Thanksgiving Unbreak Two

     It's time for another Thanksgiving unbreak. Which means that the semester is almost over with. And that's good news. It also means that the semester is almost over with....so things are extra-busy with the final projects before finals. That's the other side of the coin.

     I spent all morning at my laptop furiously typing away on the keyboard; where I realized something: It IS possible to write two essays in less than five hours. Not recommended, but it is possible. And so then I rush off to the campus library to print them off before today's Shakespeare class....and there's a note on the door saying "Shakespeare is canceled today."
     ....Seriously?
     So I trooped back to my apartment and played Need For Speed for a while before getting started on some more homework and watching back-to-back episodes of Studio C. (Useful thing about having cable...it's also useful for Wednesday night hockey. And Thunder games.)

     I've had a bunch of SWAT quotes running through my head the last couple days, which has been kind of nice. And also a little sad, now that we've split up all stretched out across the state. I really miss the BCM at NSU. The Parks-like office hierarchy and antics, Bob and Deb's leadership, SWAT practices in the basement or worship practices upstairs before Impact meetings, the anything-can-happen vibe during the Velocity bible studies on Thursday nights, Thunder watch parties in the living room where we all suffocate pillows, the softest couches on campus, Friday Lunch Bunch meetings....it feels like a lot longer than three semesters ago that I left Tahlequah. Or maybe they've just been really long semesters. Anyway, Elizabeth and I got to chatting on Twitter tonight about the disastrous Sallisaw road trip, which happened two years ago on Saturday. I'm still a little mad about that, honestly. (Though it does make a wonderful story. Probably because it was such a complete failure.) 

     The first "Thanksgiving Unbreak" post was written two years ago, but I liked the title and thought I'd reuse it. I have to read John Steinbeck, of all people, over the break for American Lit. (I loath John Steinbeck slightly less than my hatred for Charles Dickens.) Maybe Of Mice and Men will be tolerable, though? I can hope....

     Done a lot of reading not-for-school this week, which is the best kind. Wilson Rawls's classic Where the Red Fern Grows was devoured on Sunday night, it was a good chance to study great writing. And besides, it was a pretty crappy day and I needed to cry. And it's a lock that oceans of tears will fall all through, especially the last thirty pages. Anyway, there was also a quite disappointing history of Sesame Street, which spent fully half the book detailing the preproduction arguments between government officials and education professors. And it gave way too much attention to the earliest examples of children's television programming. But when it actually focused on making the show, it was a good book. It's just that took about fifty pages out of about 350 total. Also read a history of America told through major foods that have been important through the years, Amy Poehler's well-written and very strange memoir, and an introductory textbook about the business of voice acting.
     Hoping to get some not-for-school fiction in soon, because while The Tempest is interesting(and I think played a big part in influencing The Little Mermaid, of all things), Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams are incredibly depressing. especially back-to-back. And that's not even counting the bizarre Alice in Wonderland-like novel written by some Japanese guy or some extremely frightening short stories set in a dystopia where megacorporations of GMO manufacturing rule everything. (I hate dystopian stories maybe more than Dickens. Also, I realized yesterday morning that I'm VERY JUDGMENTAL when it comes to literature. This is probably good for life, but not so great for classes.)

     Where was I? Complaining about how tired I am, maybe? But that's what happens when you must pull at least one all-nighter a week in order to keep up with coursework for several months in a row. Heard from Ashland the other day; encouraging each other through this last couple weeks of school. That was good.

     I caught one of those 24-hour viruses on Friday night, so that pretty much wrecked most of the weekend in terms of productivity, which led to the frantic cram session this morning. But I'm feeling better now. Went Christmas shopping yesterday morning, then watched Jeff Gordon's final race, where Kyle Busch won his first title. I've never been much of a Gordon fan, but it'll be even weirder watching a race without him racing than it is to see a football game without Brett Favre....but Bill Elliott's son Chase is the guy replacing him, so I'll have a new driver to root for next season.

     Now to finish the last peer critiques of the semester for tomorrow's Poetry Writing, email them to myself for printing in the morning, and I think I can get some sleep.

Down in Flames

      "Down in Flames" is the title of a Relient K song, but it really describes the world right now really, really well....and that....I don't know. It's discouraging, terrifying.

     This guy's tone drives me up the wall most of the time, though I agree with his main points, generally. (Kind of like those radio talk show guys that way.) Anyway, here's Matt Walsh's recap of the recent mayhem at the University of Missouri.

      Everyone is all in uproar about Starbucks changing the design of their Christmastime cups....plain red is probably slightly cheaper than putting snowmen and trees and all on there, too. It's ridiculous.

      And Friday Paris was attacked by terrorists for the second time this year.

      And that's basically what's been dominating the world news for the last couple weeks.

2015 CMA Awards

     A recapping of thoughts during the 2015 CMA Awards. Sort of like I did for Parks and Rec. 

