Senate Bill 5

Quick facts you need to know:
-Senate Bill 5 is a bill that threatens to tighten rules with in as well as close nearly every abortion clinic in the entire state of Texas
-Texas senators do not know the difference between 12:02 AM and 11:59 pm
-On June 25 at a special session, Senator Wendy Davis stood up to filibuster for 13 hours straight.  No water, no food, no bathroom, no going off topic, no sitting or leaning on anything, three strikes and you're out.

So, at 11:20 am, Senator Wendy Davis stood up and started talking. She read citizen's testimonies, slowly gathering more and more support.  At first, it was just all 500 people in the gallery, but quickly spread to be people in and out of the building - over 2,000 people.  Over 200,000 people watched it streaming on Texas Tribune and President Obama tweeted the #standwithwendy hashtag that was quickly spreading across the country.

Her first strike came, telling her she had strayed off topic.  The second came because a fellow senator had assisted her in adjusting her back brace while she was given questions.  And no, I'm not kidding.  At this point, tension started to appear in the spectators - how much were we really about the health of people all across Texas, and how much of it was some kind of twisted power struggle between the conservative and liberal senators.  The feeling was not helped much by the fact that what felt like every five minutes her speaking was being questioned as to whether or not it was 'decorum' or 'germane'.  After this, Davis stopped accepting questions, knowing that she was on her third strike and that the easiest way to make it through the next few hours was to go back to simply reading citizen's testimonies.  Also around this time is when the crowds inside and outside the building began quickly growing, shouts and chanting in support of Davis echoing through the marble hallways.



But, alas, the third strike inevitably came.  At 9:30 pm, Senator Donna Campbell called to question Davis' discussion of the effects that SB-5 would have on low income women and how the restrictions in place would harm them. Obviously it was not 'germane' (oh, the dreaded word) to discuss the current abortion law.  Yeah, I don't really see that either, and thankfully neither did those crowded in the gallery as the crowds inside and out grew to an enormous roar of boos, jeers, and shaming. And so the night continued in a flurry of screaming crowds, continually being told to hush, roaring louder in response, being hushed again, roaring again, until at finally 12 o'clock came closer and closer, and the crowd was at the peak of its madness, so loud that nothing could be heard in the gallery.  But because the senators were happy to take any loophole they were given, they took a quick vote and at 12:02 it was announced that the bill had passed.

Wait, what?

That's right.  Even after 13 hours of speaking, protesting, and argument, they had taken the tiniest shred of dignity they had left and, in an attempt to save it, ripped it to shreds.  After midnight, they had taken the vote.  And as soon as they realized this they changed the time online and edited it to say 11:59.  The crowds outside slowly became aware of the bill's passing and again began the boos, jeers, and shaming. But slowly, the views of those watching online, the number of people in and outside the gallery, the talk on twitter slowly dwindled.

Finally, at 2:20, Senator Juan Hinojosa had posed for a picture indicating that the billing had taken place at 12:02 am.  It was official: SB 5 had failed.  It was announced online, where very few people were still up to read it.



This description of events above was gathered almost entirely from sources on the internet after the event.  The experience of being there was very, very different from this rigid, fact-based story that was just recounted.  The view from the balcony down onto the roaring crowd of orange was one of heat and confusion.  The crowd was always completely peaceful (even though they were called terrorists) but yet there was always a sense of confusion - were we really supposed to be cheering?  What was happening in the gallery?  We're chanting to support Davis, but can she really hear us in the gallery?  As midnight grew closer and closer, the cheering became louder and louder and the chants more persistent.  Chants of "our bodies are ours, our right to decide!", "whose team? Wendy's team!" before finally, at midnight, when they thought they had won and the cheers were deafening, "whose house? Our house!" and "who won? We won!"

But then nobody was coming out of the gallery and there began to be a sense of tension again.  People began checking their phones - maybe news sites had something to report that they did not know yet.  So slowly the crowd became aware that the bill had supposedly passed.  Some of the crowd chanted happily about their winning while some of the crowd sat angrily, checking their phones and waiting for the senators to come out until finally near everyone had become aware that something had happened.  So finally one of the senators came out.  And then another.  And then another. And then another, all saying the same thing: "you fought and we listened, we're going to fix this problem with the bill, we're going to make our citizens happy".  Most people (including myself) left a few times after hearing this speech, so that very few people were there at 2:20 when they were finally told what had happened.  Most found out from news articles the following morning.

