A gift from Goo

My loving big sister, Goo, made me a mix cd for my birthday!  As I've mentioned in previous posts, she's always had a big influence on my musical tastes and has been making me mixes since I was about 10 years old.  She does a fantastic job of mixing new things she knows I will love with classics from our childhood and jams to which we grooved in our teen years... and, occasionally, a surprise.

This time, the surprise was a doozy.  It was Ray Stevens, the Weird Al of country music.  Yeehaw!



Goo and her greatness makes me jump pews and shout HALLELUJAH!

Book recommendations

What are books are you reading these days, folks? I was given a large number of books for the holidays, and I am thrilled to have a fresh, healthy stack of tomes to devour - but those may have to get put on hold so that I can check out some of these great works highlighted in Buzzfeed's recent post 'These 24 Books Have Actually Been Published.'

I am already incomparably awesome, but you might want to check out this one:


Practice makes perfect, yo!

Here's one I think I need to read straightaway - like many twenty-somethings, I've wondered what the next step in my working life might be. My sister gave me some very good advice recently. She said that no one is going to have my career as their top priority but me. I think she is right - and I think I've found just the book to help me cultivate my inner businesswoman:


I'm off to see if Craigslist has any mattresses being put out on the side of the road today I can pick up. The sky's the limit, folks!

Songs from Goo

One of the many benefits of having an older sister like Goo has been the awesome music to which she's introduced me. While my classmates were listening to garbage modern country radio slop or - I kid you not - Christian rock (welcome to rural Mississippi!), Goo was playing me Nirvana, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Beck and the like. Of course, at the time this only served to make me even more weird than the other kids, but later in life it helped me pretend to be marginally cool! Thank you, Goo!

She just texted me to remind me of another musical genuis she brought into my life - DR. HOOK.



Mmm, nothing like a slow jam on a Friday night.

More from our good friend R

We've already discussed the brilliant title of R Kelly's brand new autobiography, Soula Coaster. Over Thanksgiving, I learned from my sister that R has been cranking out genuis wordsmithery for years now. I'd like to share with you some of the remarkably descriptive lyrics from his sensual hit, "In the Kitchen":

girl ur in the kitchen
cookin me a meal
somethin makes me wanna come in there and get a feel...

cuttin up tomatoes
fruits and vegetables and potatoes
girl u look so sexy while ur doin the damn thang

sex in the kitchen
over by the stove
put u on the counter
by the buttered rolls...

Phew, is it hot in here, or is it just me?! Could be cause we're right be the stove, I suppose.

New guilty pleasure

My big sister Goo has gotten me completely hooked on the catchiest song I've heard as of late.



These are my confessions. Grover, can you help me out with my feelings please?

A quotable teacher

Being back in Mississippi has flooded Goo and me with memories of our youth, as it always does. Goo recalled earlier this week a marvelous saying from her 5th grade teacher, who was a staunchly religious woman. If anyone in class was heard taking the Lord's name in vain, the teacher would fix the offending party with a cold stare and say, "God won't help you, but he WILL strike you down!"

Let's all start saying that, yes?

A song from my youth

Yesterday's post about Manic Hispanic's Santa Got Run Over By My Chevy made me remember a song that my sister created when we were young. Recalling this great work had me caught in a giggle loop so strong that even a brisk walk around the block to calm the eff down didn't help. Goo was probably around 10, and I was probably about 5 when she composed the insta-classic Grandma Got Run Over By an Ex Lax Truck. Unfortunately I can only recall one line: "She had tire prints on her shoulders/ and doody in her drawers."

It will come as no surprise to anyone that when Goo was tested as a child, she was found to have a genuis level IQ.

Hump Day!

Oh, y'all, it's Wednesday. Thank ass, am I right? Halfway to the weekend! Shall we dance in celebration?



I sent this to my sister Goo last Hump Day, and she shared a wonderful story about her time in the Greenwood High School Marching Band:

When I was in the GHS band, one year we played T.L. Weston in Greenville, which was a truly thugged-out place. Their band played this song at halftime. The choreography was the lewdest thing I'd ever seen. They were practically having sex on the field. (Our director was not having that; we played the theme from "Aladdin.") When we left, the T.L. Weston kids threw rocks and bottles at our bus. All of this actually happened.

A quick internet search has shown me the sad news that T.L. Weston High School no longer exists, having been consolidated with another school. Another reminder that nothing gold can stay.