WHAT I LISTENED TO THIS WEEK

My postgraduate work life can be dull. I order things. I talk to customers. I process insurance. Could be worse, could be better. But what I can do, which is the best, is play music all day. Music is my favorite thing. I listen at work, in the shower, to fall asleep, to wake up, all the time always. I come home, I play the piano (badly) and pretend I'm the fifth, and only lady, Beatle. Sending friends music on Spotify is my favorite hobby. I'll try listening to anything. I'm going to attempt to make these weekly. Let's see how it goes.

Since this is the first, I'll put a couple of songs I've loved this month.

From Eden- Hozier

I've listened to this song an INSANE AMOUNT in the past week and a half or so. This is a live version, but the recorded version for EP From Eden is soooo lovely and you'll like singing it in your car. I know very little about this guy, other than he is Irish. I love the Irish, you guys. 

Stay With Me- Sam Smith

Could have gone with ANY SAM SMITH SONG AT ALL that has been released to this point. I fell in love with him via Latch by Disclosure (zero percent chance I won't bring up Disclosure again somewhere along the line of these posts), I just find his voice stunning and his aesthetic beautiful. His music is so simple, and so honest, and so lovely, such an antidote to the hyper-layered pop that can be almost overwhelming sometimes. Also he is SO YOUNG and British and I just wanna pinch his cute cheeks and be his best friend. LOVE Sam Smith, adore this song. His full album comes out soon and I am SO JAZZED YOU GUYS.

Say You'll Be There- Mø

You can tell me this isn't the coolest cover you've ever heard, and I'll tell you you're lying.

Whenever, Wherever- Bombay Bicycle Club

A band I've loved for a few years, this song makes me feel invincible, even though the lyrics are relatively sad ("words that'll ease you, words that are always dressed up to please you" is one of my favorite lines in recent memory). The music is irrepressible. It's a song that sounds like spring. I hope you love it too.

Falling- Yuna

Yuna is a Malaysian singer songwriter who is genuinely blowing my mind. Her cover of Drake's Hold On We're Going Home is on Spotify- listen to it, fall in love. Then listen to her two albums, and fall more in love. To go with this falling theme, enjoy the above.

I'm Not Exaggerating.

There isn't much new in terms of commentary we can offer about the truly disheartening and disturbing shootings at UCSB on May 23rd. Horrific events like these happen too often, and that's a conversation I'd love to have but not today, and not right now. I'm more concerned with why this happened, rather than how, at the moment.

He chose to go to a sorority house. Klew, Darby, and myself are all sorority members, from different organizations. We've all lived in sorority housing. I was just yesterday explaining to one of my good friends who went to NYU and wasn't Greek how a sorority house works and who all lives there and how much I loved it. I teared up telling her about my 85 year old house mother I loved like a grandmother (this is a big deal, I don't cry. I have yet to cry in 2014). He chose to go somewhere I always felt safe, I always felt at home. I never once thought living with 80 girls would ever translate to living in a targeted space. It never occurred to me to think it unsafe.

While I was at KU, I was president of our Panhellenic Association (which no one my English and History classes believed because no one believed I was in a sorority, but again, for another day). I was truly proud and protective of my community, because I loved these women. I loved their strength and successes and I loved how we pushed each other to do better, to be better. I loved that even when we didn't live up to expectations, these women weren't afraid to own up and resolve our issues together. But during my presidency, more often than I ever expected, I received texts, calls, emails, "Kathryn, just so you know, some guy tried to get in the house", "Kathryn, just so you know, girls were followed home", "Kathryn, has this happened to anyone else? Has anyone else talked to you about this?" The Panhellenic Association at Kansas is the largest women's organization on campus. I knew if these women had questions and problems, it went beyond our large sample size, it had to be a problem across campus. We never had a situation as extreme as UCSB. That doesn't mean we didn't have scary situations.

It made me mad. It made me furious to see the worry on these girls' faces, scared to speak up and scared that they might not be able to keep their sisters safe. It made me mad how often fraternity men were more often than not on guard for these girls while out at night, especially as many of these men  had grown up with these women in Kansas. It made me mad these fraternity men didn't think it was safe enough for me to walk home alone. It made me mad that I worried they were right.

