2013 Wrap-Up: Events.

I completely forgot that my theme song for this year was Harder Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk, and that right after I chose it back in January, I got sick and fell behind in everything.

THIS YEAR WAS COMPLETELY THE BEST. Remember how 2010 was the worst for everyone and we all listened to Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You" as the year changed and said "YEAH. THAT SENTIMENT, 2010"? Yeah, so the OPPOSITE of that to this year.

Events (as opposed to books, which are lateeeer) for 2013:

- Zombie musical. Oh, how you consumed my January/February, but ah, you were worth it.

- Juice fast. Remember that, Tika? Remember how we made that terrible decision? The low point was me putting salt directly on my tongue, because oh how I missed it.

- Getting over crushes on straight girls. That was a good move.

- Singing wayyyy better than in previous years. Like. Way better. Good times ahead. And this year I joined VOX 3 and I get to write stuff for them, which is the coolest, and my caroling group did carols for fooorever and got monies. I am 100% approving of this.

- Hiking in the Indiana Dunes for the first time because asking internet strangers to do things can totally end up with you having an awesome time and NOT being murdered.

Was a good day.

- BEA tailgating meetup! LEST WE FORGET:

I LOVE ALL YOUR FACES

- Seattle. Remember Seattle? That was the best. Seattle was the best. My time there included an introduction to the bluffernutter sandwich (bacon/marshmallow/peanut butter). Bluffernutter, I will never forget you. Nor you, Nutella + ricotta crumpet. Or, y'know, Mount Rainier and stuff.

- Speaking at my church on Pride Sunday. That meant a huge amount to me. I'm extremely fortunate to have a church I don't have to hide in, and that not only accepts me, but wanted me to speak about what was a decade+ struggle in my life. I thought I'd be fine and totally chill about it, but when I read the speech to my parents, I broke down when talking about how one of my biggest difficulties with coming out was I didn't want to disappoint them. Writing/delivering that speech was one of the biggest things of this year for me.

- My cousin Janet's wedding/Ben & John's wedding/Abby & Cari's wedding. Ah! So many weddings! They were all beautiful, albeit in different ways. Of my cousins, I'm closest to my cousins Jeannie and Janet (who are sisters), and I've seen them in various relationships over the years, but the guy Janet's married is just stellar. He's a great, great guy who appreciates the awesome things about her, and seeing them get married was so wonderful.

- Frances Willard. Remember how I used to not know who Frances Willard was? Yeah, fuck THAT time. The 1880s-1920 have been my jam this year, starting with suffrage reading, and Frances Willard is just....she's just swell. She's so swell. Remember how she trained a cow to wear a saddle when her father wouldn't let her ride a horse? And how she had a pistol named "Defiance"? And how she's responsible for us having drinking fountains? YEAH, SHE DID THAT. Ugh she's so great.

AND HERE'S ME WITH A LADY DRESSED AS HER

- Roberta Kaplan and her many scarves. Aww. Remember life before Robbie Kaplan? I certainly don't. As if that kind of life is worth living. For those who don't remember, Robbie Kaplan is the lawyer who represented Edith Windsor in United States v. Windsor, which is the Supreme Court case which overturned section 3 of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, which is the section that bans gay marriage at a federal level. So that was a huuuuuge deal. I have her oral arguments on my phone. She is the best. And she loves terrible scarves and I love her.

Marriage equality in Illinois. Omg. Are you kidding? That seriously happened? Look, from the beginning of 2013 to now, the change nationally is unbelievable. It went from ten to 18 states. Along with federal recognition. WHAT. And while I followed the arguments and proceedings in every state, there is nothing like having your own state, that you love and want to live in for as long as possible, finally say ok. They said ok! My brain has still not fully realized that the fight in Illinois is over. How completely wonderful. Illinois, I love you so hard and I am so proud of you.

And we haven't touched on books! So many books! This year has been even more proof that so many things are out there already or going to happen in your future that you have NO idea about, and some are awesome and some are hard and some are both, but it's just really damn exciting. 2014, I am totally ready for you to happen.

