More Music Friday – The John Hughes Edition

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When Trent got home last night the first words out of my mouth were “Did you hear…?” and he quickly cut me off with “Yes, I know, John Hughes died. Are you going to get all angsty now?”

It’s no secret that I’m a huge John Hughes fan. Maybe it’s because my sister is fourteen years older than I am, so at the age of five I thought I was an troubled teen like her. I remember watching The Breakfast Club over and over in high school and being amazed that hardly any of my friends knew what I was talking about. My only solice was my high school boyfriend, who, like me, spent most Friday nights watching Pretty in Pink or St. Elmo’s Fire (and sometimes Howard the Duck, but that’s a whole other story).

And as I’ve watched all today’s teen a-holes get famous, I couldn’t help but hope good ole’ Johnny would make another teen hit and show us again what real kids are like. Not packaged pop stars who send naked photos via text message, but normal, everyday kids with problems that are relatable. John Hughes was different. He wasn’t Hollywood, he wasn’t just another studio big wig. He really cared. About his fans, about his actors, about his family and friends. It showed in his work, and in the people who worked with him. (If you haven’t read this story yet, you should. Even if you’re not a Hughes fan, you’ll be touched.)

We should celebrate the happy, and since it’s More Music Friday and Mr. Hughes had so many iconic musical moments in his films, I figured I’d share some with you all. But then I looked around the web and all the great moments I wanted to share are either invisible online or have been copyrighted so they can’t be shared here. So instead I’ll leave you with Ferris, on a float, singing Twist and Shout and my favorite Brat Pack mashup of all time, by the wonderful band Phoenix. Feel the happy, people. RIP John Hughes, you are already very missed.

Reminiscing

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For me, it’s easy to remember her as a baby. A little gloworm, wrapped up tight, screaming at the top of her lungs. I remember the smells of old milk on clothes and no-tears baby shampoo. I remember the rocking, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

What’s harder for me to recall, is the time after. The time when I finally started to sleep again. The time when she started to become a person, not just an abstract blob.

So I watch videos and look at pictures and remember how amazing it was (and still is) to watch her change. To watch her learn to talk and dance and sing. To watch a video where she has just learned the sounds that animals make, knowing now she can spell those animals names and will tell you what they eat and where they live. Back then she would say “moo” and we would clap with delight, our voices in a high pitched squeal at our little angel’s obvious smarts.

Now she claps for herself. When she gets it right, she is the one squealing. But I need to remember to squeal too. To clap and play and laugh out loud at a ridiculous volume. Because that’s how we got here in the first place.

Tunes + Farm Animals from Megan on Vimeo.

I would have never guessed either

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It’s been six months since my friend Theresa and I started our project NYC + KC, and I want to see a show of hands of those people that never thought we’d make it this far? Okay, put your hands down. Really, put them down. If you would have asked me how long this thing would’ve lasted, I would have told you a month, tops, but here we are, 181 days later, and still going strong.

Granted, we have fudged some of the rules a bit. No longer does each picture have to be taken before noon (a year of mornings…yeah, wasn’t going to happen), and some weeks we get pretty behind in uploading. Really, the only rule is that we take a photo each day, and even if it doesn’t get posted for a week, it still counts. I think giving ourselves this kind of stretching room has helped the project to continue. Our goal is to make it through an entire year, and while it isn’t easy, I think we just might make it.

For those of you that find themselves forgetting to click on the icons on the left sidebar, which lead you to the project, here are a few of my favorites:

Day One Hundred and Three

To me, this looks like they could be at the same party, laughing at the same joke.

Day One Hundred and Seven

Is Lulu watching the carriages?

Day One Hundred and Ten

A city scene, and a country scene.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Eight

A color celebration.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Nine

Can I borrow some change?

Day One Hundred and Fifty

Rain and sunshine.

Truly, you should check out the archives. There are rainbows and weddings and flowers and kids and babies and cityscapes and dancing and food and everything else you could ever imagine.

