks have. This all worked to my advantage. So I have this personality, and some people like it and I mean, like, really like it-(but I can totally understand the ones who hate it-way more so than the ones who like it). Is that it? Does that attribute to what makes me attractive? I can't say I came out of the womb as a hit-there has to be some attachment to this right? Look at children. Go on, look at them-some kids are so damned ugly-and it's probably based on some factor that they are acting like an asshole (cue my parents telling me I shouldn't swear in my blogs...) or the factor that they've obtained no sense of personality yet-often to no fault of their own. This isn't necessarily applicable to just kids, but really anyone-minus the lack of development. It's unfortunate that a mood you're in at a certain point in time has the ability to make an impact on how people view you/base your attractiveness.

It's like that thing that everyone I've ever encountered believes in; people get more attractive as you get to know them, as that personality 'shines through' and makes it possible to transform your face into a thing a beauty. You know, I'm a total believer in that statement though, and it's because we feel bad calling our friends ugly. I'm totally kidding, as you get to know people, it's true. They do become more beautiful. We realize their actions behind everything, why they speak the way they do, who their influences are, what they want to pursue, all of these things that a person encompasses make them unique and yes, beautiful.

There is that. Natural beauty that is only more accentuated by that dazzling personality you just might happen to possess. So what do people think when you put time into your looks--you know, a notice-able amount of time. Does a certain stigma get placed upon that? Is someone who is genuinely intelligent coupled with gorgeous-ness ever able to get anywhere in life without people thinking that it all might be attributed to her looks? Probably not. It works exactly the other way, people who are highly intelligent without the advantage of beauty privilege have the downside of being out-shined by someone who may be slightly less intelligent, but has more approachable and appreciated beauty by a greater amount of people; making her more friendly and work-place preferred. These are things that REALLY bother me in our society. It bothers me that attractive people are able to get by on nothing more than physical attributes, even if I am someone entitled to those some advantages. I disdain that women, based on science, will choose a male suited with "desirable" qualities and fore-go faithfulness in order to have those same qualities found in her children. I'm bothered that women [& MEN] are slapped with a thousand images of what we should be and have this attempt to "be original"-but what the hell is that anymore with everyone being interconnected and popping up mobile images of inspiration second by second? Seriously, tell me how you can be "original" anymore, without looking looking like an idiot to the masses? I think that the smarter person ALWAYS has the upper advantage and should be the ones to succeed. Look around-there are so many people in power who are absolutely, abhorrently stupid and you have to ask yourself "What are we basing this all on?" This is where it doesn't just come down to attractiveness, so I will try not to dwell on it.

I also have to point out this one thing, I have to because it's been jutting around in my mind for awhile and it needs to get settled in somewhere. The following exists; women who are taken extremely seriously, who are regarded as doing their job in a spectacular manner, while executing smarts and extreme like-ability, and will sacrifice what they need to for the task at hand. Now, these women, tend to not put all the emphasis on their looks, which is fine, this works for them. Sometimes, the absence of overwhelming beauty can actually propel a woman forward in jobs that may be more likely to employ males because she is more easily seen as one of the guys. Why don't all women have this advantage? Again, beautiful women can also be smart, but most likely, it won't be the set of crutches they choose to lean on, because it's hard to play both cards. You want the hand you play to be most successful in the most amount of situations. A lot of powerful women tend to look more masculine, again, not all of them, in politics & military; in terms of getting the big stuff going, the people that get taken REALLY seriously. A good argument against the woman's masculine-looking approach to success would be Arianna Huffington without a doubt. She, and countless others who are beautiful and smart as a whip and making sure things are getting done. See, you can easily possess both, it's just hard to do well.

Sometimes, I just don't know where to place it all and I get very 'Daria' on myself where I contemplate every possible course of action and how it's perceived even when I don't even care at all how it's perceived because I just want to do whatever I want without consequence because it's my life and not yours. Then it comes down to hating yourself for caring in the first place. Anyone would agree that it's easier to go about your day when you hold a slight confidence in your appearance to the outside world, you can generally get away with a little more because of the standards that society goes by. It's the difference between looking like someone to flirt with and looking at someone like someone who is a potentially good conversationalist. Maybe they are one of the same. If you're pretty, you're probably normal, or at least not too weird because you have an easy 'in' with society. This is what I believe people think. And then when a pretty person does something really weird, people don't know what the hell should be going through their minds. I KNOW THIS. I know this because they are thinking something like, "What is she doing?! She's 'in' and she's totally throwing it away". They almost get mad. Even if they aren't, they definitely are.

