Soundtrack to Fall

SORRY! So the past few weeks have been filled with friends birthdays, my birthday, and night shifts at work to ensure I get the promotion I'm trying for. Mia may be wanting to kill me but I am back baby. 

Some of my dearest friends are reporting back to classes over the next few weeks , including but not limited to my amazing blogmate. This time reminds me of making mix CDs for the ride to school, moving my friends in, and the rides to visit them as much as possible. Over the years I have acquired some autumn-inspired albums... here are a few. Keep in mind, these are only the albums that remind me of fall and do not reflect my entire musical taste. 

OLDIES :

Neil Young - Decade

Lupe Fiasco - The Cool

Brand New - Deja Entendu

The Arcade Fire - Funeral

The Strokes - Room On Fire

The Postal Service - Give Up

Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News

The Grey Album

ETID  - The Big Dirty

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm 

Northstar - Pollyanna

Jimmy Eat World - Clarity

Big D - How it Goes

Spill - Kill The Moonlight

Within the Last Few Years:

A Silent Film - The City That Sleeps

Tokyo Police Club - Champ

The XX - xx

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor 

Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

The Black Keys - Brothers

I swear I listen to a lot of music that has been released after 2007 but my heart really lies with alt rock from that period.

Go Ahead, judge me. I dare you.

So this post might be a smidge political, and a smidge outspoken, but .. here we go.

A few months ago I got into a facebook status fight (it's perfectly acceptable to roll your eyes here) with some girl I used to go to high school with.  She posted: "Chik-fil-A is now being labeled as anti-gay. Chik-fil-A, not only do I love your sandwiches and waffle fries, but I will be more than happy to continue as a loyal customer and support your pro-conservative/Christian agenda."

It was impossible for me to keep my mouth shut.  I eventually got defriended and the whole bit.  I'm not going to go into the whole exchange.  But that statement got me fired up.  Some of my best friends are boys who happen to like other boys, and you know what, I wouldn't trade them for the world.  I couldn't let a comment like that slide by my radar.  I even started by straight out asking her to clarify what she was trying to say with her status.  Did she support Chick Fil A because they are anti-gay?  Was that just an added perk? What am I missing, please, enlighten me.  Of course my initial question got ignored and after a few more people commented I just said fine, and let my opinions run wild. 

They kept trying to say that they don't hate gay people they just support the nuclear family.  This is where I take the most issue.  You cannot support one side of an issue and not oppose the opposite view.  You can say you don't have any problem with gay people, but you do. The simple fact that you don't think they should be allowed to have families shows that you see them as inferior people.  Seeing someone as inferior lacks respect. There is a flaw in your argument, trying to spin it away from gay marriage doesn't negate the fact that you are judging someone based something they cannot change, and an aspect of them that is as self defining as their skin tone or who their parents are.  

Today, my roommate told me a story about her gay friend who was grabbed by the neck of a bouncer in a club and pushed up against a wall simply because he asked, "Is this a gay club?"  What was worse, when his friends asked officers for help, the most the police did was repeatedly ask him if he was gay.  As if that had anything to do with the problem at hand.  It gives me that same disgusted feeling I had while walking through the Holocaust museum in DC.  

What was more, I just got online only to find this video of Michele Bachmann being questioned about her views on gay people.  She tried to go on to say that she didn't judge gay people, but she was quoted saying, "It leads to the personal enslavement of individuals.  Because if you're involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it's bondage." How is that not judging?! I'm sorry, but unless you are actually a gay person, you have no idea what is going on in their hearts and minds to be able to say that their lifestyle is enslavement.  She stressed that we need to have "profound compassion"for those people suffering from sexual dysfunction and sexual identity disorders.  Excuse me while I roll my eyes out of my head.  Your idea of compassion is restricting their lifestyle?  And don't even try to disguise pity and superiority for "profound compassion."  

Interviews like hers anger me most because she does a terrible job defending her views.  Are you too afraid to say how you really feel?  I want real answers to these questions.  I want people who make such political statements to stand up to what they say.  Defriending me because I was making controversy on your facebook wall is cowardly.  I look forward to our five year high school reunion where, if prompted, I will debate this properly. 

Until then I will try to make my next post not so charged, Kita's blogs are always so neutral and mine are always quite opinionated.  Ah well, I used to write an opinion column for my high school newspaper, clearly it's just who I am.




