Soundtrack Friday

Last night the husband and I went to our annual Vancouver Canucks vs MN Wild game. We've been going to one of these rivalry games a year for the last three years thanks to one of husband's co-workers (a shout out to Troy and the lovely Miss Elizabeth), and every time we go, my boys win. Very few people in the crowd of 18,000+ go wild when the Canucks score. There are some true blue Canucks fans in the arena who, like me, don a jersey and actually know the words to the Canadian national anthem and can shout out the names of the players at will. It's a great feeling to be one of a small number instead of one of a mob of thousands. The husband might not agree, and has threatened to not speak to me at games any more. We all know he's bluffing. *grin*

Today's Soundtrack Friday is for my boys. For playing well despite 4 key players on the injured list. For taking the disadvantage of being on the penalty side of a power play and turning it around to score. And for keeping the Wild at bay when you had so many of these power plays against you. We'll talk about the penalties at a later time, okay?

It used to be a tradition for Vancouver during home games to play Where The Streets Have No Name by U2 when the team entered the arena. I don't think they do this anymore. Have to mix it up, you know. But whenever I hear this song, I think of my team. My boys.

This one is for you, the amazing men of the Vancouver Canucks. Thanks for making a hometown girl proud last night!

Books Read in October

I have a few books on this list that were read at the tail end of September but because I left them at the cabin, I couldn't remember what they were. The closer I get to forty, the more notes I need to write for myself to keep me on track. *grin*

Defender and Hotshot by Catherine Mann -- The first two books of Catherine's Dark Ops series. Well written stories, but I do miss her early Wingmen Warrior series.

Black Hills by Nora Roberts -- I enjoyed the location of this story and the hero and heroine. The character development wasn't super strong, but the story was well rounded and entertaining. And at the end of the day, when I read fiction I want to be entertained.

Love You To Death by Shannon K. Butcher -- a creepy yet engaging romantic suspense focusing on a serial killer, two sisters and a cop who's lost his way. One of Shannon's best!

A Dark Love by Margaret Carroll -- another creepy yet engaging romantic suspense. The romance was a little difficult to believe, but the hero was a well written character. I would have liked to have known more about the villain but over all this was a solid first romantic suspense by the author.

My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent -- first of the Soul Screamers series, a young adult series about banshees and death and life, oh my. A solid book, entertaining for me and written in such a way I can see adults enjoying this as much as teens. Looking forward to the next in the series.

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon -- the long awaited 7th book...

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley -- YA fantasy written in 1982 but has the ability to capture and pull me into the mythical world of Damar, filled with magic, kings, horses, swords and the discovery of one's self and purpose. I reread this for book club and I adore it now as much as I did back in 1982. It is epic in its simplicity and the themes, while subtle, speak to adults and youth alike. I almost can't wait for my annual reread next year. :)

Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning -- book 4 of her 5 part Fever urban fantasy series. A tantalizing addition to an already spellbinding story and while we learm more about the key characters in this alternate Dublin, we are left with more questions. I have to say, while I'm enjoying the series this puts a lot of pressure on the final book to tie up loose ends to and answer all the little questions that have been asked along the way. I sincerly hope KMM is up to the challenge!

A Doom With A View by Victoria Laurie -- Psychics, murder and mayhem, oh my! This book is part of a mystery series by a well known psychic. I didn't know that when I picked it up and I found the book to be well written as far as the mystery went and a little distracting with the psychic portion of the show. I recommend the series to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries but won't likely be reading any more in the series myself. There just wasn't enough internal conflict for the main character for me.

Covet by J. R. Ward -- The beginning of her new Fallen Angels series...

Soundtrack Friday

I wanted to come up with something unique for Halloween. Nothing was coming to mind. So I did a quick web search on Halloween songs and nearly busted a gut when the following song was mentioned. I had completed forgotten about it! Of course, being a child of the 80s, admitting I forgot about it may mean I have to turn in my cool kid card at the door. Eh, I'm okay with that.

It's 1988 and the slasher movie craze has taken over movie theaters ever where. Freddy and Jason haunt the teen scene. I think it was because guys knew if they could get a girl to a slasher movie, there would be much holding and consoling during and perhaps after the movie. That and youth has this fascination with the mortality/immortality dichotomy. On the music scene we had boy bands and rap as the big things. Why, I don't know. Trust me, it just was.

A talented group of young rappers with a tongue in cheekiness that got them noticed more than their talent decided to capitalize on the slasher film phenomenon and created the following rap based on a fictional encounter with the bane of Elm Street, also known as Freddy. Now, I couldn't find a video by the aforementioned rappers, but I did find several tribute videos. This one seems to be the best, though instead of the Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff, we have scenes from Nightmare movies. Eh, it's halloween. What do you expect?

I give you DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince with their way back in the day 1988 rap Nightmare on My Street. Have a fun filled Halloween.

And here is a fan video of the same song. Hilarious!

Soundtrack Friday

I am having the worst time finding a song for today. That shocked me. Usually it's easy to find a song to fit the mood, the story or the weather. Today I have nothing. This means I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm grabbing a random song off my iPod for your listening/viewing enjoyment.