Have you ever met an older woman (70-80 years old) and they are bitter? Like, extremely bitter? A good deal of it is probably concerned with her looks. I cannot imagine what this process of losing your physical attributes is like. Part of me never wants to find out. I can imagine that someone that was once cloaked in beauty would want that privilege their whole life because the easy charm that you can lay over people. Once it becomes a fleeting memory, I'm sure that's a hard spoonful to swallow and I'm sure it settles like glass. It's either that or what I tell a lot of people dealing with old bitter people. They've been around a long time, long enough to know what they want. So once they know this, they aren't going to wait for some eighteen year old asshole to take their time doing it or somebody questioning them or jerking them around. They're going to be crotchety about it. If you ask me, that's just alright by me. I completely understand. It's like, we all hate everyone for being all over our backs, yet we are so willing to jump all over someone else's back at any chance we get. Humans suck in this sense.

Caring about vanity is a tough call because of the stipulations that come along with what it means. It means you care about what you look like and you probably want others to care too. Sometimes, admitting this is extremely difficult. For others, it's easy to come to terms with and understand. There is also this assumption that makeup and vanity covers up insecurity. I'm sorry, but tell me how we're supposed to be perceived again? If someone has too much confidence, their covering up insecurity? But if someone uses make up and clothes to enhance looks they are also insecure? Can we strike a balance here, people? It's not usually common to see someone attractive and think "Oh, I wonder how smart they are." Sometimes I see the void when it comes to a highly intelligent person caring excessively about their outward appearance, they will usually dress how they want to dress because they're smart enough to know that's all that matters- or they dress out of pure practicality. Take one of my favourite characters from television; Amy Farrah-Fowler [read more here] from The Big Bang Theory. I love this show and the characters it's comprised of.

Amy Farrah-Fowler

Basically, when it comes down to it, I wish I were like this character in real life. She is SO smart, and carries an intelligence that most normal people don't envy. I do. I've spent my life have normal intelligence, nothing off the charts, so yeah, I'd like to up the ante when it comes to what the old brain can shoot out. So we have that. Then there's the female contrast; cue Penny.

Penny & Sheldon

The neighbor who seamlessly fits in with the pack of brain-and dates one of them.

My favourite aspect is that she is friends with these guys AND becomes "BFF/Besties" with Amy. Unfortunately, I cannot embed any of the videos I found, but [here]. Above all else, 'Daria' is the greatest example of this feeling. I found the wiki page going more into the episode explanation itself. The episode made a good point of the struggle between caring and not caring. Read more about Daria's vanity struggles [here]-I'm so glad that page exits. You can see more of what I'm talking about here; the conversation between choosing to possibly enhance appearance and whether or not it's an acceptable feeling for someone who doesn't usually care...

Keep in mind, this appears backwards. It looks as if they've headed to Europe...heh.

All in all, I have way too much going on in my head about this but I'm glad this got slapped down and somewhat organized. I'm constantly conflicted by what I see and feel that we have so many options and opinions, that it makes it that much harder. Hopefully you were able to pull out something and relate to it. If not, at the least maybe you will start watching 'The Big Bang Theory' or catch up on your back episodes of Daria. Maybe you too hate the standards that we consider attractive or acceptable within society or have the struggle of vanity versus personality...or the advantages of both... I'd love to hear about it.

Florence + The Black Keys Rock Milwaukee! @flo_tweet #TheBlackKeys

The other night I had the luck of seeing one of my favourite musical artists of all time perform live and I am eternally grateful for this occurence. Of course, I'm referencing Florence + The Machine and her show at Summerfest in Milwaukee this past Wednesday. I previously mentioned in my last post (and numerous others) that I missed her Chicago appearance that was scheduled for June 18, 2011 at the Aragon Ballroom. This was quite a step up in venue since her April 2010 at House of Blues. I'm serious though, I've droned on about that show too much (well, for you probably). If you haven't seen it, check out all things I've blogged about Florence HERE.

So of course, WXRT helped me out on the information front and advertised that she would be appearing with Cage The Elephant and The Black Keys. My counterpart and I are both Black Keys fans (we saw them this past New Years at The Aragon) so there was little to no arm twisting in order to get him to purchase the tickets and take the short trip to Milwaukee. He knows how much I love Florence and I think the risk of him being the one getting in the way of seeing her show would be an issue, especially since the last once fell through the cracks, was too great. Heh, so needless to say, we picked them up on the way to Milwaukee and my excitement grew as the tickets were finally within my hands-and eyesight.

