Category: Finds

Quotes, images, videos, essays, etc. produced by someone else. All other content on this blog is my own original work unless otherwise indicated. Also includes other things I have found online somewhere.

Favorite Holiday Albums

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As promised last week, I compiled a little list of Christmas/holiday music albums. Because sometimes, Christmas radio isn’t quite what you want, ya know? Especially if you want to listen to one voice. Although you know what:

Now That's What I Call Christmas!

My family has “Now That’s What I Call Christmas” and it’s really good. A lot of my favorites, if you want a kind of one-stop shop for the songs I mentioned last week. So there is that.

But right, one artist.
For Christmas 2012, my brother told me he got me a Christmas album of my favorite Christmas singer. I exclaimed “Bing Crosby?!” Nope.

Christmas Songs By Sinatra

Oops. I do love Frank Sinatra, and his Christmas albums are great. This is the one that I have. Or had, until my mom snatched it and kept it for herself. (I no longer have the physical copy but I was able to put the songs on my computer first.) Mmmm, Frank Sinatra’s buttery jazzy voice is pretty great for the holidays, and really any of his Christmas albums will be great. (All of his music is pretty great, let’s be real.)

Last year, my brother remembered my little faux pas and got me this Bing Crosby album!

Christmas Classics

I’ll admit, this album cover is a little big scary to see when I’m not 100% awake. Of course, his classic “White Christmas” is always good to have as well. Bing Crosby is kind of THE voice of Christmas, isn’t he? It’s not quite Christmas without his voice cradling you in a warm holiday mood.  (Thanks again to my little brother for getting me these two albums!)

You see, when I curate my holiday music, I look for specific artists who I know have great Christmas albums. INCLUDING but not limited to:

(All images from / links to Amazon)

And….. I think that’s about right. Most orchestras have a great Nutcracker album that I would definitely recommend having on hand for the holiday season. Again, this is not an exhaustive list, but these are the albums and artists that I’m most familiar with. I am not quite at that pro level just yet, but I’m getting to the point where I can mostly identify the artists without looking when I’m listening to my Pandora Christmas station or when I’m driving in the car. (Despite my tendency to hop around stations when I drive, during the holiday season, I don’t even THINK about touching the dial on the radio because it is permanently set to my local holiday music station.) (Let me know if you listen to Delilah during the holiday season!)

Did I get your favorite albums?
What are your favorite Christmas/holiday albums?
And which newer ones should I be listening to? I am very biased, obviously, against the more current artists’ holiday albums.

IT’S HOLIDAY MUSIC TIME

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YES. Time to play holiday music WITHOUT fear of judgement or hatorade from grinches all around. I won’t say this video describes me, but I also won’t say that it does not.

Here we go, the Spotify playlists from the song lists I provided last year, slightly modified. Essentially, I chose the versions of songs that are/came closest to what I hear in my head when I think of these songs. That means either the classic version (often a popularized one) or one that is stripped down to the essentials. (I get a bit annoyed when artists take too many liberties with their vocal add-ons to these songs. Not a fan of super jazzed up holiday songs.) I also tried to keep some variety with the performing artists in these playlists.

ALSO, I will admit this now: I prefer a rich baritone voice for my holiday songs. I know that most of my choices are men and not women, but I think that’s because yes, I grew up listening to Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra singing these songs so that’s how I have internalized them.

I had a hard time with many of these. Sometimes, I just couldn’t find THE perfect version. (Spotify also doesn’t have everything. Where’s the Bing Crosby+Davie Bowie doozy, Spotify?!) Maybe next year, I’ll make sure to have all the mp3s I want and put up an 8tracks list, as requested. Next week, I’ll recommend some of my favorite Christmas albums if you would prefer the homogenized listening experience of one artist. (I own a few of them, so I definitely understand if you want to wrap yourself up and listen to one voice serenade you.)

I also made several concessions to my cousin, with whom I share a love of holiday music (you should see us racing to name the artists’ rendition on the radio) but who loves Taylor Swift way more than I do so NO TAYLOR SWIFT ON THIS LIST SORRY CUZ.

