Music Monday Part Deux!

Love Kate York. Love this album. Love it all.

MUSIC MONDAY!!!!

Good morning all! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Mine was filled with The Godfather, weddings, and lots of laziness [which turned out to be much needed!].

There has been an ever so slight hint of fall in the air over the weekend which is making me crave "fall" music. My favorite fall was probably the one when I worked in Nashville and lived in Franklin [almost to Leipers Fork]. The commute was a hassle on a daily basis but in the fall, it was absolute heaven. I was able to listen to albums front to back while driving down roads that had the most beautiful foliage and sometimes even pumpkin patches! Good stuff, good times. I'm ready for hay rides, corn mazes, and scarves. Who's with me??

MUSIC MONDAY!!!!

Good morning [afternoon?] all! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. I made a quick trip to Louisville with some friends to visit our besties that moved up there recently for Med School. Our weekend was filled with lots of eating, drinking, porch sitting, and napping. It was pretty much perfect.

Tyler [shout out!] was our DJ for a large majority of the weekend and introduced me to an awesome album that I hadn't heard before called Rave on Buddy Holly. It's a covers record with artists from Fiona Apple to CeeLo Green covering Buddy Holly songs. Very cool stuff. Check it out below and enjoy the rest of your Monday!

Ever Seen A Whale Dance?

Now you have!



Don't mind the poop, she just got excited!

Obsession of the Day

Since this blog is pretty music-centric most of the time, I usually try to make my Obsession of the Day something non music related, but today I just HAD to share what I've been listening to today. My dear sweet friend Lenore [shout out!] introduced me to this fella this past weekend, and I just can't quit him. Check out his most recent album below and purchase, purchase, purchase! Or download a free sampler from NoiseTrade!

Free For All

With all of this recent talk about the Debt Ceiling, there have been other big issues that have gotten slightly, if not completely, ignored. Now, I'm not politician and I'm not one to pontificate on things that I know little about [or things that bore you guys for that matter], but this particular issue is one that I think is exciting and also important.

Starting in August of 2012, health insurance plans must cover birth control with no copays, among other reproductive health care services, as preventative care for women. This is nothing short of AMAZING! My birth control is currently $35 a month and a friend of mines is as high as $80 [that is not a typo- EIGHTY DOLLARS for Birth Control]. I'm not going to lie to you guys- this little blogger tends to be broke as a joke most of the time. I could seriously use an extra $35 a month, but I am fortunate to have a job that covers my bills [if not all of the fun I would like to have]. If it's a struggle for me to cover my BC, can you imagine what it must be like for women who are in lower tax brackets, possibly with families to feed and clothe? Um, I can and I'm guessing that they can't afford it at all which perpetuates the cycle of unwanted pregnancies.

Did you know that exactly 50% of pregnancies in the United States are unwanted? Fifty Percent! That number is astronomical. According to one study, eliminating unwanted pregnancies would save taxpayers an estimated $6 billion dollars a year! With our nation in serious debt and talk of making cuts in every area, including vital areas like education and defense, saving $6 billion from unwanted pregnancies seems to me like a great place to start!

Unsurprisingly, this bill is not without opposition. There are many who believe that birth control is a form of abortion, and some extremist that believe it could eventually make our society as we know it a "dying civilization"! Now, there are many religious sects that do believe that birth control prevents Gods will for someone to have a child. I personally happen to believe that nothing and no one can stand in the way of Gods will for a persons life, not even a little ole pill or a rubber sack. But, I digress. Let's assume they are right. This bill does not require women of a sexually active age to be on birth control, it merely provides it for those who want it. It should be noted that the bill has a provision for religious companies that offers them the choice of whether or not they want to cover contraception services. Win/ win, right?

Wrong. Evidently, that is still not good enough. Extreme right wingers want the bill stomped because it will also cover "the morning after pill" which some consider a form of abortion. Has anyone else seen the Plan B commercial where they clearly state that "Plan B is not the abortion pill. It isn't effective if you are already pregnant, and will not terminate an existing pregnancy". My understanding of the morning after pill is that it will only alter a normal menstrual cycle or inhibit ovulation, thereby inhibiting a pregnancy [but feel free to jump in here if you have a better understanding of it!]. In my book, that isn't an abortion at all!

But, lets say it is. Would we rather have a "morning after" abortion or a partial-birth abortion? I'm going to vote the "morning after" type every single time. At some point you have to pick your battles and choose the lesser of two evils. If the goal is fewer abortions [and I think that is everyone's goal, no matter what your stance on the legality of abortions is], then isn't free preventative care the best way to achieve that?? Again, I'm not politician so I'm certainly looking at this from a surface level, but to me, if preventative care equals fewer unwanted pregnancies then that must equal fewer abortions, fewer people on welfare, and a savings of taxpayer dollars all across the board. Again- it's a win/win, no?

I will now step off of my soapbox and lay this issue to rest, but I'd love to hear comments from you guys, whether you agree or disagree. I think with issues like this, its good to get opinions and information from both sides, but I'm having a hard time seeing how this bill is not a good idea. Oh, by the way, the bill also covers breast pumps for nursing mothers, screening for the virus that causes cervical cancer, HIV, and gestational diabetes, as well as counseling for domestic violence. At the risk of sounding like a broken record- WIN/WIN!

MOVIE REVIEW

A few weeks ago a friend and I [Mal shout out!] went to check out the new Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis movie Horrible Bosses. I was absolutely DYING to see this movie because I simply adore all three of these actors and loved the comedy chemistry between Sudeikis and Day in Going the Distance [which, if you haven't seen, I highly recommend]. However, I was a little concerned that this might be one of those films where all of the best clips are shown in the trailer and you are left wanting more when the movie was finished. Well.....

...that was only partially right. The movie started VERY slow and showed many of the familiar jokes from the trailer. I was properly setting myself up for a severe disappointment, but as it turned out the movie picked up, comedy ensued, and I cannot even count the number of times that I laughed out loud. Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell are absolutely hilarious as the horrible bosses, and the two Jasons and Charlie play rightfully disgruntled employees who decide that the best way to get their bosses out of their lives is to "off" them. Being middle class white guys from the suburbs, they have no idea how to do this themselves, so they find a "murder coach" played by Jamie Foxx.

My verdict is: Go See It This Weekend! It's definitely worth seeing in theaters where you have a bunch of other people to giggle with.

What I'm Listening To Now

After posting yesterday about my newfound love for the Tedeschi Trucks Band, I realized how much Susan Tedeschi sounds like Bonnie Raitt and I just had to have a fix. In my opinion, Bonnie Raitt is severely underrated by my generation. She is the original white soul sister and certainly paved the way for artists like Patty Griffin and Gillian Welch. I just love her to pieces. I did not include it here, but tonight feel free to listen to "Dimming of the Day" and cry yourself to sleep.

MUSIC MONDAY!!!!

Good morning all! Sorry I was a little slow on the uptake this morning, but I am still recovering from the Ke$ha show last night. Oy vey!

Recently, a co-worker was listening to some sweet jams and I was like "Hey Co-worker! What are those sweet jams??" and she said "It's the Tedeschi Trucks Band, duh!". I thought, "I really like the sound of that. I should purchase!". But then, as I tend to do, I forgot.

Then Saturday when I was riding in a friends car, they were listening to some sweet jams and I was like "Hey Friend! What are those sweet jams??" and he was like "It's the Tedeschi Trucks Band, duh!". I thought, "Ok, I REALLY have to buy this cd now." and, luckily, this time I remembered.

Check them out below and, if you don't forget, purchase the album! It's really, really great.

Throwback Thursday

Yeah.....You're welcome.