February 27, 2012

Now is the Best Moment of Your Life

By penguinproject

“This moment contains all moments.” -C.S. Lewis

I have often found myself living in far away places in my future and even made my way back to places that I left long again. However, I rarely live in now. And when I do, I quickly find myself fleeting off somewhere else. The truth is that there is a reason that the past is the past and that the future has not been revealed yet. So, thanks to “Dating Rules from My Future Self” (dating-rules-from-my-future-self-u-can-get-it-if-u-really-want), I have a new motto and a moment to live in forever.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Song Birds

February 23, 2012

Stupid Bitch

By penguinproject

“Look at your life. Look at your choices.” -Sassy Gay Friend

It was a blistery night as the cold Santa Monica air seeped into every open crevice of the dark classroom. My Shakespeare professor continued to get up and down to adjust the volume for the full three hours. Vapid girls were chattering around me, and I was trying desperately to concentrate. I wish that I could say that those silly girls were the ones that were distracting me, but I was distracting myself. As I was becoming more and more involved in the story, I only heard the haunting words of Sassy Gay Friend, “You took a roofie from a priest”, and giggled a little too loudly.

Sure, we can laugh at Juliet for being a “stupid bitch”, but if only we all had our own Sassy Gay Friend. We probably would all have gotten a lot less sad, way less drunk, and made some better life decisions. So, wake up, move on, and be happy. Yeah, I’m talking to you. You, stupid bitch.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in I Hope This Song Starts a Craze

February 20, 2012

If You Can’t Say Anything True, Then Don’t Say Anything At All

By penguinproject

“Say anything, but say what you mean” -Mae (Suspension)

In a world that is full of static and glitter, maybe, just maybe, we can break through and allow our words to hold weight again.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Song Birds

February 18, 2012

With or Without You

By penguinproject

“Do the things that you always wanted to/ Without me there to hold you back, don’t think, just do/ More than anything I want to see you, girl/ Take a glorious bite out of the whole world” – Snow Patrol (You Could Be Happy)

Soon enough, I will be walking down the aisle, changing diapers, and a long list of things that will make this time in my life seem so very far away. So, to be ready for that time, I need to take advantage of this time.

I Don’t Have a Ring on My Finger or a Bun in the Oven, But…

1. I can sleep in late on my days off, and I don’t have to worry about someone hogging the entire bed.

2. Dinner can be whatever I want it to be.

3. My apartment can be as clean or cluttered as I would like it.

4. I can take as long as I want to in the bathroom.

5. At the drop of a hat, I can go visit friends or get out of town for the weekend.

6. I can completely concentrate on school.

7. I can leave my “wand” and make-up out in the bathroom.

8. Friends can come over and stay over as long as they would like.

9. I don’t have in-laws.

10. I can spend hours writing in silence.

11. I don’t have to make sandwiches for the “poker game”.

12. Nick Jr. isn’t playing non-stop at my house.

13. I can buy those awesome heels or funky piece of art and not feel guilty.

14. I can pick up and move anywhere that I want to.

15. The only dirty laundry that I do is my own.

16. I’m the best bridesmaid.

17. Girls’ night out is a regular occurrence-not something that happens every six months.

18. My schedule is my own, and I have no one to answer to.

19. I can watch that episode of “Friends” for the two-thousandth time and not hear anyone complain.

20. My day doesn’t revolve around “nap time”.

21. I’m saving for that trip for my best friend’s wedding or abroad, instead of for the kids’ college tuition.

22. I have no crazy ex-girlfriends to worry about.

23. The toilet seat is always down.

24. I can spend eight hours in Hollywood at an acoustic in-store, a full evening of improv, not come home until two o’clock in the morning on a Tuesday, and not have someone asking, “Where have you been?!”

25. I’m happy.

3 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Song Birds

February 16, 2012

Punching Penguins

By penguinproject

“ARE YOU LISTENING?!” -Emery (Walls)

If you happen to be in Boiling Springs, South Carolina on Thursday, February 23rd, you just may have the night of your life. It is not only the very first show at Sound Stage Music Hall (www.facebook.com/soundstagemusichall), but former Tooth and Nail band, Spoken, will be playing for only eight dollars. And definitely do not miss the grand opening of Sound Stage Music Hall on Sunday, February 26 with Oh the Calamity, East West, Kaleb Alexander and more. So, get there early because it is sure to be a packed house of ridiculous proportions.

And in case you missed it, here is the interview that my boy, Kyle Cheleotis, from Upstate Recordings and Management did with GoUpstate.com (http://www.goupstate.com/article/20120209/ENT/202091002?tc=ar).

Things like this don’t come to the Upstate or Boiling Springs often. It is time for some much over-due recognition of the phenomenal bands that are bubbling in the underground. So, please come out and support this effort. This is the beginning of something spectacular in the Upstate, and you should be there with chanting arms.

