It ain't your granny's bluegrass!

I am officially on summer break, and I graduate in less than a week! No more papers to write or articles to read, and although I'm letting out a sigh of relief, it's followed by a feeling of bittersweet sadness - no more exciting class discussions (in the role as student, of course), no more visits in the TA office, and no more getting paid to read and write stuff that I enjoy.  Though I'm sad to be leaving this time with an awesome group of people, I'm excited for the next step...playing the waiting game after sending out applications, hopefully getting a job soon, and (my favorite part in all this) sitting back to enjoy a little bit of downtime . . .

To kick off the summer, this past weekend my husband and I ventured to Scottown, Oh to our first Appalachian Uprising Music Festival! Even though we were in Ohio, we definitely felt like we'd ventured south, back home to the foothills of Appalachia.  The bluegrass festival was held in a 'grand field' (as Chris Thile from The Punch Brothers called it), where people could camp out between the three days of endless music.  We only stayed Saturday night but we listened to more than 11 hours of bluegrass including music from The Vespers (my new band obsession) and The Punch Brothers (my husband's current favorite).

The road trip there was half the experience, venturing off the beaten path and on to winding country (and sometimes) barely-paved roads.  We took our tent and camped out with the rest of the festival-goers, and spent the day in our folding chairs, eating pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, and fried potatoes on a stick, listening to some awesome bluegrass.  But this wasn't your granny's bluegrass!

I have my husband to thank for introducing me to The Vespers who played a couple acts before The Punch Brothers.  The foursome rocked out with their unique, spiritually-inspired, soul-driven music, bringing people out of their chairs not only to 'flat-foot,' but also bang their heads.  To give you a little taste, here's a video clip I took - the chorus of one of my favorite songs, "Got No Friends."  You can listen to the whole thing here, and watch more of their videos here.

Well I got no friends today, and I wonder if tomorrow will be the same. But I know no matter what I do, Jesus I will always have a friend in you!

Some other highlights from our first 'Appy Up' experience . . .

"Appy Up Ya'll"

. . . venturing off the beaten path . . . 

the camping folk in 'the grand field' of Eden Valley Farm 

our little campsite

The VESPERS performing "Grinnin' in Your Face"

signed merch.

The PUNCH BROTHERS

.Come Away to the Water.

When Scott and I found out there was a soundtrack for The Hunger Games called Songs from District 12 and Beyond, we checked it out on iTunes and really enjoyed it.  The title, like the album itself, suggests roots to Appalachia (and beyond).  We honestly haven't stopped listening to it since we bought a number of the songs last week before going to see the film.  My personal favorite on the album is Maroon 5's "Come Away to the Water," featuring Rozzi Crane.  When I listened to it, the song made me 'feel' what I had felt when I read the book.  I definitely think some of these songs would have really added to the film (only instrumental songs were included in the film other than the two songs during the credits - Arcade Fire's "Abraham's Daughter" and "Kingdom Come" by The Civil Wars' feat. Taylor Swift).

The language in "Come Away to the Water" reminds me of Jesus' journey to the cross (and maybe this is simply because it's Lent and only a week away from Easter).  But, to explain a little more what I'm talking about I've included the lyrics (in italics) paired with some of the Scriptures they remind me of.  Now I'm not at all suggesting that Katniss, Peeta, or anyone else in the film/books are sacrificial like Christ, (although others have) I'm merely sharing a personal connection to the song.

Source: civa-artists.ning.com

Come away little loss/ Come away to the water/ To the ones that are waiting only for you

(Luke 19:10) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (Mark 1:14-18) After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,”he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

Come away little loss/ Come away to the water/ Away from the life that you always knew/ We are calling to you

(Mark 1:9-10) At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

Come away little light/ Come away to the darkness/ In the shade of the night we’ll come looking for you/ Come away little light/ Come away to the darkness/ To the ones appointed to see it through/ We are calling for you/ We are coming for you

(John 8: 12-13) When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Come away little lamb/ Come away to the water/ Give yourself so we might live anew 

(John 1:29) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  (Hebrews 10: 9-10) Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Come away little lamb/ Come away to the slaughter/ To the ones appointed to see this through/ We are calling for you/ We are coming for you 

(Matthew 27: 27-31) Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Come away little lamb/ Come away to the water /To the arms that are waiting only for you/ Come away little lamb come away to the slaughter/To the one appointed to see this through We are calling for you/ We are coming for you/ We are coming for you/ We are coming for you

(lyrics from Songlyrics.com; verses taken from NIV)

.perfect Valentine songs.