Christmas and then a Katy Perry rant, because that's how my brain goes

Oh right, I have GIFs for this.

and lest we forget:

Keep your lips to yourselves, drunkies

Yes, actual Christmas is past us, but the spirit lives on, particularly in the dying poinsettias I have returned to find at my office.

Christmas cookies, tree decorating, visiting relatives -- all things my family fought over in the past few days. But no, it was a splendid holiday, rife with jewels like my three brothers and myself watching Sharknado for the first time and seeing my one-and-a-half-year-old niece deftly keep the remote away from my brother, continuing a proud family tradition.

Whilst at home, I finished The Great Emergence, which is about the direction the Church as a whole is taking, so LOOK FORWARD TO THAT REVIEW, EVERYONE, and other than that, I did basically nothing. I worked a bit on Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center on the train home while too obviously trying to hide the title from my seatmate. "What? Oh, no, I'm a super-fun person. I am. DON'T LET THE TITLE FOOL YOU -- THIS IS IMPORTANT SCHOLARLY WORK. Not...like...a lady being mad about minor things."

That book really is hideous to have people see. Not only is the title exactly what one would expect, but the font is '70s, which evokes stereotypes we're all trying to get away from. And it was published in 1984! Why! New, non-rounded fonts were available! Of course, what one should be talking about is how society is the problem and we should all be able to carry around books with 'feminist' in the title and not feel cringey, BUT at a certain point you have to accept realities and work with society so they don't pre-judge you and you can yell at them about other things that matter without being tuned out.

In related news, I love pop music. A lot. I can speak expansively about Britney Spears's discography, and I have strong opinions on late '90s boy bands. But my brothers and I watched the entirety of a Katy Perry documentary over Christmas and WHILE I LOVE SOME OF HER SONGS -- and we're not even going to get into I Kissed a Girl and its MULTITUDE of problems -- E.T.? Really? I somehow missed you when you were a hit, but even though I still guiltily listen to the former song, I cannot even condone you. I CANNOT. 

Infect me with your love and
Fill me with your poison

Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be a victim
Ready for abduction

REALLY? Someone greenlit that? Because you've covered it with the guise of "Hey, it's called E.T. so it's all about aliens -- she doesn't mean it about a person. Obvs."

IT IS INSIDIOUS AND SEEMINGLY TRIVIAL STUFF LIKE THIS THAT CAUSES UNCONSCIOUSLY-FORMED AND DANGEROUS THOUGHT PATTERNS IN OUR SOCIETY. Damnit.

Anyway. Yay Christmas! I got makeup. And one book. (Why Classical Music Still Matters -- I know, I'm becoming almost TOO fun) And also a lesbian Marie Antoinette movie I discovered/freaked out about late one night on tumblr.

Five days to finish two more books and pass my 2011 stats. Because that's obviously what it's all about. Whatever, 2011 sucks. 2013 shall be better in all ways, including reading stats. Also, you all better post pictures of the books you got or I shall be most seriously displeased.

Checkin' in because I love you all

Does anyone REALLY expect blog updates in December?

In all whatever, I haven't read for about two weeks. Two. Weeks. Do you know how weird that feels? Of course you do -- you're reading a book blog and therefore presumably have some interest in books. I've HAD a book with me all the time, but I have not opened it. In two weeks. Mostly because my life has been eaten by caroling, but THAT SHALL SOON BE OVER, and then I will race to finish my requisite three more books for the year. Luckily when caroling's over it's just Christmas/New Year's and those aren't busy times.

The books I will be TRYING to finish in the next 15 days are The Great Emergence about the Church's new direction; One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson, which is GREAT; Gay Pride and Prejudice because...obviously; and maybe Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center because I like to party.

HEY. I've read a lot of non-fiction this year. Comparatively. In previous years, my non-fiction seems to have almost solely consisted of memoirs, which only half-count really, because it's not so much facts as life anecdotes. But this year was like...books about Nell Ternan and British lesbian culture and Alice Paul and there is maybe a theme here and that theme is ladies. 

Speaking of ladies, did we all catch the totally hetero
Swan Queen action on OUAT last night?