Black Velvet by Canadian Artist Alannah Myles was a huge hit in the late 80s/early 90s. I remember rocking out to this song in college. I actually won a lip syncing contest with this song. Yeah, it was so easy to pretend to be cool when this song was on the radio. Fast forward to 2002 and I'm now married (for many years) and moved into a new home. To celebrate I go to a local store and buy a new portable stereo system, some candles and some food to go with the welcome basket our realtor gave us. As I was perusing the CD selection I found a copy of Alannah's debut CD, something I had never hoped to find here in the States, so I bought it, brought it home and hubby and I celebrated moving into our new home with dinner, candle light and Black Velvet on the stereo.

For your listening pleasure, and hopefully for some of you a trip down memory lane, I bring you the incomparable Alannah Myles and her international success Black Velvet!

Velvet lyrics

Alannah Myles - Black Velvet Video - Velvet Music Videos

Music Videos by VideoCure

Be Inspired

I love zenhabits.net. I think I love it because it promotes simplicity and lately I've been attempting to simplify many things in my life. There's a practical element to the Zen Habits blog that urges me forward to take steps to reach that rarefied state of simplicity. Which brings me to today's entry.

Today, Leo Babauta, the owner of the Zen Habits blog, has a great post on inspiration and a simple way to produce inspiration. I'm reposting the article here. And lest you think I'm infringing copyright - something I really try to stay away from - Leo believes in something called "Open Source Blogging" and you can read all about that here.

Read the post. And practice Breath of God Inspiration yourself. Then tell me how it went. I plan to go through the three steps myself later today and will post my experience.

Post written by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net

The word “inspiration” to some literally means “the breath of God”.

Whether you’re religious or not, the idea of God or a god or a muse breathing inspiration into the depth of our beings is a beautiful one. Even if the world is naught but a natural miracle, this idea can lift you up, and give you the spark of life to *do* something great.

That’s inspiration at its absolute best: not just when it lifts us up, makes us feel good or enthusiastic or excited, but when it *moves* us, when we become so moved that we create something of truth or beauty.

It’s an elusive thing, this pure inspiration, something people of all types of creativity seek on a daily basis. Here’s one method — a simple method I hope will help you in that everyday search.

It’s three simple steps:

1. Find something divinely touched.
2. Breathe in that divine inspiration.
3. Do. Create. Inspire.

Let’s look at each step in turn.

Step 1. Find something divinely touched.
For this step, I use a loose definition of “divine” … you don’t have to be religious to find divinity in something. When Mozart wrote a symphony, or Jobs created the Macbook Air, or a stranger smiles at you, there is divinity in that. There’s divinity in a sunset, in every living thing (why I’m a vegan), in a cool breeze on a humid day.

You just need to recognize the inspiration, in whatever form it comes.

Here are my greatest sources of inspiration:

* People doing great things.
* Things of great beauty.
* Nature.
* Music.
* The written word: books, magazines, blogs.
* People in your life.
* Love, in any form.
* Yourself, doing anything good, no matter how tiny.

Step 2. Breathe in that divine inspiration.
Take a slow, deep breath. As the air comes into your mouth or nostrils, through your throat, and fills your lungs, it is bringing divine inspiration into your body.

Repeat. Each inhalation brings with it more inspiration, and each exhalation releases tension.

Step 3. Do. Create. Inspire.
You are now filled with the Breath of God. Take this inspiration and use it, be moved, and do something. Don’t just sit there feeling good. Channel that inspiration into creating something amazing.

Put that something out into the world, and in turn, you will inspire others.

“I am convinced that there are universal currents of Divine Thought vibrating the ether everywhere and that any who can feel these vibrations is inspired.” -Richard Wagner

The above information on the Breath of God Inspiration was brought to you by Leo Babauta and his blog zenhabits.net

I have no idea what the other traits in the quiz are, but I'll take this. *grin*

Your Best Trait is Creativity

You may seem like you're a bit flaky or flighty, but you're really just deep in thought. You are the artistic type, no doubt. However, you are also highly analytical and logical. You are able to solve problems in unique and interesting ways. Your ideas are unpredictable, but they always end up making sense. You are picky and sometimes downright critical. You expect the best of yourself, but others are not prepared for your exacting standards.

What's Your Best Trait?

Blogthings: We'll Tell You The Truth... Someone Has To!

Soundtrack Friday

I had a breakthrough with my story this last week in the form of a dream. In that dream, I was walking down a country road, alone. There were shadows around me. Some were leering at me. Others were softly brushing up against me. Some made me feel safe. Others made me want to run.

And while I was walking down this road during the dusk of day, a song was playing over and over again in the background. In my dream it didn't seem strange to have a music track floating over me as I walked and tried to ignore the shadows edging in on my personal space. In fact, when I woke up the song was the first thing I remembered and I hummed it all morning until the dream came crashing back at me with such clarity I had to pause and write it all down - every color, sound, smell, nuance.

This doesn't happen to me very often so when it does I have to take notice. I asked myself why I had this dream and what it all means. Mallory came to mind. So I reflected a little more and it wasn't me walking down that lonely country road, it was the heroine of my story. Then the shadows started to make sense. And the song, it just fit. Completely embodying Mallory as she starts the story.

So, in honor of my writing breakthrough, I give you a group I hardly listen to with a song that has become a haunting refrain to Mallory's story - Green Day and their hit Boulevard of Broken Dreams.