Wow.

This upcoming week is the last week of school. I don't know about you but I think that is pretty freaky. Hmm. I don't think I have anything particularly interesting to say but I haven't updated for a while and felt I should. I'm pretty excted about my classes next semester. Well mostly just photojournalism. And I'm taking a class called intro to film. Mostly just for fun. I'm starting Arabic classes too. I'm kind of scared about that. I don' think I'm that great at learning languages, or maybe its just Spanish. I'm also taking intro to political economy and east asian civilizations. I know a bunch of people in the east asian class so that will be good I hope. I decided to minor in Women's Studies. I really want to do it but I have to get some stuff figured out with Four Bear. Its dumb.
I went to Rachel's masters thesis reading today. That was cool. The Raven is a nice little Cafe. I was also cool to see all the FIG people. Together again at last. Christine and I decided we should go to Spokane and bother Rachel somtime next year. You should come.
Oooooh man I am excited for Summer. I mean.. I really like my classes right now. Especially Shakespeare. And Current Events is cool. And Women's Studies is great too. But I'll really miss Shakespeare. And Bob. Oh Bob Pack. He's great. I need to take some more classes from him. He shoud just teach a class called Stuff Bob Likes... 101. It will be Shakespeare, Darwin, Freud, Woody Allen, Dinosaurs, and NOTHING. Bob is so sneaky. Our final Shakespeare paper is about Nothing. What a sneaky man. Anyway.. Off of the Bob tangent. I am trying to find a job. I've applied to two places, already got rejected for one. So we'll see. If anyone finds a good, noncrappygiantcorporationjob they should tell me. I am also excited for Sasquatch Festival. That is going to be quite fun. Especally if we have a tent at home. I don't want to sleep in the freakin car.. Yeah. Woo. I want to go to the beach. A lot. A whole lot. Been landlocked too long. No the river doesn't count.
Hmm. What else..well it has been really nice here the past few days. It should stay lovely. And warm. But not unbarably hot. Especially in my room. And no bees. Crap I hate the bees that come in my room. Damn them.
Part of the Shakespeare Shirt.

Another Part of the Shakespeare Shirt.

Bad Picture of Me in the Shakespeare Shirt.

So that's all... Have good days.

lovealison

I have a hankerin for a gyro.

I think it's time to head to #1 Gyro since 1977 GYRO MASTERS on orange street. well not now. they're closed. but sometime this weekend. mmm. tasty. maybe i will also do a real update this weekend. probably not. between history paper on the new deal, power point on the genocide in darfur, colin firth friday, baking at rachel's, and gyros i don't know where i'll fit it in. :)
lovealison.

Shakespeare.

www.marriedtothesea.com
lovealison.

yes...of course...

Happy March Fourth...Forth?. I sat around all day stewing about my excessive homework. You?

lovealison

ps: yay for puns.

i meant her no harm when i left her unlocked outside the orange street food farm

i was just running in didn't think i'd be that long....
yay for orange street, food farms, and glorious greek food.







this one's for christine:


Classes are good. Tons and tons to read, but its all lovely stuff. So very tired. Greyhound is ridiculous. I miss my kellen. I think someone is drumming outside. Its time to sleep.
lovealison.

wow.. interesting.

I saw this on Rian's blog and thought it was interesting:
"If there is someone on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal."

I met Kellen on the Internet. So, as much as it is ridiculously annoying, it is all right too. What site you ask? No, not a dating site. God no. here it is: http://p076.ezboard.com/fbarenakedladiesmessageboardfrm1. I first talked to him about four years ago and haven't posted there forever. We've been us for about three years now. So yes, the Internet is all right sometimes.

So there you go, if you didn't know that already. We saw Steve together this past summer in Portland. It was really, truly, fabulous. I wish I would have talked to him and thanked him, but I was sort of freaking out that I was standing next to Steve looking at CDs. Music Millennium is great.

Aaaaand, Kellen is coming next weekend, to the fair city of Missoula, come say hi.

I also met Sam from England on the BNL message board. Hi Sam.

So, never make fun of The Barenaked Ladies, or me for liking them ever again (ahem..Christine :p).

She likes to sleep with the radio on
So she can dream of her favorite song
The one that no one has ever sung since she was small

She'll never know that she made it up
She had a soul and we ate it up
Thrown away like a paper cup
The music falls

The only flaw in her detailed plan
Is where she wins back the love of her man
Everyone knows that he's never coming back

He took her heart and she took his name
He couldn't stand taking all the blame
He left her only with guilt and shame and then she cracked

Won't it be dull when we rid ourselves
Of all these demons haunting us
To keep us company

In the dream I refuse to have
She falls asleep in a lukewarm bath
We're left to deal with the aftermath again

On behalf of humanity
I will fight for your sanity
How profound such profanity can be

Won't it be dull when we rid ourselves
Of all these demons haunting us
To keep us company

Won't it be odd to be happy like we
Always thought we're supposed to feel
But never seem to be

Near where I live there's a viaduct
Where people jump when they're out of luck
Raining down on the cars and trucks below

They've put a net there to catch their fall
Like it'll stop anyone at all
What they don't know is when nature calls, you go

They say that Jesus and mental health
Are just for those who can help themselves
But what good is that when you live in hell on earth?