But, amazingly enough, the fight still is not over.  Because even after all of that, Governer Rick Perry decided to call another special session.  To vote again on the bill that 80% of the state is opposed to.  To vote again on something that one brave woman stood up and argued against for 13 hours straight, that thousands of people crowded together to protest.  But just as amazingly, Wendy Davis is not finished, saying: "If leaders are serious about using this second called special session to improve the lives of Texans by repairing and expanding our transportation networks, they will find no greater ally than me. If they intend to keep pushing their extreme personal political agenda ahead of the interests of Texas families, I will not back off of my duty to fight on their behalf".

So please, if you're reading this, I beg you to please share your support to Wendy Davis.  You don't have to even go down to the capitol - though if you live in Austin, it would be amazing if you would.  You don't have to donate any money.  Anything as simple as wearing something orange or to tweet or share something to her.  This doesn't just apply to you, Texans!  Anybody across the country can do this.  Show your support to her no matter where you live.

Oh, and by the way, nobody has been charged with committing any felonies after changing the time of the billing.

~Simone 

Fantastic posts about the event you should check out:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/what-happens-when-you-defund-planned-parenthood
http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/news/2013-06-26/a-victory-by-the-people/
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjkiebus/is-wendy-davis-really-the-lebron-james-of-filibustering

Austin, And Why We Love You

     I never really comprehended it before, but Austin is freaking awesome. It's filled with so many different people (just sit at whole foods and you know what I mean), things (umm. did you see the painted cows?), and ideas (protests, rallies, demonstrations galore!). But one of my favorite parts of Austin, downtown especially, is the art. I'm not going to go into detail about why I love each individual piece because that'd take days to write and would involve a lot of skimming on your part, so here are just a couple of my favorites. I'll spare you.

Not Forgotten - A tribute to someone too young to die.

The famous "Hi how are you" frog

A particularly insane cow

My favorite cow (disco ball anyone)

A PIANO!

     Okay, I lied. I'm gonna talk about the pianos. The pianos are(were) my favorite; unfortunately, they were only temporary things. So, a little bit about them: About a year ago about twenty or so pianos were placed all around the downtown area for people to play and draw on. Being a pianist, I was sooo very very excited and perhaps spent more than my fair share of playing time squeezing out very questionable versions of various pieces I had by no means memorized. Seriously though? They were so much fun, and pieces of art in and of themselves as I'm sure you can tell from the colorful photo above.
     So yup. There you go. Just a couple reasons why I love Austin so very much.

~ Adair

Bruno Mars' "Treasure" Music Video

About a week ago, the video for Bruno Mars' new single, Treasure, came out.  It was my personal favorite on the album, so I was really excited when the song started playing on the radio.  It sounds like a Michael Jackson song, it's awesome to dance to and is ridiculously adorable.  Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the music video came out.  And it's perfection.

I don't know if there is anything I can say about this.  But between the red suits, the huge gold jewelry, the 70s look (hey, I've seen the Don't Stop Till You Get Enough video too, Bruno!) and the dancing (my god, the dancing), I am most definitely a fan and cannot wait to see him in concert later this summer.

Sunday Collab: Our Bucket List

Over the last few week of the school year, Adair, Maya and I all made a huge bucket list of what we wanted to do this summer.  So, without further ado, here it is!