I was lucky, I made friends with women's organizations on campus and I built bonds to help create real momentum for women's safety and issues on our campus. I was even luckier to have a Director of Risk Management on our Panhellenic Executive Board who understood that her job could, and should, be more than monitoring party violations. She went to work creating programs on health, personal safety, consent, all of these major issues that she felt responsible to, at the very least, make an effort to reach out to any of our women who may need that extended hand. These were not easy conversations, but she was determined to be an open and clear resource, in any way she could. I am still so grateful to her, her vision, and her determination to make us safer, to make us closer.

I read the news about these stories and I'm sick. I see #YesAllWomen trend on twitter and I'm both heartened by honesty and then sick again to see "that's why you shouldn't friend zone a guy" as an apparently valid and popular response. I'm mad. I think about those sorority sisters who have had their home taken from them- it will never be the same. It will never be as it was before. And I'm just livid. I think about how often "feminist" is misunderstood and considered a dirty word, how both men and women I look up to don't want to use it, and I'm angry. I think about the fact that this young man specifically targeted women, and if it was any other group, we'd have a different conversation. I think about those emails and calls and conversations in college, I think about the girls abducted Nigeria from their school- where they were supposed to be safe, I think about my friend who told me just today she is coming home early from her study abroad overseas because her roommate was sexually assaulted at knifepoint. I think about these things and my head spins.

I think about these things and my temperature rises, and my voice gets louder, because every time I think I can't hear one more story, I do. And while I'm happy to see efforts like this one from the White House, it does occur to me that women have voices too. It does occur to me that our voices should be enough, it shouldn't take James Bond.

We're a big fan of lady heroes here. Darby and Klew are already two of my lady heroes, which they should know if they don't. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to see any current or future lady heroes get scared into silence or inaction. This is me using my voice the best way I know how, just yet. I'll keep trying to find better ways to use it.

I'll get back to trying to be funny about pop culture and my efforts in winning you over with my exceptional taste in all things, but I just had to write this. I keep thinking about watching The Punk Singer, and how yet another lady hero, Kathleen Hanna, put it so clearly for me:

So thanks for reading, for just a minute, a bit of my truth today. I'm not exaggerating. 

365 Lovely Thoughts: #145

"Goodness is the only investment that never fails."

-Thoreau

365 Lovely Thoughts: #144

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."

-Dalai Lama

Darby's Battle with Reverse Culture Shock

First of all, shalom, good readership of Get a Klew. Psyched to be here.

Second of all, something you should know about me if I blog here with semi-regularity: I use the word “shalom” a lot. I’ve been assured by my Jewish best friend that it is not offensive so… again, shalom.

Third of all, I think you should know that I come to you from the comfort of my family sofa, watching my ninth episode of “The Mindy Project” in the past 24 hours, as I battle a psychiatric disorder known as “reverse culture shock.”

That’s right. I am a week and a half into my return to America after four months of studying abroad in Barcelona. For those out there who might also suffer upon their return from Europe, I want to share all that I have learned throughout this long and trying readjustment to American suburbia.

Binge eating American food can literally and figuratively fill the void tapas and pinchos once did. 

 I’m not going to lie, tapas qualify as one of the top three greatest culinary innovations of all time, right next to sausage-wrapped-in-pancake-on-a-stick and Chipotle burritos. But take solace in the fact that the top two things are American and you are now cultured enough to be able to rank European food with confidence. And if you don’t know what pinchos are, I pity you. Go to Spain right now and try some.

 Binge watching American television on a big ass American flatscreen helps replace the constant European adventuring you recently did. 

Climbing mountains, partying on a rented yacht in the Olympic port, and regularly hanging out on the beach are fun. But like TV watching is also equally as fun. I’m actually not kidding… Constant adventuring can be very exhausting. Your mantra abroad was “carpe diem,” but at some point in the day, the seizing of the day had to end and all you really wanted to do was watch some dumb American show in your dumb American language nestled on your couch. Welp, now you can. For HOURS on end. It’s like, shalom America, pardon me while I catch up on the entire last season of “Scandal.”