Not much to blog about the last couple of days (unless I want to repost the reflection journals I've had to write for school or the teaching units for the Appalachian class I'm building - I'll spare you!) Instead, here are some songs I've been enjoying...they're perfect for getting in a Valentines' Day kind of mood...

Kina Grannis - "Valentine"

Kina Grannis - "Together" - - I'm loving her; thanks to my husband for putting her on the 2-year anniversary mix cd he made me :)

Kina Grannis - "In Your Arms" (yes, another one by her and this vid is so cute!)

"Life's a Happy Song" - from the new Muppets Movie (another song on the mix cd! such a cute movie!)

The Beatles - "I Will" (gotta put a Beatles song on here, and I've been teaching this one to my guitar/uke girls - it's so cute on the ukulele)

Jason Miraz - "I'm Yours" (I'm kinda tired of this song but my husband enjoys it so this is for him..)

.work that's not so much like work.

I read this in my devotional the other day and I just love it - - "Work...it should be looked upon -- not as a necessary drudgery...but as a way of life in which the nature of [wo]man should find its proper exercise and delight and so fulfill itself to the glory of God." - - Dorothy Sayers

The old saying, "love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life," is one that I live by and recite to my freshmen English students on a regular basis.  They sit in class, juggling jobs and school and life, desperately trying to figure out what they want to do for the rest of their lives, and I know it can be scary.  Luckily for me, I didn't have to search too hard to find my dream job - teaching.  I started when I was fourteen teaching swimming lessons, then moved on to guitar lessons, and now I teach the correct ways to cite sources in MLA and APA format.   Though it might sound "blah" to some, it is a fabulously perfect fit for me.

But one of the things I'm most thankful for is that I still get to give guitar lessons, teaching young girls to sing and play Taylor Swift and Michelle Branch (etc.) to their hearts' content.  Before Christmas, 11 of my students performed in a recital for their parents and the residents of Bethany Village Nursing Facility.   I have to say I felt a bit like a giddy parent, watching them perform.  Though last quarter was a challenging experience as a freshmen teacher, I realized that I went through it for a reason - to appreciate the other times (like the girls' performance and my students/class this quarter) when I know I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.

.women, violence & Rhianna.

One of the blogs I frequent is called WIT: Women in Theology, and it usually includes an array of posts about gender, feminism, Christianity, theology, etc. And since there are several women bloggers who contribute they tend to be interestingly different in subject matter and form.  I'm a little behind on my reading but this morning one of the recent posts really caught my eye and I thought I'd share it here.  It's a post discussing the contradictory rules for women and violence in the media, particularly looking at Rhianna's newest video, "Man Down,"portraying a girl who shoots her rapist.

To me, Rhianna is a particularly interesting artist because I always seem to keep her music on when I hear it on the radio (because the music is pretty good) but I can't stand how sexualized she allows herself to be (I'm particularly thinking of her performance of "What's My Name" on SNL; I wanted to scream: "stop gyrating already and just sing!).  Even though I know many people - some feminists included - would argue that Rhianna perhaps chooses and is in control of the image she presents to the media and public, I think it can also be argued that she is buying into the over-sexualized female object, becoming a poster-child for the objectified woman.  I let my students argue about this in my ENG 101 classes last fall and it was very interesting how quickly both the guys and gals agreed that it might not have been her choice to become a sex object, although now she's playing her part quite well.

What I found so compelling about the WIT post was that it discussed the implications of the song/video she duoed with Eminem, (don't get me started on him) "Love the Way You Lie," and how there is a contradictory "double-standard" for women and violence in the media (hence the title of the WIT post).  While her rap duet with Eminem was clearly violent it was the man acting out his frustrated, passionate love, which is clearly okay since, as the WIT writer concludes, no one seems to have a problem with it.  On the other hand, "Man Down" has received criticism because of its implications of "premeditated murder."  Here's the double standard - - it's okay for men to be portrayed in a violent manner because they're just showing their obsessive love  and affection, but it's bad for women to commit a violent act toward someone who has raped them (at least as far as this media argument goes).