How're you all doing? We haven't talked. Do you want to catch me up on your lives or doingses in the comments? I'd be down with that because I MISS YOUR FACES. (so to speak)

Columbine by Dave Cullen

Yeah. That's right. We're starting your week off with a Columbine review. I don't even know if I'm allowed to use GIFs here. What is GIF-etiquette, re Columbine?

Just not sure.

Because obviously GIFs can come across as making light of something, and this is one of those situations where that really, really cannot happen. Why? Because two extraordinarily psychologically messed-up teenagers killed 13 people. While I believe GIFs can be used effectively in serious situations, I do not feel up to that at the moment. So let us proceed. It's about to get kind of sad up in here.

I tend to ignore tragedies that didn't happen 100 years ago. They make me feel powerless and upset and so rather than figuring out whatever small thing I can do to help, I purposely ignore all news about them (hey, Katrina -- still not sure what went on with you). I don't remember learning that much in 1999 aside from information picked up by osmosis. The boys were bullied; they lashed out, but the only way it impacted my high school (I was a freshman) was in talking a lot about how brave that girl was for speaking out for her faith. 

Dave Cullen researched Columbine for yeeeears. And wrote an excellent and informative book that tries to dispel the myths that cropped up as a result of journalists on the scene jumping to conclusions.The boys weren't members of the "Trench Coat Mafia." They weren't bullied to such an obscene degree that they snapped. One of them was just a psychopath and one was a depressed follower. One of the best things about the book is the amount of space Cullen gives to the victims. We tend to focus on the killers in cases like this, because good Lord, how could they do that -- but it gives them this weird renown, and people forget the victims. Columbine does a truly great job of balancing information about how the attack was formulated, as well as some background on Dylan and Eric, with histories of the victims.

There's also a section on psychopathy, which includes the terrifying sentence "Psychopaths have likely plagued mankind since the beginning, but they are still poorly understood." He goes on to say that oh, hey, there seems to be no cure for being a psychopath. But they can like, channel it in a hopefully non-murdery direction. So that's great. Feelin' real secure now.

Since I went to a Christian high school, they really pushed the Cassie Bernall story. And why wouldn't you? Hey, it's a modern day teen who became a martyr for Christianity. Tremble in fear before your relative lack of faith, all ye. EXCEPT. That's not how it went down. Due to a series of miscommunications, what actually happened to another girl (who survived) was said to have happened to Cassie. That was kind of a huge shock. A girl who'd already been shot WAS asked if she believed in God and she said yes, which is damned impressive. It's unfortunate the story was misrepresented, but it didn't just not happen.

Dave Cullen's obviously got a personality, which I think he tries to keep down as much as he can, because Serious Subject Matter, and also he's mainly trying to relate the story of what actually happened, but every now and then it comes out:

That was the wrinkle. Dylan had not actually spoken to Harriet. But he couldn’t let that stop him. He thought of her every second of every day. “If soulmates exist,” he wrote, “then I think I’ve found mine. I hope she likes Techno.”
That was the other hurdle. He had not yet established whether she liked techno.

No time. Less than a month to go. Eric had a lot of shit left to do. He organized it into a list labeled “shit left to do.”

Oh, sir. I'll bet you're secretly fun at parties.

He spent ten years researching Columbine, and it was excellent. Very hard to read at times, but highly informative and he keeps it moving. There's a lot of switching back and forth between stories of the victims and the planning stages Eric and Dylan were going through. That got confusing some of the time (mostly regarding where we were, timeline-wise, with Eric and Dylan), but overall it was well-organized and a very impressive book. Well done, sir, spending a lot of time with that subject so we don't have to.

Cupcakes and A Sharing of the Saddest Photo Ever

I MADE CUPCAKES AND I AM OVERLY PROUD OF THIS

BEHOLD

I don't know how to cook...at all, which my mother brings up frequently, so when I do anything involving the inside of an oven (asiiiide from when I heat up Bagel Bites, as we do not own a microwave for Reasons), I act like a five-year-old who just made her first thing in an Easy-Bake.