Even my dad, the Dean, has checked it out. His exact words:

Very cool, and an interesting concept! I like it. In some pairings, you’d almost think that you two have switched sides, but it reclarifies in the next pairing. I’ll have to monitor it periodically ‘til its done (if I remember where I put the linkage).

So you should check it out. The Dean says so. That is, if you remember where you’ve put the “linkage.”

Spoiled

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I’ve been a Macintosh lover and user for years. I guess it all started in high school, when the only Mac computers in the school resided in the journalism classroom, where the epic “Mentor” newspaper and “Blue M” yearbook were created. While most kids took a while to get used to the glory of the Macintosh (Where is the CTRL key?! How do you right click? What the ‘eff does CMMD mean?!), I quickly took to those silly looking computers with the time clock wait icon. When I decided to become a journalism major in college, I was pleased to find the whole school used Apple exclusively, and when I got my job as a video editor with the school, which lasted throughout my college career, I knew I would need an Apple of my very own.

Enter my beloved “Macaroni,” a G4 Powerbook which has stood by me for many, many years. It’s been through five major moves in four cities (including Florence, Italy), and countless You Tube videos. Though it doesn’t hold battery charge now and is basically obsolete, I still love my Macaroni, and refuse to give it up. That is, until it can be properly replaced (suggestion: here).

And my Mac love doesn’t just extend to computers. I have been the owner of way too many iPods, including my first, a pink iPod Mini given to me by Trent as a Christmas gift oh so many years ago. That was followed a few years later with a Video iPod, and a hand me down iPod Touch. But now, ladies and gents, now I have entered a whole new world of Mac dependency.

I have an iPhone. And not just a 3G, but because of some crazy billing error, the new 3Gs. Please, let’s have a moment of silence.

This phone is the best electronic tool I’ve ever laid my fingers on. I use the Google Maps GPS feature instead of printing out directions, I downloaded a sound machine app to help me sleep when I can’t settle down, I check Twitter way more often then is necessary, I can listen to Pandora or any NPR station in the county with just a touch. And having my music, videos, photos and phone all in one device isn’t bad either.

But the best part, for me, at least, is the new video feature, so when Lucy gets all cute at a Royals game, leading our section as team cheerleader, I can capture it and share with you.

Or when Mara is trying to avoid me, I can easily annoy her.

Or when I need to entertain my kid with random questions, I can capture her insane reaction.

But I’m certainly not wasting time taking videos. I spend most of my iPhone time checking my work email and calendars. And the stock market. And the weather.

Yup, it’s all about the work. Practicality, people. Uh huh. Totally.

[cough, cough]

Friends Are Awesome

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Another lovely sidenote of the wedding I photographed this weekend was the fact that I got to spend time with two of my favorite people on the planet. Ever since our wonderful “Nacho Cheese” (Abbie) moved to Alabama, we rarely get to spend time together. Though Mara and I have spent more time together lately than any two friends with obsessive personalites should (vampires! wizards! movies from 1983! redheads!), we truly never has as much fun as we do when Miss Abbie is with us. She balances us out, bringing to the mix fart jokes, country line dances set to rap music, and the ability to finally make Mara laugh. Case in point, the following selection of photos, which shows our threesome’s relationship better than any of my words could.

(Photos totally stolen from Abbie’s facebook)

Watch as Abbie and I decide we want a picture of three of us, then spend forever trying to get Mara to smile, while she pouts about taking a photo. Check out Mara’s face, it’s classic “Mara.” Techniques for capturing said elusive smile include silly faces, striking a pose, the robot (which unfortunately translates to jazz hands on film), and smootching:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Friendship is such a good thing.

(Note: Both Mara and Abbs look so damn cute, and I look sweaty and disgusting. I blame that on the fact that I was not informed I should dress up AND spent a good portion of the afternoon sweating and sitting on the grass while I took pictures. And I had to borrow a shirt from Abbie because after the first two hours of shooting, my shirt was covered in sweat stains. I know, you really wanted to know that.)

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