From the very fear that makes you want to die
Is just the same as what keeps you alive
It's way more trouble than some suicide is worth

Won't it be dull when we rid ourselves
Of all these demons haunting us
To keep us company

Won't it be odd to be happy like we
Always thought we're supposed to feel
But never seem to be

Hard to admit I fought the war on drugs
My hands were tied and the phone was bugged
Another died and the world just shrugged it off

good stuff.

lovealison.

another one in the why-does-he-keep-pointing-that-thing-at-me series 

Raaaain.

Over winter break it rained almost every day. It was really awful. But today in Missoula it rained. That means it's warm enough to rain. And that is a wonderful thing. In the second week of a new semester now. Its going pretty well so far. Not so sure about physics 141 though. I thought I'd really like the class but it's not turning out how I thought it would. All my other classes are awesome though. Philosophical perspectives on women in the western hemesphere....rules. The first day we discussed what we meant my "women" and by "western." It was so cool. Shakespeare with Bob is lovely of course. We're doing Hamlet this week. History should be good. The professor is also my discussion leader which is nice. 20th century yeahhh. Every wednesday I have current events. I think I'll like that class, but it definitly has too much work for only being two credits. Then there's western jitterbug and swing. It is fun. 1 2 3 hold 4 5 hold 6 oooh yeah. Stayed up waaaay too late this weekend talking to kellen online. Its hard for me to sleep in here. Very annoying. So it is time to work on more homework.
lovealison.
ps: my lovely kellen has a blog now! (which I'm pretty sure he said he'd never do...) Anyway... here it is. http://picturefuture.blogspot.com/

We're On Our Way Home.

Going back to college after the long winter break is weird. It's like leaving home and going home at the same time. So happy Bridget has a car. The taxi to or from the airport is $15.50. Retarculous.

Colin Meloy was lovely last night.

Don't know how much I'll update this blog. I want to though... so we'll see.

lovealison.

War Is Over If You Want It.

Most of you know that my favorite Beatle is George Harrison. This is true, but my first love was John Lennon.

His music has affected me since before I can remember. When I was a baby my parents played a tape in my room called “Baby Road,” a tape of Beatles lullabies. When I was ten I picked out “The Magical Mystery Tour,” by my self when my dad told me I could pick out a CD. John’s voice and lyrics mesmerized me. “Strawberry Fields” was one of the songs that first spoke to me. My favorite line in the song is, “Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.” It reminds me to pay attention to my life, right now, and to analyze the things I experience as much as possible. “All You Need Is Love,” is also on that album. That song has meant so much in my life. Every line is full of advice and reminders.

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
There's nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

It is so tempting to get wrapped up in the drama of everyday, but this song helps me slow down, and remember that the best things are often the simplest.

John’s solo music has also affected me more than I can say. The first solo John song that I, and most people ever heard was “Imagine,” a song that asks people to forget how live is and think about how it could be if we all worked less to build barriers and a little harder to love each other.

One of my favorite things about John is that he was so personal in his lyrics. He wasn’t afraid to show his weaknesses, like in “Jealous Guy,” (I was feeling insecure, you might not love me anymore, I was shivering inside, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’m sorry that I made you cry, I didn’t want to hurt you, I’m just a jealous guy.) He wasn’t afraid to admit that he was desperately in love, shown in “Oh My Love,” (Oh my lover for the first time in my life, my eyes are wide open, my eyes can see.) And he certainly wasn’t afraid to express how he felt about the world, society, and politics, as seen in many songs including “Gimme Some Truth,”

I’m sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypo-critics
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
I’ve had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of hope
Money for dope
Money for rope
I’m sick to death of seeing things
From tight-lipped, condescending, mama’s little chauvinists
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth now
I’ve had enough of watching scenes
Of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth
No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
It’s money for dope
Money for rope
Ah, I’m sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now
I’ve had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now

Many of John’s fans feel like they have an intimate connection with him. I think this is because he was so skilled at expressing how he felt and how he believed the people that listened to him were feeling. He said how he felt about the world and he did so in a plain, sincere, and honest way. It seemed like he had taken the time to reckon with himself and now he wanted to share it with all of us. For many he was a symbol of hope and resistance against the way the country was going.

John was murdered on December 8th, 1980 at 10:50 PM, Eastern Time on the sidewalk outside his apartment, in front of his wife, while his son slept inside. He was shot three times in the chest, and then twice in the back when he turned to run away. Mark David Chapman was an obsessed fan who felt like the only way he would be remembered would be if he killed someone famous. I don’t hate him, but rather, I pity him. I can’t imagine feeling that horrible about myself, or feeling so ignored, so unloved that I had to take someone else’s fame. It’s obvious that something went wrong in his brain and that he is an obsessive personality. He read “Catcher in the Rye,” and identified with the main character, Holden Caulfield. He heard an interview where John Lennon explained that he often felt that his celebrity was “phony,” and from that point deiced he should kill Lennon.

I get chills when I hear the recording of Howard Cosell announcing his death during a football game, “Yes, we have to say it. Remember this is just a football game, no matter who wins or looses.” An unspeakable tragedy….” When I hear people’s stories about how they heard about his death, it makes me feel just as sad as if I was there. Mark Riley, a veteran New York City radio host said about the day after Lennon’s death, “It was one of those days when New York City just stopped. People walked slower, their posture was lower, it was like a piece of the city had been killed.”

I don’t cry too much. I’m not a mushy person. I don’t cry at movies or during TV shows, and I’ve never cried at a funeral. But when I think about the force that was stolen from the world when John Lennon was killed, I feel like I could cry for hours.



"I'm not afraid of dying. I don't know how it feels at the moment. But I'm prepared for death because I don't believe in it. I think it's just getting out of one car and into another."