So, I’ve been pretty disturbed by the attempted “spoiling” of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I am an avid fan, and part of the fun is waiting for the release date, and getting your book along with millions of other fans, binge reading, then sobbing yourself to sleep after reading the end.

It is hard for me to believe that people would actually feel proud of themselves for ruining the ending for those of us who want to be surprised. There is a sadness that accompanies this realization for me. A sadness that while people can be so good, they can also be so dicky. I can honestly say that I don’t believe I’ve ever purposely set out to ruin someone else’s day… Have you?

But the lovely Jo Rowling posted on her site today that she hopes we’ll forgive them, and protect our friends; that we’ll try our best to hold off on our anger, because soon we’ll all be reading the ending ourselves, and no amount of negativity on the part of others will truly rob us of the joy that is sure to follow the ending of such a magical series.

I assure you, I will be writing more as soon as I’ve finished the book this weekend.

testing spoiler text color, highlight to read: this will be spoilers

One of my favorite blogs belongs to the clever, charming, (and likely to be found in an imaginary veggie patch): Sarah Lane. She had a post recently that intrigued me. A simple, yet potentially dangerous, game… Put your ipod on shuffle, and tell us about the first 10 songs that come up.

No cheating.

There are a many embarassing tunes in my ipizzy, but I assure you, I will stand proudly beside whichever comes up in the draw.
Here we go…

1. Lowen & Navarro-The Best of Me Interesting start… Lowen & Navarro (he’s the cousin of Dave) are a folk duo, who write exceptional melodies, and often sound best when accompanied by only their singing guitars. They are the perfect companion to a lazy sunday drive, or a casual walk. This song is actually one of theirs that I really don’t listen to much, so while I am thrilled that LowNav made this list, I am a little disappointed that I really don’t have much to say about this particular song.

2. Sugababes- Round Round Haha!! Okay, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Sugababes, but they are some of the cheekiest, girl power, late 90′s brit pop in existence. This one resides exclusively on my workout playlist.

3. Vertical Horizon-Shackled This is another unfortunate coincidence. I love, love, love VH, this just happens to be, like, the one song on this record that I had little to no interest in. This record had a few hits, but was absolutely one of the soundtracks to Sophomore summer. There were many laughs, tears, and dances had to the songs on this record… just not this one. Boo.

4. Default-Deny Awww, my babe. Hubby and I looooove singing the chorus harmony in this song together. Its one of those harmonies that just sinks into place, and you can actually feel the vibrations. Now, more on the song, I think the Default singer guy is a BADASS. I mean, what a great rock voice!? He is one of those who is blessed with the angsty chords that so many singers try to recreate. I have a feeling that when he calls pizza hut, the delivery dude thinks he just got a verbal beat down… even though he just said, “extra cheese”.

5. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists-Me and Mia YAY! I love this song! And I love Ted Leo. This is one of those bouncy, well written songs that makes me instantly happy, but isn’t saccharine. It is a perfect balance of indy rock, and approachable melodies that is so desirable. I’m guilty of singing this one at the TOP of my lungs, even though there are spans of lyrics that I don’t know. “Do you believe in something beautiful? DooooDooooDummmDaaahDeeeeeeeeee!!!” I may sound a fool, but damnit, I’m feelin’ that shit!!

6. Bob Toney-Another Meeting Place Damnit. This is a recording by my beaufitul grandpa, who died December of 2002. He and most of the men on my father’s side have been singing for generations. The opening of this song always makes me tearful, “When we have to say goodbye to a loved one, and it seems we’ll never see them again, I’m so glad there is another meeting place.”

*must pause for kleenex and decompression*

7. Sliver-Nirvana Grandma take me home, Grandma take me home, Grandma take me home, Grandma take me home… come on… This is one of theirs that made Kurt so endearing to me. He was so young, And his music appealed to the pissed off 14 year old in all of us. Kinda makes me laugh though. Ridiculous lyrics… lol.

8. Blessid Union of Souls-Real Good Friends I clung to this album like a wooby, during some tumultuous times in Senior year. I said goodbye to several things in my life around this time… some that I was more than ready to shed myself of, and others that I was a bit more sad to see go. This is one of those bands that has always had songs that I can only call “relevant”. They apply to my life. Often. Thats actually really cool.

9.Taylor Mali-Seventh Grade Viking Warrior Taylor Mali is a slam poet. If you’ve never heard any of his poems, I implore you. His words, voice, presentation, and passion absolutely drip from my speakers. His perspective on life, youth, and education (he’s a former teacher)… He blows my mind.

Seriously, broaden your mind, and listen to just ONE of his poems. He’s amazing…Here

10.Alanis Morissette-That I Would Be Good She really is one of those chanteuses that grabs my heart when she performs. Sure, she sounds weird sometimes. Makes strange pronunciations and emphasis, but you can tell that her entire soul is being poured out. I really like that. I don’t like it when I can tell that a singer is faking it. And I can tell. I think its great that she doesn’t really care how she is perceived. I wish I had a bit more of that.

Well, that wasn’t too bad… There are plenty of skeletons left in my musical closet. Perhaps I’ll have to play again sometime in hopes of really embarrassing myself!

My recent acquisition of a Canon 400d (Rebel xti) has given me delusions of grandeur.

Here are some new photos of Daron Macke

The rest can be found in this flickr set: Daron Macke Photo Set

As a teacher, I am thoroughly enjoying having my summer off. It is quite enjoyable having the free time to do things like set up a new website, nap with my cat, or occasionally venture out to get the mail. But one of the greatest things I’ve learned over this break is how much enjoyment can be had by watching positively stupid TV show reruns, or movies that are a minimum of 5 years old.

An example: each morning, after I do my half hour of Namaste Yoga, I rest and stretch while watching a heart-wrenching, emotionally charged, dialogue drenched episode of Dawson’s Creek. The simple fact is, all that crappy media is simply better the second time. 

I have had great success with the TBS morning movie as well… though there was a week when they decided to play every freaking Bette Midler movie ever made. (Alright, I did watch Big Business, but who can hold that against me?)

That being said, I’ve already calculated that I’ll only be mid season 3 of Dawson’s Creek by the time school starts again.

I’ve already programmed my DVR.