Fight Song Friday: Bye Week

The Irish are enjoying a much-needed bye this week, so I, too, am taking a break from my football posts. Enjoy the weekend, and get ready for a classic ND-USC showdown next week. Go Irish. Beat Trojans!

Tuesday Tunes: Etta James

This week I've had wedding plans on the brain (who knew that planning a wedding required making so many decisions?!), which has inspired today's Tuesday Tune. For some time now (long before I even had a boyfriend, much less a fiance), I have been sure of one detail (and, apparently, only one detail, as I'm quickly discovering now that I have to plan all the rest of the details) for my future wedding ceremony: At some point during the reception, my new husband and I will dance to Etta James's "At Last." If you're not familiar with her rendition of this classic song, get familiar. This singular song exemplifies everything that true love and faithful commitment are about, and for a girl who spent much of her adolescence and young adulthood pining for someone to love (and I do mean PINING), it is also profoundly appropriate.

I love the way that James delivers this song, in such a way that even if she were singing nonsense words, you would understand the intended meaning. The lyrics speak of the joy of found love, and the music shouts the sentiment with piercing strings and a willowy, flowing, ethereal sound. I can feel this song from beginning to end. I eagerly await the day I can share a newlywed moment with my true love as we're completely immersed in this song and embraced by each other. At last.

Fight Song Friday: Washington Week

Not everyone who reads this blog (all 3 of them) is a college football fan (and for that I say, "Shame on you..." Just kidding...kinda). If you're not a college football fan, you may not know that Notre Dame plays Washington this week. You also may not know that Washington did not win a single game in 2008. Zero. You might have also failed to realize that Washington has won 2 of its 4 games in 2009, including a shocking upset of highly-ranked USC. The same USC team that has shellacked Notre Dame every year since 2002. What makes this whole scenario very interesting is that until last year, Washington's head coach, Steve Sarkisian, was USC's offensive coordinator. Naturally, you would expect that he might be able to mastermind a win over the Trojans given that he knows the team so well. You might also expect that he knows how to beat the Irish given the recent history between Notre Dame and USC.

This is what concerns me. By all accounts, Washington should be a mediocre team. Not great, but certainly improved from the 2008 debacle. They have a reliable, shifty quarterback and some good raw talent on their team, but they are obviously still adjusting to a new coaching staff and learning how to win again after last season. But couple Sarkisian's knowledge of Irish strategic weaknesses with the actual physical weaknesses of the ND players due to injuries, and we are likely in for another thrilling (read: heart attack-inducing) game tomorrow. We'll know then what each of these teams is truly made of. Go Irish. Beat Huskies!

My Favorite Season

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.-- Nathaniel Hawthorne

I think Hawthorne got it right when he insisted on taking advantage of the glory of the Fall season. As we quickly approach the dreary winter months, there are just a few weeks of blissful, perfect, beautiful weather here in the Midwest, and I intend to soak up as much of them as possible. Now, I won't get to spend all the waking hours outdoors (unless you consider a windowless office with fluorescent lighting a comparable substitute), but I will definitely find opportunities to participate in outdoor activities and immerse myself in the splendor of Autumn. I can already feel the air turning brisk, and I can smell the purity of this season that begins a deep cleansing process before the quiet of Winter and the regrowth of Spring. I always find clarity and focus in the Fall. Mind, body, and spirit seem to align and become refreshed, and I am energized.

Perhaps it is because the frantic pace of my job slows down in the Fall, and I can exhale. Perhaps it is because I reminisce about when Fall used to mean a new school year and the anticipation of new challenges. Perhaps it is because Fall directly precedes the holiday season when everything and everyone relaxes and family and friends rightfully become more important than the daily grind. Whatever the reason, Fall has always been my favorite season. I can't wait to inhale the crisp air, break out my sweatshirts, go to a football game, and enjoy a campfire or two. I eagerly await the vibrant foliage. I look forward to the promise of another blessed year.

Tuesday Tunes: Christina Aguilera

My voice teacher and I were discussing today the effects that society and the entertainment industry have on young girls and women. Namely that, with effortless efficiency, society's acceptance of over-sexed, under-parented girls has promoted a culture in which it is common to see 12-year olds emulating their musical role models by dressing like the Pussycat Dolls and acting like Britney Spears. My teacher and I agreed that it was sad to see a world where children don't actually have childhoods, but instead are forced to reconcile immature, impressionable world views with an increasingly mature and oppressive world. Similarly, we remarked that it is disheartening to follow the trend of an entertainment culture that no longer encourages true talent, but rather rewards sleaze and strangeness.

Ultimately, we decided that there is still hope for a return to class and appreciation of merit. For their parts, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are shining examples of successful female artists who have maintained relatively uninterrupted adolescent development (except for a few million extra dollars of allowance each year) in spite of the glaring spotlights they both live in. Most remarkably, Christina Aguilera is one (and possibly the best) example of a female artist who has gone from innocent, precocious child to hyper-successful, adolescent sexpot to refined, distinguished woman, all while maintaining the standard for this generation's female pop singers.

I'm amazed by the strength Aguilera must possess to have withstood the pressures of society's expectations, public perception, and media spin in the daily adventure to live a regular life in an irregular world. Her transition through a tumultuous young adulthood into a classy and graceful (albeit still sexy) grown-up life is inspiring and encourages me to believe that other aspiring female musicians can survive the entertainment circus and end up as grounded, productive adults. I can only hope that those aspiring artists produce a musical product as worthy as Aguilera's. Viva la diva!