Anyway, here’s the Spotify playlists:

“Snow & Bells”

Happy, cheerful holiday music that makes you smile and want to sing along to, these songs have a  bright tone that evokes the image of falling snow and jingling bells, going ice skating and sleigh rides. Includes most classic carols.

“Fireplaces & Cocoa”

Feel that? That’s these songs tugging at your heartstrings, making you tear up. But it feels like sipping a mug of hot cocoa while sitting in front of a fireplace while wrapped in a cozy blanket.

“Wordless Wonderland”

Wintry, holiday pieces that are a little tricky to sing along to, due to there being no lyrics, but somehow I still manage. These are good if you can’t help singing along but it is not convenient to do so, e.g. at work, etc. (Mostly Nutcracker, not gonna lie.)

“First Christmas”

These are the more religious songs. While I am not personally a Christian, I appreciate these songs that celebrate what the first Christmas was originally about. It wouldn’t quite be Christmas without these songs.

“Christmas is for Children”

This is a collection of songs that are really more geared for kids. I have a lot of fond memories singing these songs with my middle school choir for roaring audiences of elementary school kids. I didn’t want them in that first playlist because they’re a little TOO chipper.

Songs that I have purposefully excluded are:

  • “Feliz Navidad” – Got cut this year because the song is really repetitive and gets old after you hear the verse 3 times. Which is fewer times than you hear it in one playing of the song. Sorry!
  • “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” – Still doesn’t do it or me
  • “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” – Ugh.
  • “Grown-Up Christmas List” – SUPER UGH.
  • “Christmas Shoes” – As someone who enjoys crying to holiday music, this one makes me angry. UGH TO THE MAX.
  • “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” – Annoying.
  • “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” – Also annoying.
  • “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – I actually kind of like this but it’s pretty condescending towards Africa as a continent and the new Bandaid30 version is not really any better.

But hey, “Santa Baby” got promoted so there ya go. “Seven Feet of Snow” should be on my list but Spotify doesn’t have it so. 😦

Lemme have it, what did I miss? What did I get totally wrong? (If you’re my cousin, you’re not allowed to tell me Taylor Swift.)

Spotlight: My Closet in Sketches

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I just wanted to take a quick minute to publicly proclaim how much I adore this blog:

My Closet in Sketches
myclosetinsketches.com

My Closet in Sketches in run by Lauren Friedman, who sketches these great outfits.

presidentialblues

hotforteacher

I discovered her blog because she posts these great tips on how to/ways to wear ____:

I’m an extra big fan of hers because she’s also a DCer! I’ve definitely gotten a lot of style inspiration from her and I hope I get to see her around the District sometime soon!

All images from MyClosetinSketches.com

Avengers: Age of Ultron [teaser trailer]

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Duh.

In case you didn’t know, I’m a big fan of the first Avengers film and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.
Also in case you didn’t hear, this teaser trailer was leaked 2 days ago and Marvel had the greatest response to the incident.

If you don’t understand the reference, check out Captain America, Captain America: Winter Soldier, or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Marvel fandom has been in absolute uproar. I mean, you thought we were excited about Guardians of the Galaxy?

Okay, yes, we were excited for GotG. But that was for a comic franchise that most movies-only fans like myself weren’t familiar with at all.

This is the AVENGERS. Everyone fell in love with them 2 years ago. (I may have seen the movie 3 times in theaters.) (Not on purpose, but just because people kept spontaneously deciding to see it and I wasn’t going to be that spoilsport who went “No no no we can’t I saw it already”.) (But I digress.) We love the characters and we love the cast. OH how we love the cast.

So. The new trailer is out. Release date is May 1, 2015. Here is a quick list of things that got me SUPER excited in this trailer:

  • The deliciously dark cover of “I’ve Got No Strings” from Pinocchio. Disney, as a movie powerhouse, knows that their audience looooves these dark and somber covers of songs in trailers. (See: Maleficent with “Once Upon a Dream” ) In fact, all of Hollywood knows this. (See: The Social Network with “Creep” or, heck, even Fifty Shades of Grey uses an intense version of “Crazy in Love”).
  • James Spader’s voicework as our new villain, Ultron, is flippin’ fantastic
  • Marvel Studios’ take on Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver. If you watched the sting scene at the end of the credits for Captain America: Winter Soldier, you would’ve seen that Hydra has the twins. It’s also interesting because we’ve seen Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but these are two different studios, so… the joke in the fandom is that AOU (Age of Ultron) won’t be able to talk about mutants. Which is what they are. But… Marvel Studios doesn’t have the rights to “mutant” because Fox does? (In the sting scene, they’re referred to as “miracles”.)

