2ndclepunkbuddha

This documentary has been much anticipated in the last few months.  Montage of Heck is a documentary about the life of Kurt Cobain, front man of Nirvana, leader of the Grunge Era of the 90s, who had hoped to sell and gain as much as Sonic Youth and ended up being the last great rock band to close out the twentieth century.  Last year was the twentieth anniversary since his death (see a previous blog on reflections for this), and it was with a rather heavy heart that I watched this documentary.  I was one of those Nirvana fans, as many know.  I think the timing was right, I was the right age who came into my own right when they rose to fame and the climate shifted over into the supernova of hipsters that was the beginning of the 90s.  Of course, I had much to learn, much taste to acquire and more experiences in life to have, but I didn't know it at the time.  But I digress... Here is my reaction to the film because I wanted to state my reaction. We start o...

Those who follow my Facebook posts and read with regularity know that every once in a while I will have made a reference to my neighbors in the apartment building in which I live.  Honestly, in the many years that I have now lived her, there is little to complain about living in this building.  It is populated by mostly older people (as in those who are well past their retirement age), most if not all are mindful and silent, and have made living here, for the most part, pleasant.  There are few if any younger people here, and I'm happy to know that there are a few older women who live here who I consider to be my friend.  And that's a good thing, which one cannot imagine doing in this day and age to have an actual friend outside of an academic setting where one is free to do and say and feel freely rather than the nonsense that has become the world that we live in now.  But that's another blog of course...  If you have never had a terrible neighbor to deal ...

I got a letter in the mailbox today asking for a donation to my high school's annual fund.  I have supported these things in the past, it helped shape who I am today like it or not.  The summer before last, I decided to go to my 20th high school reunion.  I asked myself why I did this, to this day I am still asking myself why I did it.  One often times ends up wearing their yoga pants and wearing "This is what Awesome looks like" T shirt down to the mailbox and nearly choking on that bag of cookies you are eating when they open a letter like this.  You then break out the yearbook and wonder what happened to the one voted Most Likely to Succeed, and realize you did not live up to that and would be voted Most Likely to Wear PJ Pants During a Late Night Trip to Wal-Mart.  This letter today asked me, the alumnae they are asking a donation from, to reminisce about their favorite memory from high school.  Here are some of the questions they asked: 1)  ...

One would have to argue that I have had some rather hilarious experiences in life.  Much of it comes from a love of travel, a tendency to risk take, be slightly blinded by enthusiasm until it hits me in the forehead, and want and need to collect freaky, eccentric, and anywhere from slightly to extremely unstable people.  The other week was just such an adventure; and, oddly enough, involved a-ha.  As many of you know (or have just learned like the majority of people in the US), a-ha broke up in 2010 after a twenty five year history together in fits and starts.  Quite by accident, I discovered that they never had another hit in the US after their super single "Take on Me", did some internet searches, met some people, etc.  When they announced their break up, we, the US a-ha fan clique, was disappointed and saddened.  One thing that we loved to do as a group was to have a weekend together.  In the host city, we would arrange a tourist acti...

I saw a newsfeed through YouTube the other day saying that they are encouraging a project among the kids.  You are to make a video of yourself and post it on said website for the world to see of what advice you would give your younger self.  Although I am not so young anymore and clearly past the demographic that they are aiming for, I did think on this.  It's a good thing to be able to have others see, have others see what you can and have done with yourself, and how you reflect upon your experiences.  I do this quite a bit to begin with, and some do not.  So I take on this project in the form of a blog rather than a video, because I didn't want to put on my Sunday best nor be bothered with hair and makeup adjustments at this hour.  For all of those out there who may be reading this whose paths have not crossed with mine, this may be of some value to you.  So with the assumption that I am speaking to my high school aged self, here is some advice and p...

(I took a trip to Graceland in February 2005 with my old boyfriend.  That was a long time ago now but as I had just reread some passages from Priscilla Presley's memoir Elvis And Me and thought I would share some thoughts on it.  Plus this was before I had put my blog onto this forum.) She stood before me at the front desk while checking and unzipped the garment bag she was carrying.  Inside was a big, poofy white wedding dress bedecked and spilling out sequins and sparkly things on the carpet.  I asked what this was about, she had traveled from Ireland and was getting married tomorrow at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in the Woods, adjacent to the Graceland house across the street.  I was in Memphis, Tennessee at the world famous Heartbreak Hotel and had come to take a long anticipated trip as all rock and roll fans aspire to take one day, I had come to see Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley.  Exactly why I was here, I was not sure.  In the b...

Today I took a standardized test.  This is my inner old lady coming out, but I seem to remember in my day that standardized tests were not as corporately controlled nor was it such a process and check in security as they were in my day.  The last time I took a standardized test, I was still in high school taking the SAT.  On that day twenty plus years ago, I was shuffled into a large lecture hall at a local public high school with about seventy five to a hundred high school juniors and seniors (none of which I knew) who remained in relative silence.  You could see the range of emotions in the eyes of them, which varied from anxiety to apathy, as we were designated to our seats.  I listened to the instructions of the monitoring person, then began in the language arts area and leading into the math section.  On occasion the monitoring individuals would pause at the end of the rows, of which I was on the end of, silently checking up on the test takers.  I...