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February 15, 2012

Mistakes We Knew We Were Making

By penguinproject

“The decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial in any love story. It changes the relationship of two people much more strongly than even the final surrender; because this kiss already has within it that surrender.” -Emil Ludwig

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February 14, 2012

Local Listening

By penguinproject

“You don’t like anything on local radio/ So you fumble around ’til you land on NPR/ And listen to world news” -Local Natives (World News)

After spending a few years working for Whole Foods (which in my humble opinion is the best market/company to work for), I really grew to appreciate all things local. As a company, Whole Foods knew that in order to grow and sustain, they had to support the community around them. I would much rather support local merchants and projects because they have a bigger immediate impact on myself and the community. So, it is safe to say that my local love runs very deep.

Meet KCRW.

As a “community service of Santa Monica College”, “KCRW (http://www.kcrw.com/) is Southern California’s leading National Public Radio affiliate, featuring an eclectic mix of music, news, information and cultural programming.” From “Morning Becomes Eclectic” which features classic and emerging artists to their plethora of news shows that are stored online and can be listened to at anytime, KCRW is creating a revolution in alternative radio. It is creating new opportunities for a complete mixture of music, art, and ways to stay active politically as well as socially. No longer do you need to be dependent on a radio station that may only have news or may play the same five songs all day long. You have a glorious mix of all things that you love, and you can listen locally and even beyond. Welcome to KCRW. Your listening will never be the same.

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February 13, 2012

Always A Lady

By penguinproject

“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.” -Coco Chanel

“Amanda, your hair is looking really fabulous lately. What’s your secret?” I slowly glanced around the theatre bathroom and whispered, “It’s called the wand, and it’s awesome.”

Yes, I am that girl that can sleep on her hair and wake up with it looking exactly the way that it did the night before. I know. You probably hate me. So, when I discovered the wand (http://hadleysreality.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/curly-q/) on Hadley’s Reality (http://hadleysreality.wordpress.com/), it was not long before I found myself at Target buying my very own magic stick. It works better than a curling iron and creates amazing waves that last for days.

As a girl that tries to keep it simple, Hadley Hartz has made it incredibly easy to follow her blog and her fashion advice. From her amazing jewelry finds to new ways to dress up old outfits, Hadley’s ideas are never tired and always refreshing. Her sass and individuality make this girl want to see what she has to say next. I appreciate that she’s a real girl on a budget, and doesn’t want to stretch the purse strings so much. She’s an avid thrift shopper, which is something that is an acquired taste, but something that I have moved into. So, hopefully when you discover Hadley’s Reality, you will find something that will make someone stop you in the bathroom and say, “Hey! You’ve been looking really great lately!” And don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.

6 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in I Hope This Song Starts a Craze

February 12, 2012

Beauty Before You

By penguinproject

“There are those who through ignorance or prejudice strive to maintain that American scenery possesses little that is interesting or truly beautiful-that it is rude without picturesqueness, and monotonous without sublimity-that being destitute of those vestiges of antiquity, whose associations so strongly affect the mind, it may not be compared with European scenery. But from whom do these opinions come? From those who have read of European scenery, of Grecian mountains, and Italian skies, and never troubled themselves to look at their own; and from those travelled ones whose eyes were never opened to the beauties of nature until they beheld foreign lands, and when those lands faded from the sight were again closed and forever; disdaining to destroy their trasn-atlantic impressions by the observation of the less fashionable and unfamed American scenery. Let such persons shut themselves up in their narrow shell of prejudice-I hope they are few,-and the community increasing in intelligence, will know better how to appreciate the treasures of their own country.” -John W. McCoubrey (American Art 1700-1960: Thomas Cole: Essay on American Scenery)

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February 6, 2012

Until We Meet Again

By penguinproject

“I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain/ I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end/ I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend/ But I always thought that I’d see you again” -James Taylor (Fire and Rain)

There are ones whose beauty and spirit transcend space and time, and you are a better person to simply have known them. They changed you, and the world cries at the loss of such a magnificent human being. With their absence comes a great unsettling that it will never be the same, but it was in the tiniest moments that they breathed love into your life. They filled a space inside of you that can never be touched or replaced.

Perhaps, in “A Grief Observed”, C.S. Lewis said it best, “It doesn’t matter that all of the photographs of H. are bad. It doesn’t matter-not much-if my memory of her is imperfect. Images, whether on paper or in the mind, are not important for themselves. Merely links. Take a parallel from an infinitely higher sphere. Tomorrow morning a priest will give me a little round, thin, cold, tasteless wafer. Is it a disadvantage-is it not in some ways an advantage-that it can’t pretend the least resemblance to that with which it unites me? I need Christ, not something that resembles Him. I want H., not something that is like her.”

So, as my tears fall and my heart aches for a man that created so much joy for so many people, I know that he is singing with angels, and he probably has the loudest and most beautiful voice of them all.

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