THE OFFICIAL BUCKET LIST OF AWESOMENESS
1. Lemon juice hair
2. Koolaid hair
3. Make friendship bracelets
4. Find an official summer song
5. Paint each nail a different color
6. Get a tan!
7. Posters
8. Put a walkie-talkie in the mailbox and yell at passersby
9. Run through the sprinklers
10. Blog
11. Vlog
12. Learn 3 new words in ASL a day
13. Go to a thriftstore
14. Refashion everything from the thriftstore
15. Volunteer at an animal shelter
16. Have a whipped cream fight
17. Week without internet
18. Water balloon fight
19. Blow bubbles
20. Hang out at the lake
21. Make a secret handshake
22. Pool. Every day.
23. Read stupid magazines
24. Spend an entire week barefoot
25. Carve something into a tree
26. Movie marathon
27. Lemonade stand
28. Wash the car (by filling water balloons with soapy water!)
29. Outdoor movie
30. See a sunrise
31. Run
32. Find a TV show
33. Have a homealone dance party/concert
34. Paint rocks
35. Make ice cream
36. Catch fireflies
37. Sidewalk chalk
38. Read disgustingly summery books
39. Lie in a field for an hour
40. Fly a kite
41. Dance in the rain
42. Go 24 hours without sleep
43. Go star gazing
44. Have a pillow fight
45. Make a music video
46. Go to the dog park
47. Climb a tree
48. Play hide and seek in IKEA
49. Lay on a roof
50. Get all the way out of Texas
51. Hug 100 trees
52. Go cloud gazing
53. Fill an entire sketch book
54. Have a silly string fight
55. Leave a note for a stranger
56. Play Volleyball
57. Go tubing in San Marcos
58. Spa day
59. Finger paint
60. Coke + mentos
61. Try on fancy dresses
62. See a sunrise
63. See a sunset
64. Get a huge canvas to paint
65. Create a playlist 24 hrs long
67. Make smoothies
68. Pass the journal
69. Austin day
70. Learn to skateboard
71. Write a letter to your future self
72. Jump rope
73. Go to a baseball game
74. Set off fire works
75. Take a nap outside
76. Do a jigsaw puzzle
77. Make a scrapbook
78. Wear our hair in top knots
79. Wake up at 6:00 am for a week
80. Create an art book
81. Experiment with makeup
82. Hula-hoop
83. Get something from the ice cream truck
84. Tie dye something
85. Pull a prank
86. Do the blindfolded makeup challenge again
87. Paint a wall
88. Have an Emblem 3 new album party
89. Get matchy-matchy accessories
90. Learn to play guitar
91. Make screen print shirts
92. Build a blanket fort
93. Make a memory box
94. Yoga
95. Go to a fireworks show
96. Throw a bottle with a message into the ocean
97. Go to a festival
98.  Eat only fruits and vegetables for one week
99. Make pool gear bags
100. Play tennis
101. Play basketball
102. Have the best seven weeks of our entire lives

So far, we have only done about 15 of these, so I'm going to go work on that.  Seeya tomorrow!

~Simone

Crazy Cop

     Here's a slightly exaggerated story/news paper article Maya and I wrote after having gotten in trouble for walking around during school hours. 

Crazy Cop Arrests Suspect Teens

"All I wanted was a walk," Adair Anderson later passionately declares. "I was just improving my cardiovascular health," Maya sobs. 

     Early on the afternoon of May 16, 2012, two young girls were walking briskly in the shade of the reputable San Antonio neighborhood of Windcrest. Suddenly, disaster strikes. A delusional cop came blaring through quiet streets, sirens wailing, terrifying the two young girls out of their wits.

     Adair Anderson later reports, "I can't even feel safe around my own neighborhood anymore!"

     "Why aren't y'all in school?" the cop demanded roughly, a cigar hanging from his unshaven mouth. Maya recalls stepping forward nervously, glancing at her friend for support. "We - we're homeschooled," she said. He looked at her in disbelief, one caterpillar-like eyebrow raised over his piggy eyes, pausing to spit a large blog of tobacco stained saliva at the girls' feet. "That's right sir," she said. Aiming his shotgun at their heads, her replies, "Well, young ladies, there's a city ordinance that requires all children 5 - 16 be IN SCHOOL during SCHOOL HOURS!! And y'all doing look 16 to me har har har." The girls look at each other. "The state of Texas allows homeschoolers to - "Y'ALL SHUT UP NOW!" he says maniacally, an evil glint in his eye. "I don't wanna have tah use this baby," he says, patting his shot gun. "Don't look good on the police report. Now, I don't usually take people's word fer things, and y'all don't seem like homeschoolers to me." Maya replies quickly, "Sir, I'm wearing Birkenstocks and my hair is fuzzy. What more proof do you need?" He squints at them, then suddenly, in an outburst of anger, cries "YOU BACK-TALKING ME!? Y'ALL DON'T DO THAT, YA HEAR? GET ON IN!" He swings the door open and lurches over to them. After handcuffing them, he shoves them violently into the smoky interioiur of the car. Cigarette butts litter the floor and beer cans are strewn about. Suddenly Adair bursts out, "I want to see your badge, sir!" "DON'T MAKE ME GAG Y'ALL TOO!" he bellows, turning around to glare at them with his tiny piggy eyes under his rat-like eyebrows.
     He slowly settles into the seat, rolls of fat billowing around him. Then he puts his feet on the pedals, flips a switc, and the sirens wail as he peels off to 630 Golfcrest. He obeys the speed limit of 20 miles an hour, until he sees a squirrel on the road and speeds ahead to crush it into the asphalt.
     Finally, after a heart-wrenching ten minutes, the girls arrive at their house. The door swings open and they are both shoved face-first from onto the lawn by the hideous officer of the law.