The coffee is not as good and not as strong in America. 

I’m sorry. That’s just a reality you’re going to have to deal with.

When you come home, everyone is going to ask you if you found love abroad.

It’s hard for others to believe that, in terms of people, finding love in Europe is actually kind of low on the priority list. Honestly, being single in Europe is one of the best feelings in the world… You’re beholden to no one and nothing. It’s just you doing you in whatever country Ryan Air can fly to.

So when everyone at home asks you if you fell in love, just say no, because it takes too long to explain that yes, you did find love. You found it in every god damn nook and cranny of Europe. People always told you love was “limitless,” and now you know it’s “true.” (Another thing about me... I overuse quotations and I blatantly misuse ellipses. This is not Grammar Girl’s blog.)

You felt your heart expand when you fell in love with the castles in Prague, the pubs in Ireland, the gelato in Italy. You got those butterflies in your stomach when you climbed to a foreign mountaintop and surveyed the earth below your feet. And you knew it was love at first electronic bass note when you sauntered into your first European club. But that is hard to communicate in casual conversation, and explaining you fell in love with a continent as opposed to a person might really weird some people out. So just stick with, “No.”

Ignore to do lists. Continue to live life in a surreal state of zero responsibility. 

 Do I have thank you notes to write? Month-old voicemails to answer? A suitcase or two to unpack? Yes. Do I choose to believe they will all take care of themselves? Yes. I do. Sorry I’m very sick with reverse culture shock and Netflix is the only person who understands me.

The ultimate cure-all for reverse culture shock: Lawrence, Kansas.

Specifically, the Wagon Wheel. After everywhere I’ve been, I can still say the Wagon Wheel is the happiest place on Earth, and my family and my friends are the best people on Earth. They are the Pepto Bismol to my American culture indigestion.

 So not to fear, fellow former study abroad students! Europe really is all it’s cracked up to be, but I have to say, Dorothy knew what she was talking about when she clicked those red heels together. There really is no place like home. She is from Kansas so she would know.

You guys, Darby.

We're adding one more contributor to the blogskidoodle. Her name is Darby Evans! Darbs is fresh off the boat from Barcelona (okay fine, she's lived her entire life in Kansas City...she was studying abroad. I wanted you to think she was legit Spanish. She's not, but pretend). She's as cultured, elegant, and beautiful as the Spanish, though. We assume. We know no Spaniards.

Darby still has a full year left in the promised land. She's about to be a Senior at The University of Kansas (see also: Gods and Goddesses, Invincible, Funnest year ever.)

She's getting a degree in Journalism like Klew but also a degree in English like Hoven- like Miley said a long, long time ago, she gets the best of both worlds. (Klew acknowledges and appreciates Hoven only positively referring to Miley while referencing her old body of work.)

We've added Darby to da blog because well, she's brilliant. She had her own blog to document her travels and experiences abroad, and it left me and Hoven in stitches every time we read it. She's going to make you laugh, you guys. She's going to make you laugh A LOT. This is like a reverse Cinderella where we are adoring older stepsisters who realize Darberella is already much cooler than we are. She tolerates us.

There's also a teeeeeeeeeny little bit of Hoven and I that realize if left to our own devices, this thing could turn into One Direction/Mindy Kaling/Jimmy Fallon/Cinderella fan fiction REAL QUICK-LIKE. And like, yeah that's what we're about, but it's also not completely what we're about. You feel us? 

So yeah. Darby. Read about her in the Darby page above. Use deductive reasoning to understand that she has written all of the posts that have the "Darby" signature at the bottom. We're pretty stoked about this, and you should be too.

We probably could have had her write this herself. We're just too excited.

THIS IS COOL I THINK U GUYS

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Pop culture week of 5/5

Mindy finale was the best half hour of television that ever was

IT WAS SO GOOD WHY WAS IT ONLY 30 MINUTES? WHY DO WE NOT WORK FOR HER? HOW DO WE BECOME WRITERS FOR THAT SHOW? HOW DO WE MEET MINDY? HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Danny did a catfish thing where he pretended to be some prince charming dude for Mindy and it was really him. I got so mad at Danny for being dumb and faking that guy but I also felt hella smart/aware that I watch too many movies when I knew it was him. Also that guy that it was supposed to be looked SO FAMILIAR WHERE IS HE FROM.

