I'm feeling 42: Blogathon, Day 10

Day 10 of the WordCount Blogathon, and I wanted to go for light and humorous.

I often joke that I would like the store Forever 21 to have a version for us 40-somethings that is Forever 39. 

The other day, my kids were belting out Taylor Swift's 22. I change the lyrics all the time to my kids' favorite tunes. One, to annoy them playfully. Two, to make the songs pertain more to me.

Without further ado.

42 (Parody of Taylor Swift's 22)

I'm happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time
It's miserable and magical, oh, yeah
Tonight's the night when I must face the deadlines
It's time

I don't know about you
But I'm feeling 42
Everything will be alright
If I survive the night
Don't you worry about me
I'll just keep focusing on you
Everything will be alright
If I just get you all to
22

Just in case you don't hear this song endlessly like I do, here's the YouTube video.

What I did love about the song... there are some things we feel whether we are 22 or 82. I think we are all happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time.

What's a song you can't stop singing lately?

Tune in tomorrow for my review of Rachel Morgan's The Faerie Prince. 

Genre Favorites Blogfest

Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of CassaStar and CassaFire as well as the mastermind behind the Insecure Writer's Support Group (#IWSG), is hosting the Genre Favorites Blogfest today. All you need to do is list your favorite genre in movies, music, and books and add a guilty pleasure.

I thought this exercise would be harder, but I went with the first thing that popped into my head on each category. But I'll go on the record now saying picking my favorite book genre was the hardest, because I will read any genre. Actually, if I read too many books in a row of a particular genre, I get burned out.

On with the show...
 

My favorite genre of:

 

Movie

This was the easiest category for me. I love comedies. Life is full of enough of the other emotions, so when I go to a movie I want to escape. What better way to escape than a good belly laugh?

Sadly, really good, laugh so hard you almost pee your pants comedies are hard to come by. Some of my favorites: Caddyshack, Bridesmaids (the bathroom scene had me in tears), Christmas Vacation, There's Something About Mary, Nutty Professor, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and Beverly Hills Cop.

 

Music

 

Music is so mood-dependent for me. When I'm going for a run, I need stuff with a great beat. When I'm sad, I'm all about the ballads. When I'm dancing around the house with my girls soaking up life, it's 80s music all the way, much to their chagrin.

To show my husband how much I care, I listen to Neil Diamond with him. See how much I love my husband!

 

Books

 

Why do I have to choose?!

 

I was going to go with the cop-out answer and say... relationship books with memorable characters and storyline. It's true, but I want to play by the rules here.

My favorite is women's fiction. At the end of the day, I want to be invested in the character and their real-life struggles. As a woman, I most identify with women's issues and emotions. But sometimes I find that theme in a different genre, books like Hunger Games and The Book Thief.

Some of my favorite women's fiction: The Help, Winter Garden, Stones from the River, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon and Secret Life of Bees. I know I'm forgetting other favorites! Back in the day, I would read anything from Judy Blume. Actually, I still will. 

 

I say women's fiction versus chick-lit for a reason. I don't like the books where the biggest struggle is trying to get the guy to notice you on a crowded dance floor. I need a literary leaning.

 

And a guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories!

My total guilty reading pleasure... celebrity magazines. If you think about it, it's really fiction. I go through the pictures first and then read the articles based on my interest level. (Come on guys, it's the equivalent of your Playboy. You can be honest here.)

Outside of that, it's young adult. I loved the City of Bones books (I've only read the first three), Divergent, Hunger Games, the Lightning Thief series (through book four), the Uglies series, and so on. I have a preteen daughter who loves to read, so I use that as my excuse to enjoy these books. It's been a treat for me. Not only do I get to read some great books, but I get to discuss them with my daughter. We even went on a girl-date to see Hunger Games.

I think my answers show my diverse nature. For movies, I want to escape and laugh. For books, I want an emotional roller coaster ride. For music, I pick based on mood. Finally, for a guilty pleasure, I read total fluff about celebrities or embrace what my preteen is reading. Don't try to figure it out. I know my husband has given up!

Please comment and share your favorites.

And feel free to join in on the fun. It's not too late. Just hop over to Alex's post and sign in.

Yakety Yak = Y: Blogging from A to Z

I am a woman surrounded by women. As the oldest of three girls and now mom to three daughters, my life is destined to be full of yakety yak. I'm not complaining, conversation is character study for a writer.

Still, I have to admit the lyrics of The Coaster's song, Yakety Yak, often come to mind these days. My oldest daughter is 12 (the other two are 10 & 7), so I've only just begun the journey through teenagerdom. The next time I'm asking for something and getting a lot of lip service, I think I might just break out into song.