In the same ENG 101 classes mentioned earlier I had my students watch "Love the Way You Lie,"(a video I'm sure many of them had seen already on VH1 or MTV) asking them to analyze and critically assess the messages portrayed through image and word.  It was amazing to see college freshmen thinking critically about sexualized images of violence that I'm sure they had never considered before (and I'm really hoping they carried these considerations out into the world with them - specifically their dorms).

So for those of you (feminists included) who feel that Rhianna is just taking control of her body and liberating herself from "good girl" roles "gone bad," I have a real problem with Rhianna, but I do agree with the WIT blogger's comments that perhaps this time, at least in regards to her newest video, she might be getting a bad rap.  

*[I didn't discuss the racial implications of the post which discussed the similar messages present in Rhianna's song and Martina McBride's "Independence Day" but that is definitely an interesting topic/problem to consider as well.]

ukuleles and vacation plans

This week has been busy, busy so I've not been able to update.  We got back to Ohio from our weekend in Virginia on Monday night and then I worked at Gap pretty much everyday this week except for today.  Scott and I did manage to plant all the flowers I bought on Thursday evening.  We put our bare hands right down into the soil and filled all our pots with flowers.  It was a lot of fun, and our balcony is nearly complete! 


It's old news (but great news!!) that Scott will be teaching an introductory Theology course at his school, but I just recently found out that I will be teaching ENG 101 at my school in the fall! I am super excited and can't wait to get started.  I will be teaching MWF at 9:45!


In other news, in addition to my guitar lessons, I will also be teaching ukulele lessons beginning this week.  You heard it right, ukulele lessons! I don't know a whole lot about the tiny Hawaiian instrument, but a few minutes sitting down last night with a chord book had me well-acquainted and ready to give my first lesson.  

A fellow teacher at the music shop where I work approached me about giving the lessons to her daughter.  I told her straight-out that I didn't know a whole lot about it, and that I'd only played around with one when working on a Shakespearean play in college (not considering the time I was a "ukelele girl" in the Spring Variety Show in primary school).  Knowing that it wouldn't be too hard transitioning from guitar to ukulele, I agreed to take on the new task and new student.  I've already looked up several songs and I'm pretty excited about learning another instrument. 


Okay, so a guilty pleasure that I must admit to is that when I was in high school I loved all of Nicholas Sparks's books.  I loved their hopelessly romantic characters and corny lines. Although this pleasure no longer exists for me, I still hold a special place in my heart for, "The Notebook."  I guess I find myself relating to the forbidden love that ends happily despite the obstacles and mistakes Allie and Noah must go through and learn from.  Needless to say, I am ecstatic that Scott and I will be staying in a Bed & Breakfast that looks a lot like the house Noah builds for Allie in the movie made a few years ago with Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling.  

It got up to 87 degrees today so I am definitely ready for some lazy vacation days in South Carolina!

What's that in the mail??

Concert tickets to see James Taylor and Carole King in concert!!!  

This was my graduation present from Scott!!  We have some thanks to owe James because his music was one of the things that brought us together.  Now, I won't go into the details but our story goes back to a discussion of the music of James Taylor in a booth at Burger King almost seven years ago - it's what started it all.  So needless to say we're both excited to be making the trip to see him in concert with the lovely Carole King! 

*For our "first dance" song at our wedding, we danced to his song, "You Can Close Your Eyes:"

{I love this picture because it shows Scott singing it to me}

Well the sun is surely sinking down, 
but the moon is slowly rising. 
So this old world must still be spinning around, 
and I still love you. 

So close your eyes; 
you can close your eyes, it's all right. 
I don't know no love songs, 
and I can't sing the blues any more. 
But I can sing this song, 
and you can sing this song 
when I'm gone. 

It won't be long before another day. 
We're gonna have a good time. 
And no one's gonna take that time away. 
You can stay as long as you like. 


So close your eyes; 
you can close your eyes, it's all right. 
I don't know no love songs, 
and I can't sing the blues any more. 
But I can sing this song, 
and you can sing this song 
when I'm gone.