Heaving, sweating, dressed like a fashionable French librarian, half passed out on the Empire State Building observation deck. She's A QUEEN. I would not run up all those stairs for true love, I don't think.

There were SO MANY parallels to chick flicks and romantic comedies, but she did them in her own funny, relevant, Mindy way. I'm always so impressed with her writing when I watch this show. You guys I seriously aspire to be just like her. 

What's best about Mindy is that she STANDS UP FOR HERSELF. Danny did some stupid stuff and she said so. She's my hero. I always find it's so easy to stick up for other people, which Mindy does occasionally, but it's really hard to stick up for yourself. Mindy does that all the time. I like it. She's very 'live and let live' but emphasis on LET ME LIVE. 

The interview w Barbara Walters and V. Stiviano

Donald Sterling's mistress wife lady friend woman of significance spoke out in her first interview since he got booted from the NBA FO LIFE. I only saw the clips of it that they showed on Fallon, but the word I would use to describe it? Vapid. Jimmy couldn't keep a straight face when he was talking about it. I thought it was hilarious.

Met Gala

The Met Gala was on Monday. It's one of my favorite events to stalk the fashion because people were absolutely stunning gowns. My ultimate favorite was Hayden Panettiere. OMG. Loved it. I also really liked Emmy Rossum, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Selena Gomez. I have included photos of all. Thanks Vogue. 

This Shark Gif Exists

I giggled at it for an entire evening and then texted it to basically everyone in my phonebook that I talk to with any sort of regularity.

Local theatre- support it dudez

We kind of forgot to post this, so Hoven saw 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and it made her feel feelings. She's right. Support local theater. It's cool, and there are some amazing stories that you could discover.


















That's really all we got this week. Mindy rules, gowns rule, sharks rule. Nothing sucks that much.

Songs we would sing if we were in a Jimmy Fallon lip sync battle

Okay you guys,

As you have probably seen, Emma Stone was recently on Jimmy Fallon and they had a lip sync battle that was absolutely hilarious. If you haven't seen it, I'm nice enough to provide you with a link.

The enjoyment of this clip has sparked a spirited discussion between Hoven and I: What would WE sing if we were ever on Fallon? Which two songs, when juxtaposed next to one another, would elicit the most laughter/wonderment out of the audience and Mr. Fallon himself? We tossed around a TON of ideas (sorry 'Call Me Maybe' and 'Fight For Your Right To Party,' you came close, but no cigar), and both decided on our final two. Well, I still can't 100% commit, but someday I'll get there.

Then we became curious as to what other people would say.

So we asked a ton of people. Friends, family, basically anybody we talk to with any sort of regularity. We asked what songs THEY would choose should they ever find themselves in a situation where they had to face the great Jimmy Fallon in a lip sync battle. Every single one of them was nice enough to humor us/text us back. A lot of them replied almost instantly without any hesitation. Those were probably the ones that gave us the biggest laugh, and those are the ones listed below that don't really have any other commentary. Those were the people who had thought about this just has hard as we had, and for that, we salute them. Others really took the question to heart and pondered and thought until they were able to provide us with their perfect answer. Those are equally as funny, and we have included some of their thought proceesses. Anyways, here ya go. Enjoy. Let us know who you think would kick the most ass.

Klew - Overland Park, KS

"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by the Darkness. I know all of the words and it's really fast and I could CRUSH IT.

For my second, I feel like I would need to send it home with my amazing lip sync belting skills. I'm torn between "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion and "Don't Rain on My Parade" by Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl, because I kill both of those in the car. Such RAW FAKE PASSION PEOPLE. Probably the Celine song just because more people know it, but I like Barbara's better.

Also side note if Broadway showtunes were widely known and were acceptable to lip sync battle everything would be different. (Eponine, Elphaba, Elle Woods...I could go forever. You would literally have to yank me off the stage.)