  
    

Hot child in the city

We have absolutely all been found guilty of talking about how boring our hometowns are while sitting on our n lackadaisical behinds. How can you complain when there is so much to explore. Pittsburgh is amazing, hell, its the new Gotham City.  With so much to do its almost to hard to find a place to start so I've compiled a list of wonderful places and things I'd like to venture to.

1) Phipps conservatory
http://phipps.conservatory.org/

Two words: Butterfly. Forest.
If you're into art and nature this gigantic public garden is perfect for you. I could spend a day exploring every blossom. The mix of botany and art is a perfect way to spend a day out of the sun.

2) The Frick Mansion
http://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org/index.php

A dominate figure in the steel industry ( something near and dear to Pittsburgh) Frick's wife vowed to preserve their Pittsburgh home when they uprooted to New York. You can find everything, including their art, still its original position from the dining room to the classic cars.

3) The Pittsburgh Zoo, ZOOBREW
http://pittsburghzoo.org/Event.aspx?id=163&sd=6/14/2011&ed=6/14/2013&tp=&loc=&kw=

Okay, so if you know me this is cheating. I go to the Zoo every year. BUT this year I will be participating in ZOOBREW. I want to sip (not chug, because I'm not a child anymore..I swear..) Brooklyn Ale while chillin with my main dudes, the Gorillas. They don't make me say sorry for partying.

4) The Warhol
http://www.warhol.org/

So while I may be a huge loser I still love Andy Warhol. I took my parents to the museum and they just couldn't grasp it. I need to return with people more appreciative of the era and the concepts behind Warhol and his many mediums. Hipsters are welcome. You are able to view his films, take in the pieces in a hands on manner and also the gift shop offers some really cool takes on Warhol's most famous prints.

5) Jerry's Records
http://www.jerrysrecords.com/index.htm

I love the way music sounds on Vinyl. The artwork is always better and the sound is more raw. It works its way into your brain is a less aesthetically pleasing way, allowing you to appreciate it more for what it is. My first record I owned was an original Doors album. I am spoiled musically by my father's appreciation for pure Rock n' Roll. Jerry's houses a collection of over a million records. This trip is not for the weak. You must allow yourself all day to explore and take in the overwhelming feeling of
happiness.

There you have it, my top 5 things. I tried to exclude bars, clubs, malls, the Apple store (where if I could I'd spend more time than most), and any place my friends already hang out at regularly.

Proper Bachelorette-ing.

To those who know me, I seem like I would be the absolute last person to like a show such as The Bachelorette, but I am in love with it.  The main reason is because deep down I’m a total sucker for love.  I watch the show and I’m always thinking “Gahh, why can’t this girl just find love! She deserves it!”  With every man she casts off I can’t help but feel their heartbreak, especially the closer they get to the end of the show.  I just want them all to find love! Love for everyone!

Aside from all that, I realized today while watching the “After the Final Rose” episode that the show sucks me in so much because I love watching how people react to things. But I’m especially interested in how the show expects everyone to act, and when someone deviates from their mold everyone is taken aback.  For instance, twice this season Ashley, the Bachelorette, was shocked when a guy who she just dumped didn’t want to talk to her and just wanted to leave. Actually, both times she tried to get the guy to turn around and come back and not “leave it like this.”  I just wanted to crawl into my screen and say to this woman, “Are you kidding me?  You just broke these boys hearts and you want them to still tell you you’ll be great friends forever?”  Anytime a guy who I was invested in has essentially told me we “are just friends:”  I don’t want to say anything else to them. I have nothing else to say. Click. We are done. 

One of the men that reacted like this was the “runner up” so to speak.  It was so painful to watch, she allowed him to get down on one knee, ask her to marry him, and waited a good twenty seconds before she put her hands around him to get him to stand up.  Really?! You couldn’t have caught him before he got down on one knee?!  He reacted exactly as I would have, when she finally told him he wasn’t the one, he stood there for a few seconds, looked awkward, and basically said “Welp, okay that’s it.  I guess I’ll go.” He took some lengthy strides to get the hell out of there; I don’t think it even registered with Ashley until he was ten feet away from her.  Cue the “Wait! Ben! Ben!”  Then the gushing of how great a guy he was, at which point he told her to stop sugar coating it for him.  He spoke with some bite, and gained a few plus points in my book from that exchange. 