YAY! Roadtrip time. Well, three hours, a mini-road trip. I love long car rides, especially with my counterpart. We checked into the Hotel Metro, which the hotel we gravitate to when we stay in Milwaukee (we had been here previously for Spoon on New Years 2009/2010). It was the first LEEDS certified hotel in Wisconsin and has a bunch of neat back history to it-if you're into that sort of thing. Not to mention, the beds are so so so comfortable and the service and food is fantastic. We have to remember that the rock stars stay at the neighboring hotel, but we love the style of the rooms at the Hotel Metro. We did catch a glimpse of the Black Keys standing outside the other hotel, which was a thrill on the way to see them...but let's not forget, this is a Florence review-so back to that! We walked down to Summerfest around 5:30, strolled along the lakeside, got dippin' dots & elephant ears, and made our way into The Marcus Ampihtheatre, were I grew anxious...

This place was BIG. I had seen her in a room with no more than 200 people where I was mere feet away from the stage. I threw a pin and a note and hoped for the best. I snagged that glorious set-list that she stomped all over in her musical fury...

...this was a big change. The place was flooded, but in a way, I was thrilled. I was so happy that so many people would get to experience this performance-and people that generally would not, which is the key thing. The people I was around weren't necessarily there for Florence, which kind of made me think I might feel sheepish when she came on and I started dancing like an idiot (an awesome idiot!). I continued to throw up all over twitter about it (see sidebar) and sat in my seat watching the instruments for the machines be put in place. The harp appeared and my excitement soared. I could not be more excited to see her perform.

See, here's the thing, You see, Florence is one of my musical soulmates. It's hard to sum up what that really means to me, but I guess it ultimately means that her music moves me—dancing, figure skating, singing; it makes me feel, it would be music that I myself would choose to create, it's been music that I've passed on to a countless number of people. I've been listening to her for years and can genuinely say that I'm so proud of her WELL-DESEREVED success. I'm happier knowing she's alive, making music, and performing. Seeing this show was a big deal to me. I just want to make that clear.

The lights dimmed, the crowd rose in unison, and the music for "Howl" came out through the speakers. I could feel it-the energy that was about to be unleashed through vocal performance and exuberance across the stage. She appears-light bouncing off of her red hair and draped in a dark red cloak over a dress. Her microphone is adorned with fake flowers-she collects. The voice pours from her and overwhelms the crowd. The music pounds out perfectly through the speakers, a style of music that sounds "really good coming from that style theatre" according to my counterpart (turned Florence fan this past Wednesday). The huge screens and projectors were a huge aid in really watching the performance along with her connection to the music. There are a million things you can take away from her performances, but one of my favourite qualities is her witchy vibe she exudes, which I'm sure is no accident. She tends to look at the crowd eerily while twitching her fingers along to the melody or you can find her appearing to cast spells and conduct the crowd with her drumstick which she used to great effect in songs like "Drumming Song" & "Between Two Lungs". It is entrancing to watch her move from one side of the stage to another and to see her shear cape float through the air as her voice commands your adoration.. It's even better to hear her shreak and scream as an accent to some of her songs-including her new single. I cannot wait for that new album...

As expected, 'Cosmic Love' struck more chords than expected and I found tears streaming down my face as I was dancing and singing along. I loved the crowd during 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)' & 'Dog Days Are Over' and was just so happy to be a part of the whole experience. The best news came when she said this was her LAST SHOW OF THE TOUR! I let out a squeal and was so relieved that I was able to see this show. I was glad I got to experience her album live twice and I'm also glad I got to hear the new single, which was phenomenal. Florence had to go ahead and have awesome tour shirts, which I definitely decided needed to be mine upon laying my eyes on it so you can see me modeling that here;

Unfortunately, this wasn't a Florence + The Machine show, it was more of an elongated opener. She played a lot of my favourites, but there will always be songs left out of they are all your favourites. I can only hope to see her next time she comes to Chicago. I can only imagine what kind of venue she will be in next time, regardless, I will be there to see it-you better be too! I cannot forget to mention The Black Keys, because they were great and are a pleasure to watch and listen to. I loved how they used movie/clip backgrounds to go along with their music. 'Everlasting Light' is always my favourite song they perform-however, I feel that a great song to go into right after is 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. It would be so great with that disco ball down-a huge perk of the performance. Both of these artists are an absolute treat to see live-so lucky that I got to see them both twice. I hope that the third time's a charm!

Nineties adoration, Three things, & Two books.

**

The current time happens to be 12:59 P.M. on the Fourth of July.

My counterpart is still asleep.

