Tag Archives: blog recommendation

March 30, 2012

Friday Favourites 13

By So Here's Us.... life on the raggedy edge.

This week I’m passing on a few things I found through FaceBook. Which reminds me, Canada is now phasing out the penny (thanks for the scoop Eric). What did we do without FB?

FaceBook is a complicated issue. I love it. I hate it. I connect with my friends and family where I used to drift apart. It sucks away my time. It makes me laugh and inspires me. It reminds me of the quote below.

Quote

“One reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with other people’s highlight reel.” Grace Marshall

Blog

King David is one of my favourite bible characters. Not because of his great triumphs, but because he is so messy and brilliant and screwed up and REAL. I love writers who embody that earthy realness, yet inspire me to rise above it. Tamara Out Loud is one the best examples of this. I used to be jealous of this lady I’d never met, because my husband raved about her brilliant writing, insight and humour. Then I started reading myself and was hooked.

This may not be for everyone, so heed the advice on her “Be Warned” page:

“If any of the words in the following sentence  offend you,

consider turning back now:

This blog sometimes gets all Jesus-y and shit.”

YouTube Clip

I’m a sucker for a “don’t judge the book by its cover” story. It’s cliché. It’s been done. And it gets me every time.

Jonathan and Charlotte

TV Show

I wasn’t going to watch this. I mean, the movie was okay, but it didn’t really seem like a great set up for an ongoing show. But as I was sitting on the couch with my sexy roommate (aka hubby) I couldn’t help but overhear. And now I’m hooked. The ongoing plot is twist-y and complex, but each episode can stand alone. Do-gooder lawyer who goes above and beyond the system to make things right.

Eat your heart out Tom Cruise!

Book

My kindle broke on the final page of this book during our holiday. Game of Thrones has become a huge hit – the book, the graphic novel, the t.v. series… I talked to a few people who liked it. Knights and ladies, strange creatures and ancient kingdoms, plus there’s a map at the beginning. I love books that start with a map. I’m kind of a nerd that way.

It drew me in. It is well written and interesting, but brutal. If you are looking for something sweet and romantic, read something else. The characters here are complex and often disturbing. There are no good guys and bad guys, only bad and less bad; which makes the moments of nobility shine brighter.

The real downside – I uploaded all 4 books onto my kindle, so I’m left hanging. Grrrr.

So here’s me, with a blank kindle and a dead microwave. Technology, you’ve really let me down this week!

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February 3, 2012

Friday Favourites 8

By So Here's Us.... life on the raggedy edge.

Insert witty and/or interesting comment here. Then segue into random list of favourite things.

Or, lie on the couch and fight off stomach bug. Blergh. Good enough.

Quote

I do my thing, and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you and I am I
And if by chance we meet, it’s beautiful.
If not, it can’t be helped.
– Fritz Perls

Music Video

That’s right, the song you’ve been waiting your whole life for: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as a cello duet. Every bit as weird and compelling you are imagining.

Totally rethinking my choice of clarinet for grade 6 band.

Blog

Ever flip through a catalog (or wander through Ikea) and wonder WHO lives like this. Wonder no more… Catalog Living is “a glimpse into the exciting world of the people living in your catalogs.” Meet Gary and Elaine from Anytown, USA and the hilarious commentary on their “catalog life”.

Now available in book format: Decorating Takes (Wicker) Balls by Molly Erdman

Take a peek, you won’t regret it!

iPhone/iPad App

The most I’ve ever paid for an app at $4.99, but worth every penny. Insta-paper lets me click “read later” whenever I come across an interesting article or blog post.

I don’t have time to sit down and read everything I stumble across while surfing the web or scrolling through my twitter feed. When I do find the time (say, a day spent lying on the couch sipping ginger ale…) I can read my personal “newspaper” of articles at my leisure.

Book

I’m doing a project for my Psych class on adolescent deliquency, which has awoken the need to re-read an old favourite: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The movie was okay (hard to go wrong with that much star-power), but as usual, I’m going to vote for the book all the way. Maybe it’s just fond memories of childhood or because I totally had a crush on Ponyboy Curtis when I was 13, but I’ve always loved it.

So here’s me, ignoring piles of homework so that I can cry over a bunch of greasers. Be cool, Sodapop.

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January 5, 2012

Friday Favourites: Rachel Held Evans, LaDiDa, Post-Apocalyptic Fiction and more

By So Here's Us.... life on the raggedy edge.

I have a lot of favourite things! Enough to keep me going on these lists for a while. Here are some random favourites.

FYI, I am Canadian, so YES this is the correct way to spell “Favourite”. If you disagree, the first entry is for you.

Favourite Quote: “The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off.” Gloria Steinem

Favourite Blog: This was the first blog I started reading regularly. Rachel Held Evans explores deep topics with enough humour to make it entertaining, and the eloquence to make you really think. I also love her book Evolving in Monkey Town and not just because I’m a sucker for a clever title (Rachel grew up in Dayton, Ohio – site of the famous Scopes Monkey trial). If you are intelligent, open-minded and appreciate dry wit, you will love this blog.

Favourite waste of time on YouTube: “Because two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven.” Thanks to my pastor for sharing this classic with us. Not in church, mind you; that’s what staff parties are for.

Warning – do not call your children to gather ’round to watch Business Time by Flight of the Conchords. It is for married people. I don’t mean that in the x-rated sense… exactly. Calm down mom. Never mind, you’ll see.

Favourite iPhone App: When my nephew was born a few months ago all the girls gathered round the iPhone to sing him Happy Birthday. With the LaDiDa app you simply sing a song and it will add a beat and accompaniment to your voice. Then you wow the masses (a.k.a. the grandparents) via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter. They call it reverse karaoke. We prefer “rhythm synth pop” style, but “tasty breaks rap” is cool too. Only $2.99, but worth the hours of fun my girls have had playing around with it, especially since we discovered it will also create a video of you singing.

Favourite movie about/for teenage boys: I have nothing against teenage girls. I was one. I plan to have 3 myself, buuut… the boys crack me up. It’s one of my favourite genres. In the grand tradition of Stand By Me and the Goonies, I thoroughly enjoyed stinky teenage boys punching and insulting each other while trying to save the world (and get the girl) in Super 8.

Favourite post-apocalyptic book series: This is definitely my favourite “read for fun” book genre these days. There is something fascinating about society remade.

About this time last year I started reading Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It is a dark and disturbing world where children are enlisted to fight to the death to both entertain and appease a corrupt ruling class. Not for the faint of heart, but very intriguing.

Also, an honorable mention to The Uglies by Scott Westerfield about a tightly controlled world where everyone is forced to undergo drastic plastic surgery at age 16.

So here’s me, wondering which post-apocalyptic world is more horrifying.

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