    • By the way, I am liking what I see with Elizabeth Olsen? I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen any of her work before.
  • Hulkbuster! The Hulk is a fairly important in the first film but it seems like he’ll be important in this one as well with how often he features in this trailer.
    hulkbuster.jpg

    • Also, one of the best things about the first film I think we’ll be seeing here: the Avengers clashing and having to work together
    • With all the talk of Civil War, the fandom is definitely abuzz about the clashing of the Avengers and the conflicts that will be exposed in this film that the previous films have been building up to. (I’m not familiar with the comics, but essentially, the Civil War arc sets Avengers against each other on the debate as to whether superheroes/mutants/whatever need to be registered.)
    • Doubly also, a Hulk + Iron Man fight means that the Science Bros fandom will go bananas.
  • Hoping that Hawkeye gets more screentime in this one! Although he wasn’t featured much in the trailer.
  • Also hoping for some Black Widow story here, since Marvel keeps hedging on her own independent movie…

    Some folks think this will be a Natasha Romanoff backstory sequence?
  • Possible Steve Rogers flashback?

    Y’all know I love me some Cap.
  • SHIRTLESS THOR?

    Because in the midst of half the world getting wrecked, we still need some at least one shirtless Chris to appease the fans
  • Andy Serkis as not-Gollum!

    Rumored by comic fans to be playing Ulysses Klaw?
  • MUCH MUCH MORE

Sorry, guys. I started getting sucked into all the great information out here about this teaser trailer, all courtesy of the wonderful Marvel comics universe fans out there.

Are you excited for this movie?
Were you excited when you saw this teaser trailer?
How many times did you watch it??? I watched it no fewer than 10 times. No fewer than 3 times in a row.

Required Halloween Viewing

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We’re almost halfway through October, but Halloween decorations have been in stores since July. Even though I hate (hate hate) being scared, I really like Halloween! It’s my one chance every year to dress up, which I’m recently discovering I love doing. I love getting into a character and being someone else for a day. (I do need to pick characters that are better-suited for chillier weather, though!)
Plus, I used to get the ultimate reward for dressing up: free candy.

First things first, let’s get a couple of short videos up here. These are iconic and classic Halloween staples in my life.

  • One of Disney’s Silly Symphonies: “The Skeleton Dance”
  • “Skeleton Frolic”
  • A classic Mickey Mouse cartoon: “Haunted House”

One of my favorite things about Halloween is the movies that go along with it. Let me remind you that I don’t like scary movies. I’m just kind of a sucker for holiday-themed movies. (Especially Christmas ones, but you all know I’m a super sucker for Christmas anyway.) A few of my favorites are:

  • Hocus Pocus

  • Beetlejuice – the only Tim Burton film I like, maybe?
  • It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

  • Casper

    Easily the most iconic scene in this movie
  • More or less any Scooby Doo movie, preferably an older one
  • Honorable mention: Rocky Horror Picture Show, the strange cult classic that was an extra hit at my summer camp

    (Because it was such a big part of my camp experience, I know all the words to this song and more, without having actually seen the entire movie.)
  • Optional: The Disney Channel originals (DCOMs!): Halloweentown + sequels – cheesy because they’re Disney but they’re a lot of fun

Oh yes, I absolutely cannot stand being scared (and yes, it’s because I scare way easily) but I love Halloween movies that aren’t horror ones.
Basically, I love children’s Halloween movies. SO WHAT they’re great. Halloween is really a holiday for kids now anyway.

I know I’ve left out some other iconic Halloween movies, but I just haven’t seen them before. (I’m too scared to watch a lot of them.)

Have you seen these movies?
Which movies that I left out do you think I definitely need to watch?