Here is a quick clip from their interview:

"I will never feel safe again," - Adair

"Birkenstocks!! I was wearing Birkenstocks!!" - Maya 

To this day, the girls are both in intensive therapy.


~Adair

Thursday Review: Queens of the Stone Age: ...Like Clockwork

In my search for new music to talk about this week, I googled "top 10 rock albums of 2013".  I looked at many different lists and saw that one common up on many of them was Queens of the Stone Age's new album, ...Like Clockwork. I looked it up and saw that it had reached number 1 on the Billboard 200.  I decided to listen to it.

One word to describe it?  Blaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Ok, ok, fine.  One real word to describe it?  Average.

Now, I'm going to say this up front: I did not dislike it.  They're not a bad band - hey, if you've got David Grohl and members from ZZ Top involved sometimes, you're obviously pretty good.  It's not a bad album. It's not bad music.  There's nothing actually bad about it.  It's just painfully, superbly, amazingly average.

Let me start off with a little basis for those of you who haven't heard of or listened to them before.  Queens of the Stone Age are an alternative rock band from California, currently made up of Josh Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Feritita and Jon Theodore.  They've been together for almost 20 years now.

I went into listening to the album with relatively high hopes - after all the raving, I expected it to be a pretty good album.  I'd listened to a few of the older songs a while back and remembered not being blown away but thinking it was pretty good music and was curious what this album had to offer.

Listening to the first song, Keep Your Eyes Peeled, I was a bit disappointed.  The style of the music wasn't really to my tastes at all but I thought I could get over it if the music was good.  I listen to plenty of different genres.  The thing that bugged me out the song was just how generic it sounded - that on top of the repetitiveness.  The song never changed.  But I kept going, thinking maybe the music would pick up later.  But the songs really never changed - it was all mid-range, similar chord progressions, same generic blues rock sound. At My God is the Sun, the fifth song on the album, I started listening a little closer because it started off sounding a little different - less blues-y, a little more hard rock.  Unfortunately, it petered back out to sounding just like the rest of them.

The thing that bugged me most was lack of musicality.  I don't know if it was a style they were attempting, but the songs were very flat.  There wasn't much of a dynamic arc in their songs, or a clear musical structure.  In a few songs there was a clear high point, with heavier sound and a slightly different chord progression, but after that moment it was often dropped off and the song reverted back to exactly what the rest of it had sounded like.  The whole album also barely followed any structure.  It was just a long chain of similar songs with a very anticlimactic finale with their final song, ...Like Clockwork.

As I've said, I don't think it was a bad album at all.  I just definitely do not understand what all the raving was about.  It was a very generic album with very little musicality or personality.

"Street Art" In D.C.

     While I was in D.C. I happened upon some art in the street, and while it wasn't strictly "street art", I'm going to refer to it as such just make my life easier.
     The first piece of street art I saw was made up of five canvases, all of which were painted in the same abstract style, with a distinct block element. The main color was an orangey-red, although this was not true for each canvas individually. For instance, the middle canvas was more green than red; however, it still managed to tie into the rest of the piece, making it flow without blending together. All-in-all I liked this one, and while perhaps not something I would have painted, it fit in with the feel of the neighborhood.

Fire

     The next piece of art shared many things with the first. It was broken up into three, square canvases lined up vertically along the side of a building. However, instead of being red, the overall color of this piece was blue (thus the title, Azure). Another difference was that the blocky element of Fire, the first piece, was different from the much more subtle angularity of Azure. Azure still hinted at blocks, but they were definitely not as defined or pronounced, giving the piece a more peaceful, flowing image.

Azure

     After seeing these two pieces I walked (I was on my way to the metro station) under an overpass where the next piece of art was on the wall to my left. It was not on canvases like the last two, but had been placed directly on the concrete. Titled Radiance, it was part mural part painting, with the little bits of iridescent tile to catch the light. This piece was more lighthearted than the others and made use of many colors and textures, however, I think that it's placement could have been better. Being under an overpass limited the light and thus the sparkle, if it had been switched with either Fire or Azure, it would have been much more dazzling.