Hoven - Chester, NJ

"Spice Up Your Life" by the Spice Girls. 1. Because I BELIEVE IN IT, every boy and every girl. 2. Built in dance moves.

"Monster" by Kanye West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and NICKI MINAJ- specifically Nicki's verse because IT'S THE MOTTO IDIOTS. YOU COULD BE THE KING BUT WATCH THE QUEEN CONQUER. (Sorry to my brothers who find it disturbing that I know every word to this song.)

+Taylor Renft - Prairie Village, KS

"'Car Wash.' The Shark Tale version."
(She's had a long week.)

Dan Woodward - Aquinas? TCU? KU? Baylor? We're unsure

"Definitely 'Super Bass' by Nicki Minaj LOLz. Also Beyoncé's 'Love on Top' because I killed that as a solo in Aussie Land. Shoutout to you for that Klew."
(it's true. he knew nothing of that song before I showed it to him.)

Victoria Zonko - Lenexa, KS

"Shoop" by Salt n Peppa 

"Countdown" by Beyoncé

(She's one of the ones that had no hesitation. All hail the queen Zonko. All hail the queen.)

Shanna Stonestreet - Lenexa, KS

"'Paradise by the Dashboard Light' by Meatloaf. It's my favorite song to sing."
(Again, no hesitation.)

Anna Thomas - Kansas City, MO

"'Call Me Maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen and 'Come and Get It' by Selena Gomez. Done."
(This is infuriating because Bones sends about 900 Snapchats of herself singing Come and Get it per week.)

Cara Keeble - St. Louis, MO

"Possibly 'La Vie Boheme' rom Rent but not enough people know it, so 'Prince Ali' from Aladdin. There are enough fast words to show you know the song, and enough big notes to go crazy." 

(Keeble is clearly on the same page as me in the showtunes department, and strategic. She'll win against Jimmy with this for sure. A Klew/Keeble lip sync battle would be one for the books. Can you say all Disney ever?!)

Emily McCartney - Los Angeles, CA

"Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground and "It's Raining Men."
(This was a surprising answer, since Emmy is a DIE HARD Kelly Clarkson fan. After I asked her about it, she started to feel bad and now I think she's re-thinking.)

Katie Wells - Lawrence, KS

"Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John.

Shanah Gaskill - Dallas, TX

"Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix A Lot.

Maddy Finch - San Antonio, TX

"Like a Virgin" by Madonna and "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi

+Jesse Hoffman - Kansas City, MO

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
(With the understanding that it's so long he would only get one.)

Darby Evans - Barcelona, Spain

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen and "I Say A Little Prayer For You" by Dionne Warwick. (Considering matching Darby up against Jesse. That would actually be the most hilarious lipsync battle. )

Drew Auer - Lawrence, KS

'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston and 'Miss New Booty.' She also answered "All the Small Things" by Blink-182. 

+Kerry Benn - New York, NY

"One Week" by the Barenaked Ladies. She said because she'd love to nail that really fast "Chickity China, the Chinese chicken" part. Similarly, "Ignition (Remix)" by R. Kelly.

She also said she would choose anything by Christina Aguilera because that girl can sing.

Elizabeth Raplinger - Dallas, TX

"Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice and "Let's Groove" by Earth Wind and Fire.

(Apparently Zee is a fifty year old dad?)

+Lauren Vanlandingham - Kansas City, MO

"What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction and "Single Ladies" by Beyoncé.

(She didn't think these really needed any explanation. Also I think this is Lauren daydreaming about who she would want to show up to WATCH her lipsync these. Aka I think Lauren might have been daydreaming about dating Harry Styles again while making this choice.)

Jordan Kelly - Kansas City, MO:

"I only need one. 'Strawberry Wine.' I'd probably sing it too."

Megan Wells - On the Titanic.

"Undo It" by Carrie Underwood and "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.
(This is like, the most "Megan Wells" answer you can possibly give.)

Nate Watson - Chicago, IL

"'N***as in Paris' by Kanye and Jay-Z"
(His reply was almost instantaneous. Of course Nate, of course.)

