Book Review: Love the One You're With

I swear when I set out to blog I had a bunch of ideas for posts and now, not so much. Not a whole lot happens around here, so I read... and summertime is the perfect time to do a little light reading. I spent the last two years pouring over the greatest authors of all time; everyone from Carver to Voltaire, Hemingway to Kincaid, I analyzed, critiqued and absorbed the works of the literary masterminds that produced what we call "great" writing. Well, in honor of summer and graduation I decided to ditch these guys and hit the pool with a little Emily Griffin (Of the "Something Borrowed" and "Something Blue" fame, if that tells you anything).

First off, the title will tell you all you need to know. "Love the One You're With" is not going to be anything other than what you expect. It is great for beachside/poolside reading, but past that... meh. It's obviously predictable, and I have a hard time with cheesy. I think for what it is, not bad, but I want to get back to my "Big White Book of Weddings" by David Tutera. That's good stuff.

At least I'm honest

I blog stalk. And Facebook stalk. 

If you have a blog, I have looked at it. If it is interesting or you update frequently, you might even be bookmarked under my "blogs" folder (because I have one). 

If you post updates that pop in my Newsfeed, I just might click on it. If you wear fun clothing, do interesting things or just post pictures I might peruse your page. Did you recently get engaged? Married? Attend or host a bridal shower? Oh man, watch out because you just put a bull's-eye on your forehead my friend. It doesn't matter if I know you well or we've only met once, no one is safe from the click of my mouse. 

But hey, who are you to judge? You are the one posting all this stuff for me to see, and other people probably stalk you too, you just don't know. At least I'm honest. 

Wait, What?

Music often evokes emotions that cannot be expressed by words alone. The synchronization of melody and harmony communicate a different feeling than any stand alone prose or poem ever would however, words might not always be the focal point of the song if it has a jammin tune. There are songs that are defined by the music alone, be it an insane guitar solo or composition of woodwind instruments that blows your mind. Then there are some songs that just make you say, “Wait, what?”

Here are a few current songs that really befuddle me. I have outlined the offenders below:

1a. From Ke$ha’s “Tik Tock” (which, by the way, since when are spelling errors an artistic quality? What?)- “Wake up in the mornin feeling like P. Diddy…”

What does this mean? Is this a metaphor for feeling particularly hardcore in the morning? Feeling rich? Feeling black? I have never once awoken feeling like P. Diddy or any other rap artist. This song is not universal.

1b. Also from “Tik Tock” “Brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack…”

            This is awful dental hygiene, and does not make sense as any kind of metaphor. What, are you teething?

2. From Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A”- “Hopped off the plane at LAX… look to my right and I see the Hollywood sign...”

            Okay, anyone who knows me at all knows I cannot stand Miley Cyrus (But that’s another post) and knows that I love this song. It’s totally the beat-- it’s just super catchy. But, I have a problem with the geographic coordinates of these lines… they do not match up. Excuse me, but you cannot see the Hollywood sign from LAX. It is not to your right.

 

I do, however understand Travie Mccoy’s Lyrics “I wanna be a Billionaire so freaking bad”. That is relatable to many, who do not wake up feeling like P. Diddy. 

Happy 4th of July

Just a shout out to America for being so great.

Along those lines, Brad and I were in Barnes & Noble not too long ago just perusing as we often do. Brad led us in to the History section  where I came across Mein Kampf. It got me thinking, how great is our country? I mean, one of the most nefarious men in history writes a book that starts as a biography and morphs in to the propaganda of his "solution" that manipulates millions of people, and this book is sitting happily on the shelves of Barnes & Noble for anyone to buy. We have the freedom to buy a book that started a revolution that killed millions of innocent people. America seriously is the best. 

Megan's Unbirthday

Before I decided that I wanted to write for a living (and thus not make a living and therefore still be on a quest for a paying job that does not involve serving lunch specials to the elderly) I wanted to be a photographer. I still LOVE photography and adore taking pictures, I just realized it wasn't for me as a job. When Megan asked me to shoot a few pictures for her 19th birthday, I happily obliged and dusted off the ol' Rebel XTi (Glad I didn't put the 5D on my credit card since I would need it some day, might as well buy it now... Thanks mom for the rationalization!) Well, a few pics turned in to a million; when you are working with a model this awesome, It's hard not to snap a ton. Without further adieu... Megan's very happy Unbirthday:




Her precious pups also made a cameo

awesome.