Radience

     The next piece wasn't really much a piece at all. It was simply colored-in concrete squares of the sidewalk under the mural. The different sections of the sidewalk had been painted randomly with bright colors brightening up an otherwise dull expanse of gum and bird poop spattered concrete.

Painted Sidewalk

      The only piece of "street art" that I really didn't like was the one right outside the entrance of the metro station. Titled Engage, it was very predictable, overly bright, not particularly colorful and looked faintly like a bunch red blood cells, olives, or something else equally gross. Also, it had the feel of something you might encounter in a hotel room or a low-end restaurant, just background noise with out any life of its own. Along with this, it was titled Engage, which sounds to me like something an overly emotional, yoga-doing, inner-peacey person might try to make me do. And finally, it was not the piece I would have chosen to be right at the entrance to the metro station, a very crowded area, where it would be the most observed out of all the pieces.

Engage

~ Adair

Random Post! (or: What Happens When We Are Bored)

Adair and I did this today when we were bored! These shoes used to be plain gray...but not any more.

What do ya think? 

~Simone

Two Books, Many Minds (or: what two seemingly unrelated fictional books can teach us about life)

Though at a first glance The Mysterious Benedict Society by Stewart and Divergent by Roth don't appear remotely similar, there is a lot of similarity hidden just beneath the surface.

The Mysterious Benedict Society is a fantastic book about four children, hand-selected from a series of very difficult tests, that come together in a secret mission, going undercover to infiltrate an institute in which there is a mysterious machine that is transmitting hidden messages to the world. Divergent is a dystopian novel describing the story of a teenage girl living in a world divided into 5 types of people, and the story of how she first decided to which she belonged and eventually, to discover maybe things aren't so clean cut.

Both books revolve around the idea of a society that can only function with many different types of minds and personality types. Divergent discusses a world that has everyone classified as one, and only one of the following groups: Candor, the honest, Dauntless, the brave, Abnegation, the selfless, Erudite, the intelligent, and Amity, the peaceful.  The Mysterious Benedict Society is a group that expresses four different types of minds and ways of thinking. In the way that the factions are divided into in Divergent by personality-related characteristics, the members of the Mysterious Benedict Society could be divided into intelligence-related groups.  Reynie is a very logical, systematic and observant learner, making him apt at puzzles and deductive reasoning.  Sticky is a very fast reader and is fantastic at memorizing, making him fantastic at test-taking and quick processing of material. Kate is not a book-learning type but is very smart in problem solving and is a survivalist, making her great at getting around very tricky situations and is also very physically fit.  Constance also is not much of a book-learning type but is very stubborn and clever, never failing to get herself what she wants and standing up for herself and others.

The story of The Mysterious Benedict Society tells exactly how these different kinds of minds are needed to work together to get a goal.  Divergent tells the story of how dividing different types of personalities can work at first but that, in the end, it requires a mix and working together between these people for a group to function, and that some people are mixes of the different groups.

So what has all this talking been leading up to?  Well, it all boils down to one point.  To what exactly these books have helped me realize.

There are many different kinds of intelligence and personality types required to have a fully functioning society, and there is no one type that is better than or dominant over the others.  It's impossible to have a test that every single person can take that will accurately display how smart someone is or how apt they are at a subject.  There is no such thing as a standardized test like the ones there are today that will truly tell how well everyone knows something, how smart someone is in comparison to everyone else, if all you do is fill in bubbles.

Our schools today are based almost entirely off of the Erudite, the Sticky-like intelligence type.  Today's standardized tests display only how much someone can absorb and spit back out on a page.  There are some Reynie-like intelligence factors - math tests do require deductive reasoning - but this still fits in the Erudite box, the book-based intelligence box.  There's no room for Kate's bravery, selflessness, and survivalism, Constance's cleverness and stubbornness, the Candor, the Abnegation, the Dauntless, the Amity.

I'm not saying that standardized tests aren't good for some kids.  Some people are great at memorization and prove that they have learned material by this type of work (though it does seem hard to believe that one could really remember all that they memorized long after the test).  What I am saying is that we need not just judge somebody's aptitude in school by those tests. If tests need be continued at all, creative projects and performance in coursework need to be focused on more, and there needs to be more freedom and flexibility for those of us who aren't bookish types. We need to allow more room to bring what we love into work and judge by that instead.  And most of all we need to allow for more freedom in the pace of learning between kids.  I'm saying we might want to think about grading tests the way the Mysterious Benedict Society's were graded - where some can earn credit with clever answers, even if they are incorrect, where there are hidden answers in the test one can discover if they crack a hidden puzzle, while still letting those who memorized the material be able to take the test in this way.