Sam Logan - Kauffman Stadium

"Easy. 'Rude Boy' by Riri. then to bring it home I'd counter with the opposite, 'Promiscuous Girl' by Nelly Furtado."
(Hoven backs me when I say that I would possibly pay to see this happen)

+Elizabeth Albani - Parkville, MO

"Honestly, probably something Dixie Chicks. Or maybe 'Total Eclipse of the Heart.' A throwback of some sort."
(Everyone imagine Liz belting 'Total Eclipse.' I think she wins overall.)

Enjoyed/Enraged - Pop Culture 4.28

Okay this one is pretty quick because it's been a crazy week. But....

ENJOYED

The Cheerleading Worlds Happened

You guys, I'm not even going to spend that much time explaining it because you will never understand how cool this is. It's a weekend of amazing cheerleading and it's in Disney World. You do the math.

EXCEPT I WILL SAY THAT KC CHEER FIERCE 5 WON FOURTH PLACE!!! THAT IS SO AMAZING! It's the highest any KC Cheer team has ever finished, and there were 91 teams in their division. I am the proudest proud proud alum.

Emma Stone Totally Killed It In her Jimmy Fallon Lip Sync Battle

Emma Stone was on Jimmy Fallon this week and they did a lip sync battle. It. Was. Hilarious. She killed him. This has also led to many a spirited discussion on what we would sing if we were to ever find ourselves amidst a Jimmy Fallon lip sync battle. That post is coming soon y'all, because we had some funny responses.

The Tony Nominations were on Tuesday

I couldn't properly stalk them on the internet because I was in Disney World and had more important things to worry about (HELLO CINDERELLA'S CASTLE), so I don't really know a whole lot about them. All I know is that it means the Tony's are coming up and they will be on TV and I can DVR them and re-watch the performances over and over like I did with the Cinderella performance last year. Idina Menzel and Sutton Foster are both nominated for Best Actress in a musical and they are both TO DIE FOR.  As are the others nominated in that category. I've heard that Jessie Mueller is BRILLIANT in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Also Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is nominated for like 5000 things so now I am interested in that. Too bad we didn't see that coming, because we could've gotten ahead of it like we did for Aladdin. We bought Aladdin tickets for our upcoming trip in August and now it's nominated for Best Musical, so the ticket prices are way more expensive than they were when we bought them. HOWS THAT FOR BEING ECONOMICALLY SAVVY!?!?!?!

Watch this video of Audra McDonald as Billie Holiday in "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill." She's nominated as well. This is amazing. She sounds EXACTLY LIKE HER. Also if she wins she'll make history as the first woman to win six Tony awards. That's amazing, you guys.

Enraged

HEYYYY WE WANT SOME ORANGE RAYS! Is not the real words to the song. 

This was a huge dissapointment. The Stingray AllStars Orange is like, my favorite cheerleading team. They have won worlds 8 TIMES. EIGHT PEOPLE. And their dance music this year was like "HEYYYYY WE WANT SOME ORANGE RAYS!!" and I loved it. I found out this week that that is actually based on a real song, and the words to the real song are inappropriate and I refuse to ever sing any words besides the Orange Rays words.

Beyonce & Jay-Z Are going on tour!

Thats right people. It's happening. The 21st Century Bonnie & Clyde. The King and Queen. THEY'RE GOING ON TOUR. Normally this would be a LOVE because I HAVE THE STRONGEST LOVE FOR QUEEN BEY but I'm putting it in the hate column because a. It's not coming to Kansas City, and b. I can't go see it. Zee spent like three days on the phone trying to get tickets (it was near impossible. EVERYONE WANTS TO SEE THEM DUH) and she DID OMG! She got four tickets to the Dallas show and she was thoughtful enough to set one aside for me! But alas, it is the same weekend as my cousin's wedding. I'm not too bummed, because weddings rock and my fam rocks, and I DID get to see Beyoncé fly through the air in a sparkly jumpsuit in Dallas last summer. It was everything, you guys. I love Beyoncé. So whatever. Zee, you're just going to have to give me a detailed description. DO YOU THINK THEY'LL SING DEJA VU BECAUSE I SING THE BEYONCÉ PARTS OF THAT IN MY CAR AND PRETEND IM DOING A DUET WITH JAY-Z.