The real kicker was during the After the Final Rose when the host of the show was questioning Ben asking him why he was so angry and proclaiming that he was shocked, just shocked, at Ben’s anger that came through.  I could just see Ben’s brain turning trying to say the right thing.  I’m sure you are expected to be all happy and grateful to the camera.  Still my favorite part of that show was when Ashley came out and they exchanged niceties and he said to her “Nice Rock.”  The audience was aghast! I thought it was hilarious, and the perfect thing to say. If I was him I would be thinking, “Oh, you’re going to spend an episode parading around how in love you are in front of my face? Okay, well don’t expect me to join in the festivities.”

I understand that the whole premise of the show is absurd.  One girl dates 25 guys, 25 guys fall in love with one girl, the girl falls for ONE guy.  The odds are not good going into it, but it’s just the way the show seems to expect the castaway boys to act that I just cannot handle.  

Until next time, 

Mia!

Black and Gold

So much has been going on that Mia and I haven't had the time to update! Aside from the debt crisis, amazing summer concerts, and vacations, Mia has decided to move from her former college digs to the beautiful area of Shady Side where she'll spend her senior year.

As for me, this is my first summer of adulthood. I have started the search for my dream job as a sports writer in the city of the black and gold. I have a terrible job where I work to save money to fund the move I will more than likely have to make in order to do what I love. Stressful, yes. Worth it, definitely. I love sports. I played them my entire life and when I decided not to continue in college sports writing fell into my lap. I was named Assistant Sports Editor of my college paper my first year writing and Sports Editor the year after. I formed relationships with the coaches and loved hanging out during practices digging for information on rivalries and next years prospects. Plus, I was lucky enough to have the protection of the entire wrestling team, something I'm still thankful for. 

Pittsburgh athletics are almost as cut throat as their fans. We really do feel connections with players and teams in general. Whether you're a Steelers fan, obsessed with the Penguins or praying for the Pirates you know that you have fellow fans everywhere . Dan Steinberg, a writer for the DC sports blog commented on the constant presence of Pittsburgh fans at events all across the country. "As long as I'm asking questions, why does this happen? Why does it happen with Penguins games? Do Pittsburgh fans have more money? More passion? Fewer outside interests? Fewer job responsibilities?," Steinberg said. The answer, in my opinion, is passion. Walk down the street and ask about "Black and Yellow" and any true fan will correct you. We are the black and gold. No matter what some guy rapping about his car claims, we have always worn our colors proud. The only Pittsburgh team to ever call yellow one of their official colors was the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sorry Mr. Kahlifa. With the Penguins starting their summer prospect training, the Steelers at training camp right down the road, and the Pirates finally getting national coverage on ESPN, life is good for Pittsburgh fans.

HI!

Kita Cook

Mia Pivirotto

We played a game of truth with each other to help inform the readers about ourselves and here is how it went.

K: Stranded on a dessert island, what three things do you bring?

M: The Hunger Games for sure, any of those books have a great survival guide embedded in the pages. My iPod so I can dance around the island, and a friend so I'm never lonely.

M: What is your patronus and why?

*(a patronus for you muggles, or non magical folk, is an animal you cast to ward off evil soul-suckers.)

K: I think it'd be a grizzly bear.  I'm a very protective mother, and mother grizzly bears protect everything they love.

K: Okay, two huge fears?

M: A lot of these questions are hard for me.  I don't ever think in definites.  I like things, I love things, I dislike things, I hate things, not a lot of definite lists.  OH but that aside my biggest fear in the entire universe is... the universe.  How it even came about and how we are even here and I can't even finish...

M: What's your biggest desire?

K: I want to find someone who shares a mutual fascination with watching the world and I want to share my life with them

K: When do you feel most happy?

M: When I'm at a concert.

M: What do you wish other people understood about you?

K: Just because I'm brash and loud and have an in your face personality, doesn't mean I'm always happy and fun. Sorry.

K: What's the most fun you've ever had?

M: Bonnaroo. Where I was most free. And because of the adventures.

K: Awe, love you!

M: What is your biggest vice?

K: I love to swear and I love tequila.

K: Favorite season?

M: Winter. Always. I love walking home at 2AM when snow is falling.

K: Beautiful.

M: What is your favorite sound?

K: Sportscenter.

K: Alcoholic drink of choice?

M: Beer.  Anything else gives me a hangover that I can't handle.

Occasionally throughout the existence of D&D this game will continue..feel free to ask us anything!