"baby, it's cold outside" is quite disturbing.

I've had thoughts lately about certain Christmas songs. If you'll take a gander at my previous post, you will see that I generally spend a lot of time thinking about Christmas music. You might say too much time and, if you did, you might be right, but I've accepted it. Moving on.

Let me start out with a few stanzas from the popular holiday tune, "Baby, It's Cold Outside":

Woman: I really can't stay
Man: Baby, it's cold outside
Woman: I've got to go away
Man: Baby, it's cold outside...

Woman: My mother will start to worry
Man: Beautiful, what's your hurry?
Woman: Father will be pacing the floor
Man: Listen to the fireplace roar
Woman: So really I'd better scurry
Man: Beautiful, please don't hurry
Women: Maybe just a half a drink more
Man: Put some records on while I pour

Woman: The neighbors might think
Man: Baby, it's bad out there
Woman: Say, what's in this drink?


Say, what? "What's in this drink?"??!

Now, I may be reading this wrong, but I'm pretty sure a guy just slipped some drugs into this girl's drink. She notices. And yet she stays?? On what planet does that make sense?

Of course, I might also be compelled by his argument. I don't love the cold, and I always avoid being cold if at all possible, so if it really were blizzarding outside, I would seriously consider accepting his offer. If it were truly dangerous outside, he could simply be concerned about her health and well-being. But then HE PUTS SOMETHING IN HER DRINK. Good heavens, lady, do you think this guy is drugging you so you two can play another round of Monopoly or watch Mickey's Christmas Carol? A clue: NO.

Seriously, though, this song is like a precursor to date rape.

You will notice that I put "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (the Zooey Deschanel/Leon Redbone version) on this year's Official Christmas Playlist, but the more and more I listen to it, the more disturbing it becomes. On top of that, Leon Redbone sounds like he's twice Zooey's age (TRUTH: he was born in 1949, and she was born in 1980). Yikes. A big yikes.

Of course, this is not the only problematic Christmas song. I could go on about the drunk grandmother who gets run down by a reindeer because she's wandering outside alone on Christmas Eve (elder abuse!) or that Santa Claus watches children while they sleep (voyeurism?!), but I'll save that for another day, perhaps, or not write about it at all.

sometimes i obsess about christmas music

Every year (well, for the past couple of years at least), right before Thanksgiving, I spend a ridiculous amount of time creating my Official Christmas Playlist, a compilation of the Christmas songs I will listen to obsessively for the entire month of December. I have a lot of Christmas music in my iTunes library, and I enjoy putting my master holiday list on shuffle, but this list is special because it includes only the BEST (none of that Feliz Navidad garbage).

I am particularly proud of this year's compilation. I spent time not only selecting songs but also arranging them so each song flows naturally into the next. (I told you I obsessed over it.)

So without further chatter, here is my 2013 Official Christmas Playlist:

1. Deck the Halls, Mannheim Steamroller
2. I Saw Three Ships, Sufjan Stevens
3. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Amy Grant
4. The First Noel/Mary Mary, Sarah McLachlan
5. Carol of the Bells, Celtic Woman
6. Carol of the Bells, Mannheim Steamroller
7. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, The Piano Guys
8. Pachelbel's Canon in D Major, Vienna Boys' Choir
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Joshua Bell with Alison Krauss
10. Coventry Carol, Jenny Oaks Baker
11. What Child Is This?, Kristin Chenoweth
12. Blue Christmas, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
13. No Christmas for Me, Zee Avi
14. Frosty the Snowman, Zee Avi
15. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jack Johnson
16. Santa Baby, Eartha Kitt
17. Baby, It's Cold Outside, Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone
18. White Christmas, Michael Buble and Shania Twain
19. Walking in a Winter Wonderland, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
20. Jingle Bells, Bing Crosby with The Andrews Sisters
21. Nutcracker Medley, Joshua Bell with Straight No Chaser
22. Auld Lang Syne, Pink Martini

For your listening convenience, I've uploaded a Spotify version of the playlist straight to my blog (see right). The songs are a bit mixed up and there are two songs that wouldn't play on Spotify, but at least you get the idea.