I can actually hear the second hand tick on the kitchen clock. Loudly.

I have three thoughts on my mind.

1) When I listen to the song 'Bizness' by the Tune-Yards, I have a huge desire to paint my face, grab a group of people, and rent out an auditorium for a day and rock out to this song and other random songs by various artists. That's the dream. To start up a band that just covers random songs. Just for total fun. That would be..just so cool. Anyone in?

2) If I could teach step aerobics/zumba or some high energy class based around jumping around or moving like an idiot, I WOULD. Especially if I could use the music of "Girl Talk" to accent those calorie-burning moves! This video I found is amazing. It was actually made by a professor who paired up with his students at Concordia University in Montreal. Definitely check it out, just to appreciate the work that went into it. 

3) Professional Cheerleading-why are you not my career? Again, this is most likely the Girl Talk taking over my body and making me have the desire to unleash tumbling passes, basket tosses, and tick-tocks. I'm not talking about the broads you see cheering on the NFL sidelines. I mean, like; Cheer Athletics (see below). I would love to compete with this team. It's funny. I was so anti-cheerleader as a small girl and in late middle school I found myself complacent on an all-star team. The only aspects I find enjoyable are the tumbling and the stunting and of course the moronic dancing. I can't help but think that I'm drawn to things where you can move your body in a way that's bound to release a good amount of endorphins. You can leave the facials and the cheering pep at the door (you could never find me sporting either one qualities during practice). I like the aspects that make it a sport. And of course anything competitive. Damn, youth.

Okay. So that's pretty shameful being that there are a million more important things that should be crossing my mind, but I'm pretty content where I'm at. It has been a long time since I've kept up. I guess that's the whole me not wanting to take it all out on my writing. Too much angst in a blog isn't always ideal. However, there is a glimmer of delight in my upcoming week. So I missed that Florence + The Machine show that graced the city of Chicago on June 18th. However, a few days after I was almost done wallowing in discontent, I heard that she would be in Milwaukee (found in the neighboring state) along with The Black Keys-another favourite and Cage The Eleplant, who I can dig Why thank you, XRT! I informed my counterpart of this immediately. Of course, there's the lovely procrastination, followed by the adored final purchase. I am relieved that I will catch another Florence Performance (heh!) but will always long for that first tiny show at House of Blues. I am excited to stay a night or two in Milwaukee as well. Hopefully we can catch a meal at a great restaurant called Roots. My mouth is already watering thinking about the options...uh oh. I better not get ahead of myself!

Due to the environment in which I've been working lately, I have a lot of time to be creative. It's summer, meaning business is a little slower due to the lack of eventful holidays where cookies seem to say it all. Needless to say, this is what I've been keeping busy with;

This was my first feat.

This also has to be one of my favourite things that I've decorated.

I posted this around twitter and facebook and my friend replied with

"I fucking love it! Make the whole cast!"

and so I did...

Which led me to have this finished product days later.

The Quote: Episode 'Jake of Hearts'

Jane: Why Daria, are you becoming an optimist?

Daria: I don't know. Hold up your glass...nope, still 1/2 empty.

I've delved into watching it from the start and I am midway through season four. I have two versions of the show; the show that came straight from MTV and the show that comes from the DVD's. The music from the actual show version is good and real, it's funny to hear the dubs/covers replacing the good stuff. Needless to say, I wish I would have been a few years older while living in the nineties, but I'm sure it was time well spent as I collected and played with pogs, created beadie-critters, had CD's by bands like Savage Garden (ugh), and longed for more time with my Easy Bake oven. I guess I can't complain too much.

  

 

 

It's more that desire to live it over again, which I suppose rustles inside of us more than we'd hope for. I wish my priorities were different in my teens. Of course, this would be detrimental to who I am now, although, I'd still favour to go back in time and re-do a few things. I'm currently reading "Eating The Dinosaur" by Chuck Klosterman and he talks a bit about time travel and how it's a question of morality and says just that-how it's a detriment. How you wouldn't be able to determine who was you if you met yourself in a different time frame, you'd ultimately be canceling yourself out. Fascinating book, I highly recommend it. It's also rather amusing to read along with 'Whiter Shades of Pale' by Christian Lander. It's a follow up to 'Stuff White People Like' and it's still just as amusing. It's funny to see both books pick out behaviors and mindsets of a large population of people but the former delves a bit deeper into making connections and how we are expected to feel upon encountering such subjects.

  

**What kind of person would I be if I didn't post pictures of fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Speaking of fireworks, I'm craving cheesecake...