Yes, I know that sounds like quite a stretch.  I know something like this would be hard to pull off in our school systems today.  I know it would be hard on teachers, hard to rewrite a system like this.  I know it would take years to rebuild a more free system that has room for different types of intelligence.  I also know my whole argument is based off of two fictional books.  Two books that in 50 years will most likely not be remembered at all.  But I think that they do offer some real content and commentary that one might want to pay some attention to.  This definitely will not be the last post I discuss the subject.

And, by the way, I would really recommend reading these two great books.

Sunday Collab: 14 Reasons Why We Love Our Dads

For the past fourteen years you've had to put up with a lot. From the baby poopy-blowouts to the midnight cackling. We have caused you more than your fair share of trouble. So today, we though we should give you a little thank you in form of this list: 14 reasons why we love you.  Ready?

(To be read at top speed.)
You guys are:

1. Bugsquishin'
2. Computer-fixin' 
3. Egg-makin'
4. Lawn-mowin' 
5. Recital-toleratin'
6. Chauffeurizin'
7. Music-playin'
8. Litter-box-cleanin'
9. Dishwasher-loadin'
10. Dog-walkin'
11. CD-burnin'
12. Money-makin'
13. Giggle-toleratin'
14. And all around awesome

Dudes.

Love ya'!!!

~ Simone and Adair 

Fortune

I found a fortune cookie fortune on the ground yesterday. I picked up the fortune cookie fortune.

There will be many surprises. Unexpected gains are likely

I think I have stolen someone's destiny. 

~ Adair

BUMMER SUMMER (or NOT! in which we learn the importance of work as well as play)

As a homeschooler, summer has never meant that much to me – it gets hotter, days get longer, and yes, I suppose my workload gets a little lighter, but not significantly enough to make much of a difference. This summer, though, was going to be different. I was getting two months entirely free of school, so I made a 6-page-long bucket list, filled with everything from “learn a new language!” to “eat an entire batch of raw cookie dough.”

One week into summer break, though – I was bored. Hopelessly, helplessly, horribly bored. I spent hours sitting on the computer aimlessly clicking refresh and looking outside at the low, humid clouds. I found myself sinking into a danisnotonfire-esque existential crisis. “What am I doing with my life?” I wondered, hitting my head repeatedly on the wall. “What is the meaning of this empty struggle?”

When I was about 8, my mom read Little Women aloud to me and my brother. In one chapter, Jo and her sisters convince Marmie to give them a week with no responsibilities, no assignments, and complete freedom. Of course, they learn an important lesson about the value of hard work and at the end of the week they are changed girls, learning new skills and accepting Marmie's superior wisdom with humble gratitude.

When I heard this, I guffawed. “What idiots,” I thought. “First, the most important rule of being a teenager is that you never tell your mother when she is right. Second – who on this sweet earth would ever, ever, ever willingly accept responsibility for anything? Sure, they say there's no such thing as a free lunch – but why should that stop us from trying?”

Last week, though, I was almost at the breaking point. I had never thought, in this wonderful time of the internet and Youtube and Pinterest and unlimited knowledge just a Google search away, that it was even possible to be as bored as I was. I was spending days looking at pictures of happy people online (“look! They're at the beach and they're playing games and all their dreams are coming true!” *proceeds to eat an entire box of wheat thins while staring at the screen*). All my great plans for the summer (run twenty miles! Bake a crème brulee!) had somehow morphed into “doodle life is an empty void of emptiness on the back of a cereal box for 17 hours and then take a nap.” I was terrified. Was this what my life was becoming? Was I destined to be a bored and boring person for the rest of my days??

Finally, I shook myself out of it. I'd like to say that I had an epiphany – “I was outside, watering the begonias, when everything became perfectly clear (and that's when I cured cancer)” – but the truth is, I watched eight and a half consecutive hours of a terrible, horrible, unfathomably stupid TV show, fell asleep, woke up and decided never to do that again. So I didn't. And my summer has been lovely so far.

~Maya

Thursday Musing: Emily the Strange

Originally just a silent, expressive figure, Emily Strange has evolved into a beloved icon and character.  She came about first in the 1990s, a dark face used a lot on t-shirts and stickers for skateboards and guitars.  She first appeared as a character in comic books, then graphic novels, then a series by Jessica Gruner and illustrated by creator Rob Reger, and now a movie is in development right now* as well as the first ever animated rock single.