Yakety Yak

Take out the papers and the trash
Or you don't get no spendin' cash
If you don't scrub that kitchen floor
You ain't gonna rock and roll no more
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

Just finish cleanin' up your room
Let's see that dust fly with that broom
Get all that garbage out of sight
Or you don't go out Friday night
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

You just put on your coat and hat
And walk yourself to the laundromat
And when you finish doin' that
Bring in the dog and put out the cat
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

Don't you give me no dirty looks
Your father's hip; he knows what cooks
Just tell your hoodlum friend outside
You ain't got time to take a ride
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

And two extra verses from me for fun:

You are too young for some snot-nosed fool
to be making you squeal and drool
So get back to putting your clothes away
And please don't let your thoughts stray
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

I'm doing this for your own good
so stop hiding 'neath that hood
Don't be thinking you invented yak
'Cause your Mama mastered talking back.
Yakety Yak (cut me some slack)

If you enjoyed the extra lyrics, give me some comment love.

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Tune in Monday, April 30th for the last A to Z post, and don't forget to check out other alphabetizing bloggers here.

Kick off your Sunday Shoes

From cheerleading to dancing... I'm really finding my youth these days.

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt:

I have a song in my head most of the time, so this is an easy one. YES! My parents were always telling me to turn the music off and do my homework. Without it, I couldn't focus. Same with writing. A stark, quiet room would be the death of me.

All the Footloose songs have been in my head since I took my preteen to see the remake. But it's the original tunes I can't shake. I love the song where Kevin Bacon is running through the warehouse, and the remake didn't use it. Didn't matter. It was playing in my head during the whole scene (as was Kevin Bacon).

My mother and I are writing a follow up to Depression Cookies, and this time the daughter is heading off to college and experiencing first love. Paula Abdul's Straight Up is constantly in my head when I'm writing those scenes. The lyrics:

Lost in a dream

Don't know which way to go

If you are all that you seem

Then baby I'm moving way too slow

I've been a fool before

Wouldn't like to get my love caught

In the slammin' door

How about some information--please

(Chorus)

Straight up now tell me

Do you really want to love me forever oh oh oh

Or am I caught in a hit and run

Straight up now tell me

Is it gonna be you and me together oh oh oh

Are you just having fun

Time's standing still

Waiting for some small clue

I keep getting chills

When I think your love is true

I've been a fool before

Wouldn't like to get my love caught

In the slammin' door

How about some information--please

(Chorus)

You are so hard to read

You play hide and seek

With your true intentions

If you're only playing games

I'll just have to say--bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye

I've been a fool before

Wouldn't like to get my love caught

In the slammin' door

Are you more than hot for me

Or am I a page in your history-book

I don't mean to make demands

But the word and the deed go hand in hand

How about some information--please

(Chorus)

Sounds like young love and smells like teen spirit to me!

Music, like reading, inspires me to write. After all, songs are just poetry set to music.

What song gets you moving/inspires you?

A Family Steeped in Creative Arts: Tub-Full Tuesday

I am blessed to come from a family of storytellers, writers, and readers. My maternal grandmother lined an entire room with books. My mom told bedtime stories to us as children from her imagination. They both taught us the love of reading and writing. But creative energy comes from Dad's side, too. My dad's oldest nephew, Marty Silverthorne, is a multi-published poet.

When my husband and I got married, I asked Marty to read an original poem made for us. No pressure! I promise to share that piece at a later date. I've been married sixteen years and moved many times, so I have to dig out the dust-covered wedding memories box!

I asked Marty how he started writing poetry. His response, "I fell in love with the music of poetry. I have always loved music. When I discovered poetry, it was a music I could write. It was a way to let memories shine. I love the old stories and come from a long line of storytellers, good and bad."

I am so thankful for generations of creativity... it truly fills my tub. I'm sharing one of Marty's poems today. Enjoy!

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Handiwork

He extends his arm, bent at the elbow,
fingers drawn, like he is reaching
for or giving away something.
He is speaking with his hands
like his father before him.

Everything I got, I got with these hands.
I quit the ninth grade and went
to work at Ed Moore’s Pure Oil.
He was a nasty bastard and I quit
working for him before I  killed him.
I drove my two-tone Ford home,
crying all the way to your mama
stretched out on the bed by the box fan
bloated with you, Boy.
She helped me bring myself together;
I went out and got a job before sunset.
That’s the longest I’ve ever been unemployed.
These hands have scraped to make a living;
all I’ve got I built with these hands.
Times ain’t always been this good but it
looks like they’re going backwards again.
With your mama’s help and the Lord above,
I’ll pull this plow as long as there’s land to bust.

His empty hands brim with sunshine,
outstretched arms appear weary now,
palms full of sunlight and waiting.

©2010 by Marty Silverthorne

Marty Silverthorne holds degrees from St. Andrews Presbyterian College and East Carolina University. He has published four chapbooks “Dry Skin Messiah,” “Pot Liquor Promises,” "No Welfare, No Pension Plan,” and “Rewinding at 40.”  Marty’s poetry has been published in many literary journals including Tar River Poetry, North Carolina Literary Review, St. Andrews Review, and Pembroke to name a few. Marty currently works as a Clinical Addiction Specialist in Greenville, North Carolina.

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I, too, love music, and I love the idea of poetry as music. Is poetry music to you?