Also, just for fun, here's a holiday hedgehog.




Merry Christmas!

*deep sigh of relief* and folk music

I must say, it feels nice to have passed my thesis defense.

I worried about it for so long (perhaps worried too much), but it ended up being grand. In the middle of my defense, I had a very clear realization: I was enjoying it. And then I remembered that I'm in a master's program because I love writing and I love studying writing. I love reading good books and learning from my brilliant professors and fellow students (who are also brilliant). So it wasn't that strange that I enjoyed my defense. I'm always worried because sometimes I have a hard time articulating my thoughts, but I must have made at least a small measure of sense, and for that I was grateful. 

Now if I can take another deep breath, I'll make it through the rest of my revisions and grading and be done with this semester. Which will be great. Except...

I'm actually really sad that this chapter of my life is coming to a close. Maybe it's just that I don't know what in the world I'm going to do next, or maybe it's because I'm sad to say goodbye to so many wonderful people that I'm blessed to see almost every day. I'm thankful for writing workshops and lunch dates having so many people around who sympathize with my plight because they are going through the same exact thing. That camaraderie is so difficult to find. So for all of those reasons, it will be hard to say goodbye when I leave Provo.

I guess I'm not leaving just yet, so I shouldn't get too choked up here. 

And now that I've waxed (super) cheesy, I'll end by saying that I've rediscovered my love of folk music/bluegrass. Here are a few samples from The Wailin' Jennys: 

music and goals

this was one of those weeks. you know, what of those weeks––so much to do, too little sleep, too little motivation. sometimes i have superweeks when i get everything done with room for sherlock and cupcakes, but this past week, i tried to fit everything in and it just didn't work. sleep is always the first to go, even though i know that when i get enough sleep i have more motivation AND energy. when will i learn? 

i have decided a few things lately, though. made a few goals. and here they are:

1. blog. if you'll take a look at the dates of my blog posts, you'll notice the huge gap between posts, especially when i started school. this may just seem like something else to put on my to-do list, but i really do enjoy blogging. it gives me an outlet, so instead of wasting time on facebook, i'm actually writing things. and that goes along with my next goal:

2. write things every day. "things" is intentionally vague, but i've realized lately that if i'm at all serious about this writing thing, it's got to be consistant. if there's anything i've learned in my grad program so far, it's that writing is hard, and if i'm going to ever be successful, i'll have to work my tail off. lately i've  loved listening to and reading writer interviews, because i like to hear what other writers have done to be successful. one of the common threads, of course, is daily writing. it makes perfect sense, but it's one of those things that is difficult even though it's common sense. so i'm going to write at least something every day. 

3. sleep at night. i have to be specific with this one, because i tend to stay up until the wee hours of the morning and plan on taking a nap the next day to make up for lost sleep. i always end up feeling discombobulated, even though i like taking naps. i need to sleep at night, and work during the day. this isn't a novel idea, so i ask myself once again, why is it so darn hard? 

4. don't forget my spiritual self. i'm always frustrated at how quickly scripture study and prayer and temple attendance slips when i'm in school. scripture study becomes scripture skimming, prayer becomes a list instead of a conversation, and the temple becomes a distant friend. but recognition is the first step in improvement! 

there are, of course, many more goals i could set, like exercise and healthy eating, but i'm going to try on focus on a few at a time. and i hope that because i'm recording these goals i'll be more likely to keep them. that's how goals work, right? in theory, i suppose. 

meanwhile, i wanted to share a few songs that i've been a little obsessed with lately. on the soundtrack to my life, these have been on repeat:

her morning elegance, by oren lavie (this is such a fantastic music video, too)

bang bang (my baby shot me down), nancy sinatra (in this clip, it accompanies a dance that is equally fantastic)

splendor in the grass, pink martini