About a year ago, I read the Emily the Strange series for the first time.  I remember thinking it was a really good book with funny characters, an entertaining story, and really nice graphic design.  Since then, I've read a little (ton) of stuff on her website and I have reread the series again a few (many) times and each time I've enjoyed it more and more.  Actually, it's kind of an obsession now and I realized exactly why:  Emily is pure awesome and I kind of want to be her... and here's ten reasons why:

1. She has four cats that she can actually talk to.


2. She is a genius and makes the best inventions ever (i.e. a time machine, a duplicator that she used to double herself, cat translator etc.).  She knows everything there is to know about science.


3.  She can skate like a pro.


4.  She can play guitar like no one else.  On the roof.  At midnight.


5. She makes the coolest doodles EVER.




6.  She's tough and isn't afraid to stand up for herself.


7.  She's a master prankster and a bit of a troublemaker.


8.  She's a master of procrastination.


9.  She paints the coolest murals ever.  In unused sewers.


10.  And besides, she sometimes makes her cats wear red ties.

*STARRING THE FABULOUS CHLOE-GRACE MORETZ!!

Washington D.C. and Its Insanity

     So while Simone and Maya are enjoying their summers back in the increasingly unbearable southern heat, I (Adair) have made an escape to the D.C. area. "But why?" you ask. (after proceeding to bang my head against a wall, I finally give you a link that will hopefully serve as an explanation because I have answered this question so many times I don't even... oh my goodness... yeah, so) THIS IS WHAT MY LITTLE BROTHER IS PARTICIPATING IN. As you know, D.C., being the Capital of the US, is chalk full of interesting experiences and opportunities, and thus far I have accomplished many things such as but not limited to: Walking barefoot through the national mall, walking barefoot through the Smithsonian, drying my shoes in a public bathroom with a hand dryer, being more tired than humanly possible, fixing so very very many props, covering my entire leg with various types of tape, and traveling all the way to Maryland only to eat at a mediocre tex-mex place dubbed the Austin grill. So yeah, I've been busy.
     I'm sorry that this post is rather short, but I have had to write it over several days, in several states of consciousness due to the fact that I have been sightseeing and NHD-doing for literally twelve to thirteen hours a day and have not had time for this poor little blog post. Seeya guys soon!

~ Adair

Eleanor & Park

I'll be honest: I only picked up this book because John Green recommended it (and because the cover was absolutely adorable). I expected it to be a slightly cheesy and predictable summer read.

      
Um. No.

       
Set in 1986, Eleanor & Park is the story of two disparate teenagers who fall in love, despite all odds. Eleanor is a self-described “big girl,” with freckles and a tangled mess of red hair. She can't imagine why anyone would like her – but despite this, she is a strong character and doesn't let her insecurities rule her life. Park is a slight, half-Korean kid whose younger brother could kick his butt and who feels like he lets down his huge, war-veteran dad on a daily basis. Park is passably popular, but Eleanor is at the bottom of the food chain – which is why Park agonized over the decision to let Eleanor sit next to him on the bus, that first day. Soon, though, he begins to see past her haphazard thrift shop clothes and standoffish air; and slowly, she opens up to him, revealing things she has never told to anyone else. Their love progressed slowly and believably, and the ending left me breathless. 

Rainbow Rowell's slightly whimsical writing style perfectly captures the feeling of first love, somehow managing to tell a beautiful love story without sappiness, and to create lovable, flawed characters that stay in the reader's mind long after the final page.

As John Green said, “Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.”

~Maya

  

Paramore at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend 2013

There are few people in the world that could pull off half-plaid, half-studded shorts, raccoon-like eye makeup, and singing while lying on their back on a stage in front of 20,000 people, but one of them is definitely the amazing Hayley Williams, singer-songwriter for Paramore.

About two weeks ago, Paramore played at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, a huge music festival showcasing many famous artists, including Biffy Clyro, Ellie Goulding, Vampire Weekend, Bruno Mars, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, to mention just a few.  As soon as I heard about that amazing lineup I was sure I needed to hear some of the performances and found that someone had posted Paramore's full performance.  I watched and was not disappointed.

For those of you that have been living under a rock , Paramore is a punk/pop/rock fusion band based in Tennessee and is made up of singer-songwriter Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis and guitarist Taylor York.  I had been getting pretty into their music over the last few months, particularly their older albums, Brand New Eyes and Riot! and having listened to many of their songs, I guessed they were probably a great live band - their songs are great to dance to and Hayley’s vocals sounded really good.  