     The opening Star Wars credit sequence was pretty funny.
     The joke about Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert breaking up in Brad and Carrie's opening monologue was cruel. Even if it was supposed to be about Kermit and Miss Piggy. (That new Muppet show is extremely depressing, btw.) Anyway, when they cut to Blake he looked like he wanted to cry, if he wasn't on national television in front of millions of people.
     John Mellencamp has a really awesome guitar. I want it. Not a huge fan of that Keith song, but it was a cool duet.
     Zac Brown was sighted NOT wearing a stocking cap. He actually has a head! (And it's bald.)
     Maddie & Tae are the only New Artist of the Year nominees I've heard of, and I don't recognize any of their songs. #DeclineofCountryMusic....
     See previous hashtag....that Little Big Town song "Girl Crush"(which won both Song of the Year and Single of the Year) is extremely creepy. Eric Church's "Talladega" should've won Single of the Year.
     Didn't know that Carrie could play guitar. That was cool. Also, I grabbed mine to pick along, which is a little difficult when you aren't super-familiar with the song being played. (I do like "Smoke Break", I think. Still too new to know for sure.) And Keith Urban was playing lead electric in the background, which was awesome. (I'd love to see Keith, Brad, Carrie and Miranda start a superband....maybe inviting Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne and Jon Bon Jovi for a couple songs, too.)
     Please explain how the musical atrocity that is Florida Georgia Line won Duo of the Year?
     Pretty sure I saw the guys from Rascal Flatts in the background playing for Eric Church.
     That Thomas Rhett guy is annoying, but he's the son of Rhett Akins(the three-hit wonder known for "That Ain't My Truck", he's written a bunch for other people). Those ponytails on the dancers were really high...that was odd.
     That dress-thing the blonde chick was wearing was strange-looking. Why would you want to dress up as a grafitti-ed brick wall? And then have a fluffy peacock-tail thing on the back?
     I wonder what Miranda was thinking during Blake's song....
     Brad Paisley wins Wesley's Best Performance of the Night for "Country Nation". Which is like the sixth year in a row (or something like that) he's won that unofficial award.
     Hmm. I think I like this "Girl in a Country Song" by Maddie & Tae. SOMEBODY needs to stand up for the girls of radio stories. Also, one of them is a left-handed guitarist, and the other plays mandolin. That gets extra points.
    Miranda's hanging in there. That was a pretty good performance for it being a show.
    WHAT ON EARTH is Kacey Musgraves wearing? She looks ridiculous. But she still has a really cool voice. (Note to self: Rewatch Skylar Laine American Idol clips on YouTube.)
     Little Big Town is good, but nowhere near Rascal Flatts or the Band Perry. (Better than the Zac Brown Band, though.)
     Yay! Miranda wins Female Vocalist of the Year! (I would've been happy if Carrie won, too.)
     Seeing Brooks & Dunn reunite for a bit, and then teaming up again with Reba McEntire, that was cool.
     This Chris Stapleton guy sure is winning a lot of awards. Who is he?
     Luke Bryan is okay, but winning Entertainer of the Year over GARTH BROOKS, or Kenny Chesney? Nope...

     Most of these awards I would say were given to the wrong people, but there's so many people involved behind the scenes working like crazy every day, so it's good to share the spotlight some, I guess.

Glad This Week Is Over

     Last Saturday in Stillwater, a lady crashed into the the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade. She killed four people and injured about fifty others, most of them pretty seriously. Nobody I know over there was hurt, but that's made for a really weird week. Things like that shouldn't happen. But they do. You just feel so helpless. Tuesday Mom texted me that Grandpa's cancer was back, and it's bad. He has maybe six months. While not anywhere near the level of awfulness as those events, Monday I found out that graduation got pushed back another six months, and classes all this week did not go too well. I taught Lit Traditions this week; about a bizarre graphic novel called Daytripper, which is basically all about death. I didn't like it much, got basically zero help from the guy I was working with, and there was almost no discussion in class. I've gotten very little sleep at all this week.

     Finished watching Friday Night Lights yesterday; that was a good example of how to end a show; wrapping up most of the characters' stories in Dillon while leaving some vaguely unresolved, allowing viewers to figure out for themselves what happened. Watched Million Dollar Baby a couple weeks ago cause it has Clint Eastwood in it; he was great, but it was hard to watch sometimes.
     Reread Macbeth for next week's Shakespeare last night; which seemed appropriate, I guess, being Halloween. That's probably my favorite of his tragedies.
     Simmons pretty much broke the hearts of the entire audience on Tuesday's episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 

     Mom, Courtney and Caleb went to Jasper, Arkansas, for the annual GBC hike, which sounds like it would have been fun. Hopefully they had a good time. I think the BCM state volleyball tournament was this weekend. Didn't know any RiverHawks playing, and if RSU sent a team, they wouldn't take it seriously. And volleyball must be played very seriously. 
     It was NSU Homecoming; which was highlighted by a JOSH TURNER CONCERT AT THE NEW ARENA. Seriously, why didn't that happen while I was there?

     I've just been trying to pound out essay after essay and deal with a mountain of stuff to do in my cold apartment with zero energy or motivation to do anything productive.

     Songs of the Day to begin November were Tim McGraw's "Don't Take the Girl" and Carly Rae Jepsen's "I Really Like You", which is a bizarre juxtaposition. But Songs of the Day usually are strange that way...They were followed soon after by Taylor Swift's "Forever and Always".

     So now we can start counting down to Thanksgiving and Christmas, right?