I haven't been reading much because I've been trying to finish Why Classical Music Still Matters, and it's hella hard and ALSO caroling gigs start today and will consume 90% of my free time until Christmas (slight exaggeration). But did I tell you all I'm going to Minnesota in January? Awesome idea, yes? It is -3 degrees there right now, and it's not even mid-December. For a Chicagoan to be scared of how cold a place is -- that is terrifying. 

I started a schedule spreadsheet, and my friend and I are going to see the St Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO if you're cool) in my quest to be less of an asshole about classical music. "But Alice, you do opera -- don't people who like opera automatically like classical?" NOPE. And my best friend plays for the Toronto Symphony. We've been friends since we were 13; she's played in orchestras SINCE that time, and I think I've gone to see her play like five times. But I am attempting to fix my thought of classical music = boring. 

December is crazy, yes? Starting today it feels like a nonstop ride until the 29th when my family leaves. And speaking of New Year's -- my first New Year's in Chicago, I got a camera for Christmas and decided to use it to take The Saddest New Year's Picture Ever, which I now share with you all since this post has been pretty much all about me sharing a picture of cupcakes:

The bear also has a noisemaker. It's in the details.

Happy Friday, all.

November: I read some things!

November was less of a slouchy month than might be assumed. Actually, one would probably assume it would NOT be a slouchy month, as the end of the year approaches on swift wings, and everyone's suddenly realizing that if they want to meet their reading goals for the year, they have to get off their asses and stop watching old episodes of Futurama while eating Hob Nobs. Yes, I'm looking at all of you. As I have of course been nothing but productive.

YOU DON'T KNOW MY LIFE, ADELE

I finished four books in November, which admittedly isn't stellar, but I WORKED ON twelve books. Which should somehow count. Yes.

Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh. I pre-ordered this back in March. And if you want a print version of Allie's blog (I did), then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. My main complaint is she changed some of the panels to make them 'better,' when what really happened is they became 'worse.' So. Maybe work on that for next time, Brosh. (or rather, don't work on it is probably the actual point)

The Passionate Mistakes and Intricate Corruption of One Girl in America, Michelle Tea. REMEMBER WHEN I SAID YOU SHOULD ALL BE READING MICHELLE TEA? So this is her first book, and it shoooows, but it was still good. Kind of like when you read Northanger Abbey and you're like "Awww, Austen, you were a babyyyyyyy," but it's still got Henry Tilney and a clever skewering of Gothic novels. I love Michelle Tea. If I ever meet her, I will be sycophantic as shit.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt. Yes yes, stunning work of prose about the human experience, blah blah read it, etc.

Columbine, Dave Cullen. AGGHHH I cannot make jokes about this for obvious reasons. I should do an actual post on it. I will do this. Yes.

Thanksgiving was filled with fun and frivolity and me buying an awesome skirt THAT I WORE THE WRONG SHOES WITH TODAY. Do you know how FRUSTRATING it is to know that the stilettos you left at home would be PERFECT with your outfit, and the heeled boots you painstakingly walked over a mile to work in just don't quite cut it? WHY SHOES WHY DID I LEAVE YOU AT HOME.

My little brother had texted me the day before Thanksgiving saying he was watching Wayne's World "for the first time," which is b.s. because watching that movie from a young age is sacrosanct in my family and we made him do it when he was probably five but I GUESS IT WASN'T IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO HIM TO STAY IN HIS BRAIN, but fortunately we also watched it the day after Thanksgiving and he is well on his way to being able to quote it. My brothers and I talk to each other in movie quotes because real feelings are gross, so the ability to quote early '90s comedies is one my younger brother must learn.

December goals are thus far finishing Why Classical Music Still Matters, The Great Emergence, One Summer: America, 1927, City of Dark Magic (ON THE FENCE ABOUT THIS ONE), and Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. So this month's gonna be a never-ending joyride.

I've totally been on board with 2013 so far, so let's go, self. And try to finish that Flapper book, damnit. You don't know enough about the 1920s.

This is pretty much all that happened that decade, right?