This, however, barely does any justice to the reality of what their live shows are like.

At big weekend, Paramore played songs ranging from their second album, Riot!, to their newest self-titled album.  They started off with a bang, playing their hugely popular song, Misery Business, instantly setting the mood for the rest of the concert with its catchy chorus, loud guitars, and energetic mood.  Taylor, Jeremy, and Hayley ran around the stage, yelled to the crowd to sing along, danced, and really made sure everybody was comfortable and having fun, whether they knew their music or not.  After that they went straight into Decode, showcasing Hayley’s incredible vocals and providing a great sing-along for the everyone who was there. However, the spell didn’t last long with at the end of the song the quiet outro roughly transitioned into possibly the best performance of the night, with their new song Now.  Hayley’s energy and intensity in this brought the whole crowd screaming and dancing as she called them to sing along, headbanged, fell to her knees and sang her heart out all in this one song.

Throughout the whole show, Hayley's vocals were for the most part fantastic, especially in the songs Decode (at 3:47), Now (at 8:17), Let the Flames Begin (at 23:40) and That's What You Get ( at 31:11). She, Taylor, and Jeremy all performed with animation hardly matched by any other bands.

Hayley proved also to be a ridiculously passionate performer - at one point, laying flat on her back on the stage at a particularly emotional point in a song. Though she for the most part it really seemed like she was just rocking out having a great time, it did sometimes seem a little over the top, with her very dramatic makeup and performing style (watch at Let the Flames Begin around 28 minutes, where she was lying on her back).  Their exuberance also occasionally made her vocals messy (see in Misery Business or Only Exception, 19:05) and there were a few audible mistakes in the guitar.

But, as I have said, I was mostly just blown away with how well they can work the stage, no matter how long they've been playing and running around - their last song was just as impressive as the first even after playing for 45 minutes. They created an amazing atmosphere of excitement and fun in the crowd that they intended to leave as long as possible, at the last song calling for them to cheer for Bruno Mars, the next performer of the night. That feeling could be felt even watching it after the fact just on a computer screen. I had initially not really liked the songs I had heard off their newest album very much but after seeing this, especially Now, I may just go listen to the rest of the album.

My Posts

Helllllo everybody, it's Simone. Since, yesterday, I explained basically what this blog is going to look like in general, I thought today I would elaborate a little bit and explain exactly what my posts are going to be like.  My plan right now is that twice a week I am going to review a concert and review a book or two I've read recently and talk a little about what I'm writing, whether a  book or music.  The concerts I review are going to be kind of random - they'll probably range from rock to classical, from local that I went to or from anywhere across the world that I watched on youtube, from a band that I know and love to a band that I'd never heard of and just stumbled across. Book posts will probably be shorter, with just a few sentences per book or song or piece that I talk about, but every month or two I will try to post a section of a piece/book/song that I have just finished writing.  But I only want to do this three weeks each month - the first week of each month is my opinion week. This is when I want to sit down and talk about real issues that I feel needs to be talked about, whether it's news or just musings about things I feel important to me.  So, be prepared to probably be offended at some point.  I have strong opinions.

By the way, the first post will be out tomorrow and it *may* be a review of a concert of band whose name rhymes with Shmaramore.  Just a little hint. :)
Seeya!

What Is Uncommon Nonsense?

Hey there everyone!  I am Simone and I am one of the three people that run this blog, Uncommon Nonsense.  So, if anyone is really reading this, I'm sure you are wondering: what exactly *is* uncommon nonsense?  Well, to be honest, it is just a place for me and a few other teenagers to talk about random stuff we like, stuff we hate, and basically, all the random stuff (or uncommon nonsense) that pops into our heads.  The format each week, as of now, basically is going to be as follows:

Monday: My (Simone's) Big Post

Tuesday:  Maya's Random Musing

Wednesday: Adair's Big Post

Thursday: My Random Musing

Friday: Maya's Big Post

Saturday: Adair's Random Musing

Sunday:  Some crazy random collab of some sort

So yeah :) Tomorrow, I will post again explaining exactly what my posts are going to look like and as of this Monday this blog will be completely going with our first real post!  Enjoy!
-Simone

Summer

     It's hard to believe, but we have made it through. All the work, stress, tests and tears are behind us and it is finally, blessedly and decidedly summer.